Nick's Thoughts

Approximately 1 year ago I sat at a round table with an inspired man who had just completed year 3 of Men’s Fraternity. I had been on a transformation journey with this man and when he announced that he was going to run across the state for an orphanage in South Africa, I was caught in the moment. I blurted out, “I’ll go with you!”

That moment quickly wore off which changed my thoughts to “What was I thinking?” As the day quickly approached my attitude about being in a bouncy RV with 4 ripe runners that I didn’t know very well, running across the state didn’t exactly change. Again, “What was I thinking?”

As with everything in my life I should have stepped back and realized how many times I was using the word “I”. Every time I begin to focus on me God is getting ready to teach me something. It’s never about me its about HIM.

Bouncing my way to Council Bluffs from Des Moines I was scared. I was afraid my legs wouldn’t hold up. I was afraid I wouldn’t have anything to talk about with the other runners. I was afraid my wife would want to kill me for dragging her into this. I was afraid we would fail. Any one ever read Philippians 4:13?

My attitude quickly changed. I started this journey with strangers, who quickly turned to friends, which rapidly evolved into family. I will forever hold a special place in my heart for the 4 of you that shared those 5 days in an RV that crept across the state of Iowa changing African children’s lives. As I reflect on our journey I miss everyone of you and look forward to doing more life with all of you.

These are a few of my thoughts from my 5 day journey across the state.

Council Bluffs, Oakland, Atlantic, Wiota, Anita, Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart, Dexter, Redfield, Adel, Waukee, Clive, Windsor Heights, Des Moines, Pleasant Hill, Prairie City, Colfax, Lambs Grove, Newton, Kellog, Oakland Acres, Grinnel, Brookland, Ladora, Marengo, Oxford, Tiffin, Coralville, Iowa City, West Liberty, Atilissa, Muscatine. Amazing food in Council Bluffs with a great family and a drummer named Kyle. A Godly family with a farmhouse that had an entire room dedicated to Africa. This family really reminded me of my own. I wonder if they are adopting a family of 4? Brads family’s fantastic hospitality and life changing lasagna. Andrew and the Linen coat. Still trying to make up for that one! God meeting us exactly where we are. Brads planning. (Except for his Saturday Frito snack) My new love for RV’s. I will never forget the bathroom I had for 5 days. Bottles of water will never be the same. Our Boston qualifier. Yes I raised sheep! Cows running to or from us. Dogs. Wind. Rain. Sunshine. Farmers blows. Sharing God. Growing closer to God. Sharing life. Running helpers. The running stick. Leg wraps. Ice. Ibuprofen. Ipod’s. Compression shorts. Cleaning out the RV. The “you know what is full”. Physical challenges overcome. Love of health. Love of this life. Love of new friends. Love of family. Love of children. Love of God. Thank you Pines. Thank you Point of Grace. Thank you Brad. Thank you God. Another great memory created with my awesome wife and best friend.

Aubrey’s thoughts…

Well, I am not quite the blogger or writer like Brad, but I certainly have some thoughts to share with others.

First of all, I am grateful for the experience! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each unique member of our team. We had so much in common, yet learned so much from each other. The power of a human fellowship is immeasurable!

Second of all, I am grateful for the ability to make a difference! Although, I don’t yet know our final fundraising amount, I do know that desperate children will be given an opportunity. Whether it is an opportunity for a warm meal, preventative health care or literature teaching God’s word, I’ve contributed to an opportunity.

Third of all, I am grateful for my health! To be a part of such a physically demanding event leaves me feeling quite fortunate. Each runner was blessed with the strength and endurance to defeat each day’s challenge. Of course, tired legs, fatigued bodies and cold weather headaches, but never the ideation of forfeit.

Brad, I thank you for the invitation to participate in Run for the Pines.

I look forward, with great compassion, to pursuing more of life’s Great Adventures!

Brad's Thoughts

As I have been the one blogging this entire time, I wanted to take some time and give you my thoughts on what we have just accomplished.

A year ago, I was challenged to use my time, talents, gifts and abilities to help our church, our community and the world. If you know me, you know that my wife and I don't make a lot of money but I was being called to do something to help. During an incredible class of Men's Fraternity "The Great Adventure" we were also challenged to find our adventures that make our heart explode with love and fullness and that is where the idea came from. I was going to take something that truly love to do (weird I know) and use it to help others. This was going to be an avenue for me to spread God's love in a way that 5 years ago I could never have imagined that I would be doing. This was going to be a way for me to give back to my community to spread the love of Jesus Christ to nations beyond our own borders.

I am just as guilty as most of getting too comfortable at what we do everyday and never learn that in order to get better at anything we have to challenge ourselves. I knew that this was going to be a challenge, but one that I was being called to do. I truly feel that God made me start to run and enjoy running for this exact purpose. I was too comfortable what I was doing.

Starting out this journey I thought that people would be banging on the door to give me money to help support our cause, but this was before the financial meltdowns. Sure there were times when I thought that with the news of the economy taking over everyones attention that maybe it could be something to delay, but I knew that I had a duty to help out the kids that have little.

