This article appeared in the New York Times on October 22, 2010. Thanks Emery for forwarding this my way!
The article nicely sums up why I decided to use my run as a platform to call attention to our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan....enjoy...
The Way We Treat Our Troops
By BOB HERBERT
Published: October 22, 2010
"You can only hope that the very preliminary peace efforts in Afghanistan bear fruit before long. But for evidence that the United States is letting its claim to greatness, and even common decency, slip through its fingers, all you need to do is look at the way we treat our own troops.
The idea that the United States is at war and hardly any of its citizens are paying attention to the terrible burden being shouldered by its men and women in uniform is beyond appalling."
For the rest of the NY Times article...Click Here For Article
The bottom line point the article is making is that "out of sight, out of mind"...our troops, casualties and efforts take second place to Lady Gaga, the boring Lindsay Lohan and all of the other flotsam and jetsom that occupy our collective minds. Irregardless of how we got there, or if you agree with anything our Commanders in Chiefs have done the last 20 years, our young men and women deserve our support and attention.
That is why I picked Freedom is Not Free for the charity tie in. The reason I can run across the country is because the sacrifices our soldiers have made and continue to make every day. At least for a second, if I can get someone to think about what has been given up by our troops in our names, it will be worth it!
I hit 400 training miles for the month. Exactly what I wanted to hit. My wife deserves a Sunday without me running over hill and dale...so I think I will enjoy a runless Halloween! 500 miles is the goal in November...only four months more to go!
You are a man on MANY missions who I admire immensely. I hope you and your wife enjoy a "runless" Halloween and the week to comes gives you a little back for EVERYTHING you do.
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