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Zion’s Children of Haiti

Recognizing this wonderful event that will be occurring May 9th, I want to dive in and show what this race is all about.  Funds for this race are contributed to the following in Haiti:

  • providing education for children on a regular yearly basisaboutus
  • plans for an after-school program, including tutoring and teaching technical skills to the children
  • building a primary and secondary school in Gonaïves, which can be a model for other schools
  • skills training program for adults to learn an employable skills, including establishing a computer-training center

All of the support that can be offered to this race is helpful because school costs per child are very low in Haiti.  This means that many students can benefit from receiving funds to further their education.  The Zion’s Children of Haiti program has been helping bring education to children since 2008!

We want you to be able to help support these kids and participate in an event at the same time.  To check out more information about this good cause go to the Zion’s Children of Haiti website.

To participate in any of the 10k, 5k, or 1 mile kids distances at the event click here: Registration

Upcoming Runs for a Cause

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Are you looking for a some upcoming reasons to run? At I Run Utah, we love the chance that timing races gives us to support terrific local and global causes. We have several great options for someone thats wants to support great local or global causes.

On May 9th, Zion’s Children of Haiti is putting on a 10k and 5k race at Sugar House Park. Suffering from the effects of multiple hurricanes in 2004 and 2008, local residents of Gonaives, Haiti realized that the only way for local children to receive a quality education is to attend a private school. While the average cost per student is only $250-$300 per year, this is out of reach of most Haitian families.  Enter the code irunutah5 and save $5 off your entry fees.  Click here to register now!

If you prefer causes a little closer to home, you can join the Unified Firefighter’s Outreach supporting the Utah Based Angel Hands.  Angel Hands works to help Utah families living with rare diseases. This race offers either a half-marathon or 5k race through Herriman City.  Click here to register now!

 

Quality of Life with Running

running-on-e-juicebar-1Can running increase your quality of life? I am sure everyone has heard both sides of the debate about how running is good for you and how running is bad for you.  Scientific evidence can support both sides of the argument in various ways but today I am arguing for the health benefits running gives an individual and why it leads to a better life!

Three main subjects for why running is beneficial are:

  1. Health Improvement
  2. Accomplishment
  3. Increased Positivity

Running is a weight bearing activity which has been shown to be healthy to maintain strength in the bones.  It can increase muscle mass within your legs while supporting that bone strength.  Since running is a cardiovascular activity, it increases your mental abilities and cardiovascular health because of increased blood flow.  Also, consistent running has been proven to be the most effective activity to maintain a healthy weight.  You won’t get super buff from running, but you will be healthy.

A sense of accomplishment is huge from running.  After doing research about how runners gain this sense of accomplishment, many people get personal records when they run a race.  People have said that getting a personal record, a t-shirt, and being with friends or family is plenty enough motivation to pay to run in a n event.  Having this sense of accomplishment spills over into other aspects of life as well.

With the accomplishment spilling over, an ability to have increased positivity exists in all aspects of life.  Family life, work life, and many other aspects of life have been improved greatly.  People seeing all of these benefits are some of the happiest people this world has to offer.

Del Sol Ragnar Relay

I have had the opportunity to build some of my closest friendships over the past few years through running. Every year I have participated in 2 races through the Ragnar Relay Series. These experiences helped me to build my current passion for running and inspired me to become involved with I Run Utah. For those of you who don’t know there are multiple Ragnar races around the country and each is a 12 man relay race of approximately 200 miles. My most recent race was in the Phoenix Arizona area known as Ragnar Del Sol.

The team I travel with to these Ragnar races is very competitive. But is winning the only reason I go to these races? No! I love the atmosphere of being surrounded by runners who have the same goal in mind, finishing a race that presents a daunting task. Solid friendships are made within my team that will last a lifetime. As for the runners around us, we share excitement and enthusiasm to bring smiles to their faces in times of fatigue. I would debate that my team is the most fun to be apart of throughout the entire race. At any race you participate in, whether it be a team Ragnar or a 10k through I Run Utah, you will find an atmosphere of motivated runners.

My experience with Ragnar consisted of 3 separate runs of 6.5, 5.2, and 4.3 miles totaling 16 miles which I averaged at a 6:45 per mile pace. I felt accomplished, achieving my goal of staying exactly at the pace I wanted. As for my team, we had a goal to win the race. We battled, struggled, endured, and competed our way through the race. It wasn’t easy. One team trailed our heels by 20 minutes after running about 100 miles, creating little room for error. Pushing hard to the end, we were able to win the race by a margin of 40 minutes. What an amazing accomplishment for us. 24 hours together in a car full of sweaty runners is a one of a kind experience. My team also placed first in Las Vegas and second in Southern California in the past, building our resume in the running world.

Here at I Run Utah, we have come up with an idea of doing a Double Road Race which will take place this summer in Salt Lake City. Similar to a relay, each runner will run twice with distances of a 10k, have a small break, then a 5k. This will be individual competing, not in relay format, but can present similar feelings. We want you to participate in this new adventure presented for you. We will have more details for you to come soon but until then….keep developing your Reason 2 Run and share your experiences with us!

Devin@irunutah.com