WELCOME TO OUR 2010 MDS RACE SITE – BIENVENUE Á NOTRE SITE MDS 2010

VÍTEJTE NA NAŠICH STRÁNKÁCH ZÁVODU MDS 2010

HELP US MAKE A DIFFERNCE – JOIGNEZ-NOUS Á AIDER LES AUTRES - PODPOŘTE NÁS A POMOŽTE DRUHÝM!
(The description of our project is below our blog posts. Please scroll down. For the official Marathon des Sables website, please visit http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php )

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Ray and Vlada's Final MDS Race Update - DAY 7/ Finalni zpravy ze zavodu MDS - DEN 7

We are happy to report that we have successfully completed the 25th anniversary - 250K Marathon des Sables! :) It was an amazing experience for Vlada running the course as well as for Raymund supporting Vlada and his friends throughout the week. With an incredible atmosphere and excitenement in the air, Saturday was the final stage, a half marathon throught some of the toughest sand dunes the race had to offer. Most people just went for it full throttle and ran the entire course, regardless of the pain, blisters, and exhaustion. Vlada, J and M, or the Three Musketeers as Raymund dubbed them earlier, finished in just little over 2 hours. Over the course of the race Vlada moved from last place after Day 1 to around 540th place out of over 1000 runners. Raymund has been overwhelmed and uplifted by the support of the runners and the race crew for having attempted the marathon and for staying on to cheer on the runners. Raymund has had many requests to have his picture taken with his fellow runners and the race staff, which has been a lot of fun.
 
Thanks again to everyone for your support of our race and fundraising project, and for following us throughout the week. We will have pictures posted as soon as we can. For both of us, this has been a life changing experience in ways that we are yet to fully comprehend.
 
Congrats, Bravo, Chapeau, Gratulujeme to all of the MDS runners!
 
R&V
 
PS: Omlouvame se, ze neprekladame tuto finalni zpravu do cestiny )nejsou sily). Dik!

1 comment:

  1. Amazing! Vlada, you're an animal! Congrats on completing the race so well. Raymund, we can't wait to see you again safe & sound after the rest of your European journeys and to hear all about this race! Congrats to you both!

    ReplyDelete

WELCOME TO OUR 2010 MDS RACE SITE – BIENVENUE Á NOTRE SITE MDS 2010

(version en français au dessous du texte en anglais)

WHO WE ARE – QUI SOMMES-NOUS – O NÁS

Raymund Acevedo and Vladimír Martinovský are two good friends participating this April in the 2010 Marathon des Sables (MDS: www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php), a week long, 155-mile/250-kilometer treacherous trek through the Sahara Desert in Morocco, North Africa. With daily temperatures averaging above 120F/50C, this is considered the most challenging foot race in the world. Raymund is physically disabled, infected with polio at the age of six months, and has walked with crutches since he was five years old. He will be the first person with polio to participate in this marathon on crutches and with leg braces. Vladimir will walk alongside Raymund to encourage him on and keep him company.

WHAT WE ARE DOING – QUE FAISONS-NOUS – O NAŠEM PROJEKTU

We are walking the marathon to raise money for three well respected charities recognized for their works to help better the lives of people with disabilities in the U.S. and all over the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 50 million Americans have some level of disability. There are large populations of people living with disabilities in all countries. Millions of them, like Raymund, strive to live active normal lives. We have chosen the following organizations:

:: Challenged Athletes Foundation, provides grants to help people with physical disabilities be active in fitness and competitive athletic activities through many unique programs, including one that assists past and present veterans.

:: Shriners Hospitals International (where Raymund was a patient) specializes in pediatric care, focusing on orthopaedic, burn, spinal cord injury, cleft lip and palate child patients. Shriners doctors also respond to emergency needs as with the many Haitian children injured from the recent earthquake.

:: Handicap International assists people with disabilities in over sixty developing countries to learn how to become more independent and help themselves. Handicap International also provides medical aid to people injured from man-made and natural disasters and is one of the major relief organizations that has responded to the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti by expanding their emergency relief efforts on the island.

