EA5K Recap

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Thanks to all the participants, volunteers and sponsors of the 2016 EA5K!  Congratulations to all our finishers, category winners and our overall winner, Calvin Bannister, who provided his reflections below:

“The EA5K was special in that it created an opportunity for all of us, who are otherwise strangers, to join together and support a mission we believe in. In many ways, the event itself mirrored the partners and networks through which Empowering Action accomplishes its work, as there’s a place for everyone’s abilities: volunteers, runners, virtual runners, donors etc. We were each able to play our own part, and that’s what makes this 5k an event one that I’ll be sure to remember!” – Calvin Bannister, 2016 EA5K Overall Winner

EA5K Superlatives

 

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Guest Blogger: EA5K Race Director, Danny Talmage

For the second year Danny Talmage of Crazy Dog Events will be directing our upcoming 5K race. We sat down with him to learn more about his company and connection to Empowering Action.

Tell us about yourself.

Since I moved to DC in 1993 I have always been supportive of nonprofits including Habitat for Humanity, YFU, and Greater DC Cares. Over time I got into running and first started volunteering, then being a team captain, and later a race director. In 2003 I started my own charity race, the Germantown 5 Miler. 12 years later I started Crazy Dog Events to help charities get new races started.

Tell us about the name Crazy Dog Events.

Crazy Dog’s name came from my running partner and crazy Airedale Terrier, Snickerz. He is now 14 and is retired from running, but he loved running and would average 20 miles a week.

Tell us about your race schedule.

I am normally directing, timing, or volunteering for a race every weekend during the main race seasons of the spring and fall. In the summer and winter I volunteer as a USATF official for various indoor and outdoor track events.

Snickerz is retired from running. What about you?

I still get out for a few miles once in a while, but various injuries have hampered my running.

How did you get connected with Empowering Action?

I’ve known the founder, Kent Husted, for almost twenty years, meeting for the first time at a church in Germantown where he was serving on staff. We reconnected last year when Empowering Action expressed an interest in hosting a 5K race, and was directed to me by a mutual friend at Fellowship of Christian Athletes who had partnered with me on some events.

What excites you about Empowering Action?

I like Empowering Action for how they are helping people get out of poverty and teaching them how to have a vocation for the future. The program is well designed and helps so many in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Haiti. Having taken the Perspectives class I see the value of the program and know that it is doing amazing things for those that are involved.