Colors of Hope Gala

Anne and I attended the Peace House Africa gala which is their large annual fundraising event. We raised allot of money for the school and the efforts in Tanzania. We were pleased to spend time with the Head Mistress of the school and the leaders of the organization.

Thank you for all of the support for Project Endurance Africa, we have raised over $6000 and I am confident that we will meet our goal for $30,000 to build a classroom for the students.

Enjoy the photos.

Andrew

Spirit of the Prairie - Heartland 100

Well, I did it! I had a great race experience at the Heartland 100. I ended up coming in 7th overall with a time of 19 hours, 33 minutes and 44 seconds. This is my personal best time for running 100 miles, taking 19 minutes off my previous fastest time.

I traveled to this race alone and ran it alone, which ended up being ok given it was an out and back and was pretty easy to have my drop bags pre-set along the course. The course was amazing. This was the very first time I had run in Kansas and I was not disappointed. I will say that I thought Kansas would have been flatter. The course offered an endless supply of rolling hills that seemed to become more frequent as the race went on.

As you will see in the pictures we had a wonderful day to run. The sky was clear, the temps were in the low 80's, the humidity was higher than I would have liked AND the new race factor was the wind! Holy cow, it was windy, which it seems to be all the time there in Kansas. The winds ranged from 15- 30 mph. The race directors knew this so when they developed the race course they designed it in such a way the runners would run with cross winds for the majority of the race. This helped big time.

We started at 6:00am in the dark, sunrise was around 7:40am or so, check out the photos of the sunrise. I ran with a fellow named Mike from Oklahoma City for about 15 miles early on until mile 25, which I did in 4:05, so a very comfortable pace. I pulled into the mile 25 aid station in 11th place for the 100 mile race. I decided to put on my iPod and kick up the pace to mile 50, wanted to make sure I reached mile 50 within 8 hours, 30 minutes....which is pretty darn fast for a 100 miler, humm maybe not so smart.

Metallica's new album Death Magnetic (excellent by the way) provided alot of energy from mile 25 to 31 and I continued to hold a strong pace and by mile 32, I was starting to reel in runners. I reached mile 50 in 8:24, ahead of pace and on track to break 17 hours, which is freaky fast for 100 miles. I did not believe this was in the cards, but one can dream. From mile 50 to 75, I was a pace machine, I took over fourth place around mile 66 and continued to run stong. I enjoyed the aid stations, had the power pellets, sloppy joes and other good eats. I was focused on hydration as the humidity and heat were a factor.

As I pulled into the mile 75 aid station I was told that the 3rd place runner was only 20 minutes ahead of me and that he looked pretty tired. I downed some Conquest (the energy drink on the course) and took off to tackle the remaining 25. The only problem was that my legs did not want to move. It was as if I drained my 3/4 full gas tank at the mile 75 aid station.

Oh no, this is deja vu all over again, similar to Lean Horse and Western States I hit mile 75 and wheels come off the truck. Or is it, Andrew you just ran 75 miles, what the heck do expect is going to happen! I chose the latter and focused staying loose and relaxed, increasing my calorie intake, etc. I added power walking into my running more frequently. The sun had gone down at this point, so I could see the runners in the distance with their head lamp lights gaining ground. I made it to mile 86 in 4th and was passed by two runners in and out of the aid station, the next 10 miles was filled with what seemed to be an eternity of big rolling hills, run down , walk up, run down walk up, run down, walk up- you get the picture.

I get to mile 95 and enjoy the last manned aid station, which has this special brew they are serving...I take a whiff and I pass knowing that drinking it would certainly create an unpleasant outcome. I do enjoy some Coke to settle my stomach and some M&M's to keep me going. The last five miles seem to go on forever, I am running for 2 minutes and walking for 1 minute. That is all I am seemed to handle. For the first time ever I think I am having hip pointers and my quads are shot, every step hurts now.

Dig deep, Peace House, AIDS orphans with no parents and little hope, people losing jobs, people battling life threatening diseases, this is nothing, push, push, push forward. That becomes my motivation. At 1:28 am in the morning I see the Cassoday water tower in the distance, I am almost there. This provides an added bounce in my step and I resolve to finish strong. I end up powering in the last 3/4 of a mile and finish 7th with a time of 19:33:44.

As always, I am grateful for my family allowing me the opportunity to train and prepare for these events, without their support and sacrifice I cannot do this. I am grateful for the volunteers and race organizers who truly make these events happen. I am grateful for my family, friends and co-workers for their support and interest. I am grateful i finished, healthy and in the position to continue my quest of epic adventure in my life in my our world.

This is has been an amazing experience for me and I am so thankful for all of the support and cheering so many of you have provided along they way.

I am blessed.

