Fitness Challenge Marathon - Est. 2002

After our 1st 24 Hour Challenge Run, I was asked "How are you going to top this?" by several people.  I then went about to take on the challenge.  After following the Eco-Challenge on television for a couple years I thought this would be something we could do at Lundahl on a smaller scale.  This could be an event no one has ever done before, so I took THE WILLINGNESS TO RISK to try something new.  When I started drafting my idea on how it could be run, not one person thought it would even happen.  Friends, co-workers, and even my family asked if this was worth the effort when the chance of this becoming reality was virtually zero.  Most thought I was crazy or wasting my time.  I was DETERMINED TO STAND for what I felt would be a great learning experience students will remember for the rest of their lives.  My COMMITMENT TO INTEGRITY was on the line for myself and for the event and what it stood for.  The first person to say "yes" was the Principal that hired me, Rick Carlsteadt.  From there, it took a 1 1/2 years of meetings, rewrites, fundraising, City of Crystal Lake Committee approvals, and endless phone calls and emails.  If I didn't have a SENSE OF PASSION during this whole process to keep pressing on, the Fitness Challenge Marathon would have never taken place.  I am now presenting this program around the country along with the 24 Hour Challenge Run, to inspire and motivate other professionals.  These events are also observed by several Universities from around the State of Illinois as a model of what can be achieved as a professional and by students.  Because of the program along with others I've initiated, I was nominated and received Physical Education Teacher of the Year for Illinois in 2007, the Midwest District, and was a finalist of six at the National level in 2008.  Our kids are hungry for challenges that make them a better person.  Our staff at Lundahl is always excited to see what the possibilities are with our students and are dedicated to give them those opportunities.

If you haven't figured it out yet, the Four Characteristics of Success that I try to teach during these programs had to be used for me to successfully put this event together.