I first moved to the Tohoku region at the age of 10 and have seen it grow and thrive through economic, natural and human trials.  I was here for the 92' typhoon which was the worst that this region had seen. Hundreds of houses were destroyed and fishing villages were annihilated on the western coast.  The power was out for weeks. While waiting in a line for batteries at a local store outside Akita city, a man took time to comfort me, offering my family his batteries saying in English, "Okay, it will be okay. We must help each other."

I think those simple words sum up the sprit and power of Tohoku and that is why I plan to run and do my 5k to survive on April 10th at 3:11 pm.  This is a informal run in which people around Japan and around the world will participate in to raise money and awareness for relief from the March 11th tsunami and earthquake.

 Please go to: http://5tosurvive.org/ to see all the details.

 

Thank you!!

 

Mel