Phase 1 for FCF 5000 has been completed! All 31 of the FCF 5000 Kilimanjaro Marathoners completed either the 5k, 21k (running) or 21k (with 21 kg backpacks). It was a great success and yes I ran the whole thing- thanks to my impromptu running partners (the Haynes') for keeping me going!
A huge motivation to have run and kept running was the FCF 5000 cause, which we are excited to say has raised over $12,000. To all of you who donated - THANK YOU!!! Your support is crucial. When we began this project, we anticipated that it would it would be a singular campaign event surrounding the marathon and because we only decided to do it last minute our hopes for what we could achieve were not too high...however, the momentum and dedication from FCF (Mike Beckner & Grant Burden) has proved that Sunday was just the end of the beginning of what we hope we will be a long and successful campaign for anti-poaching awareness. From the funds raised for this event, we are much closer to our goal of being able to fund an entire training program for all FCF scouts in 2012!
Our next goal is the Lewa Marathon at the end of June! If you are interested in joining the FCF 5000 team and running with us, let me know! This will be a fitting event as Lewa is the home of Ian Douglas Hamilton, who as many of us know is a huge player in elephant conservation, thus providing a great platform to continue our fundraising and awareness efforts.
This post is being cut short, as Grant and I are leaving for the bush, where the wildebeest migration and their tiny baby calves will be waiting (they are so cute)! More later.
Below are a couple pics from the race.