Check out the rest of my photos of the race at: 

http://flickr.com/photos/28965358@N04/

Celebrating 10 years of running and racing

It is hard to believe but when I run the Twin Cities Marathon next Sunday, I will be celebrating the 10 year anniversary of my first marathon. In 1998 I ran the Twin Cities Marathon to raise money for the cancer wing of the Fairview Childrens Hospital. I finished in 3:55, meeting my goal of a sub 4 hour marathon. Little did I know that in the next ten years I would complete the following:

10 marathons (5 Twin Cities, 1 Grandmas, 1 Boston, 1 Chicago, 1 New York, 1 A-10)
4 Half-Ironman Triathlons
2 Ironman Triathlons (Ironman Wisconsin)
4 50K Ultra marathons (31 miles in length)
1 50 mile Ultra
1 100K Ultra (62 miles)
3 100 mile Ultras (Leanhorse- 19:52, Western States- 23:38, Superior Sawtooth 31: 20)
1 Hood to Coast 197 mile team relay

Clearly I found a passion of mine as I trained for the 1998 marathon. I am very proud of the progress I have made as an endurance athlete, but even more proud that I have fully embraced the notion of living life on my terms. As some of you know, this journey started with Anne's cancer diagnosis. This event woke me up to how I was choosing to live my life at the time. I made a decision that would forever alter my life and that decision was that I will define my life, it will NOT be defined for me by external circumstances.

All of this running is a reflection of that decision. I challenge myself every year to take it a step further than I think is possible- call it my Covey "sharpen the saw" habit.

So, next Sunday I will celebrate 10 years of honoring a commitment to myself which has made an enormous impact on my life and the joy I have in it. I have been blessed by the friends I have made, the wonderful people I have met, the impact we have had for several charities and health I have maintained.

Most of all I am so grateful for the support, patience and understanding of Anne, Allie and Drew. Being married to a endurance athlete is not easy and as a father I am not always present, physically and mentally. I love you guys. Thank you.

SO....the question to you is- What do you want to celebrate in 10 years from now? What can you commit to today that will bring you more happiness and satisfaction? The choice is yours each and every moment of your life. Choose wisely.

P.S.- Don't expect a super fast time from me on Sunday, this will be a training run to get me ready for my fourth 100 miler the following weekend.

Live Big

2008 Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run

That's me at mile 9 with Lake Superior behind me, it was a glorious start to the day!

One down, One to go!

I successfully completed the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run last weekend. It took 31 hours, 20 minutes, 28 seconds. I can honestly say this was the hardest running I have ever done, even harder than Western States. I did not appreciate the technical difficulty of the Superior Hiking Trail until I started running. My initial time in mind was 25 hours, but the night before I revised it back to 30 hours given the feedback from veterans of the race. I would have been close to breaking 30 hours had I not gotten lost during the last 7.1 mile stretch of trail- DOH! I went another 2 miles out of the way for a grand total of nearly 104 miles.

The course was stunning in its scenic beauty and in the way it brought me to complete breakdown and suffering. Not finishing was never an option, but enjoying the last 30 miles was not much of an option either. Thankfully, I had the motivation from the students in Tanzania to keep me moving forward with purpose.

For the first time I carried a digital camera with me and took lots of photos along the way. I have posted this photos for you to see the course, the aid stations and the witness the journey unfold.

I need to give major thanks to Nick Stoneman (my race buddy), Larry Pederson (the race director), my family (for supporting my crazy hobby) and all of the other runners, race and aid station volunteers who make these experiences so memorable and special.

I had a few firsts in this race:

- first time running over 24 hours
- first time running on a trail not meant for running, but for hiking
- first time eating a grilled cheese on the course
- first time eating a grilled ham and cheese on the course
- first time eating a hamburger on the course
- first time eating pancakes on the course
- first time being so physically spent that I could not run for more than 5 minutes at a time
- first time I took photos along the course- enjoy these.
- first time hallucinating while running- yes, you have heard the stories, it really does happen at night and during the day

I am recovering quickly and will start to set my sights on my next 100 mile challenge which is in just over four weeks.

Enjoy the photos and thank you to those who have contributed to the Endurance Africa cause. We can do it and help make a new classroom a reality for the students of the Peace House Secondary School.

Here is the link to the race photos: http://flickr.com/photos/28965358@N04/

Project Endurance Africa

From the north woods of Minnesota to the Kansas Prairie
Two ultra-marathons- 200 miles- in 2 months
To transform a country, one student at a time
Please join my team!

August, 2008

Dear Friend,

I hope this letter finds you doing well. On September, 5th-6th, I will be racing in the Superior Sawtooth 100, a 100 mile “trail” ultra-marathon in northern Minnesota through the Sawtooth mountain range. Then 35 days later will be racing in the Kansas Spirit of the Prairie Heartland 100, a 100 mile road ultra-marathon, through the last remaining tall grass prairie in the United States. I have never attempted back to back 100 milers, so this will be a new experience and certainly a physical, emotional and mental challenge for me. However, I will be armed with a secret weapon to pull me through – hope for a better future.

