In January, I posted a blog article telling you about the "Move a Million Miles For Ryan Hall" challenge that the Lighthouse Project is sponsoring.  For those of you that don't know, Ryan Hall was born and raised in Big Bear Lake and he has earned a spot on the US Olympic team as a marathon runner.  The Lighthouse project thought that there would be no better way for the community to show its support for Ryan than for us to move a million miles.  Walking, riding,  jogging, it all counts and the goal is to send Ryan off to China knowing that the community of Big Bear has moved a million miles in support of his efforts.

It's now May 2nd and I wanted to provide you with an update on how things have gone so far.  To date, 1251 people have been involved.  The age groups have been remarkable.  Children under the age of 13 have logged in 889 miles and men and women over the age of 70 have logged in over 1200 miles!  The 1251 people have logged a total of 97,024 miles so far.  We have 113 days remaining before Ryan heads off to China. For us to reach our goal and send Ryan off to China knowing that Big Bear had moved a million miles in support of his efforts, each participant would need to commit to 6 miles a day, every day.

A little about Ryan Hall

• He is an exceptional athlete who will be representing the USA in the 2008 Olympic Marathon in Beijing, China.
• He is the fastest American-born marathoner EVER.
• He is the US record-holder in the 20 km and half-marathon.
• At age 25 he already has an impressive list of victories, including: 2008 Olympic Trials Marathon champion; 2007 U.S. Half-Marathon champion; 2006 USA Cross Country champion; 2005 NCAA 5,000m champion; 3-time NCAA Cross Country All-American.
• Reigning Olympic Marathon champion Stefano Baldini has heralded Ryan as "the future" of the Marathon.
• He was born and grew up in Big Bear Lake, CA.

With all of the excitement of one of our local's going to China to represent the United States in the Olympics, Big Bear is also getting ready to host its first marathon.  The marathon is set for Saturday, September 6, 2008 and is going to be limited to 5000 runners. 

For more information on this event or to register, please go to www.active.com

Tony Card Big Bear Real Estate