Yes, There is often a violent reaction that usually happens after we eat too many gummi bears. There is also a much more enjoyable reaction when we allow the sucrose sugar in these rainbow colored sugar-bombs to mix with liquid state Potassium Chlorate. This is a reaction that Eric Blackburn demonstrates for chemistry and physical science classes at Cleveland High School. Do not try this at home!
We came down to the wire in an explosive finale the likes of which is only appropriate in action movies. We had hours of time to make up over 36 short hours so we threw a hail Mary. Vans dropped off several runners to run their legs staggered and simultaneously. At one point, I was kicked out of the van like a kidnapping victim and ran 18-20 miles to be picked up a couple of towns over in rural Connecticut. We were doubling up to cover the ground twice as fast and it worked. We were able to roll into Hopkinton, Ma right in time to deliver our first check to a life-changing group named "One Step Ahead". The Boston Marathon start line also served as our team relay finish due to elevated security at the finish line in Boylston Street in downtown Boston. The final 26.2 miles remained the task of a very deserving group of our own runners that would run GPSy through the monumental race course to the finish a day later. The journey was life-changing. I will never view running, or life, the same way again. After being welcomed by the Boston community and just about every town in between, I will never feel like a stranger in this country again. That's enough of the sentimental stuff, I have to save some for the video finale! So here it is: my last Run Now Relay digital short. Enjoy! 2nd Block Environmental Scientists are creating an environmental impacts survey. Here's just a little media from Mouse Creek, parallel to the Cleveland Greenway and from Raider drive to 25th! My 4th Block got crashed by Jonquil Newland and Channel 3! Thanks again guys for being a stellar class. This was pretty impromptu, as I got a heads up about 10 minutes into 4th block that someone needed to represent the Run Now team in a follow-up story. I half-jokingly replied that my students may not mind too much and before you knew it, 30 minutes later we were getting some media coverage during a lecture and breakout assignment! Never a dull moment at Cleveland High. Honored to rep my school and my city even if I'm a rambling scatterbrain! Duane Goff is a local firefighter and first responder who ran the Run Now Relay. It seemed everywhere we went, Duane was greeted and welcomed by firefighters across the country. Our journey with Duane ends with an emotional exchange at Boston FD only months after the tragic loss of some of their own. Amazing what technology is capable of! We lost our team GPS tracker on Day 5. How does someone lose a GPS?! Here is a short clip of the recovery mission while we had a runner en route. We hit the nation's capitol for some epic shenanigans! We have been running now for days and we are beat. I have run 5 half marathons and sporadic smaller runs in between so my mileage as of this writing for the week is 65 miles, and the team has traveled over 700 miles on foot to deliver our money to the great charities that we have targeted in Boston. This video has some DC eye candy as well as a reminder of why we are running in the first place. I am blown away by this experience and I am trying to share as much as I can with you! While it is half-way through the week, we happen to be halfway through our journey at the Run Now Relay! We have landed into a bitter and blustery cold Washington, D.C at 4 in the morning. We have ran HARD for 4 days straight and some profound oppurtunities await us ahead! Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let's hear from some of our runners on the highs and lows of their journeys, and how our bodies are responding to this challenge! Word of the day is CONNECTIONS. We are seeing some amazing things take place around us as we make our way through the first days of this journey! Local news affiliates are chasing our runners through the streets and support and donations are trickling in from the cities and stops that we pass through. We are in the middle of a movement, and it is something much bigger than ourselves! I stood in the expanse below Natural Bridge natural monument today in Virginia and remained in awe for a while. Sometimes it's good to focus on something that is much bigger than yourself and to forget these persistent worries that are as fleeting as the day. Running my fingers along the cold stone at the base of this huge natural archway, I was taken aback by the number of names and inscriptions and dates from the 1800's that peppered the high walls. It's amazing to imagine the hands that carved those inscriptions existed centuries ago, and were seeking the same thing many of us seek today: to be connected to something larger! Just like the inscribers on this unforgettable landmark, we are running to Boston in hopes of making our marks and leaving a timeless message. We no longer write on stone but we still write on walls and we still post our own proclamations. The just happen to be on the expansive archways of our social media outlets. I once thought social media was strictly frivolous until I witnessed the momentum that this Run Now event has picked up. I am seeing connections and bridges being built among people and cities that I never would have dreamed I would have witnessed. It's humbling. Standing at the base of something expansive and seeing where you connect. Yes, it is indeed humbling. But it is also empowering. Find your connection! What an emotional day. To make each day easier to plan lessons and assignments around, I've searched for some type of "theme" word. It isn't just the fact that this is a prequel to my first actual case-study, Bristol Motor Speedway, but my word is Movement. We are in the middle of a movement. A transfer of energy is the BEST way that I can sum up what is driving a small army of Tennesseans to run the east coast to deliver a message of love and support to a recovering town. Movement is not just limited to the concepts of vectors, but to the very driving force that compels us to move in the everyday directions that our hearts lead. Watch, follow and allow yourself to find movement in your own relay! |