Journal of a Distance Runner (Thursday April 26th 2012)

Hill Runs:

Have you ever tried to run up a hill? It’s not as easy as it looks.

At first, you think, “yeah, I can totally do this.”

After a few feet, you suddenly realize how steep you’re actually climbing.

I was surprised last week when my trainer told me to not only run up a 600 meter hill, but do it 7 times.

Let me tell you one things about hill runs, they stink. 

They’re terrible.

But everyone tells me their worth it.

At first I thought, “you guys are crazy. No way in heck can this be worth it.”

I soon realized how beneficial they can be.

Just a few days ago I was handed a map of the marathon route.

On race day I’m set to encounter a handful of nasty looking monoliths of destruction.

My knees are trembling already.

Cancer is a deadly disease that effects millions across the nation. In late 2011 it hit my family.

In November last year, my grandma was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

There was nothing I could do to make things better. In all my life I’ve never felt so helpless.  

That’s why I decided to take a stand.

For the past few months I’ve been training to run my very first marathon attempting to raise money for cancer research.

So far I have met countless people with touching stories of perseverance and survival.

Coming this May I will share these stories as well as my own in a five part series titled “A Reason to Run.”

Stay tuned to ABC 6 News and kaaltv.com for updates on this ongoing series.

To join the cause visit this website and make your donation. Every little bit counts in this race to beat cancer!

A system for netting and tagging thousands of walleyes is now in place to help the Iowa DNR with fish management.

24,000 walleyes are currently being tracked in a database to aid biologists in understanding survival, growth rates and annual abundance.

Clear Lake and several other north Iowa lakes are netted for walleye each April to harvest their eggs.

DNR fisheries biologists later release the brood fish along with the fry and fingerlings that eventually hatch.

Researchers then use the data from the fish that are released as the basis for lake management decisions.