As the date approached I became increasingly nervous and anxious about the lack of money that was coming in the door until I realized that no matter how much money we raised, it was more money to put towards the orphanage than they had before. Now the anxiousness was not so much about the money but about our safety and what I had gotten myself into.

The week before I barely slept. There were mornings that I was waking up at 3:00 am because I just kept thinking of things that I needed to do before we left. The major problems that I was having leading up to it were, my knee hurt, I was just getting over an illness, I had a sore back, I hadn't really slept in 5 days or so and I was freaking out about logistics. I kept praying for calming to come over me and Thursday it finally happened.

All of the people I have known on very different levels. Andrew, I have known for many years and consider him a great friend. Nick, I have known for a little over a year and look to follow the lead that he has taken with his family and his business life. Aubrey, I know basically through Nick and had learned really what a great person she is. Mandy, I have probably known just as long as Nick and have heard from many people how great she is as well. A lot of us knew each other on kind of a surface level, but not real in depth. This trip would change that.

On our way to Council Bluffs, everyone was already laughing and sharing life stories. I knew instantly when we got on to the RV that I was going to have a great time and had assembled a great team.

The first night was great, even though I don't think any of us slept very well. Not because of the place that we slept but more because of what we were about ready to embark on. I know personally I probably woke up 5 or 6 times just because I was thinking. On Friday morning, after our late start thanks to the construction in Council Bluffs, it seemed really weird that something I had planned for so long was finally on its way.

I won't go into all of the runs that I ran, because there was way too many of them, but some of the highlights for me were as follows:

• The first run going through Council Bluffs and just the high of hitting the road for the very first time
• Seeing Mandy get stopped by the guy in the minivan asking if she was being stalked by the people in the RV
• The hundreds of dead animals on the side of the road
• Meeting some new friends along the way (especially our hosts and the cops who were "just checking on us")
• Running in to Eastern Iowa where I seemed to know everyone and everywhere we went
• Running in to my home town of Marengo and remembering the sports that I was never good enough to play in but still loved to participate in and wishing that my old coaches could see me now (sorry if I sound too much like Michael Jordan)
• Seeing my grandma, sister and nephew as I came running in to Marengo
• Kneeling next to my uncles and grandparents graves (that gave me so much strength)
• Staying at my aunts house
• The camping experience (sorry guys, if we ever do this again I will make sure to turn the heat on)
• Running through Iowa City realizing 2 miles in that I was wearing black and yellow and figuring out that was probably why I was getting honked at so much
• Seeing Andrew break down in the middle of the run and seeing God pick him back up
• The victory dinner (20 piece McNuggets, medium fries and medium vault)
• The incredible, although probably inappropriate at times, conversations that we had

I learned so much on this journey that I hope to continue. I learned so much about my team. These people are some of the most caring individuals I have ever met. They were always there to cheer everyone on and to cater to people as soon as they hopped back in to the RV. I learned that you can recover very fast if you take the appropriate steps (advil, gatorade and the stick). I learned how much you can miss your family when you are gone from them for 4 nights. I learned how much more I love my wife for being supportive of me when all I could talk about for nearly a year was running this thing. And I learned so much about myself. I learned that I can do things if I just ask God for help with them. The human body is such an incredible piece of art and it can do anything and accomplish anything that you put it through.

As I close this off, I just want to thank all who have been involved. Point of Grace, you all have been so amazing. All of our sponsors, I thank you for your participation and I hope that we can partner again in the future. All of the families, I thank you for allowing your husbands, wives, moms and dads, and loved ones to participate. Our host families. I may be calling for your recipes. My team. This was not my thing, this was OUR thing. I was just the one that put it together, you guys are the ones that came along and sacrificed your bodies and your sanity. My wife, for putting up with me. I love you so much. The Niehoffs and the O'Tooles for what they are doing in South Africa. You are seriously changing the future for so many people. Most importantly I want to thank God for what he did through all of us. You are the one who pushed us through when we wanted to quit. You were the one who put the wind at our backs to push us along. You were the one that made this whole adventure possible. I hope that what we have done and will do in the future can change generations to follow You. May ALL of the praise and glory go to You.

Thank you all for reading this and following what we have done. Please look forward to updates in the future about what our money raised is doing.

Stay Strong, Run Long

Brad

Day 5 and we are done!!!!!!!!

The start to day 5 was one of mixed emotions. Excitement to be done, dread of hitting the road, prayer for safety, concern or the number of miles amongst many others.

Monday night we stayed with my aunt Sandy and Pat. She had an amazing spread of breakfast for us and we were so excited to eat and hit the road until we looked outside. Rain. Wind. Gloom. Eerily reminded us of our start to this adventure but we knew that we had to get it done.

Luckily because we were a little ahead of schedule, we drove in to Coralville to find a wi-fi spot to check out our map to see how many miles we would each have to go. Once we pulled up the map we realized that this may be the longest toughest day that we were going to do because we were all emotionally and physically drained. As a group we made the best decision I think that we made on this entire trip. Change the route.

Our original plan was to go from Council Bluffs to Davenport with 5 people. We were down one person and looking at the map knew that it would be a difficult task with 4. So we decided for the sake of our safety and sanity that we would go through Iowa City and West Liberty as planned but head South just outside of Moscow and go to Muscatine. Technically this would still be a border of Iowa/Illinois and would still be an opportunity for us to see the Missouri River and Nebraska on Friday morning and the Mississippi River and Illinois on Tuesday afternoon.

