by Running Dad | Jul 18, 2014 | Trails of Thought
Running has changed my life in a lot of positive ways. In July of 2013, I decided to make my miles matter to more than just me. I began donating a dollar for each mile I ran to charity. I looked back at the list of monthly donations for the past twelve months. The total on my dollar per mile contributions alone came to over $1700.00.
If you have not read or heard my back story, my wife and I lost our first son, Lucas Carson Sanders, just a short period of time after he was born. After his death, we set up a charity to raise money for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Virginia. We wanted to help other families who are facing the reality of a risky birth. The money goes toward diapers, blankets, binkies, equipment; everything babies need. It also helps with accommodations for the parents that are waiting and praying for good news. So every penny helps.
Having an incentive (that is not just personal) to run makes those long training runs, rainy days splashing through the puddles, suffocatingly humid days, or painfully boring treadmill runs a lot more tolerable. I recall several times I felt like quitting on a run, but remembered I was running more than for just myself.
I run For Lucas. http://www.forlucas.com
by Running Dad | May 1, 2014 | Trails of Thought
It is Apple Blossom time again in Winchester, Virginia. The annual festival draws hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists out to celebrate the blooming apple trees that the Shenandoah Valley is famous for.
(more…) by Running Dad | Dec 3, 2013 | Trails of Thought
This Thanksgiving, my son, Connor, 7, and I ran the Thanksgiving Day 5k at Sherando High School. This was Connor’s first 5k. He had run several kids 1 mile races and one 2 mile race. We practiced several times before the 5k, doing a 2.25 mile loop around our neighborhood. So, 3.1 miles was a new milestone for Connor, and I think he was a bit nervous. (more…)
by Running Dad | Nov 19, 2013 | Trails of Thought
I found the brand SKORA by chance earlier this year. I saw an online advertisement for the SKORA Phase running shoe and the color and design really caught my eye. As I read about the company, I saw that this company was created by runners, for runners. Their shoes are created to work with your foot and a natural running motion. They encourage you to “Run Real”. Their blog contained many informative articles about running form and injury prevention. SKORA’s message resonated with the direction my growth as a runner was going. (more…)
by Running Dad | Oct 11, 2013 | Trails of Thought
I signed up for, and started training for, the Baltimore Marathon 16 weeks ago. On the eve of this race, I look at the last four months and marvel at what this race has become to me. (more…)
by Running Dad | Sep 1, 2013 | Trails of Thought
Personally, I have not hit the proverbial wall, but as my October marathon looms closer and closer, I can’t help to have that fear in the back of my mind. My friend and fellow Running Dad, Shane Curtis, who I had run 22 of the 26.2 miles of the Shamrock Marathon in March of 2013 – before he left me in his dust – recently experienced the dreaded wall in Alaska. His story is below. I have no doubt he will be on his game when he tackles the Richmond Marathon in November. (more…)