This is where you come in, as part of racing the Superior Sawtooth 100 and the Heartland 100, I intend to generate support and hope for AIDS orphans in Tanzania, East Africa. It is estimated that over 14 million children in Africa have lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic. By no fault of their own, these children are left behind with little hope for their future. For many orphans, the death of one or both parents means the end of any chance for going to school and creating a better life for themselves.

Peace House Africa, a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization, currently supports over 700 orphaned children in Tanzania, and is now building Peace House Secondary School, a major secondary boarding school for orphans with a special focus on the development of entrepreneurial business skills. My wife, Anne, and I know the leaders of Peace House Africa and I can assure you that 100% of your donation will go directly to the AIDS orphans in Tanzania since all of their overhead expenses are paid by a single benefactor. A key goal for Peace House Secondary is to graduate job creators – young people who can build a sustainable economy and future for their country. Learn more about Peace House Africa via their webpage at HYPERLINK "http://www.peacehouseafrica.org" www.peacehouseafrica.org.

Peace House Secondary School (PHS) is a secondary boarding school (ages 13-19) serving 210 AIDS Orphans with plans for serving more in the future. It has a special focus on developing creative problem solving skills and entrepreneurial business skills and hits home for me because;

The boarding school provides a long-term solution to the AIDS pandemic by educating and graduating “job creators,” people who will generate commerce and trade for generations to follow. PHS operates on the principle, “give someone a fish and they’ll eat for a day…but teach them how to fish and they’ll eat for a lifetime.” The children enrolled in the school get their life sustaining “fish for the day” but more importantly they are learning how to build a new economy for their country. The “hunger relief” programs are necessary, but are only a band-aid. Programs like the PHS are the only way for Africa to permanently put out the fire.
My vision is to provide a place for these students to learn, to thrive and to become the next generation of leaders within their country. To that end my family and I are committing to raise $30,000 to help build a classroom at the school. This classroom will be used for critical learning in the areas of science, math, English and social studies.

I am asking for your support by making a tax deductible contribution to this classroom through my project called “Endurance Africa.” I would ask you consider making a pledge per mile (200) I am running. I will need to raise $150 per mile to reach the goal of $30,000. I know that you may not be able to pledge that much, so know PHS and I am grateful any and all support.

Please visit my website at HYPERLINK http://theepicadventureblog.blogspot.com/ http://theepicadventureblog.blogspot.com/ for ongoing information and access to the online contribution functionality. Donating online is safe and simple or if you chose you can send a check made out to Peace House Africa to my home address at:

5616 Brook Drive
Edina, MN 55439

Via this site I will be providing race updates, race photos, fundraising updates on Project Endurance Africa, Peace House Africa videos and ongoing updates on how the school is doing in Tanzania. I want you to be fully aware of how of support is being used immediately to make a difference!

Yes, I know things are tight and you are constantly bombarded by requests for money and you are already giving generously to many worthy causes. I ask for your consideration, the African AIDS pandemic is not something we can ignore any longer and it is calling me into action.

This is a great opportunity for you to make an investment in the future of student and to help transform lives immediately. Less than five percent of children in Tanzania go to secondary school and most of those who do must pay for the schooling. These orphans have little chance for schooling, let alone for survival. You can help create positive learning endurance for these students, which in turn will create positive life endurance.

I am choosing to be put to the physical, mental and emotional test during these two races, but I will return to a blessed life upon finishing. With your help, we can immediately provide over 210 orphaned students in Tanzania with a more blessed life and hope for a better future for themselves, their families, their communities and their country. Your impact will continue to grow as the student population increases.

Please help create a place of learning and a fountain of hope for a generation of children who will shape the destiny of a nation.

Thank you for your consideration. Please email me at HYPERLINK "mailto:andrewdavis100s@comcast.net" andrewdavis100s@comcast.net or call me at 952-944-5562 if you have any questions. I am grateful for your support.

All my best to you,


Andrew Davis

2008 Race Reports & Photos

The 2008 Afton Trail Run- 50K 

I took 20th overall out of 131 in the race which I decided to do at the last minute, with zero taper and a long day of 4th of July celebrated the day before. I was very happy with how I felt finished- 4:55 with a 9:31 pace for 31 miles. It was a great race, I would really encourage you to try this this one, especially if you want a real trail feel, close to the Twin Cities.  Here is a photo of me coming into an aid station.

 

This is my friend Peter, note the seal in front of the kayak, even he wants a Kokanee Beer! This photo was taken in the Nassau Fjord in PWS.