still truckin'

Looming deadlines and busy schedules have preoccupied the team as of late. Nonetheless, a tireless crew of Brian, Gentry, Laurel, and Tony powered around the Central Park bridle trail in the delicious fall weather for a training run last week while the rest of us remained chained to our desks. Way to go, team.

(PARK)ing Day 2009

Our PARKing permit fell through for our spot, so the day turned into more of a field trip around the city to other PARKing Day installations. Which was actually a blessing as we spent less time worrying about the event and also got in more team training miles. We brought a handout and spread the word about the Maasai Marathon.

A large group of us (EDAW- and ERA- New Yorkers) made a loop of a couple miles around Chelsea and the Union Square neighborhood on a lovely late-summer Friday afternoon. Following are photos from the event.


Urban Orienteering


subsection of the team (erika, jenny, brian, laurel, alejandra, kumar, fred)


terry and the wishing tree


laurie-anne, wishing


matt and shaun are slightly dubious of "Bubble Park'd;" jenny dives right in, with brian supporting.


chilling in Chelsea


bottled vs. tap water blind taste test at the New School (alejandra, erika, gentry)

working on our flexibility

This week's team training run was pleasantly warm with a decent turnout. Though we did misplace Sean Cheng. That was a small bummer. Our numbers are growing for the training runs, but Central Park hasn't yet reached its maximum occupancy.

The color this week was green. we averaged about fifty percent of the team appropriately attired. two of us countered with red for a festive christmas effect.

next week: represent your alma mater!

Predicament

I’m in Las Vegas, NV for one of my best bud’s bachelor party(Louie Northern). It falls right in line with a 20-mile training run, the longest run yet. I decide to take it easy the night before and go for it.

Friday, September 14th, 10:00am. The sun was screaming through a sliver in the hotel room curtain. Groggy I slip on my running shoes and go through my routine making sure I don’t forget anything. I check the outside temperature on my phone. It currently reads 95 with a high of 101. Having not run in this kind of heat before I don’t know what to expect so I make sure I have some cash, ID, debit card, powergels, sunglasses, and lather on plenty of sunscreen. I strap on a Garmin GPS watch and head out. Slipping past the slots, craps tables and dodging some early morning partiers I slip out the front door into the desert.

Trying to make a 20-mile on the Las Vegas strip was challenging but entertaining to say the least. First I headed south towards the airport. Within the first 2 miles I feel my mouth start to dry out from the intense dry heat. I quickly pull into a convenience store and grab a bottle of water to carry with me. I head on. I pass the Luxor, MGM grand, The Bellagio, all the wonders of the Vegas strip! Then the airport. “Only 4 miles!!” I keep going the sidewalk disappears and I’m now running on crushed rock and sand. I start to wonder what it’s like in Kenya for the Maasai to train in their “Michelin Thousand Milers” and the intense heat they run in.

I run five miles out and really start to notice the heat beating down on my head. I come across a commercial area with some stores and jog through the parking lot hopeing to find a hat. After some searching I came across a perfect white Nike running hat. With the sun off my face I already notice a difference and think about Dean Karnazes (http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/) and his ultra marathons through Death Valley in his all white running suit.

I make my way back through the strip to old Vegas followed by a loop back to the hotel. 3 ½ hours, five bottles of water, 3 Gatorades and 3 powergels later. The odometer on the Garmin hits 20.01 mi. I’ve done it. This was the most difficult run I have ever done and quite possibly harder than the marathon will be. Now it is time to let loose and celebrate the bachelor.

PARKing Day, this Friday

Every year, our office participates in PARKing Day, a design and activism event aimed at taking back underused urban spaces for the public through the simple act of taking a parking space and making it a people space for a day.

This year, EDAW AECOM is tying in our effort for the marathon by centering our park design around the Maasailand landscape in a comparison to the classic western landscape ideal of lawn and lush gardens. We're aiming to raise awareness about water and resource conservation, and segue into our fundraising while relaxing and enjoying some fresh (well, fresh-like, for what the streets of midtown Manhattan are worth) air and cameraderie.

PARK(ing) day takes place in many cities every year. Whether you're in New York (click here for locations throughout the city), or another participating city, check it out. It's a fun event, even if only to pass by and see what people came up with for their space. We'll be on W 27th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue on Friday, September 19th during business hours.

Also, if anyone has anything like, oh, say a hut with a thatched roof lying around, or a big roll of sod, please, by all means, get ahold of us. We're rallying our resources right now.

Stay tuned for follow-up photos after the event, as well.

Press Junket

The Maasai Marathon effort is ramping up publicity! Edward's putting out the word: he talked to CNN about training and the cause, in this article, and put a plug in for the cause in an MTV interview.

Sept 8th Training Run

Lady in Red

Jenny:

After the holiday weekend a small team of 4 gathered to go on a run. In an effort to create some team solidarity after last week’s mishaps, it was suggested we all wear red shirts. All four members showed up within the new 15 min late window; only one soldier arrived in red. Lady red did happen to attract a few mosquitoes. The team members not wearing red seem to be without bug bites.


The correlation may not be scientific, but it is likely to reinforce Jenny's distaste for the color.

Drought in Kenya

You may be aware that there's a serious drought in Kenya, set to likely be the worst in history.

Though it should be noted that the Maasailand is not the most harshly affected region, the drought does have an effect on the area, and the efforts by the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) help cushion the effect of crises in hard times by helping support sustainable systems that will help maintain the integrity of the Maasailand for the future (read below).

With regard to the drought crisis in specific, more extensive immediate relief efforts are needed than are being mobilized at this point. Read more about it in the New York Times: " Lush Land Dries Up, Withering Kenya's Hopes".

