Athletes for Real Medicine

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Athletes for Real Medicine: Recovery Run

February 22, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Donate, Rebuilding Communities, Whole Health by Jonathan White | Comments closed

by Brandi Howell

Last Sunday’s run was a “recovery” run, which in marathon lingo means a 14 mile run instead of an 18 mile one.  Believe it or not, calling it a “recovery” run and shaving a few miles off of it makes it less intimidating and much more enjoyable.

The four of us met at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains at 8:30 am on a clear and breezy day.  The air was clean and cool, following a three day rain storm that blew over just in time for our run.  Stretching at the trail head, we were excited to be running a different route than the usual beach run.  There was also some apprehension in our minds, for although we had a new course ahead of us, we had traded in our flat coastal path for a steep mountainous one.  Warmed up and anxious to tackle the hills, we set out along the muddy trail, chatting and hopping over the puddles.  Within minutes, we were climbing steep, sticky surfaces, surrounded by fragrant trees and wild flowers.  Each of us settled into our own comfortable pace, spreading out from a tight group to a long single-file line, with me bringing up the rear.  We huffed and puffed our way up to several flat stretches, before finally reaching our first plateau, fully equipped with panoramic views.  Here, we stopped for a quick stretch and then pushed on.

As the narrow trail led us higher into the mountains, the terrain started to change.  Trees became brush and flowers were replaced by tall grass and boulders.  As we soared high above the valley and the city, we realized that we were on a ridge, flanked by views of the choppy ocean on one side and snow-capped mountains on the other.  Finally, I spotted our turnaround point in the distance.  The guys had already turned around, and were charging down the mountain towards me.  Although they were tired and enjoying the downhill momentum, I made them stop to take our weekly team picture.  Such is the power of a team captain.  I reached the turnaround point just minutes later and headed down the hill, simply lifting my legs and letting gravity pull me home.

After flying down some switchbacks, admiring a gushing waterfall and descending into the lush valley, we were out of the woods and back at the cars.  Each of us tacked on a few more miles–either back on the trail or on the paved beach path-and by 11 o’clock, we were stretching out our sore legs and dreaming of hot showers and breakfast burritos (well, I definitely was).

Another run down and only a few to go.  I’m already starting to miss our weekend runs and team spirit.  But, I’m looking forward to race day and hearing about everyone’s marathon journey.  It is truly an accomplishment and I’m proud of our mighty little group

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Follow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

We have also posted a Youtube video of some of our team training and talking about the cause: http://www.youtube.com/user/RealMedFoundation#p/u/0/EH4WOIWIcGc

Athletes for Real Medicine: Last Sunday’s Run Update

February 18, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Helping Children, Providing Medical Support, Rebuilding Communities by Jonathan White | Comments closed

RMF CEO, Dr. Martina Fuchs, and some of the Athletes for Real Medicine runners!

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Last week’s Sunday run was very challenging-especially for me. It was our second longest run, coming in at 18 miles, but we kept the course fairly flat to make the run more tolerable.

Four of us met bright and early, on a warm Santa Monica morning.  We ran as a pack for the first 4 miles, up San Vicente towards Brentwood. Then our newest member, who we were delighted to have joining us, sped up his pace. Our foursome became a threesome, and we remained together as we ran along the beach. At mile ten, our group got one person smaller, as another one of us picked up his pace. So, we were two and as much as I told my buddy to go ahead, he stayed back with me, dragging me along at a decent pace.

Luckily, the weather was beautiful, the ocean like a painting. I spent most of the run tricking my mind into moving my legs, despite the fatigue.

When we saw the others running towards us, we knew that our last “u-turn” was up ahead.  And we were excited.  This meant that we only had 5 miles to go!

The last four miles were brutally exhausting (for me), but in the end we all survived and with the endorphins kicked in, it felt like we could run another few miles…but, we were happy to sit in the grass and stretch.

We’ve got one more long run before the big day, but no time to lose focus.  I, for one, need to keep disciplined with my weekly speed workouts to build my aerobic capacity.  Otherwise the boys will keep But, I must admit that one of the benefits of being the “caboose” is the onlookers always ask me “what is Real Medicine”, after seeing other shirts pass by ahead.  I love having the honor of explaining what Real Medicine is contributing, and after a brief, breathless explanation, I proudly jog off.

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Follow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

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Athletes for Real Medicine Fundraising Newsletter #2

February 11, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Los Angeles, North America by Jonathan White | Comments closed

February 11th, 2011

“Driving the Momentum – Mile for Mile, Dollar for Dollar”

Hello Athletes!

