May 18, 2014

Baby and I won our first race yesterday! It was a local 5k with about 40 people walking/running called Free the Girls 5k. You could run in a bra and then donate it to women in 3rd world countries who would then fix them up and sell them. Here is a little bit about the race from the Zonta Club website:

WHY BRAS?
Freethegirls.org: Women we work with were sold into prostitution, often as children. Bras provide the following:
GREAT INCOME
Second-hand clothing is a profitable market in many countries around the world. Bras are usually sought after items. Some of the girls in our program are making 3-5x the minimum wage in their community by selling bras!
SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Bras provide an opportunity for these women to work with other women, since they have a history of being abused and used by men.
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
Most of the women we work with were sold into prostitution as children, only 8-10 years old. Because their lives were stolen from them, they missed out on going to school and getting an education. Selling bras allows them to work as much or as little as their school schedule permits.
SUSTAINABLE MODEL
Once a program has been started with a safe house, it is designed to sustain itself. The women in our program receive their starting inventory as a donation, and are then able to buy additional inventory from Free The Girls for below wholesale value to help maintain their competitive edge in the marketplace. Revenue from inventory sales helps subsidize overseas program costs.


Anyway, the weather was great, if a little windy, and I PR'd at about 24:45, for my 1st ever race win! So that's about 8 minute miles, not super fast, but finally getting faster! (Obviously non of the fast folks showed up to race, it seems like there is always someone who finishes with a sub 20 time.) Regardless, I'm super proud of myself and the little bambino! Here are a couple of pics of my awesome outfit.