Mustaches & Running in Dresses

Hi all! 

Maury and I just got back from Seoul, where we had the chance to not only relax (lovely hookah), but also to pursue some new, "out-of-town" sponsors for our Gapcheon 10k Race on Dec. 4. The results we're positive, and soon, I hope to be able to add two new businesses to our cause.

Speaking of awesome, our friend Joe Riley had a great idea to add an additional wackiness to the race and after-party (besides his insistence on wearing a dress) - starting on Nov. 1, Riley's going to start growing a mustache as part of Movember.

Movember, for those unaware, is a charitable movement designed to raise money for Men's Health through the power of the mustache! It's a month-long campaign to grow the most bizarre, beautiful 'stache that you can, gathering sponsors and money along the way. We'll host a competition of sorts at our Yellow Taxi afterparty and give a small prize away. Then, we'll have the great Shave-Off ... effectively reducing those manly lumberjack-man to mere shadows of their former alpha-selves.

Contact Joe personally (http://www.facebook.com/joeyriles) if you're interested in joining up with him or finding out what style of mustache is best for you. All donations will go directly to the Korean Multiple Sclerosis Society, with whom we're having dinner sometime this week or next (whenever they can afford to take the train down from Seoul).

Great days ahead, folks! Currently, we have 55 participants set to either run or volunteer for our race! And the numbers grow every week. Thanks for the continued support.

- Shawn

So much news!

So, today, before getting a fantastic haircuit from Kuna Hair (I haven't had one in months and was starting to resemble Billy Ray Cyrus), we installed a donation box for the Korean Multiple Sclerosis Society on their counter. Many thanks to Koen, who helped us design it and put it where it will get the biggest draw.

When Maury and I left, there was already 12,000 won (about $10.50 US) in the box. Granted, 11,000 of it was ours, but it's a start! And one person not involved with us donated. A donation is just one extra way that people can help in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis here in Korea, and all without ever running along a river in the cold.

If you're here in Daejeon and interested, the box will be on Kuna Hair's counter from mid-October 'til December 3rd, the day before our Gapcheon 10k. That's when we can all run in the cold together, dressed in our finest Russian babushkas. 

Speaking of the 10k, we have 40 people signed up - some of those are runners, some are volunteers. There are 23 "maybes" and hundreds of invites still to be answered and/or sent out. Not bad for a little less than a week's work. We have two sponsors for the race, so far. With over a month and a half to go, I'm very impressed with how quickly things happen. People have really pulled together around this and started doing some of the groundwork (invites, after-party queries) for us, which has been a great help and much appreciated. 

As far as the website goes ... 

We've added a new section - Barb's Blog.  Barbara is my mother and the reason this website is here. She's the inspiration for the fundraising that Maury and I will do across the Globe, wherever we may be. Now she has her own forum to give advice, news, and personal anecdotes about her 25 years with the disease.

So much more work to be done and more than happy to do it. Catch you later!

Sign the Guestbook!

Hello folks, 

A friend and nurse visited Making Miles and thought it'd be a good idea to have a registry. I completely agree. A registry would allow us to send all of you who're interested a monthly newsletter, and I think it's a great idea.

Unfortunately, the cost is out of reach for us. It's a substantial amount to upgrade for a registry and/or the ability to give you folks usernames/message boards. 

I am excited to tell you about our new Guestbook, though. If you have the time and a thought, let us hear it! Anyone can write in our Guestbook using just a name. Also, you might notice if you look to the right, you'll see three additions that'll help keep you updated: an RSS service, Facebook, and Twitter.

As far as monthly newsletters go, I dig the idea. We'll find a way.

Thanks for readin', 

Shawn

Quick Updates from South Korea

First of all, let me welcome you to the site and say, "Hello!" Thanks for taking the time to visit Making Miles. This website is in its infancy, so to speak, but there are tons of good things happening for us in our quest to fight Multiple Sclerosis ...

1. The number one focus for us is on the December Gapcheon 10k that will benefit the Korean Multiple Sclerosis Society. Progress on the rubberized footpaths near the river (where we'll run) is phenomenal. Construction in Korea is a 7-days-a-week affair apparently, and soon we'll be posting a detailed map along with our info. on this website, as well as on the aptly-named Waeguks Got Runs Facebook page.

2. 2011. That's the year before the Pacific Crest Trail hike, and it will be the busiest. So far, we've sent out over 20 sponsorship requests to various Outdoor and Electronics companies, seeking assistance for our Pacific Crest Trail hike. The companies we've selected are the same companies that we've happily been customers of in the past. We believe in their gear, so here's to hoping they believe in our cause.

3. Maury recently found a charitable hub called Crowdrise. The task of trying to customize and configure this site is, I will admit, a bit daunting sometimes. To make it charity-friendly even more so! But thanks to Maury's sniffing, the worries are gone. Crowdrise seems to be an incredible one-stop-shop for doing all of the things we want to do - whether it be social networking, collecting and distributing donations, advertising, and organizing our followers into a charitable force of their own. 

Any Crowdrise users out there who'd like to share their positive or negative experiences with us, please comment below or use the contact us form.

Lastly, thanks for your interest and support. Mom's proud. We're going to keep pushing and taking steps to make this site better, to make more money to support the fight against MS around the World, and also, to be the best we can be with the short time we're given. 

- Shawn

Website Updates

In between planning dynamite English lessons for Korean teenagers, Maury and I have been hard at work on our weekends, too.

You see, between applying for PCT sponsorships, two better-paying ESL jobs here in Korea, and trying to organize an Aug. 27th wedding that will take place thousands of miles away from our current locale, we're lucky our hair hasn't turned silver. I did develop an ulcer, but I think it was more from spicy foods than stress ...

THE WEBSITE

If you've noticed, we've got two new sections: Sponsors and Contact Us. Check our sponsors out.

They're bringing us the most exciting news. We've mailed off nearly 15 sponsorship requests to our favored gear companies, and the response has been extremely positive, so far. We're very thankful that they'd consider us ... especially the smaller companies. So generous.

MONETARY DONATIONS

Eventually, as the date closes in (with perhaps a year or six months before the start-date), we'll start soliciting monetary donations from people and companies. Note: These donations are not for us! They're for the Multiple Sclerosis Societies themselves ...

I've contacted the National MS Society and State societies to see how this would best be accomplished. We'll post word on that as soon as we find out.

Well, that's all for tonight. It's time to finish a lesson for the kids tomorrow.

- Shawn