I hope your training is going well. We only have 40 days to go before Race Day!

On this newsletter, I wanted to highlight a few questions that have been asked:

  1. “What do I fundraise through?” There has been some confusion with which site to use for fundraising. The LA Marathon is promoting Crowdrise.com as the main medium. Active.com is the default link sent to you when you first signed up. You can use either but Crowdrise does give you some functionality that Active does not. If you have not yet set-up your fundraising page, please do so at Real Medicine’s Crowdrise Team page. Click “Join the Team” to start your own page in which your donations will be attributed to the team’s total page. You can view any team members page to get an idea of the set-up. Contact me if you have any questions.
  1. “How can I get my donors interested in my cause?” It all comes down to YOU and YOUR CAUSE. Let your donors know why you are passionate about running the LA Marathon for Real Medicine Foundation. Let them know that RMF separates itself as a nonprofit organization with 92% of donations going directly to its projects! Unheard of in a lot of organizations nowadays! Not only that, I suggest that you specifically fundraise for one of RMF’s projects in 15+ countries. This allows you to tell a story. We all love stories right? What better way to fundraise when you can bring to life a story of a child in India, Armenia, Peru, Haiti or right here in Los Angeles?! I encourage you to take a look at our blog, which is constantly updated: http://www.realmedicineblog.com/. OR I invite you to go an extra step and create your own story by volunteering at our Florence Western Children’s clinic on 2/19 or 3/5 as we make race day poster boards! More details to come or contact me if interested!
  1. “I’ve sent my initial fundraising email, now what?” If you’ve already sent out your initial email now is a perfect time to follow up if it’s been a couple of weeks. Remember, it takes a few friendly reminders to get a donor’s commitment. People mean well and want to help, we just need to remind them since it may be on the tail-end of their to-do list. So don’t give up!

I hope this Q&A session has helped you kick-start or further your fundraising efforts. Now is the perfect time to drive that momentum! If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Lisa Suen anytime at lisa.suen@realmedicinefoundation.org or Brandi at brandilhowell@gmail.com.

Remember, it is because of you and your support that the Real Medicine Foundation can help so many patients in 15 different countries! Thank YOU for being an Athlete for Real Medicine!

And remember:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Confucius –

For more information on our website about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Follow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or RMF’s official Facebook page.

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Athletes for Real Medicine: LA Marathon Training…Trail running!

February 3, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Los Angeles, North America by Jonathan White | Comments closed

By Brandi Howell

If I had to choose one word to describe Sunday’s training run it would be “ouch”.  Ouch during the run, ouch after the run, ouch still, three days later.  Nonetheless, we had a great time, we were elated once it was over, and we are now one training run closer to the finish line.

Sunday’s run was a grueling fourteen miles, six of which were uphill…2,000 feet uphill.  We started at the base of Temescal Canyon and followed the trail into the Santa Monica Mountains.  We were immediately surrounded by trees, creeks, paths and the sounds of the wild.  Within minutes of setting out, we were climbing steep switchbacks, dodging hikers, breathing hard and feeling the burn in our legs.  We climbed 900 feet for over two miles before getting a break.  When we reached the first plateau, I thought my lungs were going to explode.  Taking a minute to catch our breath and to stretch our already tired legs, we were able to enjoy the panoramic views and cool breeze.  We saw the clouds thickening overhead and realized that the “chances of rain” were more like definite rain.  But, we pushed on and on, covering another three miles and 800 feet of elevation gain.  It started to sprinkle.  The smell of wet dirt and fragrant sage wafted through the air.  We ran through waist-high weeds that whipped and soaked our numb legs.  We finally came to our turn around point.  I thought it would never come or that I would collapse trying to reach it.  The truth is, the guys were much faster than me and I was just feeling wimpy that day.  Running is such a mental game.

Once we headed back down the mountain, I knew I was going to be fine.  We let gravity pull us down, as we swung our arms faster to speed up and widen our stride.  We hopped over boulders, caught ourselves before tripping, and took advantage of the physical ease to guzzle down oxygen.  We came to a familiar fork in the path and turned left instead of right.  This took us around new corners and bends, over a bridge, past a few waterfalls, and down more steep, rocky trails until we eventually saw Sunset Blvd. and our parked cars.  As tired as we were, we took a water and nutrition break and then set out to run another seven miles.

