Running Blog

Visiting the St. Charles Home for Children.

Posted on August 16, 2011 by admin

It is @ 1:30 am and I was about to call it a day when I thought that what I am about to say just cannot wait.

Sub5 Racing gets hired by many races to manage them at various levels. Most of these races are 1) 5K’s and 2) supporting a cause.  All of these causes are noble and I respect them…and the St. Charles Home for Children 5K, so I thought, is no different….a great cause organized and maintained by truly selfless people.

HOWEVER,  I had the privilege of getting a tour of the home last week & that changed my opinion forever.

Without diving into the details of my personal life, let me just say that I am not a stranger to the foster care system & the scars it leaves on kids or the challenges  that kids with special needs can present, therefore,  I was thought I knew what to expect.

I was wrong.

What I was expecting was a sterile, institution like home, that provided a safe, yet mainly standard facility.

What I found there was a home.  Someplace, I would feel safe and comfortable in.  Despite it housing up to 20 children, it felt like a caring, loving home….something some of these children probably have never had before.

It really struck me on how important this 5K race is to supporting this home.

We, at Sub5racing.com always strive to do our best for our clients, but after this tour, it really became personal.  If you are considering entering this race at all, I implore you to do so.

Not because I look good if more people sign up than last year, but because your $20. REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I can vouch that the $$ is put into good use and that every child that goes through the home, comes out with a better shot at a good life than he/she probably has ever had before.

If you do not find this reason to be compelling enough to enter, please feel free to email me directly @ chris@sub5racing.com stating why.  I would be very curious to see your reasoning.

This is not meant to be a guilt entry, but merely a personal testimony to the great job that Sister Mary Agnes and other Sisters do here.

Peace & Blessings
cb

 

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Road Racing Confession

Posted on August 16, 2011 by admin

Hello Everyone,

This is Chris Bernier from Sub5racing.com.  If you read Sister Mary Agnes’s previous post, you were fairly warned that I will be posting on here.

I have been running and racing for over 20 years…..and while I do not have any All American Titles or have been in the Olympic Trials, believe me, I have won my fair share of races, from 1 mile, to 5k’s to some ultra distances…. & can still hammer it out with the best of them to this day at almost any of those levels (Our company name, Sub5 is a mile time that, age 37, I can still hit).

I say that, not to be a show off, but only to make my next point….which quite frankly is more of a confession.

I am envious of those middle/back of the pack people.  There.  I said it.  I truly believe with all of my heart that it takes more strength, more guts and more heart to not just enter a race, but step up to the start line and then finish a race, when you know you are not going to win.

Why?

Because most of the people I meet from that group are overcomers. They have stories of overcoming something much bigger than I could have imagined.   An illness, a family member’s untimely death, a divorce, addiction or any other mountain (or valley) life throws at us sometimes.

Here I am at the front trying to maintain a 5 minute pace, “thinking” I am pushing my body to its limits, yet there is someone cranking a 10 minute mile giving it more than I ever could have.

And that’s what racing is all about.

I am not going to use the cliche, that “we’re all winners”.  No.  There is only one.  But everyone who enters this or any other race are champions….running their course…conquering their race…telling that that demon that it does not have permission to hold them back any longer.

I see that in every runner that enters and completes a road race.  I see that in the children living in this house (more about my tour in another post)…and I bet, if we meet on monday the 5th, I’ll see it in you.

So, are you in or what?  Let’s do this.  Come on race day to register.

 

I would love to hear your story.  Friend us on Facebook & post your story!

Peace & Blessings,

Chris Bernier

 

Posted in 5k, Blog Posts, kids running, race, road race, running, running first race | Comments Off

Getting Ready for Our 15th Annual 5k!

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Sister Mary Agnes

It’s a special year for the St. Charles Children’s Home 5k:  Our 15th Annual.  It’s special for me as Race Director as well, since this is my 10th year directing the race.  Those of you who have been with us from the beginning remember that Willis founded our 5k, with Sylvia Warren as Race Director.  When Syliva retired in 2002, I took over the logistics of the race, while Willis has continued to solicit many generous sponsors for us each year.

Directing the race has been a challenge the last 4 years, as I was living in San Diego, California pursuing full time studies.   Thank goodness for modern technology, which made it possible to organize the race from 3,000 miles away!

