(Half-) Marathon Man
Barring coming to my senses, as penance for an exaggerated piece of idiocy on Twitter last winter, I'm running the 13.1-mile New Hampshire Half-Marathon in Bristol, N.H., 100 miles north of Boston, on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. (Recapping: When Chad Ochocinco said the Bengals were going to sign Terrell Owens, I said I'd run an ultra-marathon if that happened. I'd already ripped Ochocinco for lying to Bob Costas on national TV when he said he'd change his name back to Chad Johnson if Darrelle Revis shut him down, and after Revis shut him down not once but twice in six days, he said he was just kidding, wink wink, and he had no intention of changing his name. So now, after Owens has the stripes on, I got called to put up or shut up, and the half-marathon was my attempt at fair compromise. Fifty-mile run, I die. Twenty-six-mile run, I'm hospitalized. Thirteen-mile run, well, we'll see. But I hope to be able to cross the finish line somehow.
I'm going to run the race for charity -- two charities, actually. And you're going to vote on which charities will benefit from me making the run. Here's how it'll work: I've chosen five causes (some that you have suggested, and two that I have a personal interest in). Between now and noon Eastern time Tuesday, send me a message on Twitter (@SI_PeterKing) with which two charities you think I should run for. Comments aren't necessary. Just give me your two choices. And next week in MMQB I'll reveal the winners, and tell you how you can support the two causes.
The five charities you can choose from (again, vote for two):
1. Feed The Children (feedthechildren.org)
This Oklahoma-based hunger-prevention organization is trying to reach 200,000 families by the end of 2010. On Sunday, when I asked Ocho, he said this is the group he preferred to help. Many of you suggested that since Ocho was right and I was wrong, I should feature a charity he prefers. This is a good one.
2. Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (gridirongreats.org)
Identifies some of the most indigent former players, the players who sacrificed their bodies and minds and made a path to the multi-billion-dollar game that exists today, and helps them with bills and medical and mental-health issues.
3. Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org)
I wanted to choose one project to help those on the Gulf Coast recover from the catastrophes of the past five years, and I chose this one because of its continued efficiency in getting the important work done. In the five years since Katrina, Habitat has partnered in the building of 2,219 single-family homes. The work goes on.
4. Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org)
This group helps the most serious of the wounded from the front lines of the battlefields transition from active duty military back to civilian society.
5. National Brain Tumor Society (braintumor.org).
Several players in the league, among them Washington's Chris Cooley, have been active in the brain-tumor-cure movement; NFLPA czar DeMaurice Smith coached a young boy, Drew Neally, in baseball who lost his life to a brain tumor in 2006.
I did a Five For Fighting thing with the USO last year, asking for $5 per person for our troops, and you raised $204,000 for portable USO recreation centers for the troops in Afghanistan. I have to think of a clever title for this one (suggestions welcome), but I'm going to ask for donations of $10, to be split equally between the two charities. We'll figure the logistics and mechanics of how you can contribute beginning next week.
If I finish the 13.1-mile run, no matter the time, I will donate $1,000 to each of the charities. If I do not finish the run, no matter the reason, I will donate $2,000 to each charity.
As U2 might say, "MO-TIH-VA-SHUN.''
There is a third element to this. Prizes. Anyone who contributes will be eligible to win one of three prizes -- which I'm going to have to figure out in the coming days.
So follow me on Twitter, send me your vote by noon ET Tuesday (one vote per Twitter account -- we can't have poor Emily Kaplan counting these things 'til she's 40), and next Monday, in this space, you'll have the winners and we'll start the fun.