Sunrise

This past year my body/psychic has been in rebellion at the idea of falling out of bed before 6:00 a.m. But here I am watching the sun rise over the Bass Pro Lake after running seven miles from home. Now, why would haul my a—out of bed at 4:30 to go run? 

Friendship. I am fortunate to know folks from down the street to Korea and back that I consider my friends…folks I would do anything for—simply because I admire, appreciate, value, who they are. I would even run a marathon for some of my friends. And that’s why I am up at this …… hour. 

My friend Ken McLaughlin is COO of PKD Foundation. He “invited” me to run the Chicago Marathon to raise awareness for those who provide treatment for polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and to improve the lives of those it affects. This happens through promoting research, education, advocacy, support and awareness on a national level, along with direct services to local communities across the country. And, of course, this does not happen without money. So, the Marathon effort on my part is to also fundraise for the PKD Foundation. 

Please support my efforts to raise money for this great cause by donating to my Fundraiser at https://pkdfoundation.salsalabs.org/2018bankofamericachicagomarathon/p/garylogansfundraisingpage.  

Stockholm Syndrome

While on the train to Stockholm, I was visiting with a Swedish young man and jokingly made a comparison between the Stockholm syndrome and running a marathon. He was not amused. According to Wikipedia, Stockholm Syndrome “is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness.”

I was joking that running a marathon is like being “captured” by the thrill of the race, having positive feelings about running 26+ miles, while knowing that the end will probably involve pain, dehydration, exhaustion (and in my case, hyperthermia—and no one left to see me cross the finish line).  In trying to explain my feeble attempts at humor, I went on to say that one could view marathoners as irrational, masochistic and delusional. OK. It wasn’t funny. That’s why I’m not a comedian.

If you have forgotten, Stockholm Syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, Sweden. During the crime, several bank employees were held hostage in a bank vault from August 23 to 28, 1973, while their captors negotiated with police. During this standoff, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, rejected assistance from government officials at one point, and even defended their captors after they were freed. The term was coined by Nils Bejerot, consultant psychiatrist to the police when it happened. He called it "Norrmalmstorgssyndromet" (Swedish), directly translated as The Norrmalmstorg Syndrome, but then later became known abroad as the Stockholm syndrome. (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome)

For some Swedes, Stockholm still has a negative image because of this coined phrase referencing a robbery nearly 50 years ago.

I think we ought to change the image. Let’s campaign for the Stockholm Syndrome to be a phrase referring to a psychological phenomenon in which runners from all over the world come to run a marathon for the purpose of raising funds to eradicate poverty.

24,000 strong at the Start Line... took us 12 minutes to reach that line!

The new entry into Wikipedia could go something like’ “Runners have positive feelings toward their Swedish hosts, sometimes to the point of vacationing and often staying in the homes of Swedish families. They raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to minimize the danger and risk endured by the victims of poverty on a daily basis.”

I am always amazed at the number of fun-loving folks across the globe who participate in their favorite passion for worthy humanitarian causes. I am blessed to be able to combine my love of other cultures, adventure for travel,  passion for running, and commitment to eradicating poverty into fantastic life experiences like this one.

And I am a heck of a lot nicer than that other guy!

Men of Action for Nepal!

The Bucket List

A few years ago, I put on my bucket list that I wanted to participate in a marathon on every continent by the time I was 75. Well, except for Antarctica. An old man has to know his limits! Every marathon was to be a fundraiser for some worthy cause! Love what you do. Live life. Have fun. AND take care of others along the way is how I have tried to live so far. So.

North America? Been there. Done that. Last one? 2009. So, in 2012, I signed up for a marathon in Seoul Korea. During a training run I was clipped by a pickup truck on a street near my home. Asia marathon didn’t happen. Months later, with therapy, lots of love and support, and the determination to run again, I began training. In 2014, I registered for the St. Petersburg Marathon. I was thrilled! Russian-Ukraine conflict canceled that trip (parts of the trip would have taken me into Western Russia, Eastern Ukraine. We were advised not to go.) United Airlines stole $1730.00 of my money. ("United cannot be held responsible for any misinformation that may be given by a United representative." Yes. That’s a quote from United Customer Service.) So, Europe marathon… nope.

I’m running out of time… and money. So, 2015. Stockholm here I come! The devastation in Nepal (a country in which I have never traveled, but do have friends I love dearly) clearly is on my mind. They need my help. So, my fundraising efforts go their way.

Still loving. Still living. Still running. 

#give4Nepal, #nepalearthquake, #StockholmMarathon

Education and Poverty

One of the most profound ways to break the cycle of poverty is to provide quality education for children.

Julia Gillard, former Australian prime minister, hoped the U.N sustainable development goals (SDGs), a set of global targets that will be finalized later this year, would contain clear objectives and receive solid funding to turn promises into reality.

“Fifteen years ago we promised the children of the world that they would get to go to primary school. We are still 58 million kids short of that promise and around 250 million are getting some education but not achieving the most basic literacy and numeracy,” Gillard said.

Gillard understands that just funding the construction of schools, or investing in innovative technology is not enough: “… but there is no point at the end of the day having kids sitting in something called a school if they are not learning,” Gillard said.

Teacher training and professional development, curriculum and assessment practices, instructional materials, books, and the appropriate use of information technology would help tackle what she called a “learning quality crisis”. Measurement and assessment were also key.

Gillard says that education’s share in global humanitarian funding has declined, from 2.4% in 2011 to 1.4% in 2012. Aid to education had fallen by almost 10% since 2010 compared with a 1.3% decline in overall development assistance worldwide.

“The sharp decline in global aid to education must be reversed. We must push for the political will to reprioritize education aid,” she said.

The need to refocus on quality and inclusiveness has to be a priority for all nations, including the U.S. The truth is that we have many in our rural towns, suburban centers and cities across this land where Native American children, children with disabilities, children from a wide range of ethnic groups and immigrant populations, are not receiving the quality education that is needed to break the cycle.