Speaking of modern technology, we are trying to make better use of it.  I have hired Sub 5 Race Management this year to initiate an online campaign to attract runners to our race.   Those who know me know I have been dreaming for years about growing our race bigger.  My goal this year is 1500, and hopefully Sub 5 can help us accomplish that.  Over the years people have often asked me, “Why don’t you market the race better- Everyone should know about this race!”  I was delighted to discover Sub 5 to help with this year’s marketing campaign.

I would like to introduce Chris Bernier, who will be a guest on our blog over the coming month.  Be sure to welcome him when he posts!

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Celebrating Mission Trails Regional Park

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Sister Mary Agnes

When I originally started this blog for RunningNuns, my intent was to give people a window into St. Charles Children’s Home and our running program with the children. That proved much harder than I thought it would for the simple reason that I have been living 3000 miles away from the Home in San Diego attending school full time.  Beginning in July, I will be home in New Hampshire and able to provide that “window in” which I envisioned in the beginning.  I hope to invite guest bloggers as well…so stay tuned!

Some of the rock formations in Mission Trails look almost human. These can be seen from the Climber's Loop Trail

In the meantime, why not celebrate San Diego a little bit while I am getting ready to leave it?  One thing I never expected to find in a big city like this (I grew up in a small, quiet, NH town) was so much closeness to nature.  Just a few miles down the road I live on is a beautiful park called Mission Trails Regional Park.  I fondly think of it as “Mission Gorge.”  The city park has many mountains and miles and miles of trails–all within a 5 minute drive from where I live.  For the past 3 1/2 years, I have been hiking on those trails and filling in a map, hoping some day I could say that I hiked all of them.  About two weeks ago, I accomplished that goal.  Mission Trails has meant a lot to me.  When I first arrived in San Diego and still in recovery from serious illness, I could only walk for about 20 minutes before getting exhausted.  The thought of ever climbing any of the mountains seemed like an impossible dream.  But I kept going back…

I hope in this and other posts to celebrate some of my favorite trails.  I will start with the trail called the “Climber’s Loop.”  It is very short and very steep.  At the top, serious climbers use ropes and equipment to scale the rocks to the top of the mountain.  In my long habit, that goal was beyond me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the heights I could reach, and the sense of accomplishment in being able to navigate this difficult trail.  I often climbed it in my Vibram Fivefingers, too!  Here are some of my favorite pictures:

I know it doesn't look all that high from here, but wait until you see the photos looking down...


I think one of the reasons I enjoy hiking in Southern California so much is the fact that you can see for miles and miles because there are very few tall trees to hamper the view. I really enjoy the grass and wildflowers on these mountains.

 

I love the sense of height you get so quickly on this trail...

 

This is one of my favorites: I really enjoy all the colors...

There are some quiet resting spots on the trail. Here is where I stopped to eat my lunch. You can't see them from here, but a man and a woman were scaling the other side of this narrow tall rock!

Here is what the summit looks like much closer to the top.

I hope to share many more posts about Mission Gorge Trails–if not during my last weeks here in San Diego, then I will write about them one I get home.  It will be a good way to remember my beautiful years in San Diego…

 

 

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Photos: 14th Annual St. Charles Children’s Home 5k

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Sister Mary Agnes
There’s nothing like being prompt and getting things done in a timely manner.  I planned to have the photos up from last year’s race by the middle of September.  Sigh.  Here they are now nearly 1000 of them!  I have to say, there is one good thing about being so late with this.  Picasa changed during the ensuing months, and instead of uploading only 5 at a time I was able to upload the entire DVD in one sitting.  My goal was to have my photographers capture as many runners as possible.  Hopefully most people who ran the race can find themselves somewhere in here.  Here is the link to the photo album:  Enjoy!

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Absentee Blogger–With an "Excuse"

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Sister Mary Agnes

 

Ok, I have only written one post since September, and I just had to delete it because the link to the video I posted was broken.  My excuse?  Graduate school.  Above is a picture of my day of triumph in receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Entrepreneurial Business from John Paul the Great Catholic University.  I arrived back at school a couple of weeks after graduation ready to pursue my MBA.  At least I thought I was ready.  I never dreamed how all-consuming graduate level study would be!  So, my posts will probably be fewer and farther between until I finish the MBA in June, but I don’t plan on giving up the blog.  At the end of June I will travel back to New Hampshire and will be able to write about what this blog really is supposed to be all about–Our Sisters running with the kids.  Stay tuned…
Posted in Catholic | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Thank You to Everyone Who Came Out to the St. Charles 5k

