Come Run With Me!

My training for GRACERUNNER JOURNEY is well underway.  I have significantly ramped up my weekly mileage over the past couple of months.  I am doing speed work (speed is relative -- you can stop laughing now!), a medium long run, and a tempo run during the week. Then, I am completing a long run on the weekend. Yesterday was my long run day and I knocked out 23.4 miles - it feels great to get things really kicked off!

As many of you know, GRACERUNNER JOURNEY will be a ten day -- eight city event that will take place in May.  On May 12 - 21, I will run (complete) 413 miles.  The finish line of the Fargo Marathon will be the completion of the 413 miles.  Our "tag" line for the event is "One Man, 10 days, 413 miles, 1 goal! To Glorify God!"  This journey will also be used to raise funds for TEAM 413 - GRACERUNNER Ministries, The Dick Beardsley Foundation, Constructores Para Cristo, and The Great Circle Boys and Girls Town of Springfield, Missouri.  Here's a little information about these groups:

The Dick Beardsley Foundation is an organization led by my friend, Dick Beardsley, and his wife, Jill.  The mission of the foundation it to assist those suffering from chemical dependency receive the treatment they need; speak to youth in schools and treatment centers across the world about leading a healthy, active lifestyle chemically free; and to educate the general public on the disease of chemical dependency. Our goal is to help them as they strive to help others.  

Constructores Para Cristo is another organization we have chosen to help along our journey.  Constructores Para Cristo is committed to helping the people of Piedras Negras, Mexico break the cycle of poverty by providing housing, health care, and educational opportunities.  This organization has built homes, medical facilities, and schools in order to accomplish their mission.  It is amazing to see what God has done through this wonderful organization and we are blessed to be a small part of their cause.

Great Circle - Boys and Girls Town of Springfield, Missouri is an organization that holds a very special place in my heart.  I have been able to speak to this group of kids and the staff and was moved in a way that I cannot adequately describe in words.  Our goal is to help them achieve their  mission which is to reshape vulnerable lives through a community of partners, teachers and leaders, giving children and families the confidence to create bright futures.  I look forward to being a part of this group for many years to come.

To accomplish our goal of completing 413 miles in ten days, we need your support.  

First of all, we need your prayers and I'm asking you to commit to praying for GRACERUNNER JOURNEY each day.  Please pray that God will give us the strength, fortitude, and mental toughness to get the job done.  And, please pray that God will be glorified during each step of this challenge.

Secondly, we need your logistical support and we need people to be on-site at each stage of our journey.  We'll be running at venues in Birmingham, Memphis, Springfield, St. Louis, Champaign/Urbana, Chicago, Des Moines, Duluth, and Fargo.  In each city, we'll set up camp at a park where there is a running trail.  We're asking many of you to help my wife, Kiki, who will be our crew chief, to make sure that we have the things we need at each site.  I'm also challenging many of you to come out and run a few miles with me at each stage.  The goal is to run about 45 miles per day for the first eight days, 26.8 miles on day 9, and then finish the event with the 26.2 miles at the Fargo Marathon on  May 21. I'll need help from my brothers and sisters in Christ to finish this drill! So, please come run with me!

Lastly, we need your financial support.  An event like this cannot take place without significant contributions.  Plus, we are raising funds for four worthy causes.  We have a financial goal but I simply do not want to place limitations on God -- so, we are not going to publish the goal. God may have something much more significant in mind and I'll allow Him to work in the hearts of people from all across the world to help us raise the funds that He will bless.  Our contribution website is set up and you can give by going to the following link:

http://active.com/donate/team413/chrisgillespie

You may also click the "donate" button below and you will be directed to a secure site.  We've got a few months to get it done!  Please help me as I embark on the greatest physical challenge that I've ever attacked in my life!

We'll be sharing lots of stories along the way and it is my intention to write a book about our GRACERUNNER JOURNEY -- we've already started writing and I hope to chronicle the entire event to the glory of God!

Come Run with me!

Under HIS Grace...

Chris