Real David H.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Q&A, so as I bottle up thoughts in my head, now is a great time for a break from me.
Meet Jim, aka @bikerly on Twitter; you can also find Jim on Daily Mile here. Jim is a blogger over at Loving the Run (where you can find a guest post by me today about my fundraising experiences), who is also currently in the middle of a run streak to raise money to benefit Feed My Starving Children. You can read more about those fundraising efforts at the Race for Others website.

Q: Tell us, where did the idea come from to do a run streak for charity?
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of running every day for a year or more. This is actually my third run streak. I started with a 30-day goal and my previous best effort was 112 days. This time I hope to make it for 365+ days.

Regarding the charity, I noticed a blog post last year from Kelly (@chmpgnepolitics), focused around “Racing for Others.” I was moved by her blog posts, struggles with fundraising/training and ultimate success in finishing a first time marathon.

I continued to learn more about Feed My Starving Children and discovered they were based in my home state of Minnesota. I was impressed by their vision and that only 7 percent of donations was used for administration costs with the remaining 93 percent going directly to feeding programs for nearly 70 countries. [Note: Feed My Starving Children has a 4-star rating through Charity Navigator.]

Kelly and I chatted about going big with another fundraiser and joined up with Brady and Matt with the goal of raising $10,000 for Feed My Starving Children. It’s a super big number, but $10,000 feeds a village of more than 100 people for a year. And running every day feeds my soul.

Q: What has been the biggest surprise during your run streak?
Almost every day provides surprises … some pleasant, some not so pleasant (like goose poop on a barefoot run).

The other night I discovered a new alley. For three blocks I saw friends drinking bottles around backyard campfires, kids playing tag, late evening dinners through the kitchen window and friends working on a garage project. This route is now one of my favorites.

One thing I’ve learned by running every day is sometimes it pays to take a new course.

Q: Being from Minnesota where it’s very cold for half the year, what is the craziest weather you’ve ever experienced on a run?
A picture often tells the best story…

I love running in snow and ice. 🙂

Q: Many of my readers are familiar with #runchat, but you also have a cool Twitter chat in #bikeschool. How did that get started, and what should first-time participants expect?
Well, I hope they like beer and tacos because #bikeschool often rolls this direction. It’s true … Darryl (@lovingthebike), Mike (@egggman), and I conspired last year to host the #bikeschool chat every Thursday night at 9 p.m ET. The format is much the same as #runchat and questions vary from gear related to the philosophical taco related question. The school even has a mascot in @tacomakingrobot! You can read more about the #bikeschool shenanigans on lovingthebike.com if you like.

Q: Lastly, what’s one non-running (or non-biking) thing that people may be surprised to know about you?
I grew up on a livestock farm in Iowa.

Thanks to Jim for a great Q&A. If you’re interested in doing a Q&A or guest post exchange, please hit me up on my Contact page.