26.2 Miles Covered in 2013 Marathon for Peace

October 21, 2013

Friends & family,

With my spirits in a lot better shape than my right hamstring, I finished my 8th annual Marathon for Peace October 13. The hamstring problem meant this was by far the slowest of the 34 marathons I’ve done since running my first at age 48. But my 4:56:07 time was still good enough to put me in the top half of the 65-69-year-old men’s age group (17th of 39).
And thanks to generous support from so many of you, more than $4,000 had been contributed to War Times by the time I crossed the finish line.

Your support for War Times is so important because, in the quest for peace, some extremely difficult battles lie just ahead.

Negotiations between Iran and the U.S. are entering a very delicate stage. New possibilities exist to end the 30-plus year Cold War between Washington and Tehran and avert a catastrophic military conflict. But U.S. hawks and the fear-mongering Israeli establishment are going all-out to sabotage the chance of an agreement. Meanwhile the budget fights now front-and-center in D.C. may shape this country’s priorities for years ahead: Will already battered social programs be cut even further and inequality get worse? Or can we force major cuts in the bloated military budget and target corporate welfare and the 1%?

War Times will be one of the projects throwing itself wholeheartedly into these crucial struggles. Can more of you pitch in to make sure War Times has the financial resources it needs for the next year? My 2013 Marathon for Peace is done – but donations of a dollar or more for each mile I covered are still most welcome!

All donations are tax-deductible, you can donate on-line here or write a check to CTWO/War Times and mail it to War Times, P.O. Box 22748, Oakland CA 94609.
Thanks for your support and generosity! And let’s hope by next year’s Marathon we’re consolidating some victories and moving even further toward a more peaceful and just world.

Max
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Marathon for Peace 2013
Time To Go All Out

September 26, 2013

“…as I pause today to reflect on the meaning and significance of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I realize that my focus has been too narrow. Five years after the March, Dr. King was speaking out against the Vietnam War, condemning America’s militarism and imperialism… He saw the connections between the wars we wage abroad, and the utter indifference we have for poor people, and people of color at home. He saw the necessity of openly critiquing an economic system that will fund war and will reward greed, hand over fist, but will not pay workers a living wage…. I have been staying in my lane. But no more.
–Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

Family & friends,

In a long race like the marathon – or the struggle for peace – there are stretches where it’s important to pace yourself and gather energy for the long haul. And there are other times to go all out.

This is a time to go all out.

Just a few weeks ago, it looked like a U.S. strike on Syria was inevitable. Then a global outpouring of antiwar sentiment threw a wrench into Washington’s drive toward military action.
The agreement to dispose of Assad’s chemical weapons is still fragile. So are the widely reported steps toward a thaw in U.S.-Iranian relations, a possibility with immense stakes: Can diplomacy replace military threats and the danger of another utterly catastrophic war?

But with enough push, what’s now fragile and tentative can begin to take hold.
What’s more, renewed momentum for peace can reinforce and connect with all the other vital fights being waged by grassroots movements across the U.S. Deepening that linkage is crucial to the urgent task of breaking the right-wing’s current initiative and moving this country’s politics in a progressive direction across the board.

Spurring, nurturing and expanding that momentum requires institutions that bridge constituencies and generations; provide information and analysis, and persevere for the long haul. War Times/Tiempo de Guerras is one of those. That’s why I’ll be going all-out in my 2013 Marathon for Peace October 13 to raise money to sustain War Times work. This will be my 34th marathon, my eighth annual Marathon for Peace, and my third marathon since turning 65 (finishing second in the 65-69-year-old-men’s-age-group in the first two of those). I hope I can count on your support – for my run and for War Times.

Thanks!

Max