Nick was the first runner up for the day and headed out with some rain that drenched him within the first mile of his 4 miles for the morning. My uncle Gary and his wife Krista wanted to greet us with some of Gary's co-workers as we were running past his employer. Since Nick had some sidewalk to work with we went ahead to meet them. As we got there everyone headed out of Randy's Flooring to cheer us on. It was a cool experience because we hadn't gotten cheered in a couple of days and made us realize that people were truly behind us.

I was next and due to some logistical errors with the driving situation didn't have enough time to stretch and went out with sore, tight muscles. I had planned on doing 4 but with the weather conditions and my current state I knew that it would be a bad idea and I would just pick up some more later in the day.

Andrew was next and as he started to run the rain finally started to die down a bit. He put in a good 4 miles before handing off to Mandy for her first shift of the day.

As we were rotating we could start to see each other fade a bit. Legs were getting sore, emotions were starting to take over and everyone was just looking to get home. I think that we were all starting to check out until the clouds broke, the sun came out and we got some wind to help us out a bit. I think that we all knew God was pushing us along at this point helping us to finish and finish strong.

We were all so excited once Nick hit his 3rd and final shift for the day because that meant one for everybody. As soon as I saw the Muscatine 10 mile sign, I knew that what had taken me a year to plan for was almost over.

On our last runs, all of us decided to change up our musical choices for the last leg. Nick went with some Casting Crowns to push him through (which later he would say that he should have been listening to that the whole way) and Mandy, Andrew and I decided that Jeff Mullen and the Point of Grace crew were going to get us through and boy did it. You could see everyones emotions changing as the were going. The praise music was working through us and our steps were lighter, we were playing the drums and calling out to God for strength. One of us even started to cry as they broke through "the wall".

As Mandy took over for the final leg going in to Muscatine, you could feel the excitement that in less than 3 miles we have each done our part to take the group across the state on our feet. 2 miles into Mandy's run, we came up on a hill down a very narrow street and there it was, the Mississippi. We had done it. We faced our fears, we beat the weather, we conquered our inner voices. We have done it!!!!!

Over the next couple of days, I have asked all participants to log in here and give you their feelings on what exactly they experienced over the course of 5 days running. I will post my info in a different post and will be posting photos for everyone to see.

Brad

Day 3 & 4

Wow, what a last couple of days. Sorry I haven't blogged, but apparently there isn't a wi-fi connection at Rock Creek State Park :)

Let's begin at POG. After everyone went home for the night and slept in their own beds we all met at POG for service and some much needed time with our Church family. The day began with a great service once again and was a really nice lead in to what we were to do that day. It was awesome because Jeff pulled me up on the "stage" to explain what we were doing and to ask for prayers from everyone in the congregation. It turned out that we needed it.

Tim, Mandy's husband, was nice enough to let us rest our legs for a little bit and decided to take on some of our miles for the day. Turns out that 16 miles gets you pretty much through the city of Des Moines. We had a couple of awesome people join in for a short 5 mile walk/run. One guy, Matt, even joined us for an 11 miler in his preparation for the Des Moines 1/2 marathon. He looked real strong being that this was his longest run to date. When we took over for Tim, Aubrey and Mandy began our trek towards Kellogg. It was an awesome day even though we went about 10 miles on one of the scariest highways in history. We made it through, but probably won't take that route again if we do this again.

When Nick took over, he was on dog patrol as we went through a very small town. It seemed like every step that he took there was a new dog popping out of the woodwork. We all were running strong knowing that day was going to be Aubrey's last. We wanted to make sure to maximize the amount of miles we had left in our legs.

As we ran through a few more towns, Aubrey decided that she wanted to end the 3 days off with a bang and busted out a few more miles. As we met her brother, we all decided that Mandy and I would run a little further into the night to get a few more miles. We tacked on another 4 to shorten our day today. After our run we decided to make a few bad decisions and go for some pizza at Pagliais in Grinnell. On our way we were lucky enough to see some 12 year olds get arrested, so that was fun :) After our little pizza adventure we headed to Rock Creek State Park for another adventure, camping. We had a few "techinal difficulties" and ended up sleeping without any heat. Ooops. We all woke up a little chilly and very sore due to our sleeping arrangements.

This morning started off chilly and a little outside of Grinnell. Mandy started the day off with some great hill running. Nick took over to get us through to get us through Grinnell and I hit the road between Grinnell and Brooklyn before handing off to Andrew to bring us in to Brooklyn. When we got in to Brooklyn we met up with Dennis (m-in-laws bf) to help us out for the day. He was a champ and busted out a nice 7 heading out of Brooklyn. After him we started the roation all over again with Mandy and Nick to get us through Victor and Ladora. One of the coolest moments for me was running into my home town of Marengo to meet my sister, my baby nephew Layne, my grandma and my wifes uncle/sponsor Dan. On my way out of town, I decided to pay a little tribute and get my picture taken by the resting places of my grandfather and three uncles. What another great experience to share with my family. Andrew and Dennis got us most of the way to Oxford before we decided that since we have daylight that we would get some more miles in to help out for tomorrow. Tonight we are staying with a very gracious host & hostess, my aunt Sandy and Pat

Well here we sit, 4 days in to our 5 day run. Tomorrow we will start near the Coral Ridge Mall and make our final decent through Coralville, Iowa City, West Liberty and down to Davenport. I will be posting pictures when I get home. We have a ton and Nicks little netbook I don't think can handle it, I kid of course. Stay tuned for more updates

Stay Strong, Run Long,
Brad

Day 2

After all of the drama from day 1 of our adventure day 2 started out different but much the same.

