Race4OYE Sweeps 5 K In Maryland

Pre-Race with Ernesto Campos, Emery Bright, Mike McQuaid, Sam Vigersky, John, Keleher and Patrick Ahern. Sam came in 9th overall in a field of over 150 runners. He came in first in collecting money for Race4OYE. Emery and Patrick came in second place in their respective divisions.
Pre-Race warm up with Trish Ahern, Ernesto Campos, Maria Otero, David Eldridge-Otero and Joe Eldridge. In background on left is Dara Wilson of American University participant in Spring Break to OYE and winner of Women's U-20 Division.

The Run4OYE Team

Nine of the Team OYE runners: Patrick, Sam Virgirsky, Mike McQuaid, John Keleher, Emery Bright, David Eldridge Otero, Brian Ahern, Dara Wilson and Joe Eldridge.
David Eldridge-Otero, Brian Ahern, Dara Wilson, Joe Eldridge and Ernesto Campos
Mike McQuaid, athletic director of Edmund Burke School, John Keleher, OYE volunteer and web advisor (note his Matagua shirt!) and Emery Bright, OYE supporter.

Dara Wilson, with her OYE "Mi Voz es Poder" t-shirt receives her 1st Place U-20 prize. Brian Ahern awaits his 2nd place overall prize----5 Ks in 19 minutes.

OYE Runners Take 5 K by Storm!

Silver Spring Maryland and the fire fighters of Don't Panic were not ready for Team OYE this morning. Race4OYE. had 10 runners and four walkers. Walkers were Trish Ahern, Maria Otero, Marcy Fink and Lisa VeneKlasen. The OYE team did extremely well as you can see below.

1st place in the under 19 women was Dara Wilson who is a student at American University and went on a Spring Break service trip to OYE in March 2011. On the other end of the spectrum, Joe Eldridge won First Place in the 60-100 yr. old category at 30 minutes. Patrick Ahern came in second in the same "tercera edad" category at 31 minutes. Brian Ahern came in second overall among the 150 or so runners (19 minutes). Sam Vigersky came in 9th place overall at the great pace of 6:54 per minute miles. John Keleher (23 minutes) and Mike McQuaid also had an excellent showing overall (and in the 30-40 category). David Eldridge-Otero who threw his hat into the ring at the last minute came in second place in the 20-29 year old group. Emery Bright came in 2nd place in his age group and Ernesto Campos did very well also. We rocked!!

I will be posting some pictures of the fun day, but am afraid of overshadowing Saturday's post which you have to read. It is the inspiring story of an OYE scholar who graduated magna cum laude from the National University of Honduras. This blog will remain open until the end of the year and your are welcome to make donations. We are only 68% of the way to our goal.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all the participants in this race.

Patrick

OYE Scholars

Who Are We Running on Behalf Of?

There are close to 90 students with OYE scholarships in El Progreso. We are running for all of them, but I want to highlight Magda Reyes, an OYE scholar who is a 28 year old mother and recently graduated Suma Cum Laude, from the National Autonomous University of Honduras with a degree in pedagogy. Not only that, but she graduated as the valedictorian of her class.

In her own words, Madga decided to write a letter to OYE, thanking the the team and family for all they have done to support her.

“OYE was the critical piece that enabled me to complete my education and receive my degree in teaching and educational sciences. I would like to thank OYE from the bottom of my hear for the help you have provided me, raising my self-esteem day after day. My thanks to all of you will never end, and I hope that you continue proving to the youth that they are the present of our country. You helped me discover the potential that I have as a leader; keep doing all you can to continue showing that to the youth of our country and above all our city.

“These four years that I have been a part of the OYE family have served me greatly, and my experience working with youth has served me to better value my two children and to understand their needs. "

Although Magda is older than most of the OYE scholars and the mother of two, her story and the mentoring she has provided to the others is inspiring.

This testimony is taken from the November 2011 OYE newsletter which you can access through the OYE website at www.oyehonduras.org or directly at:

http://issuu.com/oyehonduras/docs/november_2011_newsletter

Tomorrow is the big day for running!

New Runners Race4OYE

Welcome to new runners Dara Wilson and David Eldridge-Otero. Dara is an American University student who visited OYE in Honduras during her Spring break and wants to return. David lived in Honduras with his family when very young and since has volunteered at OYE several times. A talented artist, David painted an awesome mural in the OYE office in El Progreso.

