Dec. 6, 2018 – Today marks 24 years, 340 days of not missing a day of running. That’s 9,106 days and roughly 22,756 miles. I have been blessed!
My four children have never experienced a day that I have not gone on my daily run. I pushed all of the kids in a running stroller when they were little. While Jack, Drew and Maddie seemed to enjoy coming along, Max never really wanted to ride in the running stroller. Interestingly, he was the one that volunteered to run with me to mark year 10. Crocker Stephenson from the Milwaukee Journal wrote a story about the streak at year ten and needed a picture. There was Max, sitting in the stroller, on page two of the Milwaukee Journal. In fact, it was probably the only time that year that he was in the stroller. Max was also the only one of the children that was interviewed on New Year’s Eve last year for a story that appeared on channel six. Funny how that happens.
I am so grateful of this incredible string of health and luck that I wanted to do something special this year. God willing, on December 31st at the beautiful home of Kraig and Jo Sadownikow, I will complete 25 years of not missing a day of running. My average run has been 2.5 miles with a minimum run of 1.2 miles. Since year 20 I have raised money for Washington County high school graduates to attend Moraine Park Technical College. We will raise money again for scholarships on the 31st, but the 25 days leading up to the year-end we want to raise money for United Way funded programs. Thus was born, 25 Runs of Gratitude.
Today I ran to show gratitude for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington County. This run was sponsored by American Architectural Group. American Construction Services, Inc. and American Architectural Group, Inc. have been offering professional design and build services to the greater Midwest Markets since 1980.
I asked Jay Fisher, the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club, about what he wants people to know about his organization. He stated they serve 2,500 members and are very appreciative of all of the community support that they receive. Project Learn, funded by the United Way, is a homework help program that benefits every one of the 2,500 members. The program consists of homework help every day after school and an online quizzing tool for the students. The quizzing tool works in conjunction with what they are learning in school as well as the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program. In summer the Boy’s and Girl’s club offers the Summer Brain Gain program. This program teaches participants necessary skills in reading and math with the hope that they will retain what they learned the previous year or advance during the program. The program also focuses on improving study habits and work ethic.
Today I was joined for a 2.6 mile run by Jay Fisher, Molly McElligot, and Sammy Verburgt from the Boy’s and Girl’s Club. Also along for the run was Kraig and Jo Sadownikow from American Architectural Group and Jay Shambeau, the City Administrator from West Bend. We are all blessed to live in Washington County where United Way Agencies like the Boys and Girls club are positively affecting the lives of so many of our youth.
Friday’s run is at 7:00 am at Interfaith Caregivers. See you then for Day Two of the 25 Runs of Gratitude.