Freshman Andrea Christman knows that some causes are close to the heart, and require personal action.This coming October, Andrea, along with fellow Hopkins students Sam Olesky and Kristian Sekse, will be traveling to Death Valley, Calif., to help raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The trip involves participation in a bike ride - 105 miles through tortuous Death Valley, all in one day.All riders must raise $3,400in fundraising in order to participate in the ride, of which 85 cents of every dollar goes to research.
"105 miles is difficult on this course," said Christman. "It's 52.5 miles out and then back, but the last few miles are a big incline. It's especially tough with the heat," said Andrea, who did the ride in 2002 with her father, and who was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at age eight.
"I've been very involved with JDRF, and this was just another way to be," she said.
As for Olesky and Sekse, neither had heard of the ride before they met Christman.All three are members of the track team here, and one day Christman approached Olesky and Sekse with the idea of joining her on the ride next year.
For Sekse, this ride was just what he was looking for. "I was going to do the Hopkins 4K, but I don't have the time," he said. Instead, this ride will take four days. The three will fly into Las Vegas on the night of Thursday Oct. 21, in time for the ride on Saturday, Oct. 23.
The $3,400 in fundraising also covers travel and lodging expenses.The three are raising the money through a letter campaign to people they know, trying to get sponsors.They are also appealing to their home communities, to businesses like bike and running shops, as well as churches or temples. "We're just trying to get as much publicity as possible," said Olesky.
Despite the difficulty of the course, not everyone will be trained athletes like Christman, Olesky and Sekse. "It takes people anywhere from five to 12 hours to finish the race," said Christman. Also, there are earlier turn around points than the halfway point at 52.5 miles, so anyone interested in the cause is welcome.
Christman, a resident of Ohio, trained for her first ride in 2002 at home. "In Cleveland, we actually had a coach for the group, and he really worked with people," she said."They all made it."
While there is no group to train with here, the three are excited to work hard this summer to prepare for the ride in the fall.
"In Cleveland, there are always a huge number of people. It depends on the local Diabetes office and how strong it is," said Christman. Since the Baltimore office is not very strong, the three hope that next year they can recruit a larger number of Hopkins students for the ride.
Riding with Christman, Olesky and Sekse will be Christman's dad, who also rode this year, as well as a friend of Sekse. The team of riders has high hopes for itself.
"Between my dad and I, we're trying to reach $10,000 in fundraising," said Christman. Overall, the ride makes well over a million, [and] most people [ridding] either know someone with Diabetes or are diabetic themselves. It's really a cause that's close to their hearts."
If you would like to sponsor the riders this year or find out more about participating in the future, you can either contact Christman at andrea9488@msn.com, or find more information on the JDRF Web site, at http://ride.jdrf.org.