We headed down Temescal Canyon Rd, at the bottom of which we joined the bike path and our usual route.  We ran north until the path ended, then turned around, ran south for a few miles and looped back to the bottom of Temescal.  One more huge hill to conquer.  I later found out that Temescal Canyon Rd is one mile long and climbs 300 feet.  This was a tough way to finish an already intensely difficult run, but we had to get to the top.  When we made it back to our cars, it felt like 8:30 am and our pre-run chat was weeks ago.  We were completely spent, ready to shower, get warm and relax.  We were also very proud of our accomplishment, a little bit closer to one another for having gone through it together and excited that while we could have been sleeping, we were out there making a difference.

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Follow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

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Athletes for Real Medicine: Sunday’s 15 mile training run!!

January 26, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Disaster Relief, Events, Helping Children, Los Angeles, North America, Providing Medical Support, Rebuilding Communities, Whole Health by Jonathan White | Comments closed

This week’s Sunday run was intimidating because it was our longest training run yet–15 miles!  Nevertheless, my dedicated teammates were enthusiastic and cheerful when I arrived at 8 a.m.  It was another gorgeous So Cal morning, warming up quickly under a bright white sun in a pale blue sky.  Despite our sleepy eyes, we were in high spirits, joking with each other as we discussed the course.  I had planned two loops and a short “out and back” to make up the mileage.  But the guys suggested we run one huge loop, so that by boring mile 12, we could be entertained by the lively Venice crowd.  And what a great idea that turned out to be!

After setting out North for four miles, we doubled back, leaving the peaceful and desolate wide-open beaches behind us, and heading for the bustling Santa Monica pier and colorful Venice boardwalk.  The three of us stuck together the whole way, helping one another through the tough mental blocks and achy pains, common to endurance runners. We laughed, people-watched and inspired each other from mile one to mile fifteen.  It was one of my favorite runs thus far, because we started the run as a team, we finished as a team and we lifted each other up like teammates do.

Running long distances is humbling because the mind and body experience intense challenges along the way, but sharing the pain and laughter with a community, and running with a purpose, is powerful and moving.  We are thankful for these Sunday runs and excited about the comments and inquiries that our T-shirts have been generating.

Go Team Real Med!!!

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Follow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

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Athletes for Real Medicine: Sunday Training Run

January 17, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Events, Los Angeles, North America by Jonathan White | Comments closed

By Brandi Howell

We met at the park in Santa Monica at 8 am.  The air was warm and the sky was blue.  Although it was January, it felt like a summer morning–this being one of the benefits of living in Los Angeles.  While our east coast friends are shoveling snow, we’re dusting sand off our feet after a day at the beach.  But I digress.  This glorious, west coast morning, we gathered in our Real Med t-shirts, chatted for a few minutes, discussed the route, then set out together for our 10 mile run.

We were happy to have a new team member joining us, who was running her first long run of the season.  She and I ran together so I could show her when to “GU” (refuel on nutrition packets), how to pace and how to get through the “wall”(emotional blockade that makes runner’s want to quit).

We looked out at the glistening ocean, appreciated the great weather and talked…so much that we ran a bit too far, adding an extra mile to our 10 mile run.  By the time our trek was over, we were inspired, high on endorphins and already excited for next Sunday’s run.  We stretched out in the comfortable grass, looked up at the trees as we “threaded the needle” (stretched our hips) and parted ways, proud of our early morning accomplishment.

Go Athletes for Real Medicine!!!!

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Folllow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

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Athletes for Real Medicine Fundraising Newsletter

January 12, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Los Angeles by Jonathan White | Comments closed

Athletes for Real Medicine Fundraising Newsletter #1

“A New Year, A New Way to Make a Difference”

Happy New Year! I hope that the holidays treated you well and that your marathon training is going great!  It’s an exciting new year and we are kicking off a series of Fundraising newsletters to help you in your campaign.

Since this is the first newsletter, I wanted to familiarize you with the overall strategy of fundraising.

Some tips from Active.com’s Fundraising Headquarters

• Set a Goal

• Start Early so you can give people ample time to donate.

• Educate your Donors on your cause

• Stress the Benefits of contributing

• Follow Through by sending emails

• Send Thank You notes

• Ask BIG before going small

• Stay Positive and remember the reason

• Never Feel Guilty about asking for donations

• Ask, Ask, Ask

Remember, sticking to your plan will ensure success!

Fundraising Tip #1

Make your first donation email now. Remember that it may take several attempts before you get a response, so be positive and stay persistent. Make your donation email personal. Explain to your peers why you are doing this race and what it means to the people you are helping. For example, this could be your first marathon, you could be running it for someone who has inspired you or it could be your resolution for the new year. The more personal your story and cause are, the more your donors will be inspired by it.

