Congrats to Matt and Leah

Congratulations! Kudos! Huzzah! Yesterday, Matt and Leah Vest ran into beautiful Redbird Stadium in downtown Memphis 4 hours and 4 minutes after starting the St. Jude Marathon. These intrepid representatives of the King's Meadow Endurance Team managed to average just over 9 minutes per mile. Quite a remarkable feat! Remember everyone: it is still not too late to join them in their effort to raise support for New College.

St. Jude Marathon

This weekend in Memphis several members of the King's Meadow Endurance Team will be running in the St. Jude Marathon. They will be running those 26.2 miles in an effort to raise support for the study center's Gospel-centered educational and discipling endeavors. Because of my shoulder surgery this past week, I won't be able to pound the pavement with them. But, that is not stopping me from participating. I am committing to support them with my dollars as well as my prayers. Won't you join me--and them--as we attempt to raise up the next generation of leaders? You can pledge right online.

Constant Assiduities

"It is by dint of steady labor; it is by giving enough of application to the work, and having enough of the time for the doing of it; it is by regular painstaking and the constant assiduities; it is by these, and not by any process of legerdemain, that we secure the strength and staple of real excellence." Thomas Chalmers

"It is not by irregular efforts that any great practical achievement is overtaken. It is by the constant recurrence and repetition of small efforts directed to a given object, and resolutely sustained and persevered in." Thomas Chalmers

Team Nashville Half Marathon

King's Meadow Endurance Team

Over the course of the next several months the students and teachers at King's Meadow will not only be studying, reading, writing, thinking, and growing--we will be running and cycling. Our plan is to run more than 100 miles and bike another 100 in seven different endurance events throughout the mid-South--all in an effort to raise support for our educational and discipling endeavors. Won't you join us as we attempt to raise up the next generation of leaders? You can pledge by the race, by the mile, or by the season.

King's Meadow Study Center is a covenantal community of Reformed Christian thinkers, writers, artists, teachers, students, activists, and friends endeavoring to facilitate Gospel faithfulness and Word and Deed effectiveness in their own lives, families, and communities. In the coming months, we are seeking state approval for an expansion of our work to include a full-fledged collegiate program. Serving as a missional extension of Christ’s church to cultivate knowledgeable, wise and faithful servants of God, our mission is to provide the best in liberal arts education under the Lordship of Jesus Christ according to the Holy Scriptures.

Obviously, this is a large undertaking and it will require substantial resources. But, we don't simply want to ask our friends for donations, we want to demonstrate our willingness to "go the extra mile" in a well-rounded pursuit of beauty, goodness, and truth. So, won't you join us in this endeavor? Please, pledge today.

King's Meadow Endurance Team

Sidelined

Sidelined for the next few months by bone spurs in my shoulder (surgery is scheduled for November 30), I have been forced to the sidelines as a spectator. Watching the Olympic Marathon Trials and ING Marathon this weekend in New York has only made me want to get back out there as soon as possible. So, I am determined.

Speaking of determined, how about Lance Armstrong! He finished the marathon again this year under 3 hours. Amazing!

Oktoberfest 5K

Discretion and Valor

Nearly 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners in this past weekend’s Chicago Marathon chose to not race in the heat despite promises by organizers of a host of mist stations, cooling buses, and water-soaked sponges available all along the route. It seems that they made a wise decision.

Just four hours into the race, organizers were forced to shut down the entire course because of 88-degree heat and sweltering humidity that left at least one runner dead and sent at least 50 more to area hospitals. Emergency medical personnel treated another 250 runners for heat exhaustion and dehydration. Chad Schieber, an experienced 35-year-old runner and police officer from Michigan, collapsed midway through the race and was shortly thereafter pronounced dead by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

At first, organizers hoped those who passed the halfway mark could complete the run. The fire department turned on hydrants to hose people down along the course. But eventually when shortages of water and energy drinks were reported all along the route, runners were diverted by police, firemen, and volunteers to the starting area, where they were provided with medical attention and cooling misters. Helicopters hovered over the race course while police officers shouted through bullhorns to warn runners to slow down and walk.

This should be a great reminder to all of us to pay attention to our bodies, to run smart, and to never allow our goals to get in the way of our common sense. If I'd been in Chicago, I hope that I would have had the wisdom to stop running when I began to seriously overheat--as I most assuredly would have. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

Great New Running Book

Run, Spot, Run

I do love my dogs. I do love running with my dogs. And I am typically a sucker for any kind of running gear. But, this assortment of doggie running gear is a little over the top--even for me.

Day Dreaming

Classic Pix

Surprises Today?

Hot Dog

Still recovering from a recent "mystery" illness that has kept me lethargic and achy for the past three weeks, I was not about to miss the Franklin Classic today. I love this race. I love running through downtown Franklin. I love the fact that the starting line is a block from my office. I love the cause--supporting Mercy Children's Clinic. I love seeing so many friends and neighbors come together for a great community event. Just about the only thing I don't like is getting beaten by the local Sonic hot dog!

Oh well, I was out there in the torrid heat, terrible humidity, and toiling humanity. And yes, the hot dog beat me again! If I had run my best time ever, he would have still beaten me (and I was a long way off my best time). I had fun regardless.

Coming Soon

Up Next

Yep. That'll Do It.

Cross-Training and Tempo Runs

This past week I started training for the Uttermost (October 11,12, and 13) in earnest. I slogged through some cross-training (a couple of hot, long bike rides) and some tempo runs (admittedly pitiful now, but hopefully they'll pay off come October). It is so hot, even early in the morning, that I am having to go a lot slower and accumulate far fewer miles than I had hoped. And as if that were not enough, my iPod's Nike+ died--just a few miles shy of the 1,000 mile mark. Oh well, I've actually enjoyed running with nothing at all but my watch. It's been great to get going again after a long semi-lay-off since the Country Music Marathon at the end of April.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD/DER!!