Hello Everyone!
A few weeks ago, I was in the midst of training for the Shenandoah Mountain 100 Ultra Endurance Backcountry Mountain Bike Race. I must’ve just gotten back from a long ride and was feeling particularly proud of myself. It was then that I said something like this to Mary Clay, “You know what? I could totally run a ½ marathon no problem and maybe even do it faster than you.” You’ve got to understand that I’ve said stuff like this to MC over the years so I’m sure she’s gotten pretty sick of hearing it. This time her reply was like no other I’ve heard before, “Well why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and do it. Then we’ll see won’t we?”
As you probably already know, I’m not one to back down to a challenge, especially one made by my wife! So I did what any impulsive, fragile ego’ed man would do when I got to work the next morning. I signed up for the ½ marathon, downloaded a free ½ marathon training plan from the internet, and posted Mary Clay’s time from last year’s race (2:12:19) on my wall.
Well that was 5 weeks, 13 runs, 49 miles, and 6,257 calories ago. I’ve endured blazing heat, cold rain, dark nights, and the lonesome roads and trails of Staunton and Harrisonburg. I’m happy to report that I’m chipping away at MC’s 10:07/mi. pace but that was last year’s pace. Since then she participated in a women’s running group and busted a 4 mi. road race out in 36 minutes, that’s fast folks! What is she doing when she’s out there on her training runs anyway?! Speed work, hills repeats, intervals?? Am I challenging myself enough?
Then the other day, I received an email from one of my friends and fellow Organization of Youth Empowerment (OYE) colleague Ana Luisa I came to the realization that, “No we are not doing enough!” With that Mary Clay and I decided we would challenge ourselves even more by challenging YOU to help us reach our goal of raising $3000.
For the past two years Mary Clay and my students have been working closely with OYE, a small, grassroots organization based in El Progreso, Honduras that develops young people's self-esteem and leadership skills. OYE provides scholarships and capacity building programs to students who would not otherwise have the means to stay in school. Through OYE's programs, these youth gain the tools they need to become active leaders in their communities. OYE relies on individual contributions from friends like you to make their work possible. Learn more about OYE on their website
www.oyehonduras.org.
We are running for OYE because we believe in the mission, the youth, and of the power that each one of us has to create positive change in this world. Todos somos OYE/We are all OYE!
Over the next few weeks we'll do our best to post to the blog and keep you updated on our progress. Thanks for reading and donating!
Abrazos y paz!
Matt and Mary Clay