With regard to the effect of the drought on Maasailand, Edward points out:

If you look at the map in the Times of the area affected by the drought it very definitely includes Maasailand. The drought in the Chyulu Hills region is currently the worst in the memory of any living Maasai. There are women in the community who were born in the '20's who cannot recall a drought more severe than this one.

The papers are focusing on the north because that area is true desert and therefore even more desperate. But actually the place that wildlife is being most threatened in large numbers is the Amboseli-Chyulu-Tsavo ecosystem.

One of the very interesting things emerging in MWCT's area of work is that the community is suffering less because of its partnership with MWCT. Bad times like these prove that having sources of sustainable revenue apart from cattle and goats is key to getting through such times. The revenues from tourism (though reduced) are providing a very important lifeline and the employment and services provided by the Trust are one of the few mitigating forces in the area right now. In addition, these events drive home the need for sustainable use of landscapes. Many of the senior leaders in the community have affirmed to MWCT that they now see why overgrazing is an issue they need to grapple with, because it has depleted the grass reserves that are needed in a drought.

In short, I think our runners can without hesitation answer that these circumstances are exactly why better land management and ecosystem planning is so important. Supporting this work is definitely having a direct role in softening the devastation of droughts like these.

stay tuned for upcoming fashion statement

We're in the process of designing a logo for the Maasai Marathon effort. We're brainstorming ideas, and soon we'll have something to splash all over tee shirts and who-knows-what-else to use to raise funds and awareness for the cause. Yippee! Stay tuned.

1971

So I stopped by the New York road runners office the other day. It was the first time I had visited their office on E. 89th St. and they had all these great photos on the wall from previous marathons along with this really cool race flyer. It was for the second annual NYC marathon held on September 19, 1971. Some interesting things I noticed from the flyer was the entry fee was only $2 compared to $171 today. Also the entire race took place in Central park that consisted of one 2.2 mile loop followed by four 6.1 loops. I think the route is a lot more interesting today that takes runner through all five boroughs. In 1971, 245 people started the race compared to the 38,832 that started last year. As you can see the NYC has come a long way in and it’s fascinating to think about the history involved with the race and to think on Nov. 1st we will be a part of it.

running with a goal in sight, rather than away from wildlife

I like to joke that I only run when chased. (I believe it is painfully clear that Brian is not the author of this post at this point, but in case you have wondered, Brian's posts will be in green and say "brian" at the foot.)

My preferred ways of enjoying the fresh air usually lie somewhere along the lines of reclining in the grass, hiking mountains, or from underneath the awnings of european-ey cafes.

But here we are, faced with a cause worthy enough to make me be unable to justify sloth-like inclinations. The Maasai Wilderness is an incredibly unique place; whether we've been there yet or not, the ecological and human communities that make up the Maasai are irreplicable and must be conserved and supported for the future. Freestyle scuba-diving from Battery Park to raise money? Hand-dredge Turtle Pond in Central Park to preserve hippo habitat in Africa? Pig-latin spelling bee in Brooklyn for new schools in Kenya? Sign me up.

The thousandmilers have been excited about and working toward this effort since early July, and today is a wonderful day because we are finally able to roll out the Maasai Marathon website and start rallying seriously with the awareness- and fund-raising effort.

And quite the effort it is! With a headliner like Edward Norton leading the marathon team, and David Blaine literally bringing some magic to the mix, we may even garner the support of celeb-swooners who might not normally be strongly inclined to support the cause. And we have a whole herd of runners, all with their own niches- if you're into finance tycoons, we've got those for you to swoon over, too! Check out the lineup if you're curious (admire all the runners your heart fancies, but please, show Brian love with your dollars!)

The best part of the running lineup is the three Maasai running with us- flown out all the way from Africa, they train in pretty much the opposite environment as us- open sky, no pavement, dry heat. (Although I will add that there are literal herds of ipod-equipped runners along the bridle path in Central Park.) We are so excited to meet them and have them run with us.

So please:
1) check out the Maasai Marathon site and learn about the cause
2) give a few dollars to show your love for Brian, the thousandmilers, and Africa
3) keep comin' back; and watch our Amazon fund-raising meter chug along!

pencil us in

We've begun to fill up our dance card- between training runs, event preparation, and fundraising efforts, we can see November 1st coming up quite quickly! Here's a preview of our Google calendar as it starts to fill, and you can always link to it from the sidebar on the right (down a bit, under "key links").

Sept 1 Training Run, Sharks v. Jets

Point-Counterpoint.

Goldberg:
2 months to race day! The weekly training fun run hits the bridle path in Central Park. The cool and dry weather is a welcome change from the august heat and humidity.

Problems arise! On today's run, 6 members en-route to the park from the office must be stuck in the subway- but darkness is approaching so this 4-man crew gets their run on.

Jenny:
A group of 6 runners and walkers embark a journey through the New York City subways. The journey to Central Park was long, riddled with transfers, delays, and stopped subway cars. The frustrated group, with no means of communications while trapped underground, had hopes that the teammates awaiting their arrival would be understanding and possibly still be waiting since they knew the group was en route. Upon being freed from the underground entrapment, they arrived in the park late with high hopes. The fearless group of 6 came upon the meeting spot only to see no one waiting for them.

As disheartening as this was, the group of 6 pressed on to run and walk their share of miles for the day with a positive attitude. Thanks to both groups it looks like the miles for the week will top 40. The late runners apologize for their tardiness and hope that one particular runner from the “punctual group” will stop giving them a hard time.