Laura and Julie just returned from the 26.2 with Donna Marathon in Jacksonville, Florida. What a honor it was to be a part of something so inspiring and so encouraging. All of the proceeds from the run go to support breast cancer research and the care of breast cancer patients at the local Mayo clinic.
The race was founded by Donna Deegan, a local Jacksonville newscaster, and 3-time breast cancer survivor.
As an avid marathoner, Donna was inspired to establish the annual race 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer. 26.2 with Donna is the only marathon in the country that is dedicated exclusively to raising funds for breast cancer research and care. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to breast cancer research at Mayo Clinic and to women living with breast cancer through The Donna Foundation.
To learn more about this awesome run, go to:
http://www.breastcancermarathon.com/index.php
And make sure to read all of the inspiring accounts of why people choose to run this race:
http://www.breastcancermarathon.com/run/why-im-running/

Please plan to put this race on your calendar for 2011, and help to finish breast cancer!

I am very saddenned to report that Nodar Kumaritashvili, an Olympic athlete representing the Republic of Georgia died today while participating in a practice run on the luge. Here are the details taken from the NBC Olympic website:
Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled near the finish Friday, went over the track wall and struck an unpadded steel pole near the finish line at Whistler Sliding Center . . . Rescue officials rushed to the scene and were performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Kumaritashvili was lifted into an ambulance. An air-rescue helicopter was summoned and was over the track about eight minutes after the crash.

This is not the first crash that has occurred during practice runs on the controversial course. Considered the fastest luge course in the world, many lugers are topping 90 miles per hour. It is unclear just how fast Kumaritashvili was traveling at the time of his crash.
Experts are obviously questioning the safety of the course, and it will be interesting to see what transpires now that Opening Ceremonies starts in just a few short hours.

The quest for Olympic Gold is the dream of just about any kid that runs across a soccer field, laces up her ice skates, straps on her skis, or practices free throws tirelessly in the gym. We must ask ourselves, however, at what point does the human body reach maximum potential and technology has to kick in. Is this safe? Is this fair? Is this a true demonstration of athletic ability or technology at it’s finest?
We saw unprecedented success in the pool at the Beijing Olympics by athletes wearing the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit. 94% of all races were won by athletes wearing this suit. This suit is now banned by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
There are more than 175 drugs, both legal and illegal that make up the official Olympic banned substances list. Some of them are obvious such as cocaine, oxycodone, and morphine. But many others on the list such as common diuretics might surprise some people. But they’re all on the list for one reason: in some way, even if very slight in nature, they could provide that edge to one athlete over the other.

I’m excited about the Olympics. I plan to watch the Opening Ceremonies tonight. And I look on with eager anticipation as dreams are made and Olympic medals are placed around the necks of hardworking athletes that have trained and sacrified for years. I celebrate those athletes. I celebrate the training, and I celebrate their drive and determination. And we mourn the loss of a great athlete who died attempting to achieve that dream.

Good luck to all of the athletes from across the world! Enjoy the Olympics everyone!

Sistas Shirts was named in part because the owners are real-life sisters, but also because women athletes all belong to a special sisterhood that makes us sistas! We were curious about other “sistas” on the web and found a very interesting website that you might want to check out. No, it isn’t geared to only athletes, but it is geared towards women just like you and mean that are looking for real-life, common sense solutions to everyday problems and situations. At sistascommonsenseforum.com you’ll be able to register as a user and not only submit your queries, but provide your common sense answers to other’s questions. Here’s how the site founders so eloquently put it:

How many times have you been talking to your girls, your mother, or your grandmother, and thought, “that’s just common sense”, but what is common sense to you, may not be common sense to someone else. While some of us are fortunate enough to have someone to share the puzzling questions many of us are not. Someone may just need to hear what you have to say to get them through what you’ve been through. Sista’s Common Sense Corner is the avenue for sistas just like you!
You will have the opportunity to respond to a weekly-posted scenario, read the responses of others, and send your own question/scenario. Your answer may be common sense to you, but may be the “light bulb experience” to a sista just trying to make it through. There is no “right”, or “wrong” answers, just common sense answers to real life experiences.

So check it out, and the answer to your question could be just a click away.