Half-Marathon Completed. Fight for Peace Continues
Family and Friends,
Thanks to all of you who put this year’s Half-Marathon for Peace over the financial finish line (more than $7,000 this year, more than $200,00 since 2006) and provided much-needed moral support.
My run this year was tough. I went up to the starting line not fully recovered from a right-leg hamstring problem and wearing a thigh compression sleeve. It was a warm, sunny day with no cloud cover for the first 11 miles. But 30 years of distance running has taught me how to pace myself just below the big-trouble threshold and it worked for the first 12.1 miles. My right leg didn’t act up until the last mile.
Once again my family was waiting to cheer and pace me after the final turn: my partner Ellen who has been at 60-plus marathon and half-marathon finish lines, son James and daughter-in-law America, and granddaughters Sonia now six and Marisol about to turn four. My finishing pace was my slowest ever, just under 13 minutes per mile for a 2:49:44 chip time (2:50:06 gun time).
This race is done, but the fight to end racist US wars and repression at home is urgent as ever. Convergence is in that fight for the long haul; if you have a few more dollars to spare, please sign up as a regular donor-member or make a one-time contribution at:
https://convergencemag.com/membership/2026-summer-membership-drive
Thanks, peace, and hope,
Max
June 3 Message – Running Again to Support Convergence in 2026
Friends and Family,
In the last 20 years, I have run 13 marathons and 7 half marathons, raising over $193,000 for various peace and justice organizations. My half-marathon this year (June 27 in Goleta, California) is to support Convergence Magazine and is taking place under the toughest political conditions yet. And as I approach my 79th birthday, it is also going to be my toughest half-marathon yet. Please support Convergence and my run by donating at:
https://convergencemag.com/membership/2026-summer-membership-drive
Trump 2.0 is on a killing spree from Iran and Gaza to the waters off South America. The illegitimate Roberts Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act and the ICE campaign of brutalization and deportation continues. All this has spurred a growing and combative resistance, leading MAGA to be more committed than ever to election theft in order to consolidate white nationalist and billionaire-friendly authoritarian rule.
Convergence plays a valuable role in resisting this everything-everywhere-all-at-once onslaught. Convergence is now bringing the same rigor that produced the widely-used Block and Build framework and study syllabus to the urgent need for the progressive movement to strengthen its internationalist dimension. Check out the new Convergence two-session study syllabus, War, Peace and Internationalism Today, at:
https://convergencemag.com/syllabus/war-peace-and-internationalism-today
This year Convergence is focused on growing the number and donation-amount of regular monthly or annual contributors. If you are already a member-sustainer, please consider upping your contribution or making an additional one-time donation; if you are not yet a regular donor, please consider signing on with a monthly or annual pledge:
https://convergencemag.com/membership/2026-summer-membership-drive
You can also donate by sending a check to Convergence Media at 490 Lake Park Ave. #10062, Oakland, CA 94610. If you want to make a tax-deductible contribution, please donate at the link below or write me for information about how to do that by check:
https://convergencemag.com/donate
I will stretch every muscle to cross the finish line in Goleta before they shut it down, and your encouragement and financial support for Convergence will give me a big energy boost along the way.
Thanks, Peace, and Hope,
Max
Revolution in the Air 