Hello everyone! Only 10 days until Runners Without Borders kicks off on Saturday, October 22nd. I'm very pleased to announce that we have 51 people who have RSVP'd to run for Doctors Without Borders on the 22nd. And I suspect there will be even more who show up, I'm hopeful that we will have over 75 participants next Saturday.
Also we have collected 28 pledges of various types to donate to DWB/MSF on behalf of the runners, and again, I think we will get some additional pledges on the day of the event. I think we have a chance to raise in excess of $3,000 for Doctors Without Borders!
Some of you have mentioned that you're not sure just how this pledge thing works. As you can tell, I'm not charging an entry fee for this event. Also, I'm not providing really anything in the way of support, so, you know, you get what you pay for! What I'm asking everyone to do is show up and run, and also to pledge to give something to Doctors Without Borders. At the end of the day you're on your honor to give the money; if you want to bring a check with you to the event I will mail them all en masse after the event, so you can save some money on postage. Another option is to donate on line from this link: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/. Also if you want to donate cash (I prefer checks), we will accept that as well and donate the funds on your behalf. Someone will be at the loop start/end area from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm to collect and log donations, and log loops.
Logging loops is very important because several pledges are based on the number of loops ran by participants. For example, I am pledging to donate $1 for every runner who completes a loop, up to $250 total. So quite frankly even if you can't pledge to donate any money of your own, simply by showing up and running one loop you are raising $1 for Doctors Without Borders. And much to my pleasant surprise, a bunch of you have stepped up with similar pledges. So much so that as of this point, the first 50 loops are each worth $13.50 for Runners Without Borders. So simply by showing up and running a loop you are earning as much as $13.50 for DWB, and this number is likely to go higher as we get some more pledges leading up to the event. So when you finish a loop, make sure you get it logged!
So how do you pledge? You can email me at srslush@gmail.com to pledge, or just show up and pledge on the day of the event. If you want to keep your pledge anonymous let me know and I will honor your request.
So how much should you pledge? What kind of pledge can you make? Well in general, you can pledge whatever you like.
But pledges have roughly broken down into 4 basic categories, which I will explain here. The categories are; fixed-amount, dynamic-self, dynamic-other, and dynamic-global. fixed-dynamic-what-huh?
Let's review:
Fixed-Amount:
This is easy. Just pledge a fixed amount to DWB. $5. $20. $50. $8.71. Whatever. If you run one lap, if you run 10 laps, if 1,000 people show up, if no one shows up (I'll be there), you contribute a fixed amount.
Dynamic-self:
This is a little more exciting; pledge a certain amount of money for each lap you run, or each mile you run, or even how many vertical feet you climb for the day (yes, one creative participant is pledging a penny for each vertical foot gained). Want to challenge yourself to run 4 loops and pledge $20 all told? Pledge $5/loop. It adds a little excitement to the day. Believe me, I know some of you who have pledged on a per-loop basis, and you will be sorely tempted to run one more loop than the next guy. I encourage this sort of competition!
Dynamic-other:
Want to encourage one of your friends to run a lot, or even show up at all? Pledge 'em. Pledge 'em good. Pledge the hell out of 'em. One person has actually pledged to give DWB $10 for each loop I run. Talk about pressure!!
Dynamic-global:
This is quite exciting indeed! My pledge fits in this category. I'm pledging $1/person/loop, essentially. If 10 people show up and each run one loop, I give $10 to DWB. If 70 people show up and each run 3 loops, I'm in for $210. If one runner leaves Lory at 8:00 traveling South at a rate of 9:00/miles, and another runner leaves Soderberg at 8:45 am traveling North at a rate of 9:45/miles, I will pledge a maximum of $250. I was never that good at practical algebra. At any rate, I won't know my final pledge until 4:01 pm on Saturday 10/22. And neither will 6 other fellow pledgers who have made similar pledges! And one very wealthy lady whom I don't know and who doesn't know me and isn't even showing up but I am including on my list anyway is pledging to match all contributions to DWB regardless of reason between now and November 15th, up to one million dollars all told. Now that's global.
Slush figuring out how much he owes (circa 1993)
Incidentally for those of you doing dynamic pledges, I will post final results on my blog as soon as possible after the event, and will let you know personally what your pledge turns out to be, so you don't have to stick around until 4:01 to find out. But it might be fun to see who cuts it the closest to the cut off time!
Now if you want to see the current list of pledges and participants, avail yourselves to the spreadsheets below. If you don't see your name on the list, let me know and I'll add you! If you are ready to announce your pledge, and/or your intention to run, email me at srslush@gmail.com.
Thanks and see you in 10 days!!!
Slush
Participants:
Pledges:
More information:
Runners Without Borders
And finally, appropo of nothing; Tegan and Sara just kick ass:
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