Walk with me!

from Easter Seals Central Texas:

Think, for a moment, about how much you love running and being active in your community.  Now, imagine that you’ve just been informed that you’ll never be able to do it again.

For many of us, the thought of not being able to do what we love is extremely scary and often heartbreaking.  Well, it’s the same for people with disabilities.  Whether they are born with a disability or injured in an accident, people with disabilities do not want to hear that they can’t do something.  Time and time again you’ll hear storied about how these people are still living their lives the way they want without accepting that someone said, “You can’t do that.”  No disability will ever define the heart of a person or the desire to participate in the community.

At Easter Seals Central Texas, we visit with adults and children everyday who will light up your world and change the way you look at life with a disability.  Our clients exude such strength, motivation and perseverance that you can’t help but provide all the support you can muster to help them succeed and follow their dreams.  Those dreams may be physical things such as: to walk without aid, to run for the first time or to participate in sports.

When Rosalinda Reazola’s son, Matthew, was only 11 months old when she was told that he would likely never walk on his own or be able to take care of himself.  She refused to believe that and immediately sought out the therapy that her son would need.  This landed her at Easter Seals Central Texas.  Matthew received speech, occupational and physical therapy for the first few years of his life.  He began to thrive and improve and despite what doctors said, he wound up running varsity track and cross country at Vandergrift High School and has recently joined the United States Marine Corps.

Rohan Murphy, an honorary ambassador for Easter Seals Central Texas, had his legs amputated at age 4 because of a birth defect.  Just like most young boys, he grew up loving sports but was always on the sidelines.  Then, one day, someone gave him the encouragement that he needed and he gave wrestling a try.  Rohan surprised everyone and ended up competing at the collegiate level, for Penn State, and became an international power lifting competitor.  Rohan now travels the country speaking to kids and adults about how anything is possible and is currently training for the 2016 Paralympics.  He will be a guest speaker at this year’s Walk With Me event.

Most of us know someone who is currently living with a disability and in the blink of an eye could find ourselves in that same demographic.  We all know that accidents happen and that makes it even more important to show our support for our friends and neighbors living with disabilities.  Join Easter Seals Central Texas at Walk With Me Austin, November 11, 2012 for an exciting day of running, walking and family fun.

www.centraltx.easterseals.com/events
Event Manager – Angelica Reyes, 512-615-6817
Volunteer Manager – Lindsay Mason, 512-615-6818

Houston! Who wants in?

Who wants to race Houston but missed out on the lottery or registration deadline?

We have 4 full-marathon entries and 17 half-marathon fundraising entries available through our non-profit partner – Marathon Kids.
To get a slot, runners must pledge to raise $750 for Marathon Kids, PLUS pay the race registration fee – $105 for the half and $125 for the full. Runners must fulfill their pledge to raise a minimum of $750 by November 20th to support the cause.  At that time if the minimum amount has not been reached, a charge will be placed on their credit card for the remaining balance to be raised, which guarantees registration for the race.

As an added incentive, every runner fulfilling the $750 pledge will receive 50% off on their next Rogue training program.

This is a great opportunity to support a great cause and race on a FAST Houston course!

Entries will be handed-out on a first-come, first-serve basis. If interested, contact chris@roguerunning.com for more information.

About Marathon Kids

Marathon Kids is a 17 year old non-profit committed to improving fitness and nutrition habits for 83,000 Austin area K-5th graders, via an evidence based, six-month running/walking, nutrition and schoolyard gardening program. It is now in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Rio Grande Valley, El Paso, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Chicago. There were 250,000+ USA K-5th graders registered for the nationally recognized, FREE Marathon Kids 2011-2012 program. Each of the eight Marathon Kids regions has an 86% average completion rate. Marathon Kids targets children most vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes and sedentary lifestyles. Kids are also challenged to eat 26.2 days a month of 5-a-day fruits and veggies, coloring in their Food Logs as they go. You can find more information at http://www.marathonkids.org.

Call for help!

You probably know Sydney Pitt, whether you know it or not. There is a good chance that Sydney has helped you out at Rogue Equipment more than once, and she is also out there among the long run crowds every Saturday morning – many of you have been in a training group with her.

Sydney is also a student at Texas State and has decided to make her spring break both incredibly challenging and worthwhile – she will be headed to earthquake-devastated Haiti to volunteer with Hands On Disaster Response, an US-based nonprofit that provides hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters around the world, focusing on maximum impact and minimum bureaucracy.

Although Sydney’s time in Haiti will be spent in extremely challenging conditions – in terms of accommodation and work – she first has to get there. Her means as a college student are limited, and it has been a stretch to cover the passport and vaccination expenses. The airfare and transport within Haiti is very expensive – so much that her plans may fall through without some assistance. She’d like to reach out to the Rogue community in hopes that some of our runners are willing and able to help – even the smallest donation would be greatly appreciated! All excess funds raised will directly to the group’s disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

You can find out more about this particular project here:

http://hodr.org/2010/02/03/haiti-project-leogane-announcement/

The Rogue community always comes through, and we wanted to let you know about another way to do something that matters. If this is something you would like to contribute to, you can drop off donations at Rogue Equipment or contact Sydney directly at sydneypitt@yahoo.com.

She is set to leave on Saturday, March 6, so time is limited – anything you can donate this weekend is especially valued. Remember, everything (and that means everything) helps.