Enough from Me. Take it from Them.

But enough from me about the power of girls' sports.

Take it from the Lady Tigers - a girls softball team in New York that Dream Big! has supported with donations of everything from softball bats, gloves and helmets, to batting cages and hitting machines.  But more than the chance to play, on the Lady Tigers, these girls find...

"My teammates our my sisters. My coach is my father."

Thank you for considering a gift for Dream Big! to advance their mission of empowering girls through sports.

Running "Like an Old Lady on a Frozen Lake"

The marathon - especially Boston - is so riddled with meaning and metaphors. The most prominent of which is probably, "Life's a marathon, not a sprint."

I got a new one on Saturday, at the first charity team group training run of the season. Here I am with the others running for Dream Big! because we believe in the power of girls' sports.

Before our run, we heard from coach Rick Muhr, with words of encouragement and counsel - mental, physical, and a little metaphysical.  One thought, and new metaphor, that stuck with me, was on the importance of running NOT like a long-legged gazelle with great leaping strides, but "like an old lady on a frozen lake," with a measured, quiet, shuffling stride that, however counter-intuitive, turns out to be the most efficient way to propel oneself for 26.2.

It's all about efficiency, Rick told us. And though it seems like the way to go faster and further is with a great, reaching stride, the name of the game for marathon success is efficiency - i.e., no wasted effort. And with that long, leaping stride sets one up for striking first with one's heel, and actually throwing the breaks on with each step, even as you are propelling yourself forward. It's also a greater muscle strain for each stride. More difficult to sustain. Heart rate too high. Cadence too low. Each step too loud, too much effort, and leaving one more susceptible to injury. 

The goal, said Rick, is to be at a cadence of 180 strides per minute, three per second. Quiet. Efficient. Heart rate relaxed. Unhurried. Conservative. Like you're driving with the low-fuel light on even when your tank is full. No wasted effort. And then, the metaphor I carried with me for our first training run along the race course (until just shy of Heartbreak Hill) - to run like an old lady on a frozen lake.

There is power and potential in what we might, at first blush, or based on flawed stereotypes or cultural norms, dismiss as weakness. Which reminded me of the #LikeAGirl campaign unleashed at last year's Super Bowl.

A great inspiration and reaffirmation of the importance of Dream Big!'s work, empowering girls through sports. 

For #GivingTuesday, Would You #GiveBold for Girls Sports?

Do you believe all girls should be able to play sports if they want to? 

Maybe today is the day to make that gift to Dream Big! so thousands more can? 

In the spirit of #GivingTuesday, CrowdRise - the group that provides our fundraising pages for the Marathon (and many, many other causes) - is running a campaign called #RunBold. 

For the charity runner who raises the most by midnight tonight(!), Crowdrise will contribute $100/mile (i.e., $2,620) to their cause and $1,000 each for the nine runners up.

Why not help direct that generosity for the sake of girls who just want to play sports?  

Here's my page: https://www.crowdrise.com/dreambigboston2016/fundraiser/stefanlanfer

Here... I.... Go...

There is nothing quite like that first time at the starting line, on the blocks, wound like a spring ready to spring at the official's whistle, or, in the case of this little girl, at the top of the jump, trying to psyche herself up, ready to go for it, a little terrified, hearing the encouraging words of her dad, and then...

And now that jump is part of her legend. Part of who she is. A cause for adrenaline-fueled celebration scream. Arms raised in the air in triumpgh. An inspiration.

Would you consider a gift to Dream Big! to help more girls go for it like this?

The Long Road to Her First Race

Last year, she tried out for the team, and didn't make it.

We thought about advocating with the coach to let her swim anyway. Come on! She was so close! And now she is going to have to come to all the practices and meets and watch her brother anyway.

But we didn't.

Instead, we signed her up for a class. She spent all year working on it. Getting better. Getting stronger. And faster. Determined.

This fall, she made the team.

And last week was her first race. Freestyle. That's her in the center lane...

And now, this race and her efforts over this past year enter the mythology of who she is - a tough, un-deterred, patient, goal-oriented, go-getter. A force to be reckoned with.

There is power in sports to help us see what we are capable of. To give us the stories about who we are and how we show up in the world.

The $200 we paid for those swim lessons, or fees for the swim team this year - they were no brainers for us.

But for some girls, living in poverty or even homeless situations, they are impenetrable barriers to this kind of experience they would so love to have.

Thanks to Dream Big!, 6,000 girls every year are breaking through those barriers.

Would you consider a gift so that even more will next year?

"When I got that call, I cried."

