Here’s what Alison has to say about the book:

The Runner’s Cookbook features 100 recipes from 90+ contributors, including Joan Benoit Samuelson, Sebastian Coe, Shalane Flanagan, Adam and Kara Goucher, Ryan and Sara Hall, Deena Kastor, Craig Mottram, Dathan Ritzenhein, Khadevis Robinson, Alan Webb, and many others. All of the proceeds from the sales of this book will be
donated to the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund and the Jenny Crain “Make It Happen” Fund.

Not convinced? Just check out this table of contents! (PDF)

So pick up your copy today from Lulu.com ($14.95 US). Just think, you could be having Suzy Favor Hamilton’s Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert tonight!

All you have to do to win a chance at these fabulous prizes is donate to Barb & Mike’s fundraising account for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The buy-in is $10 for 1 bracket, $25 for 3 brackets and $40 for 5 brackets. (What’s a “bracket,” you ask? “With your bracket, you make guesses as to who will win each game from the field of 64 teams through six rounds until you have one team left which earns the title of National Champions,” says Barbara.)

To make a donation to play, go here . But hurry, time is running out! All participants must donate by 8 p.m. central time (US), Wednesday, March 19 to play!

If you’ve been a runner for any length of time, you’ve got more running shoes lying around than you can possibly use. How do you know when it’s time to move on to a new pair? Do you switch out your running shoes when they hit 500 miles regardless of how they feel? You probably have your oil changed every 3,000 miles too, don’t you? Do you swap out your running shoes for an impulse buy after a sleek new pair of kicks tickles your fancy? Are you faithfully married to one pair until death do you part? Or, are you the shameless playboy who keeps multiple pairs in the rotation at the same time? Do you ever find yourself cheating on your new shoes with an old pair that you still have feelings for? “It didn’t mean anything. I was thinking of you the entire run. It won’t happen again, I swear.”

No matter how many ‘partners’ we’ve had in our running lives, we all have that old pair of shoes hidden deep in the closet that never see the light of day. Those are the ones I’d like you to think about now. What happens to those shoes? Do they just lie around gathering dust? There are a number of better options no matter what your past relationship with them was like.

When you’ve decided that you’re ready to break up with those old running shoes and move on with your life, then check out the ideas below. I’ve listed some places where you can donate your old shoes and some suggestions on which shoes to donate where.

Shoe4Africa and One World Running. Both Shoe4Africa and One World Running send shoes to needy adults and children in Africa. The chances are pretty good that sending your shoes to Kenya will result in them getting significantly faster. I like to donate some of my favorite shoes to these types of programs because even though they are moving on to another runner, I know they will still be happy. They will finally be able to realize their full potential. Sending your shoes to Kenya is like when your parents sent your childhood dog to the farm where he could run and chase rabbits all day long. It’s a happy ending. Of course, it’s not entirely the same because your parents actually had Sparky put down, but in this case, your shoes really will get to run all day long.

Reuse-A-Shoe. Sponsored by Nike, the Reuse-A-Shoe program program will take your old shoes and grind them up into a compound called ‘Nike Grind,’ which is then used to make running tracks, basketball courts, synthetic athletic fields, and playgrounds for kids. This is a great option for shoes that you had a bad breakup with because being crushed into ‘Nike Grind’ sounds like a painful process for your old shoes and allows you to delight in their destruction. If you’re lucky, those shoes that literally rubbed you the wrong way will end up as part of a playground and some kid will drop his messy ice cream right on top of them. That will teach them to underperform on race day. (Incidentally, having a poor race is always your shoes fault. It is never due to the fact that you under-hydrated, over carb-loaded, or didn’t train hard enough.) The Reuse-A-Shoe program is also a good option for shoes that are too worn out to be donated to one of the other programs.

Sole Responsibility and The Shoe Bank. Both of these organizations primarily focus on collecting used running shoes in their local areas. Sole Responsibility is situated in Ottawa and begins collecting shoes each spring at various Ottawa running events. They donate the used running shoes to refugees that have fled to Chad from the violence in their home region of Darfur. The Shoe Bank has locations across Texas. They started out with the goal of providing shoes to homeless people living on the streets of Dallas, and have since grown to provide shoes to India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand in the aftermath of the tidal waves that hit Southeast Asia. These programs are good options if your running shoes left you and moved to Texas or Ottawa, or for those of you living or racing in those locales.

If you are looking for a place close to home to drop off your used shoes, a local track club or running store is a great place to start. Many of them will already be working with the aforementioned organizations and some of them may even have a charitable shoe drive of their own, distributing used running shoes locally to children of low income families or homeless people.

