#70 "Because it motivates others to be more active."

Local athlete and author Margreet Dietz just completed her book "A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km" I'm reason # 70 "Because it motivates others to be more active."

Excerpt of A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km

Shannon MacLeod has inspired the entire daycare centre where she works. A relatively novice runner, she boldly signed up for the six-day 226-km Coastal Challenge footrace in Costa Rica and trained hard for seven months. When she registered for the race, she'd yet to run her first marathon. Six months later she ran her second marathon as a training day for her multi-day event. Many people told her she was nuts. Others, especially her colleagues at the daycare, thought she was amazing. And the little kids thought it was pretty cool, too. She organized a special Costa Rica-themed week during which the daycare's children learned more about the country bordered by Nicaragua and Panama, particularly about its animals as it's one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. Many kids drew her good-luck pictures and there was a party when she came home to celebrate her successful finish. Because all the children at the daycare followed her progress, many have told their parents they want to run in Costa Rica too when they grow up. Maya Teleki, a friend and former colleague from Bloomberg News who's recently begun running with her 10-year-old son, told me how enthusiastic she was about my 100km race because it reminded her of the ultrarunning teacher she had as a youngster. “I remember having a substitute teacher in either high school or junior high who had done a century run—he had this massive belt buckle on that said 100. It made a big impression then, and still does.”

The books blog:
http://ahundredreasonstorun100km.blogspot.com/