We had a great time with Joe, Judy and Gloria, our new friends from Anita. When we came in to their home I am pretty sure they were wondering what the group of weirdos were actually doing in their driveway with a motorhome smelling like the hog and cattle farms that surrounded the small town of Anita, IA.

They welcomed us into their home and gave Mandy and Aubrey something that they had been talking about for the better part of those 67 miles, a cup of HOT tea and a shower. We were all just so excited to be done with the first day of running that I think most of us were just looking to lay down. Joe & Judy greeted us with some great food and very intriguing conversations. We talked about all of their travels and all of the different countries they had been in and listened to Judy tell us all that we need to make the trip and head to Africa to explore. None of us have been to the orphanage, but just listening to them talk about their passions for travel and seeing the world really helps us realize what we are doing is making a huge difference in the lives of so many.

Leg one was started out by Andrew and we got to see some of the coolest running areas in the state. You know how you see those gigantic blades for the wind turbines? Andrew got to run through a wind turbine field.

We thought for a bit that the weather from Friday was going to give a little until Aubrey headed out. Not only was she going to deal with some of "those hills", she also was the first, and I think only person to deal with rain again but she took it like a true champ.

After Aubrey came Mandy and it was only suiting that the transfer point for Mandy was the Adair-Casey High School where she had actually run in a track meet in high school. We joked about having her try to beat her 800 time, but she was a no go as we are on a mission :)

Nick came next and got to experience the big gas station guy in Menlo that our new friend Joe had told us about the night before. We had to make sure to get a picture to commemorate our conversation with him

I was up next and ran into the city of Stuart. All was going well until I hit a hole in the side of the road and kind of twisted my already ailing knee. I was doing well until some of those hills took me out a little short of my goal distance. I jumped in to the motorhome and iced down with a frozen bagel, since I was the one who forgot the ice packs it only seemed fitting.

The rotation started over again as we made our way through Dexter, where we met our friend Bob Eckhart waiting for us with some delicious stew.

We went through Redfield, Adel, and finally into a very much needed welcoming committee at Point of Grace. We were greeted by some of the members of the congregation that have been to the orphanage along with the folks that are responsible for the incredible growth that the Pines has seen. We were joined by the smiling faces of Brian and Lois Niehoff and Louis and Amber O'toole. It was so cool to have them their to welcome us and show their appreciation for the lunacy that is our journey.

Day 2 was a great success. We all made great times for the day and have been learning some things about each other to make us all closer as a family. This has been such an amazing experience so far and we are all looking forward to the days to come as we continue to grow together.

For those of you POG'ers, we will see you in a few hours for the beginning of day number 3

1 day down, 4 to go

Today is the day the Lord has made, rejoice!!!!

Day one of our run across Iowa and WOW what a day it was. We stayed with an incredible family in Council Bluffs named Drew & Kris Ranney. We got in late to Council Bluffs because the wind was horrible and trying to control a motorhome is not an easy task. We had some great conversations with the Ranney family and could not have had a better meal to start off our adventure. I think most of us were somewhat sleepless preparing for what was ahead. We woke and headed out the door to face the wind, rain and hills.

The day didn't start quite as nicely as planned, seeing that I had gotten us "a little lost". After we finally decided that we better get running. I headed out from an area that was plagued with construction and finally found highway 6 that would start our run. I ran a brisk 8 miler and handed off to Andrew. We made an executive decision to follow behind all of the runners to make sure that everyone was safe. We realized that this was going to be quite the challenge due to the unforgiving weather conditions.

We thought that following the runner was going to be the best idea until 3 of the runners got stopped by "concerned citizens" making sure we realized that there was a gigantic motorhome behind them. I read one time that you know you are a runner in Iowa if you get stopped to ask if you need help. This came oh so true today. Along with being stopped by these people we also got stopped by a different kind of citizen. As we were about 2 miles outside of our stopping point for the night we saw some flashing lights behind us. Apparently another "concerned citizen" called the cops on us because we were running in the middle of the road which is 100% incorrect as we all have the muddy shoes to show it.

Anway, after the first day we are staying at the home of Joe & Judy and nursing our sore muscles. Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Stay Strong, Run Long

Brad

An update on running times

Since the run is coming up in a few weeks just wanted to post a little something on the times that we are going to be running. Since this is a fund raising run instead of a "race" we are doing things a little different than normal races. We are going to start each day at 8am and go until we finish for that day.

The majority of the main team will be running 9-10 min/mile which means depending on the length for that segment we will each be running for about an hour. If you plan on joining us in the middle of the day, find the most up-to-date route and stops here.