As runners we usually get a great deal of joy out of purchasing a new pair of running shoes. Imagine how much more joyous it must be for those less fortunate than us to receive a pair of running shoes that they otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to own.

Recent Posts from this Author’s Blog

Anyone that’s directed a race knows the difficult task I’d undertaken, especially in an area rife with poverty and no official running programs. And did I mention this event was in hot ‘n’ humid, hurricane-prone North Carolina in mid-August? Nothing initially went according to plan, but by race day we had beautiful weather and a bona fide 100-yard dash and 400-meter series for area schoolchildren held at the local high school track. It included a pep talk by a U.S. track and field Olympian; finisher’s medals, personalized running bibs, goodie bags and T-shirts for all participants; plenty of bottled water and Powerade (both rare there); and school supplies for those who finished various fitness challenges, such as rulers for those who did 10 sit-ups and erasers for 5 push-ups. Even the local press came and gave us great coverage. The morning’s event ended with an awards ceremony after each athlete and his or her entire family received a free lunch, served up from the concession stand.

The cost to enter: $5. The profit from each entrant: $5.

Sponsors paid for the entire event either through donating items, services or money so that I could keep costs for entry as low as possible. It didn’t take much to convince them this was a worthy cause; soliciting financial help, however, was different.

Since then, I’ve made it a point to take note of who sponsors my favorite races and to patronize or recommend them if possible. In a tightening economy like the one we’re experiencing, it’s especially important to thank those individuals and businesses that stand behind running events. We who enter races are an excellent demographic (marathoners, for instance, have an average household income of $95,000), which helps recruit donations. But the new running boom’s rise in the number of road races and triathlons, combined with the current economic crunch, is putting the squeeze on local merchants.

A successful organized run with great feedback (when warranted) from participants is also a good way to impress sponsors and keep an event on the calendar. Use those coupons and samples in goodie bags, too. Donors enjoy supporting races that produce results.

By the third year of our children’s annual August foot race, not only did past sponsors gladly give, but others came forward without me even asking. It turns out some of the past participants’ parents loved the footrace festival, and they told their employers.

That particular event also made me realize another way we with much can give to those with less. While doing outreach in disadvantaged neighborhoods, I asked local youth leaders to put up flyers. One woman deeply rooted in one community saw one and decided to “sponsor” about a dozen at-risk youths by personally providing their transportation and entry fees. Not only did their participation supply the kind of diversity and exposure I’d hoped for, but it gave me an idea. Next time you want to help make a difference in a child’s or struggling adult’s life, “sponsor” them at a local 5k run/walk and encourage them to train. You could do it personally or approach a youth group’s leadership to find eager applicants. Maybe there’s a niece or nephew or cousin or sister or brother who could use a boost. Trust me, you’ll feel great too.

Tim Borland plans to run 26.2 miles each and every day, beginning today, September 3, in Anaheim and finishing with the ING New York City Marathon on November 4. He figures he can average 9-minute miles while doing so, meaning that the 32-year old will run 63 consecutive 4:15 marathons.

To top it all off, Borland will also be pushing a stroller for the duration of the journey.

Borland will be running to raise money and awareness for ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a degenerative disease that afflicts children and usually kills them before adulthood. The cross-country journey is therefore called the A-T CureTour.

It is only logical to question why running 63 marathons is the best way to make a difference. Asked over the phone, Borland laughed at a question he has likely been asked far too many times.

“We’re trying to grab people’s attention and let the world know [about A-T]. Something as crazy as this will get [people] to want to know more and get them to give money as well.”

Borland, whose fastest marathon is three hours, has been training 80-120 miles a week in preparation, often running four consecutive 20-mile days. He says he does not consider what he is doing to be a superhuman accomplishment.

“I think our biggest roadblock is our own mind. We just discount it as being inconceivable,” he said, adding that “Our bodies were designed to do a lot more than we do with them.”

His biggest challenge, then, will not be the mind-and-foot-numbing pounding of 1,650 miles over nine weeks. Rather, Borland thinks that his “biggest challenge is going to be staying hydrated and getting enough food.”

He plans to eat a whopping 8,000 calories a day, the equivalent of a dozen, well, Whoppers.

You can follow Borland’s progress across the United States by reading his blog and you can support him by making a donation to the A-T Children’s Project.

First up this week is Peter, who is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Peter says:

I am training for my first marathon ever in Disney. I am doing this because it has a personal meaning to
meal along with trying to do something good in society by helping others, even though I going to be busy with my last year of college.

Donate to Peter here.

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Kathy, at Tiara Training, is raising money for the charity Girls on the Run. Kathy will be running the Detroit Free Press half-marathon in October as a member of Team Tiara. Girls on the Run is a non-profit prevention program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running.

