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Thanks,

Loren

RACE TO HELP AN ORPHAN!

You are invited to participate in the first annual God's Grace Adoption Ministry running fundraiser!

In August we will begin a 12 week training program in preparation for running the Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey on November 9th, 2008. Each member of the running team is asked to raise $1,500 or more for God's Grace Adoption Ministry. This may be achieved by individual runners contacting potential donors and asking to be sponsored for the event. In return, runners are provided the opportunity to train with a team and complete a half marathon.

God's Grace Adoption Ministry, Inc. located in Modesto, CA was established in 1998 as a non-profit organization dedicated to helping place orphaned children of the world into forever families. GGAM seeks to help Christian families overcome the financial burden of adopting children. For more information regarding God's Grace Adoption Ministry visit www.ggam.org.

A half marathon is a foot race of 13.1 miles. It is a popular race for amateur runners and walkers, long enough to be a serious challenge but not requiring the level of training of a marathon. The half marathon is one of the fastest growing running events in America and it's something nearly anyone can complete. Do you have a personal fitness goal you'd like to meet or just want to get in better shape? If you would like to help place orphaned children into good homes and you are looking for a physical and mental challenge this is the opportunity for you.

The goal of this team is to raise money for God's Grace Adoption Ministry, Inc. You need no previous running experience to participate in this event. If you don't want to run but still want to participate, consider walking the course. The first rule of any race is "you must be able to cover the distance". All who complete the provided training program will be prepared to "cover the distance" at the Big Sur Half Marathon on November 9th.

Each runner will be responsible for their own Big Sur Half Marathon registration fee (see the race website for more info) as well as some running clothing, socks & shoes, etc.

If this is something you would like to be a part of, click on the "Join The Team" link in the upper right corner of this page. Below is more detailed information about fundraising and training. If you have any questions you may direct them to Loren at LTKF7372@aol.com .

Fundraising

Fundraising may begin as soon as you become a part of the God's Grace Running Team. After joining the team you will be given a personal fundraising page that you can email to potential donors that allows them to donate online. The page will keep track of your progress and automatically send the money directly to GGAM as well as send a receipt directly to the donor.

The fundraising page you will be given will look similar to this: www.firstgiving.com/ggamloren

The idea is to solicit your friends, family, coworkers etc. by emailing the link to your personal fundraising page.

The deadline to meet your fundraising goal is November 1st, 2008. Married couples that participate are asked to raise $ 2,000 between the two. GGAM will be offering awards to the first team member to meet $1,500 as well as for the overall top fundraiser.

Would your children like to participate? There is a 3K "Just Run" kids event that will be held on Saturday Nov, 8th (the day before the half marathon). Children can have their own personal fundraising page as well. Although a child could probably raise $ 1,500 fairly easily, they could set their own goal with parents help. Contact me if your children are interested in this. Loren

Half Marathon Training

Completing a half marathon is not nearly as difficult as you might think! The most difficult part of the half marathon is not the race itself but the time committed to training for it. Really, the training is not that difficult when you take it one day at a time. This is a big commitment but remember it's only for 12 weeks of your life and what you achieve here may mean a lifetime difference to an orphaned child.

Completing the training program allows your body to be conditioned over a period of time so that on race day you are ready to complete the half marathon with little difficulty. The training program we will use is based off of several nationally know training programs and has been adjusted slightly to meet our needs. This training program has been used before and there was a 100% success rate on race day.

The 12 week half marathon training program will begin on Monday, August 18th and finish the day of race. The schedule is based on training 4 days a week and resting the other 3 days.

Monday and Tuesdays are easy runs to help with cardiovascular conditioning.

Thursday workouts, typically done in the evening at the MJC track, are called "speed workouts" and help improve your per mile pace.

Saturdays are the longer distance group runs that will help your body adjust to the physical demands of continuous walking / running similar to what you will experience on race day. The Saturday run, although longer in mileage, will be done at your own comfortable pace. During the Saturday runs we will use the "Run a mile, walk a minute" routine for each mile. This allows the body to recover a little during the 1 minute of walking and is a good time to hydrate or consume an energy gel. On Saturdays we'll meet at 7am near the tennis courts at East La Loma Park and run on the trail along Dry Creek.

To view the training schedule click on the link in the upper right corner of the page.

Runner's Feet Turlock

If you are going to participate in the half marathon you will need good shoes and shoes that fit your feet. There is a new store in Turlock called Runner's Feet that is probably the best place for most of the Modesto runners to go. The staff at Runner's Feet will evaluate your feet and help determine the shoes that are right for you. Shauna, the owner of the store has been in the business a long time and has had a store like this in the bay area for many years. The advantage of going to a store that specializes in running is they know how to evaluate a persons foot and determine which shoe is best for you.

The address for Runner's Feet:
405 E Main Street
Turlock, CA 95380
Tel: (209)669-1212

Just Do It