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Sister Mary Agnes
For me, yesterday’s race was the best and most beautiful ever!  The weather was perfect and we had a great turnout.  I am now back in San Diego to take my finals in college so I can graduate on Saturday(!)  I want to use this post to give some important messages to runners who may be looking for more information.  
To see the official results on Cool Running, follow this link to the race results.  
Seacoast online published two articles on our race here and here.  
I had a few photographers at the race.  Once they have submitted their photos and I have uploaded them, I will share those links.  If any runners took photos or videos that you would like to share, please email the link to srmaryagnes11@aol.com and I will be happy to get them up.
Many runners left the race early and did not pick up their awards.  If you see in the results on Cool Running that you won an award but did not receive it, please feel free to stop by St. Charles Children’s Home to pick it up, or email me and I will be happy to mail it to you.
Also, there are always some runners who sign up but are not able to come on race day.  Traditionally that means they forfeit their T shirt.  If you registered and were not able to come, please feel free to stop by St. Charles to pick up you race bag and T shirt.  Or, I can mail it to you, but I would ask $5 to cover the cost of shipping.  Just email or send a check and I will get the shirt out to you.  I am in San Diego until September 14, and I will do any requested mailing then.
Please give us your comments and feedback about the race!  We are always trying to find ways to make our race better, and we want our runners to be involved in that process.  Again, thank you for coming out yesterday!
Posted in race, road race, St. Charles Children's Home 5k | 1 Comment

You can still register for the St. Charles 5k on Race morning!

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Sister Mary Agnes
Online registration at Active.com is now closed, but people can still register for the race on race morning.  In fact, many runners prefer to do that.  Just plan to come sometime between 7:30 and 8:45.  We will be glad to have you join us!  Registration fees on Labor Day are $20 per runner.  The Fun Run for kids 7 and under is free.  There are still plenty of T shirts and lots of food for everyone.  Don’t miss this race!
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Perfect Weather for the St. Charles 5k

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Sister Mary Agnes
The sisters at St. Charles pray about many things, and as Labor Day approaches each summer we ask the Lord for nice weather for the day of our big road race.  He has not disappointed us yet!  We have things cooling off by Monday, and the temperature should still be in the 60s when the gun goes off at 9 AM.  I cannot ask for a nicer forecast.  
Some runners have told me they like our new website, but they miss the thermometer showing the number of runners who have registered!  I am still in the process of learning how to navigate the back end of our website, so maybe by next year I will have figured out a way to put our thermometer back.  But in case anyone is wondering, we have 711 runners pre-registered as I write this blog.  Online registration continues until 11 PM tonight, so that number may go up.  I am excited to say we have already surpassed last year’s record of pre-registered runners, which was 689.  As anyone familiar with my former home made website knows, our goal is to reach 1000 runners.  So call your friends and bring them along!  Walkers are welcome too.  We have great food and a really big raffle.  In another post I intend to highlight some of our bigger raffle prizes this year.  
Several months ago, someone suggested to me that I give up the road race and find more efficient ways to raise money for St. Charles.  I was deeply distressed at even thinking about not having our race!  But the question helped me to reflect about how much this race really does mean to me.  It has been the highlight of every year for me since it began in 1997.  There is just something so special for me when I see so many people gathered to support our work with the children at St. Charles.  I love it when the gun goes off and I watch the runners all start:  the energy and enthusiasm are amazing.  Another special moment is when we call all of our children up at awards time so everyone can recognize the St. Charles Eagles.  This year, most of our children have just begun living at St. Charles a few weeks ago.  This will be their very first race.  Each of them will be a winner, because when they cross the finish line they will have set their first “personal record” and will be able to receive our unique “PR Awards” during the awards ceremony.  Some of them are eagerly anticipating the race, and ask me about it every time they see me.  I can’t wait to see their response on race day.
Thank you to all the runners who come each year and make this such a wonderful event.
Posted in 5k, fitness, food, kids running, personal record, PR, PR Awards, raffle, running, running first race, St. Charles Children's Home 5k | Comments Off

The Saint Charles Children’s Home 5K–a video from last year

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Sister Mary Agnes
I happened to find this video that someone captured from our race last year and put together, and thought I would share it on the blog.  Last’s year’s race was wonderful and we hope for another great race just 8 days from today on Labor Day!
Just a reminder that if anyone wishes to run our 5k but can’t be with us on Labor Day for whatever reason, please consider running our Virtual 5k wherever you are, whenever you want.  
Posted in 5k, St. Charles Children's Home 5k, Virtual 5k | 1 Comment