Why Run for Roots? Part 3

Run for Roots is a new initiative that embodies the Roots of Hope mission by seeking to draw attention and collect funds in support of Cuban youth. The participants who will be running the Miami Half Marathon in January 2012 are motivated to do so by the desire to be agents of change and help empower youth on the island through innovative programs such Roots of Hope as Cells 4 Cuba and our Family Reunification Program. To learn more about Run for Roots, visit our website. To donate, visit our Crowdrise page.

Why I run

By Lolita Sosa

I've very often stood in front of a mirror, clad in shorts and a shirt, wondering why.
Why am I pushing myself so hard?
Why run more than what my typical workout requires?
Why spend hours with my feet slapping the road, sweat gathering in my curly hair, and mind begging for rest?

To be completely honest, I began to run for myself. I have been born and bred in a surrounding that praises tidiness and conventionalism. Growing up, I was told: "Yes, you can do sports. But you're a girl. And girls aren't really good at them. Boys are. And so you'll be competing with them always." 

My decision to begin long-distance running was a decision based on defiance. I have always refused to believe that worth was tied to body types, looks, gender, or others' judgments on these. For me, worth has always been tied to drive, achievement, and compassion. I felt that running was the ultimate solitary way to hone these traits and express their importance to myself.

I needed drive to race against my self, my mind, and my limitations. Achievement would depend on the constraints I placed upon myself, and my decisions on whether or not to follow them. Self-compassion could be tested and refined through awareness of my body's needs, and acceptance of the red, puffy, sweaty, tired and aching body that would face me in the mirror post-run.

Running was my freedom.

When asked to run with the Roots, I was extremely hesitant. I had no idea how to connect such a personal activity to Roots of Hope's goals. Running was personal, and I wanted it to remain personal. The idea of family or friends becoming involved seemed unnecessary.

As I was considering it, I spoke to Roots of Hope members that I was close to. I was given different opinions, but this post by Carmen Pelaez moved me. Though I had already committed myself to running the ING Half, Laura Pollan's passing gave me a new perspective.

While running, the only constraint that exists is the self's motivation. In order to push oneself through the difficult and harrowing miles, an extreme determination and worthwhile goal must be pursued. These attributes have existed in the Cuban dissidence for a long time; the dissidents are unrelenting and full of passion for their cause. I chose to run for them, learning from them, and representing them by having Laura's name on my tag during the ING.

It is with this same passion and vigor that I believe we continue our Roots of Hope view of empowering youth in Cuba. Despite the pitfalls, we always pick ourselves back up and attempt to find a practical route in helping our counterparts on the island. We are constantly innovating and, while it is cell phones and USB's for now, our actions will  reflect the realities on the island as they change. What running demands in strength and willpower has been the same as what our approach to Cuba has demanded.

Now, as I explain my crazy long-distance running hobby to others, I speak of Cuba. Both Cuba and running are part of who I am; there was no reason that they should have been separate.

Why Run for Roots? Part 2

Run for Roots is a new initiative that embodies the Roots of Hope mission by seeking to draw attention and collect funds in support of Cuban youth. The participants who will be running the Miami Half Marathon in January 2012 are motivated to do so by the desire to be agents of change and help empower youth on the island through innovative programs such Roots of Hope as Cells 4 Cuba and our Family Reunification Program. To learn more about Run for Roots, visit our website. To donate, visit our Crowdrise page.

GOING FORWARD

By Carmen Pelaez

The first time we ran as the RUN FOR ROOTS group, I pretty much felt the same as every other road race at the start. Then half way into the first mile, I started thinking about Cuba. And I realized that I had never thought about Cuba while running in forward motion. Yes, I had thought about Cuba’s tomorrows and yestedays many times-but something about one foot in front of another, about actually physically moving through space in a forward motion was liberating and had me at the point of tears. Just as I could barely feel the street beneath my feet, I passed in front of the New York Historical society which was undergoing a renovation. The banners that served as cover for the construction were covered in portraits of important New Yorkers. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the thoughtful face of Felix Varela.

