ENDURE: April 2012

IS IT MORE THAN JUST BOTTLES AND CANS?

re·cy·cle/rēˈsīkəl/ Verb: Convert (waste) into reusable material. Return (material) to a previous stage in a cyclic process.

Before now, did you ever stop and think about the actual meaning of "re"-cycle? For most, it's

become more than just that little way we "do our part"....it's almost a cultural norm; something that's being taught even at the very earliest age and helping even the youngest members of our world to respect the resources around them and minimize their impact on them......all good stuff.

But could it be bigger than that?

What about our "personal resources"? How much of our time/energy/self do we waste everyday on mind-numbing, energy-draining routines? Is it possible that we could take small but meaningful action to convert THAT waste into a reusable form? Is this still recycling? Or what about the second definition? In yet a different way, if we reinvest our actions in THIS moment, can we return to a more favorable part of the "life cycle"?

We say YES! Let's call this Personal Recycling:

Seem a little too deep for an easy going health blog? Perhaps.....but see if you can stay with us on this for a minute or two longer....

This month in Elements, and as part of our GOING GREEN event (see MOVE article) on 5/18, we decided to feature some folks who are doing some personal recycling. We looked for people who were "ENDURING"; taking on some long-distance or long-term challenge to convert their personal resources (in this case energy) into something reusable for their communities......to prevent their energies in the here and now from going to waste. We figured that if we could find someone doing it, perhaps it would inspire others to try....and that would be worth telling you about.

As it turns out....we didn't have to look too far. We met Todd Jennings as part of the Marshall Ulrich "Running on Empty" book signing that we did at BaseCamp31 last year, but it wasn't until recently that we came to understand the full scope of his personal recycling effort. Todd is a runner from nearby Monroe, NY, but rather than just getting or staying fit, he is using his pursuit and his will-to-endure as a way of doing some personal recycling for a very noble cause.

Beginning May 12th, just 6 short days before we "go green", Todd will be running 315 miles (yes, that's Three HUNDRED and Fifteen miles) over an eight day period in an effort to raise substantial funds to help protect the Hudson River and its watersheds. To put this in perspective, Todd will average a marathon (26.2 mi) AND a half marathon (13.1 mi) for eight days straight. So whereas the organizers of the Disney Marathon call this the "Goofy" and they break the events over two days.....we call it the "Inspired" and an effort we can all learn from.

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Todd is raising money for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater via one of the running community’s most popular fundraising websites, Crowdrise.

Whereas we rarely solicit, we encourage you to visit his Crowdrise project page and consider making a donation (i.e. recycling some of your own “green”) to his effort, which will help to protect and preserve America’s most storied and vital waterway.

More details about the event are on the Hudson River Run 2012 Facebook page.”