We will be stopping at Point of Grace Church in Waukee on Saturday night and leaving right after 1st service (around 10:30 am) on Sunday morning. If you are planning on running with us while in Des Moines/Waukee area, please plan on being at Point of Grace around 10 to prepare. There will be a 5 mile option (2.5 out and 2.5 back) for $20 and is 100% tax deductible. If not a member of the congregation, here is the address.

We are really looking forward to this and hope that you can join us

Stay Strong, Run Long

Brad

Prayers Needed

With just a couple of weeks left until the start of our run, I am posting this message to ask for your prayers. Not for anything in particular, but keep all of the people associated with this adventure in your thoughts and prayers. We need a lot of help to make this event happen and so far our sponsors friends and family have really shown up to help. Now is the time to pass the word and let people know that we are running for God's children. We are running to help kids that we probably may never meet personally but are a part of our families.

Please tell people about what we are doing and ask them to be a part of it. Every dollar counts to helping these kids break the grip of a horrible disease and be able to make the most out of their young lives.

Look out for us. This is going to be an incredible experience, but we do need your prayers. We are all so excited to do this and ready to get going, but time can not move fast enough. Let myself, Andrew, Nick, Aubrey or Mandy know if you have any questions. This is going to be a really cool ride. Buckle up!!!!

Stay Strong, Run Long
Brad

Addicted to Running

I think that it is official that after 5 years of running, I have officially become addicted to something that comes very natural to a lot of people.

I have had some issues recently with my knee, and with the run being officially one month away, I have decided to take a week off to let things "heal" themselves. Over the last week I have noticed though that I am grumpy, get mad at the littlest things and can not stay focused. Working sometimes seems like a task because all I can think about is "Why can't I go for a run?". I know that I have done this to myself, but it is a great thing to be addicted to. It can break up a day. It can be a stress reliever (which apparently I need). It can get you OUTSIDE. It can be a great way to meet new people. Explore new areas of the city. Help to lose weight (which I needed too). And even though people are going to think I am crazy by saying this, it can be really fun.

As mentioned above, the run is a little less than one month away and I can say that I am ready. Aside from some minor aches and pains, I feel ready. I have been praying that people will find it in their hearts to help where they can. This is going to be a life changing event and I can't wait to take the ride. There are going to be hundreds of lives that will be changed when these kids lives are changed. They are going to be taken out of terrible environments and put into loving God-centered environments that will help them change their communities and their own futures.

If you know of people that are runners, send them our way. If you know of people that are walkers, send them our way. If you know of people that just want some cause to believe in, send them our way. Every dollar makes a difference.

Stay Strong, Run Long
Brad

Legs on Cruise Control

Due to some nasty infection in my foot last week, I was unable to run for about 5 days and MAN that takes the steam out of you when you try and run next. I wasn't able to actually run until Thursday of last week and did one Thursday and one run on Friday. I took my stuff home this last weekend but knew with all of the stuff that goes on during the weekend, there would be no chance I would actually run.

I decided that since it has really been about 2 weeks since I have actually had a "good" run that I would try and make the most of it today. It was really hot and windy so I decided to stay in (I am much better off in a little cooler temps). Although I don't really care for the treadmills, I knew that I needed to have a good solid run. I got in there, jumped on the TM, said a real quick prayer for God's strength to work through me during the run and hit the start button. I wasn't real sure even when I started how far I was actually going to go. I had some good tunes on and kinda got lost. You may ask yourself how you can get lost running on a treadmill, but it happens. Sometimes when you are just so focused you kind of lose track of what you are doing.

Before I really knew it I look down at the treadmill and see it hit 80 minutes. I had just ran 80 minutes without taking a break. I had taken a few drink breaks, but that was about it. My legs were actually on cruise control, for the first time in months. Usually when I am on the TM I am so anxious about being done that I find myself getting taking breaks because I am bored. Not today. After 10.6 miles I could have gone further, but due to time constraints I needed to quit, but I feel great.

Note to self, Not being bored makes for great runs :)

For those of you at POG, we will be putting up a booth in the atrium, hopefully this week. Swing by and show your support, ask questions, fill out a registration form, make a donation, whatever you feel like. Just come by and say hi. It will be great to see you.

Stay Strong, Run Long
Brad

Fellowship of runners and friends

With the Run For The Pines quickly approaching, Mandy decided that it was time for us to all get together and talk, run and eat (3 of my favorite things). This has been in the works now for a couple of weeks and I have been so excited for the opportunity for all of us to get together. God really showed up and gave us the Perfect day.

I had been watching the weather all week praying for a good day to just get out for a run, get some pics taken and talk about the things that are going to take place over our 5 days in October. We met at The Orange Planet (not heard of it, click the name to find out more) to get some pictures done, thank you again Becki, and then off for a run. Due to some unforeseen things a couple of the team members couldn't head out, but Mandy, Aubrey and I decided to go. It is interesting how God works through things like running. The 3 of us have never really talked together but there is an amazing fellowship that comes out during a run. It was truly like we were old friends and have known each other for years. During our short 4 mile run there was never an awkward silence or moment without discussion of things running, church or family.

