I just got off the phone with a good, good friend from the States. We lived together in Lawrence, KS, after having gotten to know each other in Santiago, Chile, one summer. She and I both love ADVENTURE, dreaming, having a million and one goals and ideas of things to do, and we love living life to the fullest. We also both love the outdoors, running, and again just about anything that gets your adrenaline going, involves some sort of danger, is challenging and something a "girl can't do,"... So, she just told me about The AIR Foundation that she volunteers with and I think it sounds like the coolest thing. They train guys who are in drug or alcohol rehab to run and to run a marathon.

I asked her the "success" rate and she said that most of the guys relapse after leaving the program but that the time of relapse is less, just a week or so, and that they generally return to the AIR foundation because of the community and such and eventually get back on track. Anyway, I thought it was cool and that I'd give them a shout out here. Here's a tidbit from the link:

Running with Passion. Running for Hope. Running for New Life.

Confronting addiction and homelessness through Activity Inspired Rehabilitation, The AIR Foundation uses distance running to coach members of local recovery programs into a life of stability and sobriety. Every year, AIR trains participating runners through multiple races of various distances, culminating in two marathons; one in the Spring and one in the Fall. Every race we run takes us closer to achieving the ultimate goal. Completing a Marathon is one finish line we cross on our journey to recovery.

Through The AIR Foundation Marathon Training Program, runners have access to:

Fully-supported training with experienced coaches 5 days/week;
Specialized physical therapy and medical attention;
Weekly strength and flexibility training sessions with certified and experienced instructors;
New running shoes and apparel;
Free entry and transportation to nearly 30 races every year.