This is the story of three men, and one dream: to run the perfect mile.

It began when we were watching the women's marathon in the Olympics. After the race, the announcer stated that the winner ran the race with mile splits of 5 minutes and ten seconds. We knew that was fast, but we had nothing to compare it to for ourselves. We all realized that the last time we ran a timed mile was in junior high. We only had one option: we had to run a timed mile.

In 7th grade I went out for track and the coach thought that I had the physique of a distance runner. At that age distance running meant anything over 800 meters, so my coach had me run the mile. The highlight of my track career was getting third place in the initial track meet of the year with a time of 6:50. Following that year, I realized that I hated to run competitively and found other sports to compete in.

Since that experience in 7th grade, I have avoided the track at all costs. But now the curiosity of finding my time couldn't keep me away. After a track was identified in the area, we psyched ourselves up for the race with the following quotes.

I've been training real hard...well I've been thinking about training real hard. - Caley Ortman

5:10? C'mon. I can take that. - Mike Spee

Einstein hated math, Betty Crocker hated to cook, and I hate to run, but when God gives you a gift, you've got to use it. - Joel Krehbiel

We reached the track near sundown. With the heat of the day leaving the air, we performed the necessary stretches to loosen our tightened muscles. The race began with Mike taking a strong lead with a fast initial quarter mile. My quarter time was around 1:30, so I knew I had a chance to beat my 7th grade time. I started to feel the pain during the second lap and slowed down accordingly. I passed Mike around the 3rd lap and tried to push the lead. Mike started coming back during the final stretch of the final lap but I was able to hold him off.

When the dust settled, our times were as follows:
Joel: 7:04
Mike: 7:07
Caley: 7:37

In the end I was disappointed to not beat my 7th grade time, but it was a spectacular experience, and we all felt it was definitely worth the pain. I recommend anyone who wants to know just how fast Olympic athletes are to go out and run a timed mile. It will make you appreciate how crazy Olympic runners must be.

I'll close with one final picture of the three valiant runners:

Well, the SALT Orientation is finally over, and I'm still in Akron. Due to visa complications, I will be waiting here with the others headed to Brazil. I expect to get my visa in about a week and a half. I've known for about a week that I wouldn't be leaving orientation on time, so it's no big deal.

SALT Orientation was a very good time. I came in worried about the unknown of a year of international service. I won't say that orientation calmed my fears, but knowing that I share these fears with 53 other people makes my worries seem less significant. I met some old friends here from Bethel and Camp Mennoscah, found a distant Krehbiel (or Kraybill) cousin, and made numerous good friends. It was hard to see them go, but knowing I will see them in a year makes saying goodbye easier.

Here are some of the MCCers with Brazilian connections:

From left: Alexandre Nader (IVEP), Fabio Oliveira da Cruz (IVEP), Daryl Snider (MCC), Jean Sensenig (MCC), Mike Spee (SALT), Joel Krehbiel (SALT). I guess I missed the yellow shirt notice.

This is the Welcoming Center on the MCC campus in Akron. It was a beautiful place to meet. The weather was gorgeous and we played countless games on the center "green."

Hi all,

I'm in Akron, Pennsylvania for orientation with the other service workers from MCC's SALT, IVEP, and YAMEN programs. SALT sends North Americans to other countries to do service; IVEP brings service workers to North America from other countries; and YAMEN sends people from one foreign country to another.

It's been really great to get to know all the other people. I was worried that I would feel really awkward here, but I actually feel quite at home. Even the get-to-know-you games weren't that bad. I'm rooming with a Brazilian who is from Sao Paulo area. His name is Alexandre Nader and he is teaching me Portuguese as I improve his English.

The internet connection here is pretty bad, so I'm only able to access websites linked to MCC's website. So instead of an email notification that I'm here, I'm using my blog. I'll just say that the flights were pretty uneventful and I got here fine. Hopefully they'll fix the internet here in the next couple of days.