After the run we went off to Mandy and Tim's house for food and more conversation. I have known all members separately for a few years but have never known them together. After our meeting I feel that this is the best team that could have been assembled for this adventure. We have Mandy, who is a first class runner and married to a great man (not to mention the daughter of a great man). She has a huge heart and ready to run. There is Nick and Aubrey, great parents with huge hearts to help others meet their full potential no matter what. Andrew, I have so many things to say about Andrew as I have known him the longest. He is a great friend and will talk your ear off if you let him :) And Justin, another really good runner that has the heart of a true competitor and ready to take on this challenge.

This is our team. Enough said. Of all of the people I could have thought of to make this event what it is going to be, I wouldn't choose differently in a million years.

We had some great conversations and got some logistical questions answered. I think that everyone is really confident about the run and what we are about to embark on. I may be a little bias, but I think that this could be huge.

Please pray for our safety while training, pray for the injured that they may recover well and be ready to go in 2 months and pray to help us help these kids.

Stay Strong, Run Long,
Brad

Freedom is...

With the Fourth of July coming up I am sitting down thinking what freedom is. As I said a few weeks ago, I have started doing 2-a-day training and have found a great love for the benefits of biking. I have been biking in the morning and running in the afternoon so that I don't get bored just going out and running (if that is possible). Yesterday I finally decided to run twice and see how I felt. And boy, was it an experience.

I woke up around 5 am and headed into Des Moines to run. Got out the door around 6:15 or so and just went. I wasn't real sure where I was going, but knew that I had the freedom to just go. That is the thing that I love about running. You don't have to have an agenda. You can throw on your shoes, grab an iPod if you need it and just go. When time isn't an issue I do this a lot. It tends to make running more fun. Getting out and basically exploring the area. I have been in this city for a few years so I know the area, but it is so cool to go into an area that you know and just look at the sidewalks. See what the landscape is like with the sun coming up. Feeling that cool breeze hitting you in the face when you think that this run couldn't get any worse. We have that freedom to just go. That is why we are doing this run for these kids. To give these kids the freedom that they deserve. Freedom to live. Freedom to grow up and just run (literally or figuratively speaking). We have life so good sometimes but yet we get mad when our car breaks down, but how about losing a parent at age 2. We get so frustrated with telemarketing calls at night, but what about not having a home to even take those calls. Or what about that stupid person at Starbucks who made your coffee wrong. Think about not being able to afford to eat let alone drinking a $5 coffee. This is what so many in the world have to face and yet we stay silent.

Come join us. Run/walk with us. Donate to something that could end up being bigger than anything you and I may ever know. This is our chance to take a little bit of the money that we have been given to help a kid know what it is like to get up in the morning knowing that they can live in Freedom. Freedom to think for themselves. Freedom to teach others in their communities what true love is. We have been given those freedoms because of the people that fought for us. Let's fight for them, together.

It's funny how just running at 6:15 in the morning can liven your life and bring perspective. I have the freedom to run twice a day if I choose, and that run yesterday made me realize that. After all was said and done, the run went well. Aside from being stuck behind a train for nearly 15 minutes, I got my 9 miles in in the morning and hit up the treadmill for my second run of the day logging 6 miles that time. Total miles this week, 22 in two days. Not to bad, if you ask me :)

Take some time this upcoming weekend to celebrate your freedom. Get out and run/walk in a firecracker race (typical theme for 4th of July races) or just hang out with friends but don't forget to thank those who came before us so that we can celebrate together.

As always if you are interested in sponsoring our event, shoot me an email at runforthepines@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page and send me a message there. Please also check out our wonderful sponsors. They are taking a huge leap of faith with us and we want to show them our thank you by giving them your business.

Stay Strong, Run Long

Brad

Our Race Brochure

Here is our run brochure. As we get more sponsors we will be including all of them on the back of the brochure. If you have the capability to print on both sides of the paper please do so. Please fill out the information and cut off at the line and send in along with your donation. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Run For The Pines Brochure

Stay Strong, Run Long.
Brad

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Let the 2-a-days begin

Update: I recently ran a 5k in Van Meter, IA and not only pr'd my 5k but also placed 1st in my age group!!!!! PR - 24:02 and don't tell anyone, but I was the only person in the 20-29 males bracket so I was pretty much guaranteed a medal :)

Now that Dam to Dam is over with I finally decided that now is the time to start my 2-a-day training. I am doing it very smart though as not to hurt myself. I thought about jumping in head first and just running twice a day to prepare, but I know that with a few months still, I have some time to prepare for the 2 runs. I am doing some cross training along with a run.

Yesterday I decided that I was going to get up and hit the gym early as to not miss my chance at getting a great workout in. I got to the gym around 6:00am and jumped on a bike. Now I will say that typically I don't like the bikes at the gym for a couple of reasons. 1) The same reason I don't like the treadmills, you are going no where for a long period of time. 2) The seats are REALLY hard. I don't know what it is, even if I switch up different bikes their seats tend to hurt.......my seat. But anyway, I got on and drifted into unconsciousness listening to a really good audio book. Before I knew it I had worked up a good sweat and looked down to see 21.4 miles!!!!! That is officially the most I have ever ridden on a stationary bike, with minimal discomfort. There is power when you lose focus on something difficult and immerse yourself in a good book. Afterward, I did some light weights before heading off to shower.

