Healthy Habits: Sisters' Run 2011

Last Sunday – while we were on the couch recovering from our Tenth Anniversary Party – 53 Catholic nuns joined amateurs and athletes alike to run the 2011 Beijing Marathon. And if that’s not enough to fill us with a healthy dose of guilt, they raised nearly RMB 300,000 in the process!

As mentioned in our earlier Talking Balls post, all the money raised by the Sisters’ Run went directly to 14 charitable organizations to assist leprosy and AIDS victims, as well as the elderly and the blind in rural areas. BRICKS, the NGO that initiated the project, was amongst the first in China to catch on to the increasing “Run for Charity” craze. Since 2009, this sister act has grown from just nine runners to an overwhelming 53. This year was the first time six of the nuns endured the full 42km, with one particular sister raising an impressive RMB 29,000 all on her own.

What also set this nun run apart from other charity events was the message it sent: to stop waiting for change to happen and get directly involved. After all, what better way to demonstrate your commitment than diving (or in this case, running) right into it? And as Father Joseph points out, there are obvious health benefits – not just to the body, but also to the mind.

So here’s to our sisters in the Catholic Sisterhood! We apologize for all the nun puns.

Photos:Michelle Toh, Mitchell Masilun

Click here to see the October issue of the Beijinger in full.