Pat runs slowly!
Fundraising page for Pat Milligan for Tusk Trust, a non-profit dedicated to supporting wildlife conservation and wildlife-interacting communities across Africa. This drive will raise funds for Lewa Conservancy and its neighbors in Kenya.
My story
Howdy!
So, here's the thing...
Many of you already know that I've spent a lot of time working in Kenya for the last 8 years. In that time, many of the communities neighboring Mpala Research Centre (my typical home in Kenya) have been enormously generous to me and my research projects. I've only succeeded out here because my neighbors so often provide a helping hand, in forms ranging from natural history insight to assistance getting the truck out of a massive mud-hole. I hope that in the next decade, my research efforts will yield solutions and benefits that will finally repay the people that have routinely welcomed me into their communities with few, if any, requests of me.
But in the meantime, I'm asking my friends and family to help me make an immediate impact in Laikipia and across Kenya. On 25 June, 2022, I'll be running in the Safari Marathon at Lewa Conservancy, and in the weeks leading up to that event I'll also be raising funds for Lewa's partner Tusk Trust. Please scroll on down to the first blog post, where I talk about my fundraising goal, a silly incentive to donate that I hope you'll find compelling, and other fun bits.
Pat :)
Activity Totals
45.00 km coveredHow does one train for a marathon?
May 31, 2022, 4:25:58 PMAnswer: I have no idea. But in the last month or so, I've been running seemingly-endless laps around the "ring road" at Mpala Research Centre. That's about 2.35 km per weird spikey lap (see GPS tracker below), aaaaaand that's a lot of laps to get to 42.2 km (a full marathon). I am absolutely rinsing through podcasts right now, and I am shooting for a 4 hour marathon time, so send me suggestions for long-form entertainment if you got em. For you Americans and your freedom-units, that's about 1.5 miles per lap to reach 26.2 miles. Bleh. At this point, I just want to say to all of you that have donated so far: hell yeah, king/queen/non-binary royalty. I'll be following up with another blog tomorrow to describe some of the ways in which this money raised has a tangible impact out here, so I promise to give a more substantive update soon! In the meantime: you're wonderful. For those of you donating from far away, I miss you much and can't wait to see folks when I'm back in the states soon. Much love <3
What's the deal with fundraising?
May 25, 2022, 9:58:33 AMMy fundraising goal? About $2300. "That's a strange number to pick." Yes it is, but that's what happens when you convert a reasonable round number from another currency into USD. "What will this money do?" A lot. Tusk Trust supports various efforts to protect endangered animal populations in Kenya, including rhinoceroses, elephants, and lions. That type of work involves not only protecting these animals from threats, but working with and supporting people that coexist with them in areas with mixtures of private conservancies, public conservancies, and community lands. Human-wildlife conflict is an ever-increasing issue as humans expand their reach into the wild, and organizations like Tusk Trust help to mediate that human-wildlife interface. Curious about the marathon and its impact? Visit the website www.lewasafarimarathon.com to find out more. "Any perks of donating?" For sure. If you donate $20 or more, I will shout your name out on video as soon as I cross the finish line and get to Charlotte (an inimitable camera operator). If you think it will be enjoyable to have an extremely sweaty, moderately asthmatic, and questionably dressed (costume planned!) me try to thank you and potentially about 100 others immediately after running 26.2 miles at over a mile-high elevation on the equator, then I hope you will strongly consider donating. "I want a shout-out but can't afford to donate", the same reader asks, a mist of tears in their eyes. I would never want you to donate if it makes your life difficult. If ya want a wheezing shout-out, ya get a wheezing shout-out, on the house. If you donate, you can continue to check in on this page for updates as the race draws closer. While I'll be writing blogs about anything and everything that comes to mind in that period, I'll try to keep it run-related. But you can also expect some updates on what I've been doing out here for the last year, which I hope you will find entertaining and interesting. (and if ya want an update on running, today looks like a 15km run in the oppressive heat of this El Nino summer!)