Still Training for the Big Day

A number of you have asked why I haven’t had a blog entry for a long time. It seems you are dubious that we are training. I can’t speak for the others (especially Joe Eldridge and John Keleher), but I am indeed training. Saturday, the 12^th I ran in Front Royal, Virginia while grandson Gegory Liam was taking his nap. Front Royal is the gateway to Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park and the foliage was awesome. I jogged an unchartered route and found myself going along the shore of the South Branch of the Shenandoah River which is quite beautiful and a popular rafting, canoeing and tubing route. The Shenandoah runs to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where it joins the Potomac on its way to Washington. Circling back through the Front Royal cemetery one sees many sons of the Confederacy markers on the older gravestones----only 60 miles from Washington, DC. Front Royal was the site of a battle in the early 1860s where one Maryland Regiment fought for the North and another Maryland Regiment fought for the South. Sunday, was another beautiful fall day (and the Redskins lost---again), and I ran with Brian in Rock Creek behind the zoo and the site of a Native American grave yard. I made it as far as the Dumbarton Cemetery on the edge of Georgetown with its notables from late 1700s and early 1800s. Brian continued all the way down Rock Creek to the Potomac River at the Kennedy Center and I turned back but got at least three miles in. Monday, I rested my bad foot and went to the gym. Wednesday the 16th I ran in the cold rain, today to the gym for treadmill and some weights---so there---ye skeptics. Only three days to race time!

We are up to 19 donors and a total of $1,800. We are 45% to reaching our goal of $4,000. Thank you one and all.

Patrick

Training

I have been a bit sporadic about training, but last week decided to really get serious. I did run several times in Nicaragua and last Friday the 28th, before going to the airport, I jogged up a steep hill covered by wonderful tropical vegetation with a temperature of about 90 degrees and a great view of Lake Managua. I awoke in DC Saturday the 29th determined to run again, but it was 32 degrees and snowing hard! Wow, what a difference! I opted out on Saturday, but did run in Rock Creek Park on Sunday on a cold but sunny day---only three weeks to go! On Monday the 31st in the early morning I ran again in Rock Creek and at the end ran into five deer; two inside the perimeter fence of the National Zoo and three just off the running path. They barely acknowledged my presence and went on grazing.

I want to welcome more runners! Mike McQuaid, athletic director of Edmund Burke High School (Brian's alma mater) and Emory Bright, actor/lawyer extraodinaire (and father of Julian).

Patrick's Race 4 OYE

Dear Friends and Family,

Oye is now six years old and has been a big part of our life. It has grown from just a few scholarship students the first year to 60 last year and now 90 this year. This year has been a challenge to support the growth. Don't Panic is a 5K race to support injured fire fighters in Maryland and I will support them with my registration fee. However, I am panicked about the ability of OYE to be able to support the same number or more of the students next year. So far our grant applications have not been answered and so we are stepping up the personal fund raising. I know the tremendous impact OYE has on the youth of El Progreso and am more than happy to run in the cold for them. I will be recruiting others to run for OYE as well. My son Brian on the left in the picture below and John Keleher (picture in the middle from a previous run) who volunteered at OYE in its early days will be joining me in the race and in the collection of funds for OYE. Joe Eldridge, the chaplain of American University who has led AU students to OYE during their breaks is also running with us. We should have some students from George Washington University running with us as well. I hope you can help out.

Check into this blog as we will be updating as we go along.

all the best,

Patrick

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Todos Somos OYE / We Are All OYE

What I'm Running For...

Patrick is raising money for the Organization for Youth Empowerment (OYE), to benefit at-risk youth in Honduras. OYE is a small, grassroots organization that develops young people's self-esteem and leadership skills that his daughter Ana helped found six years ago in El Progreso. OYE provides scholarships and capacity building programs to students who would not otherwise have the means to stay in school. Through OYE's programs, these youth gain the tools they need to become active leaders in their communities. OYE relies on individual contributions from friends and family like you to make our work possible. Learn more about OYE on our website www.oyehonduras.org.

You can help Patrick reach his goal of raising $4,000 for OYE by sponsoring his run in the Don't Panic 5K in Silver Spring, Maryland, through the Chipin widget on the sidebar - it's fast and totally secure. You will be redirected to OYE's PayPal page where you can make a secure credit card donation directly to OYE. Thank you!