a little competition

A little competition never hurt anyone, right?

I guess it depends on the competition.

Running has become me competing against myself to some degree. A few weeks ago on Mothers Day i hit  a 5k personal record (PR) and it felt so good. I set that goal the day before, and I hit it. Didn't matter where anyone else finished.

And I will be doing this again with another Half Marathon. After running the Illinois Half Marathon in April, I thought "this was awesome" "I can do this again". And am now setting out to run another half in September. My goal, beat my last time. "PR" in run speak. I have chosen to run the Biggest Loser Half Marathon in Racine, WI on September 22nd. I am so excited to have a friend who will be running it too. I love having a running/training/accountability partner. Even if she will blow be away come race time. I am comfortable with my inferior pace. hahaha.

I cannot tell you how much I actually enjoyed fundraising with my last race as well. I was also blown away by everyone's generosity. My sister and I together raised just under $1500 for a local domestic violence shelter. I can ask for help or donations if I believe in the cause. And there is competition involved. And I have decided to do this again.

Its gong to look a little bit different this time. Mainly because I have 2 organizations that are on my heart and I believe in strongly so I have a hard time choosing just one.

So here is what I am gong to 2. I will present you with each organization. A short snippet here, and each will get their own blog post. But will be asking for donations for whichever one you feel most strongly about. I will be asking both organizations to help spread the word and solicit donations through my fundraiser as well. I will ask you to also help spread the word.

The winning organization will get: 1. an additional $100 donation from moi. 2. I will be running in their t-shirt, promoting their organization.  And probably some other incentive if I can come up with another good one. I am open to suggestion.

The 2 organizations are:

1. Choosing Hope Adoptions:  a non-for profit agency in Ohio started by a friend of mine who is finding a way to make adopting orphans more accessible and affordable by taking away the overhead cost to adoptive families. Cutting the cost in 1/2 - 2/3. It is very new and a calling and passion of my friend, Angela.  to vote, donate here:  http://www.crowdrise.com/ChoosingHopeAdoptions/fundraiser/jennaburris

2. Stepping Stone Farms: The local non for profit farm that I am starting to get involved with that does Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, therapeutic riding, and rescues "throw away" horses and rehabs them, using them for the EAP and therapies. to vote, donate here: http://www.crowdrise.com/SteppingStonesFarm/fundraiser/jennaburris

Vote with your dollar.

Also, if you choose to donate. I use Crowdrise. They have an optional service charge. If you do not want to pay it, near the end, after you enter your info, there is a link that says "optional processing fee" if you click on that you can change it to 0. FYI.

Thanks for your help supporting 2 very worthy causes