Here I Run Again

Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Goal $750.00
100% towards our goal
$775.00 raised
HONOR ROLL
Anonymous
$ 50.00
Dr Joy KraZybill
$ 50.00
Go, Viv!
Wai Yee Poon
$ 10.00
Vivian, 加油!
Christie
$ 25.00
Run Vivian! Run!
Lindsay Imai
$ 100.00
Way to go Vivian and APEN!!
Marilyn
$ 50.00
Run, Vivian, run, for a better world for all of us. Thank You!
Marj And Tracy
$ 50.00
Go Viv!
Roger And Family
$ 20.00
You are amazing, Viv!
Jahmese
$ 20.00
Go Vivian! Love you!
Anonymous
$ 10.00
Nikki
$ 50.00
Go, Team APEN!
Miya
$ 20.00
Go Vivian, you're my hero everyday!
Anonymous
$ 20.00
[Stop]

I really didn't think I was going to run the Oakland half-marathon again this year. Last year, I really struggled - my body was still hurting from the sprained ankle and pulmonary embolism of the previous year, and the 13 mile race didn't help.

The snake year isn't the best for tigers, and I spent most of it strategically trying to avoid trouble. But then in December, I had a lot of really inspiring breakthroughs. I performed my very first spoken word piece (you can see it here) and I went to China to meet with activists who are organizing around labor, environmental, and queer issues. My relationship with the motherland is always fraught with challenges, but the trip taught me so much about the work that is happening and how I can have a connection to it.

Because there was so much travel time via planes, trains, and automobiles, I had time to read all these amazing books: Asia's Unknown Uprisings (Volume 1 & 2), Sputnik Sweetheart, articles about China, etc. This all leads me to a book called "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" written by Haruki Murakami who is one of my favorite writers. Murakami usually writes these fantastic magical realism novels (Sputnik Sweetheart is one of his), but a couple of years ago, he decided to write about running.

Murakami, like me, started running later in life (around 34) and the book beautifully makes the connections between his philosophy of running with his philosophy on life and being a writer. “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional” is a motto that really inspired me to not let life challenges hold me back.

So, in that spirit, I’m running the 13-mile race again! I’m raising money for Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and this year is going to be the most amazing one yet. We are fighting against our current economic system that’s based on extraction and exploitation and fighting for a new economy that supports community ownership, human development, and the continued existence of our planet.

I hope that you can support both my physical endeavor as well as the work of our immigrant and refugee community members!