Antigua with Volcan Agua behind

The Medio Maraton Las Rosas is a half marathon held each year around the city of Antigua, Guatemala. I have been thinking about participating in this marathon since I first arrived here in Antigua, but knew in the back of my mind that by the time it came around I would find myself a suitable excuse to not go in it. After all, 21km is a long way! As I was showering last night after going for a short jog, I once again thought back to the marathon and wondered whether I would be bothered to enter. Probably not, I thought. Then my mind drifted off to other things, as I was still a little preoccupied thinking about the aquaponics project, and wondering how I could get enough money to build the prototype. And then, all of a sudden (which is generally the way they work), I had an epiphany! I could use the marathon as a fundraiser to help pay for building the prototype aquaponics system, and give myself the motivation to go in the race.

Now, it’s at moments like this that I feel a little Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde-ish…one part of me thought it was a brilliant idea, and I straight away started going into planning mode on how I could start fundraising. The other part of me (I don’t know which is Dr Jekyll and which is Mr Hyde) looked on in disgust with a rising sense of panic – and not without reason. To put it into perspective, there are a couple of things that I should point out:

1. I am NOT a runner. The last race that I finished (or even attempted) was the 100m age race when I was 11 yrs old – I think I came second (last).

2. The training conditions in Antigua are not exactly what I would be used to at home in Sydney, running along the Coogee-Bondi walk. The elevation is 1578m, the quaint cobblestone streets for which Antigua is famous are extremely hazardous just for walking, let alone running  AND presuming you survive the cobblestones, you still have to deal with the large clouds of black diesel smoke spewing out of the chicken buses as they roar past (I promise, photos to come). My mother always told me that I like to do things the hard way, and I think that I am starting to agree. ..oh, and I forgot to mention point 3.

I have only got 7 weeks until the race! 

Now, it I was doing this for myself then I would definitely think twice about it all and save my poor ankles and lungs to race again another day. However if you tell me (as I told myself) that I  am doing it for Project Seres, doing it to fight social & environmental injustice, doing it to try and stop the chronic malnutrition that is rampant in Guatemala’s rural areas…then how could I say no? So, this was the Jekyll-Hyde conversation that took place last night, and is still happening as I oh-so-reluctantly sit down to write this blog – which suddenly commits me to it! But here I am, and I am going to need all the support and encouragement I can get. I would really love it if the support was in the form of a bunch of my friends standing along the finish line cheering me on…however if you can’t make it to Guatemala in time to do that, I would love it if you could support me by making a donation or pledge (and maybe sending me words of encouragement now and then).

To keep it interesting, I am proposing two options. You can either make a direct donation by clicking on the button below (no Paypal account required), or you can make a pledge/challenge (e.g. $100 if I finish in under 2 hrs) by clicking here and providing the details.

To see more information about the race, you can go to my Half-Marathon Challenge page, where I will keep a regular report of the training progress over the coming 7 weeks. As always, thankyou for your support and friendship. Peace, Corrina P.S. As an afterthought, I have also decided that if we raise enough money, then Jango the wayward street dog can be in this too (provided I can train him not to bite the other competitors). Jango has told me that he doesn’t get out of bed for less than $500…so if I can raise that much, he’s in!