The Endurance Scholarship is now in its second year and funding for this project still relies on two simple things: my commitment to the ultra-marathon and your commitment to make pledges. As it was last year, I am asking for people to make pledges for every mile I complete with the assumption that I will go the full 50 miles. The question you may have is why it is that you should support this project.
First, this project has a very definitive goal: help a student go to college, and this is an endpoint where success is easy to define. Last year, I was successful because I was able to provide $2,500 to Caleb Dron who is now furthering his academic career at Chemeketa Community College, the school of his choice. Unlike a donation to the Red Cross or even your alma mater, the final recipient of the funds is known. No money disappears into “administration costs”. Every dime is paid out to the student. I don’t skim any off the top to pay for running shoes or Gu or the entrance fee for the race. You will know your contribution has gone to serve its intended purpose when the scholarship winner is announced just as it was in the week before the race last year.
Second, your belief in me is a crucial expression of trust and commitment. Offering this scholarship to a student from my school is an expression of my faith in their will to succeed and their drive to make it happen. Having a legion of backers like you demonstrates that there are scores of people who believe in my vision. The greater the number who donate, the more the project is validated. This collective will helps to motivate and inspire these young people to dream their grandest dreams. They come to believe in themselves because you demonstrate your belief in them through your support of me.
Third, it is universally acknowledged that education after high school is a crucial springboard to a stable adult life full of opportunity and promise. This scholarship does not place a greater degree of merit on college over a trade school. Instead it seeks to express the belief that choosing to continue education after it is compulsory is itself the goal. The data is clear: more education leads to greater income. However, we also all intuitively know that being a seeker of knowledge leads to a more fulfilled life.
Finally, your support is easy to do. I get to do the training runs which last four or five hours. I get to experience the ice baths afterwards. I forgo late Saturday nights in exchange for early Sunday runs. I have to deal with the chafing of skin on skin, mile after mile. I get to bruise and lose toenail after toenail—last year I was left with just three. You get the easy part. A pledge now and a check when I am done affords you the satisfaction of knowing that you were part of a collective effort to inspire, motivate, and support both myself and the student who will be granted this scholarship
I have made my commitment to the project; I hope that you will make a small commitment as well.