I went and showered, hydrated, ate a little bit and to work. At about 11:00 am I went back down to the gym to head outside for my second workout of the day. I threw on my garmin, ipod and repeated what I did earlier in the day. I put on the same audio book and just lost myself. I checked my watch a few times but tried not to focus on my second workout of the day. When all was said and done I ran 5.05 miles in 44:45. Not a bad time.

Today is the day after and I actually feel great. My plan is to do two 2-a-days a week for the next 2 weeks, jump up to 3 for about a month and so on until the big week. I am working with some great people in a small running group on how to train effectively using more cross training than I have ever done. It is going to be an interesting change of pace and will probably end up turning into a "tri junkie"

Please continue to pray for our continued success training and fundraising. We are hoping to start distributing material at POG in the coming weeks to get the word out. Again, if you know of sponsors that would be interested, we are always looking to add people.

Stay Strong, Run Long
Brad.

Dam To Dam Race Report

To give you a little update on the RFTP crew, 4 of the relayers ran the 20k Dam To Dam in Des Moines on Saturday, May 30th.

It was a great day for a run. God blessed us with a perfect morning and was really holding off the winds until after all of us finished. The morning brought a little rain, which was nice because it killed the humidity from the night before. It was cool and then warmed up by the time the 5k was finished.

For myself, I ran through some gigantic blisters that formed right around mile 4.5. Not a lot of fun for the remaining 8 miles, but I made it through. Here are the times for all of our runners. Great job everyone!!!!!

PLACE FINISHER CHIP TIME GUN TIME PACE
42 Amanda Ives 1:31:23 1:31:36 7:21
1824 Nick Villotti 1:55:06 1:59:09 9:16
1468 Aubrey Villotti 2:03:19 2:07:21 9:55
2259 Brad Dains 2:01:42 2:04:56 9:47

All about Mandy

I started running in high school and ran Track for 4 years at Des Moines Christian High School. I didn't really love the sport but did it because "everyone can run"! I didn't ever work at it or put my heart into running until after I got married.

My husband Tim Ives is an avid runner and it is one of his passions. I believe that is what spurred on my love of running. I started running the usual 5k and realized I was getting faster and faster. When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I decided my goal would be to complete my first marathon after he was born.

I ran throughout my pregnancy and started training for the marathon 4 weeks after Isaiah was born. I finished the Rhode Island Marathon in 3:52 and had a wonderful experience. Not to mention I was extremely sore. I decided I wanted to run a marathon between each child I had and fell in love with long distance running. I had my second child Lydia in February of 2008 and ran my second marathon, Des Moines marathon in October my goal for that race was to run in under 3:30. My time was 3:29, so I was really pleased.

I have wanted to support the Pines and would love to go there for a visit and to help them, but with my family and the time commitment it requires, have not been able to do so. This is where this crazy run comes in to play. I felt like I was being pulled to join this relay team and that could be a way I could serve the Pines with a talent God had given me. I am really excited about what God is going to do through this and can't wait to see the results!

Some background on the Pines

This is a little bit more about where the Pines is located and the culture and history

The Pines Christian Care Centre for Children

The Pines is located in the city of Welkom, South Africa. Welkom is in the Free State, which is the central part of the country. The landscape around the Free State is very similar to the Panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas - typically very flat, grassy, and arid. The population is small and spread out.

Welkom itself was founded in the early 1950's due to the discovery of gold. Before that time it was just farmland. When the town was founded over 3 million trees were planted. Welkom is famous for it's traffic circles. In fact, before we moved to South Africa we met a few different South Africans that had moved to the US. When we would tell them we were moving to their country without fail they would respond with a list of how beautiful it is and all the places we need to visit. We would inform them we were moving to Welkom and without fail the response was "Oh...I've heard the traffic is really nice there." And they are right on both counts - South Africa has many beautiful places and Welkom has nice traffic. Amber at first was terrified to drive in the roundabouts; remember, in South Africa the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, you drive on the opposite side of the road, and everything is a manual transmission. She is getting quite adept but there is still a little trepidation. We are used to driving in Iowa where everything is nice and square, north and south. Here the roads wind and curve all over the place so it takes awhile to get familiar with the layout of the city. Northeast of Welkom proper is Thabong. During Apartheid the races had to live in separate areas and Thabong became the black township of Welkom.

The Pines is located almost straight south of the city center. We are on the edge of town but on the opposite side of the township. We do have people living nearby in old mine hostels and in informal settlements but the majority of the population is about 10km away. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand it would be much more convinient to be closer, and it would enable different aspects to the ministry, but on the other hand security would be a much greater concern. In addition, we would have even more people than we do now stopping to ask for help, handouts, or employment. All around are old mine buildings and closed mine shafts. These serve as a constant reminder of the struggles of the people here. At their peak, the mine companies employed about 200,000; now the number is down to 30,000. The unemployment rate in Thabong is about 80%. The HIV infection rate is estimated by local doctors to be 50%. The spread of HIV can be traced back to the employment policies and living conditions of the miners. No one is originally from Welkom - it is a melting pot of South African culture as people came from all over the country and even the continent seeking employment. Most of them would leave wives and families back home. The miners would be housed in tiny hostel rooms, with up to a dozen men per room. Prostitution was rampant which in turn became the vehicle for the spread of HIV and other diseases. These miners would then return to their families and it quickly turned into a pandemic infecting the continent and the world.