Last week I wrote about my journey of failures and inspiration en route to the Dream Big! 2016 Boston Marathon Team, including one of the things that had always given me pause about signing on to run and raise money for a charity team - the sense that requests for support from friends, colleagues, family, or strangers for a charity team are requests both for gifts to advance worthy causes and subsidies for charity runners' running hobby/obsession. And I wondered about that mix - in particular, how much difference these gifts actually make to the charities in whose name I might run and raise.

That wonder was allayed for me last week, when I joined other members of Dream Big!'s 2016 Marathon Team and guests at their annual gala event in downtown Boston. We had the chance to meet and hear from students, like Takora McIntyre (pictured below), who was honored with the Kathy Dooley Inspiration Award & Scholarship. She spoke with passion, poise, and power about the impact of Dream Big! and sports on her life and aspirations.

Takora McIntyre is presented with the Dream Big! Kathy Dooley Inspiration Award & Scholarship from MC, Candy O'Terry and Dream Big! Founder & CEO, Linda Driscoll

We also had the chance to hear from Tom Grilk, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association - who related the story of a dinner conversation with his wife, when it came up that Dream Big! was, after its allotted years in the lineup, scheduled to rotate off the Boston Marathon's charity roster. "She looked at me," he said, "and said, 'NFW.' And that was that."

Significant to that question that still hung with me - about how much difference these charity team efforts make - Dream Big! Founder and CEO Linda Driscoll shared the story of the day she got the call at her home office from the Marathon with news Dream Big! had been selected to participate in the charity team program. "When I got that call, I cried." she said, "Because I knew what it would mean we wouldn't just serve 1,500 girls that year as we had the year before, but many times more."

A few years later, Dream Big! is still a lean operation. Linda still works from that home office. She is still Dream Big!'s only full-time employee. But the group now reaches 6,000 girls every year through equipment donations, program scholarships, sports clinics and the annual Dream Big! Leadership Conferences - a total of 16,000 girls since they started in 2010.

And in support of that work, and of their growing reach to more girls each year, the 5, 7, 10 thousand or more each runner commits to raise does add up to something very meaningful. Linda noted that, as of last year, Dream Big! had raised almost half a million dollars through the Boston Marathon Charity Program. That is a lot of barrier-removing power for girls who may be living in poverty, or even in homeless situations, but still want to play - and would, if only they had that $200 for a bike and helmet, $100 for that dance or fitness class, or even just $50 for that new pair of shoes. And now so many can. 16,000 and counting.

Proud to count myself part of this team effort.

Thank you for considering a contribution to help me run and raise for girls sports.

If You Let Me Play...

Growing up the oldest of three brothers, in a way, it wasn't until I caught this 1995 Nike ad, "If You Let Me Play" that it struck me how much was at stake for girls having the opportunities I took for granted to play sports.

Now, as a dad, I know I would never let anything stand in the way of my daughter playing sports. And I am honored to be part of the Dream Big! 2016 Boston Marathon Team, running in April 2016 to help remove barriers for other girls to do the same. 

Thank you for considering a gift to help me raise $7,000 for Dream Big! via the Donate Now button at right or my Dream Big! fundraising page at: bit.ly/DreamBigSLanfer

Why I'm Running (and Raising) for the Dream Big! 2016 Boston Marathon Team

I love it when my 7 year old looks at me with love in her eyes. But I really love it when I see her look of determination, grit, joy, and power when she is running towards a finish line, or when another girl or boy (or two or three) stand between her and a soccer goal. I know I would never let anything stand in the way of her discovering and pursuing her passions as an athlete, and I am honored to be part of the Dream Big! Boston Marathon Team, running in April 2016 to help remove barriers for other girls to do the same.

Me and Maya nearing the finish of the 2014 Franklin Park Turkey Trot

Dream Big! works to provide girls from low-income and homeless situations with the equipment, uniforms, athletic footwear, program fees, training expenses, sports opportunities, and supplies they need to participate in sports and physical activities that contribute to their health, education and overall well-being.

Over the past four years Dream Big! has had a direct impact on more than 15,000 girls in need through equipment donations, program scholarships, sports clinics and the Dream Big! Leadership Conferences for middle and high school female athletes.

As you consider what the right level of support may be, here are some examples of how Dream Big! puts donations to work:

• $50 buys an aspiring soccer play a new pair of cleats
• $100 enrolls a young dancer or athlete in an 8-week dance or fitness class
• $200 helps a girl discover freedom and fitness with new bike and helmet
• $500 helps a promising young athlete take her game to the next level by paying for a week-long summer sports camp
• $1,000 gives a group of girls the opportunity to challenge each other, work together, and strive as one  - paying for new uniforms, equipment, and training for an entire sports team.

Thank you for your support of Dream Big!

To visit my fundraising page and contribute to my $7,000 goal, visit: bit.ly/DreamBigSLanfer

To learn more, visit: http://www.dream-big.org/