Today I received my official packet for the 2014 Virgin London Marathon!  I got all my information, a rhino pin, the official shirt I will be wearing and more.  I was also challenged to start raising money.  I've been doing that for a bit now, so I have a little head start - about £287 - which is good because there is a prize for the first runner to raise £1300.  The prize is a 'Keeper for a Day' experience at one of the following four zoos: Chester, Colburn, Wolchester, or Edinburgh.  This would be amazing.  I've never been to England, which means I've never been to a zoo there either, so a chance to hang out with a zookeeper from across the pond and see how things are done there would be unimaginably valuable to me.

Besides the marathon and raising the money for rhino conservation, I'm obviously excited about seeing London and the tourist sites for the first time - Lord Elgin's marbles!  But, I also plan to visit some old friends: Laura, a fellow Big Cat Rescue intern I met back in 2006; a lovely couple, Brad and Kelli, who moved to England to work with Young Life International who I befriended in Houston after working at the Houston Zoo with Kelli ; and Cycy, a fellow rhino keeper who I met in San Diego this past year at the International Rhino Keeper Association Workshop.  As you can see, there a lot of exciting things waiting for me in London - thanks for taking an interest in my journey there.

Lots of developments lately.  The absence of an update is indicative of how busy I've been.  It's hard enough to keep the training portion updated, but here I am now.  I'm working on a few things for the International Rhino Keeper Association (IRKA) - mainly, our fundraising calendar and helping to organize the Board of Directors election - and Tampa Bay AAZK - our next fundraiser.  I have a few more things to work on in order to apply for a promotion at work, so I'm sticking with that obviously.  I heard back that I was not chosen as a finalist for the Conservation Ambassadorship to Zimbabwe for Painted Dog Conservation.  I'm okay with that...it is disappointing, but there's always next year.  I've had a few other unpleasant personal setbacks, but life goes on...and so must I.

On the plus side, I've heard back from Save the Rhino.  They accepted my application!  They sent me a finalized registration form to fill out and send back (which I did) and once they process my application payment, it will be all set!  Then I'll receive their instructions for donations and training and be well on my way to London next year.  I also recently weighed below 200 pounds for the first time in at least a decade, which is amazing - and something I owe to running.  On a related note, I traded in my work belt for a smaller one, and my size 36 work shorts for size 34 shorts.  Woo hoo!  They are a little snug...but they do flatter my rear end.  ;o)

The Disneyland Half Marathon is September 1st.  One month away!  Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy are waiting for me...I'm very excited.  Training amps up a bit in two weeks --- with the longest run of the fourteen week training period (10 miles) on the docket.  I will most likely be running that in Massachusetts as I go home for five days to visit family and hang on the beach in Maine.  I'm hoping the heat does not follow me north.

I am very excited today!  I received the application from Save the Rhino for the Virgin London Marathon 2014 – woo hoo!  I am going to fill it out tonight, scan it at work tomorrow and e-mail it immediately.  I really, really, really hope I am accepted as one of their 50 “Golden Bond places.”   There are a few questions that make me glad I have experienced some  recent events.  One question asks about previous experience with marathons.  Well, I have only run one half marathon, but the director of Save the Rhino (the lovely Cathy Dean) with whom I spoke at the recent International Rhino Keeper Association (IRKA) workshop in San Diego (more to come on that!) knows that London will be my first – it is the Virgin London Marathon after all…hehe.

 “Why do you want to run for Save the Rhino?” is the easiest question on the application – to help save rhinos, of course!  They are a huge part of my life, and treating this planet as gently as I can is something I live every day.  Anything extra I  can do to help wild rhinos is an unfathomable bonus. 
(insert digression here)
I’ve recently applied for a Conservation Ambassadorship at work.  The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund allows several SEA employees the opportunity to apply to travel internationally to one of the Fund's supported projects and help out.  I completed several essays and filmed a two minute video (which ended up being a satirical political advertisement to elect me as Conservation Ambassador)  as part of the application to help Painted Dog Conservation – an organization that deals with educating children about the importance of conservation of animals and their habitat, stopping poaching in Hwange National Park including dismantling snares, and rehabilitating injured painted dogs.  Snares affect rhinos too, so that was a part of my angle.  ;)
(end of digression)

 Lastly, they ask about your previous fundraising experience.  Well…I am the Fundraising Chair of
Tampa Bay AAZK and I just finished coordinating our largest fundraiser of the  year – Bowling for Rhinos!  It raised over $6,300 – a record for our chapter – and while I didn’t do it alone, I did a good deal of work for it, so that should definitely help me out.  Cross your fingers, please...and I’ll keep y’all posted.  :)