The Pines currently has 24 children, all housed within the main, "L"-shaped building. Eventually we hope to add an additional 4 flats in the second building and 1 more flat in the main building, allowing us to have 54 children. The goal is to have 5 flats of 6 girls each housed in the main building, and 4 flats of 6 boys each housed in the second building. To this point we have had about 5 teams come each year to help with projects. Many of these teams do fundraising before they come, allowing us to obtain the funds we need to complete those projects. Without these teams the work accomplished so far at The Pines would be impossible. I want to thank everyone who has made the effort to join a team and commit their time and resources to this work. We also want to encourage more people and churches to consider forming a team to serve here. It has a tremendous impact on the kids and ministry here, and to a person every team member says that they have left different than when they came. If you're interested in joining or forming a team contact me at louisotool@gmail.com.

Andrew's Info

Ok, ok... it's time to finally get something on this site. I have been sitting in the wings watching Brad take charge of this thing for a while. All I can say is it has been amazing to see it start to take shape from an idea to something we are actually going to do! I am really blessed to have been involved in this from the beginning!

So I'm sure an autobiography is in order. I promise I won't be too boring. :-)

Just like Brad, I was also a chubby kid growing up. I was definitely a bi-product of the "Nintendo" generation to which most sociologists show great distain. I ate, sat, ate and sat some more on my quest to not doing anything outside.

It wasn't always like this. I was a skinny little kid at one point. I played soccer, baseball and other typical kid sports and also like Brad was a TERRIBLE athlete. Not to say I didn't like those sports, but unfortunately I just lacked the required hand-eye coordination and motor skills to score points in anything. Somewhere after 7th grade basketball I decided trying to compete with the ultra-athletic kids in my class was completely futile and I then quit all sports.

At one point I had gotten up to 245 pounds on a 5'6" frame with no end in sight. Fortunately, God occasionally hands us situations that force us to change and I woke up one morning my junior year of high school with the worst stomach ache of my life. This ultimately turned into emergency appendectomy surgery and a subsequent loss of ten pounds. My physical condition forced me to not eat for several weeks and I couldn't believe how much better I felt just a few pounds lighter. I was working at McDonalds part-time at the time (an AWESOME job for a fat kid!) and decided to radically change my diet.

Fortunately for me, at the time they had delicious salads (this was before their experimental phase with McSalad shakers and now whatever weird concoctions they put on the entrees like oranges and pecans...) so I decided to eat nothing but vegetables and fruits. Ten pounds became twenty which eventually turned into ninety. I know, I know... it sounds like a lot but I can definitely say puberty had a lot to do with it.

With my new energy, body and attitude I decided to get back into sports. Unfortunately, stinking at coordination-heavy sports doesn't change whether or not you are skinny or fat so I decided track and cross country were the way to go from there. I remember joining the track team my junior year and not being able to run four laps around the track. I think I was down to 175 at that point and was ready to start pushing myself but had been out of exercise for so long that it just wasn't possible to run for more than a minute or two at a time.

Little by little I got better and by senior year was doing fairly well at distance running. I don't think anyone would ever call me a speed demon, but I did beat some people and felt way better about myself. High school ended with good spirits all around.

Then came college and alcohol. I did what I needed to do to get by and graduate but I also spent way too much time at the bars and not doing my homework. I still ran at this point but it was usually a sporadic 20 minutes here and there. I always knew growing up that I wanted to run a marathon but could never motivate myself enough to make it happen. I HATED running hungover but didn't do anything about it until later.

Graduating from college and getting dropped into the real world was enough for me to make the decision to stop drinking and start running. I knew I couldn't drink like other people and I just had so many other things I wanted to get done in my life. I started slowly, running small distances here and there and little by little my mileage improved. Working at a call center and loathing my career motivated my hobby as it became all I thought about while call after call came pouring in.

On impulse, I signed up for the Dam to Dam race and Des Moines Marathon in 2006. I trained for both and by the time May rolled around I was in the best shape of my life. I was able to use that runners "high" to propel me into the race finishing with a time under five hours and happy to make the accomplishment. Everyone who says a marathon is a life-changing experience is absolutely on the money when they make the claim.

Graduate school and work quickly took over the next two years after that and I started to fall away from running. Fortunately I didn't quit completely but frequency became an issue. Graduating with my MBA in 2008 was a great accomplishment, but all I could think of at that point was getting the miles going again. Little by little I have been doing more and more since and I am now almost back to my old long run schedule.

I travel for a living, so getting in more than three or so runs a week is nearly impossible. I try to do the best with the hand I have been dealt and remember that there are people out there facing more difficult situations every day. More than anything, I try to remember to appreciate the times God has given me to stretch and run a good distance on a nice warm day.

I can't wait to start earning money for the orphanage. I also can't wait to enjoy the social part of the run. I know many of the team's families are going to be going with us so it should be a big FUN God party every day we are out. God is definitely working throughout this whole project, so I'm going to do whatever I can to glorify him in the coming months!