Orange Shuffle

So, I completed my first race on Sunday. I can officially be part of this generation since I am now the owner of a 5K/8K race T-shirt. Thanks to everyone who supported me financially, I was the top fundraiser for our team (about 70 people) and thanks to those that supported me with prayer, I was mostly successful in being gracious to the two women that I walked very slowly with. I do not at all mind strolling, but they complained about the fact that we were falling from the front of the group to the back of the group while never actually moving faster. They went so slowly that if I let my mind wander, I pulled 10 feet in front of them because my body fell into its normal commuting pace. But they were interesting to talk to and one of the women grew up in Danville, IL, the closest to Paradise most of us will get during our mortal stay.

The other major goal of the day was to give some visibility to Team World Vision, which is a new project to get people who already run in races and triathalons to offer sponsorship opprtunities to their networks. With bright orange T-shirts and a professional photographer who donated his time (let me know if you need a referral for Chicago-area photography), I think that goal was also mostly achieved. As proof of my contribution to that goal, I offer the following picture. I'm down front on the left between the two darker women.

In my defense, the photographer acknowledged to us that he was asking for a corny pose for the sake of future marketing endeavors, so I respected his candor and gave him a corny pose. My friends Erika and Ryan were standing behind me and went along with it, too, so you can't make fun of just me. I find it interesting that I refrained from making "rock and roll!" hands (the ultimate in corny) because they are sometimes called devil's horns and Team World Vision is a Christian organization. Even more interesting is the fact that the guy who runs the program is standing two rows behind me doing exactly what I refrained from. Shows how much I know, doesn't it?

Thanks again to all of you for caring about me and about the kids who will not have a chance to fulfill the potential that all children are given at birth if someone doesn't change the world they are born into.