Fundraising Idea #1

Reach out to your Facebook friends for $5 each. Imagine what you can achieve with 100 friends! 200 friends! 300 friends! Give a deadline to reach your goal. You’ll be amazed at the results! Most importantly, make it fun and exciting!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me anytime at lisa.suen@realmedicinefoundation.org. Remember, it is because of you and your support that the Real Medicine Foundation can help so many patients in 15 different countries! Thank YOU for being an Athlete for Real Medicine!

Always remember:

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out” – Robert Collier

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Folllow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

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Athletes for Real Medicine: Sunday training run blog

January 11, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, Disaster Relief, Helping Children, Los Angeles, North America, Providing Medical Support, Rebuilding Communities, Strategies for the Future, Whole Health by Jonathan White | Comments closed

This week’s Sunday run was an intense 11 miles, with 1200 feet of elevation gain.  We started out at the base of Sullivan Canyon, surrounded by towering oak, eucalyptus and sycamore trees.  It was 8:30 am.  The canyon was cold and misty as it hadn’t seen direct sunlight since the previous afternoon.

We wore layers to stay warm.  Within ten minutes of running, we could feel our breath deepening, our heart beats speeding up.  We were already gaining altitude.  A small stream intersected the trail on multiple occasions, which gave us a chance to catch our breath as we stopped to observe the best point at which to cross.  After gradually ascending 950 feet over 5 miles, with muddy shoes and tired legs, we arrived at a plateau.

Here, we stopped for a quick water and nutrition break, before tackling the last 300 feet of elevation in the form of steep switchbacks.  Huffing and puffing, we focused on the ridge above us.  And before we knew it, we were out of the lush, green canyon, and atop a ridge surrounded by sprawling city views.  From here, we ran east along the ridge, taking in the beauty and ease of running on flat ground.  After a few miles, we turned South along a wide fire road and started our quick descent.

After all of our hard work, we let gravity pull us down the trail, enjoying the serenity of an early morning run in nature.  Looking back, we realize that when the run got tough, it helped to think about the bigger purpose of these runs, like helping communities through Real Medicine.  Those positive thoughts gave us the strength to keep going.

Only nine more distance runs to go before race day…Go Athletes for Real Medicine!!!!

For more information about RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine, click here.

Folllow us on Twitter or our Athletes for Real Medicine Facebook page or our Group page on Facebook

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January Fundraising Contest for LA Marathon

January 7, 2011 in Athletes for Real Medicine, General, Los Angeles, North America by Jonathan White | Comments closed

Athletes for Real Medicine, thank you for your participation and enthusiasm in fundraising and training thus far.

As a team, our goal is to raise $30,000 by March 20th.  In order to encourage and give thanks to our participants, we have created a monthly contest from now until Race Day!

We are kicking off with our January Contest: Everyone who raises at least $500 by January 31st will win a prize of dining certificates and merchandise valued at over $50.  (Prize specifics to be announced)

Grand Prize: The person who raises the most money by March 20th will receive a 5 night stay in Kauai at the serene Hanalei Surfboard House, valued at $225/night.

To see our Fundraising Totals click here.

Good luck and here’s to making a real difference in 2011!

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Last 3 days to give!

December 29, 2010 in Africa, Armenia, Asia, Athletes for Real Medicine, Burma, Disaster Relief, Donate, Europe, Events, General, Haiti, Helping Children, In the news, India, Indonesia, Initiatives, Kenya, Los Angeles, Mission, Mozambique, Nigeria, North America, Pakistan, Partners, Peru, Providing Medical Support, Rebuilding Communities, South America, Sri Lanka, Strategies for the Future, Sudan, Thank You, Uganda, Videos, Voices from the Field, Whole Health by Jonathan White | Comments closed

If you were considering donating to a worthy cause in 2010 and taking advantage of the tax benefits of charitable donations, now is your last chance to contribute!

As we look towards new efforts and projects in 2011 it is only through your generous funding that we will be able to continue our long term development projects in some of the poorest areas on this planet.

As you know, we have set the goal of raising $100,000 by December 31st, and would greatly appreciate if you consider Real Medicine for your year-end donation.

In the spirit of Real Medicine Foundation’s concept of “Friends helping Friends helping Friends” so much is possible when we do it together.

From all of us here at Real Medicine: Thank you for your support!

Make your year-end donation now.

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