Sisters run half a world apart
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- Created on Sunday, 08 August 2010 01:58
- Written by Kevin Carmody
By KEVIN CARMODY, THE GAZETTE
Jennifer Cupples didn’t have too many goals in mind at Saturday’s third annual Run for Rwanda at Cottonwood Creek Park. Not even beating her twin sister, Tracie Driggs, who also was taking part in the charity event to raise funds and awareness for the tiny landlocked country in east central Africa.
Cupples met her expectations by finishing the 5K race in 40 minutes, 35 seconds. Driggs clocked a time of 32 minutes. The two managed a short chat via cell phone after the race since they ran not together, but in simultaneous events separated by some 8,000 miles.
Check out a photo gallery from the race.
That’s because Driggs recently arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, to volunteer at a village orphanage. She took part in the African version of the race, run barefoot by most, on the hilly, mountainous terrain at the same time Cupples and 363 other runners competed at Cottonwood Park.
“This was a really good opportunity to raise money and awareness for Rwanda,” said Cupples, 29, a speech therapist at Memorial Health System. “My sister just arrived there last week, so the timing was great that she was able to run, too.”
According to the race’s website, figures for the Colorado Springs race estimated that $12,000 was raised for the Kibali Health Clinic, as well as scholarships and livestock.
Race organizer Steve Flannery, after visiting Rwanda, conceived the idea, while, naturally, running with several friends.
“About six months after we came back, we asked ourselves what we could do to support their community,” Flannery said. “If we did a simultaneous run, it would be a fundraiser, but it would also be a means of showing solidarity.”
Pueblo West resident Mike Schmidt clocked the best overall time of the race at 16 seconds, 24 seconds on a mostly flat course of grass and paved trails. Augustus Maiyo, 27, was next in 17:08.
Elizabeth Watkins of Colorado Springs was top female finisher with a time of 19:33.
Cupples, a self-proclaimed “fast-paced walker,” predicted a time of around 40 minutes. She was nearly right on.
“My run wasn’t great,” Cupples said. “I’ve done more walking than running since I had my first son last summer. But it wasn’t about a particular time. These people are trying to build medical facilities, and funding has been pretty low recently. We’re talking about a country that doesn’t have the means to take care of people who are sick, and very little money for education.”
Driggs, on her blog, recently posted that the Gisimba orphanage has just one chalkboard for more than 70 children.
“Things like running water are taken for granted here,” Cupples said, relaying a recent conversation with Driggs. “She told me she was wearing her sunglasses, and the kids were all surrounding her trying to get a closer look. Almost everything we have here is a luxury.”
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