He looked weary but determined. His expression was very similar to the expression I have seen a pass on most of our dissidents faces and felt deep in my own heart when it comes to all things Cuba. It’s kind of amazing how many times our little island has had to fight for its freedom with only small moments of rest in between. And it occurred to me that working for a civil society in Cuba is very much like long distance running. More often than not the conversation is frustrating, the work exhausting with only a few moments of brilliant inspiration to keep you going when you think you don’t have anything else left in the tank. That’s when I knew that running the Miami Half Marathon would be a very poetic and appropriate way to raise money for the ROOTS OF HOPE programs that I am so proud to support.

I started my training soon after Laura Pollan died and decided to run the race in her honor. I had hoped to be tireless and fierce and post my best half marathon time ever. But as usual, inspiration was fleeting. My training has been exhausting and I have been sick, cold and feeling utterly at a loss for my lack of strength and stamina. I haven’t been able to fundraise a lot of and it all just started to feel like a futile effort.

Then this past week I was lucky enough to ask Yoani Sanchez a question on a Columbia University produced internet radio program moderated by Mirta Ojito. I asked how we could support Cuban youth in a direct and daily way, in the same vein that her activism continually inspires us. Without pause she answered ‘Information.’ She said the best we could do to support the Cuban populous is by giving them ways to access information. That we needed to continue the work that ROOTS OF HOPE does as far as giving away cell phones and flash drives to Cubans so that they can educate themselves through technology and become a part of the world at large. Suddenly every step I ran in training, every crunch, every ache had a purpose, reminding me that even though at times the distance may seem insurmountable, every run has an end. The important things is to keep moving.

So, on January 29th, 2012 I will be running the ING Miami Half Marathon. As I work through the city that has given my family and so many other Cubans asylum I will meditate on how our dissidents have kept the hopes for a free and civil Cuban society moving forward. I will let their hope fuel mine and I will run with a full heart and my eyes fixed firmly on the future of our much oppressed but splendidly resilient Cuba.

Carmen Pelaez is a New York based actor, playwright, and author. Her professional page can be seen here.

Why Run for Roots? Part 1

Run for Roots is a new initiative that embodies the Roots of Hope mission by seeking to draw attention and collect funds in support of Cuban youth. The participants who will be running the Miami Half Marathon in January 2012 are motivated to do so by the desire to be agents of change and help empower youth on the island through innovative programs such Roots of Hope as Cells 4 Cuba and our Family Reunification Program. To learn more about Run for Roots, visit our website. To donate, visit our Crowdrise page.

Why I'm running

By Miraisy Rodriguez

In all honesty, I'm running because my fellow Roots won't let me quit. That's how I got started too.

Being as involved as I am with Roots of Hope, Inc., it was impossible for me to have missed the excited whispers of a Run for Roots initiative. Less than six months after I first heard the idea, it had become much more than a whisper, and before I knew it I was getting emails and Facebook posts about joining the group and training for the ING Half Marathon.

The I, N...what?! 13.1 miles?! The most I'd ever jogged in my life was 3 miles and that was over two years ago when I was a college student with time on my hands. Now I'm in law school and working and I have a dog and a baby niece!

To my great surprise when I mentioned the idea to my sister, someone who attends quite a bit of Miami Root events, she was ecstatic. Not only did she encourage me to do it, she started training with me! If a young woman with a new born baby could do it...I could too. She wasn't the only Root that jumped on the idea. Many more suddenly started emailing and texting me until I found myself emailing and texting yet more people, asking them to join us.

Sure, our core Miami team isn't as large as the day we first started, but no one has left without talking to someone else on the team and seriously considering whether they should stay. For me, that "should I leave?" talk happened very recently.

A couple of Roots were asking me to confirm the location of the weekly group practice when I decided to call one of them back (the running Guru of the Miami Roots) and tell her I was thinking of quitting. Her response: "No. Try something new... Gatorade instead of water to hydrate. You can't quit. Where's practice?"

So practice goes on, and I continue training, slowly but surely, because my Roots won't let me quit.

Because whether we're running to raise money for Roots of Hope, Inc. or because we're thinking of a friend on that island not so far way, or because we just like running and this is as good a cause as any, one thing's for sure: training together has brought us closer together.

And no one likes to see someone close to them leave.

Miraisy Rodriguez was born in Santa Clara, but raised in Miami. She is a second year law student who likes to blog on her free time and volunteers with the Miami Roots’ Network. Her personal blog may be found at www.miraisy.com.