COMMENT FAIRE PARTIE DE NOTRE AVENTURE – JAK SE MŮŽETE ÚČASTNIT TOHOTO ZÁŽITKU

This race is not about us, but about helping our fellow citizens of the world who, for whatever reason, are challenged by a physical disability. We are committed to making this a successful fundraiser and see this event as a unique opportunity to help make the lives of many people with disabilities a little better. Please be a part of our experience by donating to one or more of our partner non-profits. You can also help us spread the news about what we are doing to everyone you know. All your donations are tax deductible and go directly to our partner non-profits.

Please be sure to come back to our site from April 4-10 to follow us live from the desert during the race. We will post updates each night on our progress and adventures. Or send an email to follow our preparations for the 2010 Marathon des Sables.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! MERCI BEAUCOUP! MNOHOKRÁTE VÁM DĚKUJEME!

Raymund Acevedo (Racer #634, USA) & Vladimír Martinovský (Racer #677, CZE)

.....


QUI SOMMES-NOUS

Raymund Acevedo et Vladimír Martinovský sont 2 amis qui vont participer, en avril 2010, au Marathon des Sables (MDS: http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php), une course à pied d'une semaine, à travers le Sahara marocain sur un parcours de 250 km semé d'embûches. Avec des températures diurnes au-dessus de 50°C, cette course est considérée comme l'une des plus difficiles du monde. Raymund a un handicap physique, atteint de la polio à l'âge de 6 mois et marche avec des béquilles depuis sa jeune enfance. Il sera le premier participant à cette aventure à courir avec des béquilles et des attelles aux jambes. Vladimir accompagnera son ami, pour l'encourager et participer à l'aventure.

QUE FAISONS-NOUS

Nous participons à ce marathon afin de lever des fonds pour le compte de 3 organisations charitables reconnues pour leurs actions en faveur des personnes handicapées aux Etats-Unis et à travers le monde. Selon le bureau du recensement des Etats-Unis, 50 millions d'américains souffrent d'un handicap. A l'instar de Raymund, des millions d'handicapés à travers le monde luttent quotidiennement pour mener une vie normale. Ainsi, nous avons choisi ld'apporter notre aide aux organisations suivantes :

:: Challenged Athletes Foundation. Cette organisation fournit des subventions aux handicapés physiques pour qu'ils suivent des activités de fitness et activités athlétiques, à un niveau compétitif. De nombreux programmes d'aide sont en place, notamment un programme destiné aux vétérans de l'armée.

:: Shriners Hospitals International (où Raymund fut patient) est spécialisé dans les soins pédiatriques, brûlures orthopédiques, maladie de la moelle épinière, et enfants avec bec-de-liève. Les docteurs de Shriners répondent également aux situations d'urgence comme celles des enfants d'Haïti suite au tremblement de terre.

:: Handicap International porte assistance aux personnes handicapées dans plus de 60 pays en développement en leur apprenant à devenir indépendants. Handicap International apporte également de l'aide médicale aux personnes victimes de catastrophes naturelles et humaines. C'est une des organisations principales qui est intervenue en Haïti pour soulager les populations de l'île (veuillez choisir Handicap International France pour faire un don).

COMMENT FAIRE PARTIE DE NOTRE AVENTURE

Notre participation à cette course à pied a pour but d'aider nos concitoyens et tous les hommes et femmes sur cette terre qui, pour quelconque raison, souffrent d'infirmités. Nous nous engageons à être des récolteurs de fonds et mettre à profit cette course dans le désert marocain pour participer à l'amélioration du sort des infirmes. Ainsi, nous vous remercions par avance de bien vouloir donner à une ou plusieurs de ces organisations afin de nous aider à atteindre notre but. Vous pouvez aussi faire connaître notre cause en partageant cette information avec les personnes de votre entourage. Tous vos dons sont déductibles de vos impôts et vont directement à ces organisations charitables.

Assurez-vous de revenir sur notre site du 4 au 10 avril afin de suivre notre périple dans le désert pendant la course. Nous mettrons des mises à jour tous les soirs afin de relater les faits de la journée et partager notre aventure. Ou bien, envoyez-nous un email pour suivre notre préparation au Marathon des Sables 2010.

.....

Vladimír's Greetings from Snow Covered Washington DC

............
Disclaimer: the Marathon des Sables (MDS) logo placed in the banner image on this site is a property of the ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION Internationale France (AOI), which has granted us a permission to use the MDS logo to promote our project.
..........