Fellows Half Marathon Fundraiser
Purpose: Support Fellows’ Work
Our Fellows are sustainability leaders and innovators from around the world, working in civil society, philanthropy, government, business, media. As mid-career professionals and young “rising stars,” they are already in positions of considerable leverage. Our support of them can help further their efforts to “accelerate the transition to global sustainability,” the Sustainability Institute’s mission. Learn about our current Cohort of Fellows and Program here.
Fellows participate in a yearlong series of four workshops at Cobb Hill, the eco-village associated with our institute in Vermont. They focus on honing the key sustainability skills of visioning, systems thinking, reflective conversation, and working across difference. We presently have 74 Fellows from 16 different countries, 80% of whom are women. Read about their inspiring work - from climate change to corporate social responsibility, forests to fisheries, philanthropy to pharmaceuticals, military to media – here.
Plan: Run a Half Marathon
As the Sustainability Institute’s Fellows Network Coordinator, I (Dominic Stucker) have developed a deep respect and admiration for the Fellows. This has inspired me to prepare to run a Half Marathon to raise money for the Fellows Scholarship Fund. Though I have never run more than 7 miles before, much less trained for an official race, I will participate in the “Run to the Rock Half Marathon” to be held on 12 September in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a course with “big, rolling hills,” according to past participants. Yikes! My goal is to run the course in less than 2 hours.
Pledges: How Your Donations Help
Your contribution to our Fellows Scholarship Fund will help to:
- ensure the participation of Fellows - especially women - from developing countries and small NGOs in our leadership program and annual workshops
- support ongoing communication among Fellows
- support collaboration on joint projects that address climate change and other sustainability challenges
There are four different ways for you to contribute:
- Make a one-time donation. Please indicate that your donation is for the “Fellows Scholarship Fund / Half Marathon.”
- Make ongoing monthly donations. Please indicate that your donation is for the “Fellows Scholarship Fund / Half Marathon.”
- Pledge a set amount per mile that I compete in the Half Marathon.
- Pledge a set amount for each minute that my final running time is under my 2-hour goal.
Please be generous and donate/pledge now.
Progress: Training and Donation Updates
Week 1 of 8
I identified a Half Marathon training program on the Runner’s World website and modified from 10 down to 8 weeks. Each week, I am supposed to run 3 times: sprints, tempos, and distance runs. Week 8 ends with the Half Marathon.
I did my sprints at the local high school track here in Wiscasset, Maine, with ½ mile times around 3:00. I measured out a longer distance on wooded rural roads that pass a couple of cemeteries and a local organic farm that uses draft horses to plow its fields. Then, I ran a 4-mile tempo in 31:50 and an 8-mile distance run in 68:30. Feeling happy about these baseline times.
Week 2 of 8
My sprints this week were 1-mile long and I averaged around 6:45. It took me 40:20 to run a 5-mile tempo and 85:00 to run 10 miles. I definitely got a boost from running 10 miles, as I have never done that before. I feel pleased with my average time of 8.5 min/mile and aim to average around 9 min/mile for the Half Marathon, which puts my goal at 2 hours.
Week 3 of 8
I had short sprints this week, just ¼ of a mile long. Each was took me about 1:20. My 6-mile tempo felt really strong, setting new fastest times at the 4, 5, and 6-mile marks. My 6-mile time was 46:59, averaging 7:50 min/mile. Nice. Better yet, the distance run this week was also 6 miles and I brought my time down to 45:35.
Week 4 of 8
Halfway through my training. During 1-mile sprints, I cut about 40 seconds off my best time, bringing it to 6:06. I also tightened my 4-mile time to 29:53, averaging about 7:28 min/mile. Wish I could keep up that pace indefinitely! My 10-mile run, however, was really strenuous this time - it was hot - and I slipped from a time of 85:00 to 93:37.
This week, I officially registered for the “Run to the Rock Half Marathon” to be held in Plymouth, Massachusetts on 12 September. No backing out now! I learned that the course has “big, rolling hills.” Yikes. Hills in and around Wiscasset are not that big. This weekend, I’ll try to create a new course that treads over as many as I can find.
I also launched this webpage and will be sending out a fundraising announcement next week.
Week 5 of 8
I established a new route over the weekend, along a forested road, over numerous hills. Hope this helps get me in the right shape! Sprints this week were 1/4 miles. I ran six of them, all solid, bringing my fastest time down 4 seconds to 1:14. Mid-week, I ran 8 miles at an average pace of 8:22. This is my fastest yet for that distance. My last run took me further than any to date - I ran 12 miles in 104:06, at 8:41 per mile, the closest indication yet of how fast I might be able to run the half harathon.
I am grateful for the donations to the Fellows Scholarship Fund that we have already received in response to my e-mail announcement this week. A warm thanks to all donors! You help me put one foot in front of the other. I encourage others to donate or pledge now!
Week 6 of 8
A big success this week was bringing down my overall 8-mile time by 5:30! Yeah! That means I averaged 7:41 each mile. I also brought my 1-mile time down by 4 seconds, but also ran two of my slowest 1-miles that same afternoon. Huh. Progress is not always linear.
I realize that this blog contains a lot of numbers. Here's a summary graph so far, showing my time per mile for various distances. While I have made improvements with the shorter runs, I still need to run more long distance runs to see improvement there.
Thanks for the donations! As of today, we have raised over $400 from a half dozen donors. Make your pledge today!
...check back each week for updates!