Start Early; Start Often!

“Start early; start often” has become one of my bi-lines and personal philosophies. Applied to school work and you’ll be on top of all your assignments. Applied to work and your boss will never need to question what (or how) you are doing. Applied to running and you’ll feel accomplished and have fun. It’s not about getting up early… early birds and night owls can both benefit from starting “early”. And “start often” speaks to perseverance and stick-to-itness (is that a real word?).

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2

One of my favorite trail runs is through part of the Almaden Quicksilver County Park located at the end of McAbee Road (near Camden and Meridian). It takes about an hour to run, longer to hike. A scenic place to hike or run, there are multiple loop paths that take you through the hills above Almaden Valley. If you “start early” you may see rabbits, deer, wild turkeys, or an occasional lizard. Friends have even reported seeing boar and bob cats. Runner’s World (http://runnersworld.com/) should / could list this as a “Rave Run” as it is both challenging and picturesque, and, all within minutes of south bay communities. It is also a “Rave” hike for family and friends. Thank you to my young brother in Christ, Brad Moody, for introducing me to this great hike!

Within a quarter mile of the entrance you come to a map showing different paths. I like to turn left and head up into the hills. Part shade and part sun, the loop trail of approx. 4.5 miles takes you through oak lined hill sides with views of downtown San Jose, Mt Hamilton, Mt Umanum and the Guadalupe Reservoir & creek. In the Spring you see wild flowers galore and in the Summer there is a beauty in the golden browns of the hillsides as the breeze rustles the grass and leaves overhead. Yes! This is a hard run. Bring water with you! Don’t expect to run the whole route the 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd time. I’d say, don’t even try (to kill yourself). Run, walk, run, etc. Build up to it! Trail running articles say running trails is not only great for building strength and aerobic capabilities, but it strengthens your ankles as the trails aren’t at all smooth like streets. I also think that trail running toughens your mind for when you are tired and you have to keep going and going. I highly recommend trying this as a hike and a run! 

Fathers' Day; Off the couch and talking politics

Let's start by remembering Dad on Father's Day, June 20! It's not what you buy him (Dad's appreciate the thoughtfulness of gifts... yes we do!), but more importantly that you want to honor Pops by spending time with him. Take Dad to church to honor & spend time with our Heavenly Father too! Both Dads certainly want to spend time with you!


As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; - Psalm 103:13

OK, so we've picked a great marathon as our goal, the Calif. Intl Marathon. I have a great fund raiser to run for, the Ishimwe Center. Now we'd better be running more and more to get into some kind of reasonable shape.

How does one get into shape? By having fun exercising. Step 1: Start by getting off the couch, or push away from the table and head outdoors. Step 2: Walking or jogging around the neighborhood or block in the cool of the day, maybe with a spouse, friend or loved one, or, like my brother AK, take the dog for a walk (AK’s dog is Buddy, and one of the cutest dogs on planet Earth today). Step 2a (“Advanced”): Try discussing politics while you walk or run. Discussing politics may actually simulate running for extra miles as your heart starts beating faster, your breathing becomes quicker, and your mind racing as you discuss. Then before you know it, you’re back home. AND… you may have solved some national problem such as the BP oil spill, or illegal immigration, or Calif. State budget woes, or your own kids’ issues, or even world peace. Try it! Step 3: If you are already running more and more, then it’s time to vary what you do. Personally, I’m goal oriented. I like to run a course (courses?) that have a known distance. We run from our house and head south down Meridian Ave. Mile 1 is to Braham High, mile 2 is to Blossom Hill Rd, Mile 3 is to Almaden Roasting Co, mile 5 is South Hills Church, etc. You get the idea!  Turn around at any point and head back. You may like to time your run and keep track (at least mentally) of how well you did. Then next time you’ll know how long it takes and can give you a goal to match or exceed! That’s one way to go. Another is walking or running the Los Gatos Creek trail. I start at Campbell Ave. and head toward Los Gatos. No cars, pretty scenery, great people watching. More on that another time. So what are you waiting for? Go do it! Have Fun! As you may have heard me say…”Start early, and start often.”

Ever want to map out a run and see how far you walked, or road your bike or maybe even ran? Try a free web site on the World Wide Web (say this very slowly and clearly to friends and elderly alike, then watch their facial expressions). The link is: mapmyrun.com This site even has iPhone and Blackberry apps if you are looking for the next cool tool. - JB

California Dreaming

Where does one begin in thinking about running a marathon? Dreaming “Ah… Boston or NY or London, or Antarctica Marathon (yes, there is such a thing!);  if only I dedicate myself and train hard I can complete (as opposed to compete) a marathon in one of these locations”. There are hundreds of marathons run each year. Many are in the USA. San Jose even has one that runs through downtown; the San Jose Rock ‘n Roll Marathon. Some runners who live in Silicon Valley travel to other cities to run races. And folk in those cities travel to San Jose. Go figure. As for me, let me run where it is scenic and beautiful and has a great place to go to for brunch after the race!

