Poetrunner

Pushcart Prize-nominated poet Rich Ferguson has shared the stage with Patti Smith, Wanda Coleman, Moby, and other esteemed poets and musicians. Ferguson has been selected by the National Beat Poetry Foundation, Inc. (NBPF), to serve as the State of California Beat Poet Laureate (Sept. 2020 to Sept. 2022). He is a featured performer in the film, What About Me? featuring Michael Stipe, Michael Franti, k.d. lang, and others.

Bart Strauss

I'm a 50yr old Gulf War-era Army Veteran. I've been competitively running since I was in second grade. I was good at it, but not great. Most importantly, I enjoyed it. After my time in military service, I stopped running. I think it was all the forced physical training you have to do that burnt me out. I later became overweight and as a result, became diabetic. I returned to running in 2015. I started with many 5Ks. It was what I was used to being that's what I ran in my high school cross country team and what I was trained to do in the Army. I wouldn't say I am as fast as I was back then, but a 7:30min/mile in a 5K isn't something to scoff at. Since getting back into running, I've put quite a good number of races under my belt. I have 21 half-marathons, 11 full marathons, 2 50Ks, and just 2 days ago (Dec3), my first 50 miler (50 in my 50th year).  

I'm a big supporter of Team Red, White , and Blue -- an organization that benefits veterans. I raise money for them either by setting up fundraisers or through an app called Charity Miles. In the app, I have 8,934 miles logged. I estimate that 90% of the miles I've run have been for Team RWB; equaling about $2000 raised. I know it doesn't seem like much, but every penny