Kathy says:
As coach of girls on the run, I see the benefits and want to make the program available to more girls.

Donate to Kathy here.

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Rob, from the optimistically named blog, Don’t Be Last!, is raising money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Rob says:

I got “volunteered” to run a triathlon. I hate running, biking AND swimming. But, instead of dropping out, I thought I’d use charity as motivation. For every minute I finish ahead of the last place contestant, my donors give me a set amount. If I finish last, I donate $10 per donor.

To donate to Rob, e-mail him here>.

And that’s this week roundup! Dust off your wallet and donate!

Running long distances was never meant to be easy. It becomes even harder when the body becomes a barrier. For runners diagnosed with medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, spinal disorders, chronic pain or neurological disorders, that is the reality. Yet the passion for running remains.

The Minnesota-based medical device company introduced a program in 2006 called “Global Heroes”. This program recognizes runners from all around the world who have benefited from medical devices, and invites these Global Heroes to run in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. This is a great reward for people who have overcome medical conditions they may have ended their running careers—and in many cases‐their lives. I can personally relate to this as I had open heart surgery in Minnesota in 2002 to repair a damaged mitral valve. While I don’t quality as someone who has a “medically assisted device,” I do have a Medtronic “annuoplasty” ring which was used to help repair my leaky valve.

People with eligible medical devices include those who have the following:
Pacemaker or ICD
Spinal Device
Neurological Device
Insulin Pump
Heart Valve

The 2007 Global Heroes has already been selected for the race which takes place on October 7. This award recipients will each receive a paid entry to the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon or 10-mile race. They will also receive air transportation, lodging and meals, as well as miscellaneous special gifts, benefits, invitation to the Global Heroes reception, reserved finish line seating for friends and family, and a designated Global Hero race bib, hat and singlet. In addition, the Medtronic Foundation will donate $1,000 on behalf of each Global Hero to a non-profit organization that educates and supports individuals who live with their specific condition.

If you plan to be around at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, be sure to give these runners some extra encouragement. And who knows—maybe you or someone you know could apply to be a Medtronic Global Hero in 2008.

Medtronic Global Heroes: Ordinary runners overcoming extraordinary obstacles to continue to enjoy the sport they know and love.

My name is Kelly, and I have neurofibromatosis (or “NF”), a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow randomly throughout the body. Depending on the severity of one’s case, NF can lead to disfigurement, blindness, hearing loss, scoliosis, brain and spinal tumors, loss of limbs, malignancies, and learning disabilities. Currently, there is NO CURE.

The NF Marathon Team is a huge resource of funding for NF research. And I need your help!

Since I can’t run from NF, I’m running FOR it! I will be running in the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in October 2007, to raise money to find a cure for NF.

Please consider donating to Kelly’s worthy cause, here. Kelly is trying to raise $3,000, and so far she’s raised $62, so she could REALLY use your help! Check out her site.

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Kelsey is raising money for Team Hoyt and says:

I’m running my first half marathon (Virginia Beach Rock’n'Roll 1/2) on Sept. 2. I’m excited to be a part of this great charity. Dick & Rick Hoyt are truly inspirational. Thanks for your support!

Kelsey has raised $365 toward her goal of $1,500. Donate to Kelsey here.

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Ilene Leventhal writes the following:

The second annual Strides for Life fundraising race will take place at 9.00 a.m. on Sunday, August 26, 2007, in Southampton, New York. The 3-mile fun run/walk around scenic Lake Agawam is the cornerstone event of the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF), which funds innovative lung cancer research grants at leading cancer centers across the country. CNN Headline News anchor Nancy Grace is Honorary Chairman of the race.

More than 600 participants are anticipated to register for this year’s race including: professional runners, first-time runners, walkers, families, and current lung cancer patients and survivors. Following the race at 9:45 AM, there will be a 50-yard dash for children, and a medal presentation ceremony.

When: Sunday, August 26th, 2007.

Official Start Time: 9:00 a.m, rain or shine.

Where: The Cultural Center, Pond Lane & Jobs Lane, Southampton, New York.

Registration: Register online at www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org

Cost: Advance Registration Fee: $35 per adult, $15 per child (18 & under.)

Event Day Registration Fee: $40 per adult, $15 per child (18 & under.) Plus a requested minimum fundraising goal of $50 per registration that can be donated or raised from outside pledges.

Information: Visit www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org or call (212) 332-4403.

