Don’t leave living up to chance

Editor's note: Daren Schumaker of Cedar Rapids and Dennis Lee of Walford are attempting to run across Iowa's 99 counties to raise money for the American Heart Association. They have completed 61 counties. This is No. 61. Next: Keokuk County.

By Daren Schumaker, community contributor

Good luck.

Wishing someone good luck before they embark on a great adventure or undertake a difficult task is the proper thing to do. Well-wishing never did anyone any harm, right? In fact, a friend of ours has made it a point to wish us well, uttering the words 'good luck,” before each of our last few cross-county runs.

The support is greatly appreciated. It makes us feel loved, but what's luck got to do with it?

Luck is just a small part of the pie and implies a great deal of what is to come has been left to chance. However, the fact of the matter is we shouldn't hope for good luck. Instead, we should rely on a sound return on our investments.

On July 19, we left Walford at 5:45 a.m. to meet Gary Boesenberg and Darl Van Rheenen (and their wives) in Shueyville where we crammed into Gary's van and headed south to Washington County. Gary and Darl decided to tag along as they prepare for Ironman Wisconsin. What better way than to prepare for an Ironman than running across a county?

At 7:25 a.m. we found ourselves standing on the eastern edge of Keota and gazing down the Kewash Nature Trail, more of a farm drive-like path, that would take us to the promise land. With little fanfare, we were off.

The weather was relatively cool and the breeze out of the northeast was pleasant - good luck. We ran six miles before we slipped through West Chester and the trail became more tree covered - affording us with much needed shade and the opportunity to encounter a few more bugs than we would have liked. As we reached our halfway point we met Abbe Kaufman, who along with her son, had crawled out of bed to offer us, and all other passers-by, water on a warm morning. Abbe is a fan of Team 99 Counties and was investing in our run, and more importantly, our mission to motivate others to become active.

After 15 miles on the Kewash Nature Trail we ran another mile through Washington before merging onto Highway 92. We continued eastward, circled the pond in Marr Park and ran a paved trail into Ainsworth. Shortly after departing Ainsworth we completed our 23rd mile, ducked under Highway 218, and battled the only hills we saw all day before crossing into Louisa County a mere 26.5 miles and 3:46:57 after we had started, finishing our 61st county.

Moral of the story? Invest, don't leave things up to luck. You can't ignore your savings account or investment portfolio and expect to have the funds you want when you retire. In a similar manner, you can't ignore your physical fitness, general health or eating habits and expect to live forever and dodge the medical conditions that your current lifestyle may be fostering.

Gary and Darl are investing in themselves, to ensure a sound return on their training during Ironman Wisconsin. Abbe Kaufman invested in us. Hills Bank and Trust invested in us, literally, by making a $250 donation to the American Heart Association on our behalf.

We have invested in ourselves and leave little to chance. However, we welcome a well-wish of 'good luck” for the small part that we don't control. In this case, such a wish more than likely gave us the good weather that we have such a difficult time finding.

Invest in yourself and we promise you will see a return on your investment. Investing isn't easy, but the sooner you start the better off you'll be. Start, invest and improve your life. Get up and get active. A few minutes of physical activity now may turn into additional years at the end of your life.

Inspiration through perspiration. Become active or make a donation to Team 99 Counties or the American Heart Association to help fight heart disease.