For Amy and me, the road to running a marathon started several years ago by our just running out the front door in hopes of becoming a bit more physically fit. Amy started running in college and invited me (or maybe I invited myself) to join her on some early morning runs. After approximately a year of starts and stops, minor injuries, self-questioning about the sanity of it all, we signed up to run a 10K (6.2 miles) race called Together With Love, located in Pacific Grove, CA. Starting at Lover’s Point, the run took us south, down the coast to Asilomar State Beach and back. Beautiful and fun to run and we felt accomplished. Slow, maybe, but accomplished. Since then we’ve run several 10K’s and several half-marathons (13.1 miles).

Several years later, we are running weekly, sometime together, and more often than not apart due to busy schedules. Now the dream kicks in and Amy mentions the idea of running a marathon.  We went looking and chose Sacramento’s Calif. Intl. Marathon. After choosing the race, I felt prompted to make it a fund raiser. Please consider joining me in support of the Ishimwe Center. Get details from the Fund Raising link on the right.

A marathon is 26 miles, 385 yards long!

The marathon, as a race, was started in part to commemorate the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (490 b.c.), who upon delivering his message, “We have won!” collapsed and died of his efforts. I can sympathize with him. Today, it is still an amazing effort, no matter what your finishing time, age, sex, religious affiliation or national heritage. And many today also collapse; but now it's into a nice long nap, taken in honor of that same Greek runner (or is it really just exhaustion?).

The marathon has an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles and 385 yards). That seems rather random… doesn’t it? So as Amy and I start our training in earnest, I thought a history lesson would be in order (did someone just mutter under their breath, “Oh brother.”)

Join me in the way-back machine as we travel to the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. In that day, the length of the marathon was agreed to be about 25 miles (or 40 kilometers). Seems reasonable to me. So when the route is published in the London newspapers, it was to start at Queen Victoria's statue by Windsor Castle and finish at the Olympic Stadium in London. Upon review, there were protests as the run would cross tram lines and cobble stones. Were they thinking safety first? Runners would enter the stadium using the Royal Entrance tunnel, take a final lap and finish in front of the Royal Box. Quite prim and proper, eh what? Honor the sovereign. Jolly good show!! But no one told the organizers that the Royal Entrance had been elevated to allow King and Queen to more easily descend from the royal carriage, so a big… no go for that as an entrance. And, “while you are at it,” let’s move the start to the monarch’s private East Terrace of Windsor Castle (the start is pictured above right), so the public would not interfere with the King and Queen watching the start. With the course changes, the distance from Windsor to the stadium was then exactly 26 miles. But as it was the Olympics and the organizers wanted the finish line to end in front of the Royal Box, the runners would enter the stadium, run clockwise (all other track events ran counter clockwise, as they do today) a distance of exactly 385 yards. In 1921, this distance was officially adopted by the International Amateur Athletic Federation as the marathon’s distance. So now you know... 26 miles, 385 yards!

 Phew… that was exhausting. Suffice it to just say, “It’s good to be king.”

Lao-tzu said “The longest journey begins with a single step.”

June 1, 2010

Dear friends,

In 1987, I ran my first (and only) marathon.  Janet and I had been married just over five years, our son Todd was two, I had hair, and I was determined to run, run, run! And run I did. Now, a mere 23 years later… On December 5, 2010, my daughter Amy and I will join thousands of runners at the California International Marathon in Sacramento. You may ask yourself… can he still run? Or maybe you are asking yourself… why is he telling me this?

The answer: To give purpose to my efforts in running 26.2 miles! I will be running in support (spelled: fund raiser) of the Ishimwe Center. Founded by Faith and Roger Shaw, Ishimwe is a home for abandoned children in Rwanda. Yet it isn’t just a ‘home,’ but rather a family setting of love, nurturing, and caring support for kids. Our family has known this amazing couple for at least ten years, and these folk are the ‘real deal’. Their hearts, minds and souls are passionate for Christ and for ministering to the kids in Rwanda. Your support would help immensely. I would also ask for you to pray for the kids, the adult caretakers, and, Roger and Faith. Their leap of faith in providing a home for 20 kids is amazing and inspiring. Just knowing that they have an army of faithful, loving prayer warriors here, who are holding them up in prayer, would also give great encouragement!

I hope you will consider supporting Ishimwe through my participation in this marathon. Any contribution will help the work of Ishimwe and 100% of the money raised will go directly to supporting them. If you choose to participate, you can email me at johnb409@pacbell.net.  Funds won’t be due until after I finish the race (and I plan on finishing!).

The next 6 months will be a time of preparation for the run. Between now and the race, I estimate I will log approximately 500+ miles in training. If you are interested in following the journey, I’ve set up a blog (Ishimwerunning.blogspot.com). I will post updates weekly on my progress. You may get a taste of what it takes to complete a marathon.

Thank you for considering my request for your support. If you have any questions about the Ishimwe Center or about running, do not hesitate to contact me, or go to Ishimwe.org to read about the Shaws’ vision and work.

So will you join me in supporting Ishimwe?

In Christ’s love!

John Boyden

Cell: 408-839-5025

PS – Lao-tzu (c 604-531 b.c., and possible runner?) said “The longest journey begins with a single step.” My paraphrase would be that “every journey begins with a single prayer.” Whether you can support Ishimwe financially or not, please join me in praying that God will work through Ishimwe, that He will get the glory, and that He would also grant me strength and health to run the race before me. – JB