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Cara Mattleman wants

…to make you aware of the biggest event going on in 2007 to help solve one of the world’s most pressing problems: the global water crisis. It’s an epic around-the-world relay as 20 athletes circumnavigate the globe. Runners left New York City June 1 and have been running 24 hours a day for the past 48 day. The goal is to run 15,000+ miles in less than 100 days, to raise awareness and funds for people in need of clean drinking water.

With support from the Dow Chemical Company, the Blue Planet Run Foundation is behind this unprecedented event to help some of the more than one billion people who lack access to clean drinking water.

Visit www.blueplanetrun.org for complete details of the 2007 Blue Planet Run team and the run route.

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Looking for someplace to donate? Get out that checkbook, read all our charity spotlights, here, and donate!

For instance, Princess Runner is one of them. She’s raising $1,400 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through the Team in Training program.

Help this princess reach her goal here.

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Guess what? Connie Dressen is also raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society though the Team in Training program. And she really needs our help!

Connie says:

I am training to participate in a MARATHON!! I have become a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training and I am training for the Nike Women’s Marathon held on October 21, 2007, in San Francisco. Please donate, I have been unable to get any donations so far.

Now that is just sad! Donate to Connie here.

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One of CRN’s own, Jessica, of My Southern California Trail Running is raising money for the American Heart Association. Jessica says:

I’m running in the 27th Annual Orange County Heart Walk. In 2002 I had open heart surgery to repair a damaged mitral valve. The surgery was a great success and I hold heart related causes very close!

Please donate to Jessica’s great cause here.

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Another CRN author, Peter of DC Spinster, is also running the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on October 7, 2007, and raising money for A Running Start Foundation, a non-profit “dedicated to using the power of sports to improve the lives of young East Africans.” Peter asks that you show your support by pledging $1 or $2 or more for each mile he runs. Says Peter: “Chicago will be my fifteenth marathon, but my first one running for charity.”

Go help Peter reach his goal of $500 here.

It’s a known fact that runners are the most generous and charitable of athletes. Look through all our charity roundups here and find a cause or a person you would like to help out. You’ll never know how much your contribution will be appreciated.

First up is a CRN contributor: Dawn on the Run (aka the “Pink Chick”)!

Dawn says:

Call me crazy but I just signed up to run a race in my underwear—The Underwear Affair, 10k Run/5k Walk on June 9th. Okay, so I’m chicken and will likely wear boxers and a tank top but then again, who knows. The event is a fundraiser for cancers below the waist. Some of you may recall my Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer last year. Thankfully she is a survivor and is doing well. Cancer touches the lives of so many anything, if there is anyway I can help, including running in my PJs, it is just something I have to do. And heh, just think of all the great photo ops there will be…

All participants must raise a minimum of $300 or they don’t get to run that day and they don’t get to party with the rest of the runners and walkers. I hate to miss a good run or a good party so if you wanna see me run in my boxers and all the other great photos I’ll post then hop on over to my fundraising page and help me get there.

Dawn needs to raise $1,000 and she’s almost there! Let’s help get her over the top.

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Kristen and Andy are walking to raise money for the National MS Society. Their goal is $3,000; they’ve raised $250 so far, but have a long way to go before their three-day event on Sept. 7, 8, 9, 2007.

Kristen writes

I (Kris) have done small walks for the Boston Children’s Hospital in the past and I wanted to do something bigger this year. I never knew much about MS until recently when I had a series of tests done to rule out MS as the cause of the tingling and numbness I’ve been experiencing for the past year. I was relieved to learn that I do not have MS but it got me thinking about how terrifying it would be to have the disease. I can’t imagine suddenly being unable to move my legs or arms. The disease is so unpredictable that suffers can’t really prepare for it; they never know what to expect or when their condition will worsen. A few weeks ago, I started hearing radio ads for the MS Challenge Walk. They said “Walk for Someone Who Can’t” and I thought that was a wonderful idea. I’m lucky to have Andy’s support and am happy to have him as a walking buddy.

You can donate to their good cause here.

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Seth Rosen of TriSethTri: The 4/For/Four Campaign To Support Malaria No More writes:

Malaria kills millions of people each year but it is entirely preventable! A $10 bed net can save the lives of up to three people,
less then a week of coffee at Starbucks. I am raising $4,000 for 400 bed nets for Malaria No More by running the 2007 Chicago Marathon on October 7, 2007. Please sponsor me today and make a real difference in the fight against malaria.

Donate to this great cause here.

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If you’ve ever had to raise a lot of money for a worthy cause you know how hard it can be. I can tell you from personal experience that even the smallest amounts are very much appreciated! If you want to see all the Charity-o-Ramas, just click on the fundraising/ charity link above. Then take the next step and donate! You’ll be glad you did.