Australia: July 5, 2008

The World Record

When I first started running in middle school, my Dad coached me to run a 1600 meter race. This was an intimidating distance at the time, but Dad/Coach gave me a simple race strategy: don't go out too fast, work the second to last lap and the last lap will take care of itself.

Since that first 1600m race, I've graduated to running seven 26.2 mile races across seven continents. The first five laps took me through China, Florida, Tanzania, Brazil and Ireland, and I worked the second to last lap this past March in Antarctica. On July 6, 2008, I approached the seventh and final lap of my seven continent quest, at the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia.

Before I could toe the starting line, I traveled a few hours toward the Australian Outback to the town of Wondai, to visit In the Running's sponsored organization in Australia, the Silver Lining Foundation. This is a social initiative started by a former Australian businessman, Mike O'Neill, to provide technical training and sustainable employment for Aboriginal people, and promote minority education and advancement more broadly. Mike's leadership is thoughtful and potent- he spent about five years building relationships through dialogue with the Aboriginal community before starting his Foundation. We were impressed by The Silver Lining Foundation's beautiful center in Wondai, their progress since our work started together two years ago and their commitment to building not just a charity, but a business model. If you are interested in supporting this or any of In the Running's other charitable causes, please visit www.intherunning.org/donate.

We were fortunate that the Australian media and race directors took a keen interest in our athletic and charitable efforts on behalf of The Silver Lining Foundation. Before the race, we met privately with the Mayor of the Gold Coast, who also happened to be Australian running legend Ron Clarke. Clarke previously held as many as seventeen world records and won an Olympic bronze in the 10K. During our meeting, he pulled a small, faded box out of his jacket, which he opened to reveal an Olympic gold medal from the 1952 Helsinki Games. I knew this was a bit before his time, and that the gold medal had eluded Mayor Clarke (particularly in Mexico City in 1968, when he dramatically collapsed from the altitude). Mayor Clarke explained that the medal was a gift from his Czech friend (and no stranger to fellow aficionados of running history), Emil Zátopek, who won an incredible three gold medals in the 5K, 10K and Olympic marathon, on a whim in his first attempt at the distance.

The day before the race I took in the requisite carbs, and spoke on a panel with elites Lee Troop (representing Australia in the marathon in the upcoming Beijing Olympics), and the granddaddy of Australian marathon running himself, Rob de Castella or "Deek" as he is known to many admirers. Deek held the world record in the marathon from 1981 to 1984, and has won Boston, Rotterdam and the world championships in the marathon. He and his Coach, Pat Clohessy, (who trained athletes in each Olympics from 1976-2000), are well-regarded in the international elite community for their disciplined, consistent and prudent training. Even though his professional days are behind him, Deek still offers a deeply encouraging and inspiring presence. He gave final words of wisdom to the jittery pre-race crowd, my favorite of which was his motivational mantra, "satisfaction is directly proportional to effort."

After several days of cold rain (despite Australia's enduring drought…Murphy's Law for traveling marathoners strikes again), race day dawned fortuitously with the sun peeking through dry, overcast skies. The start was total chaos (a familiar concept by my seventh international marathon), and the course was basically two out and back flat loops. About 10K followed an absolutely beautiful Australian beach…and then the rest was a bit of an interminable flat stretch, exacerbated by the demanding pace I had set over the past few months at work.

At about the 30k mark I was struggling to understand just what the heck my Dad was talking about when he said the "last lap would take care of itself." I was starting to really struggle, and my legs were begging to be taken care of by a masseuse, not a punishing final 12K. I realized my Dad didn't mean it would be easy, but that if I could dig deep into experience and mental tenacity, I could tap the final extra reserve that powers us to reach our goals. I thought about what my Dad and Deek said ("satisfaction is directly proportionate to effort"), and crossed the finish line in the best pain of my life, with a world-record winning smile.

After the race, we finally spent some time relaxing, sailing through the Whitsundays and visiting Sydney with friends Dana Worth (In the Running's VP), Kathryn Harrison and Molly Powers. I am pleased to brag about Dana, Kathryn and Molly for finishing the Gold Coast half-marathon or 10K. Congratulations to Kathryn in particular, who finished her first half-marathon twenty minutes faster than her goal time! One of the best parts of In the Running has been the fascinating people I have met along the way, many of whom – like Kathryn – have joined us In the Running.

Some people have asked how we came up with the seven marathons on seven continents for seven charities (and a world record to boot) idea. If you can think of a good answer, let me know. It has been a very organic process—I really just love to run, travel, and meet people who are trying to make a difference.. Before I stopped to catch my breath, I found myself on the Great Wall of China, Cinderella's Castle, Mt. Kilimanjaro, a Brazilian island, a pub with live Irish music, a glacier at the bottom of the Earth and finally, a coral reef down under.

We hope to keep our In the Running organization going, and contribute further to the running community's strong record of international outreach and philanthropic achievement. I'm not sure what the next step is, or when the last lap of the next race will be…but I am sure that no matter what, satisfaction will once again be proportionate to effort.

Thank you very much for reading this blog, and following In the Running's progress around the world.

I would also like to thank with the deepest and most heartfelt gratitude, all of you who have made a donation to our seven underlying organizations. We wholeheartedly believe in the work they are doing, and we are grateful to pass along your interest and generosity to the people doing the real work on the ground.

Finally, running is first and foremost the ultimate team sport. It is such a personal challenge to run a marathon or difficult race, that the only hope you have are in the people cheering you on, the coach who monitored your training, and the other people out there on the course with you. A huge thank you to In the Running's team, who made our idea and organization thrive:

Dana Worth- Co-Founder and VP, guru of all things excel, problem-solving and airlines. Many of our best ideas and final execution are due to Dana's sharp insight and selfless ability to do all the behind-the-scenes work and get none of the credit. Dana visited all the continents with In the Running, and even managed to squeeze in four half-marathons across three continents!

Mahmoud Youssef - CFO, who has a gift for financial accounting, asking tough questions and providing relentlessly optimistic and dependable leadership to the team.

Celene Menschel - COO, who demonstrated admirable business acumen, tenacious fundraising and is the real running talent on this team.

Ahmed Yearwood - Director of Design, who thanks to his impressive talent, built us an absolutely beautiful web page and logo. His company, Y INTERACT, provided not only design materials, but advice on how to leverage our materials to achieve maximum impact.

Chrissy Coolidge - Director of Public Relations, who helped us craft the inspiring message of our underlying charitable organizations in local newspapers and outlets.

Dave Anderson - Board Member, who went above and beyond as a Board Member in title but Officer in practice, challenging us to innovate and embrace new vehicles and channels for fundraising and outreach.

Cath Symon - Board Member, who brought her Olympic-caliber enthusiasm to all of our outreach events and planning sessions.

Melissa Dell - Board Member, who connected us with ADITO and embodied our mission through her grassroots charitable fundraising efforts.

Tanya Jaeger-deForas - Board Member, who lent her disciplined seniority and pushed us to set bigger goals at the outset.

Andrew Iappini, Board Member.