An unusual birthday gift has reached global proportions for Cathy Rodgers and her daughter Katie Emick. What started as a personal challenge years ago grew into an environmental crusade to plant trees around the world.
Rodgers’ challenge was to run a half marathon, something her four competitive sisters knew they could goad her into completing by dangling an enticing carrot in front of her nose.
“I was about to complain that it was my big 5-0—it should be something I love. They were quick to point out that the goal was actually to run half marathons on all seven continents,” Rodgers said.
In 2008, Rodgers became just the fourth woman to complete that challenge when she completed a half marathon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to sevencontinentsclub.com, currently 12 women have accomplished the feat since the half marathon challenge was established in 2003.
If the story ended there, it would be impressive on its own. But during her travels she became inspired.
“(Traveling) really exposed me to all the changes that are going on in the world as a result of climate change, deforestation, global warming and the like,” Rodgers said. “And I thought, ‘I really need to do something more, personally, rather than just read about it with interest.’”
In 2010, Rodgers founded Rooted for Hope with her two daughters, Katie and Jenny. When Katie turned 24, Rodgers extended the challenge to her so they could become the first mother-daughter tandem to run half marathons on all seven continents, raising funds
for saplings.
Katie ran with her mother in Alaska to start the original challenge and was there in 2008 when her mother completed the marathons in Brazil. They just returned from Antarctica where they waded through mud and raced against headwinds between 20 and 30 mph. The high winds just added to the experience, Katie said.
“You take three days crossing the Drake Passage, which has the stormiest seas on earth. You’re rocking and rolling and taking seasick pills,” Katie said. “Even getting down there was quite a journey. Once you’re there, you get days of get gale force winds.”
The marathon in the world’s southern most continent has a four-year waiting list as only about 200 people are allowed to participate.
Two spots came open for Katie and Rodgers, who are competing against one other mother-daughter team to become the first to complete the half marathons on all seven continents. Katie, who finished first in the half marathon among men and women, said about 40 people were forced to drop out.
The pair will run in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe June 27 to complete their Africa leg of the journey. They will run in Australia in September but are still making plans to complete the final two legs in Asia and Europe.
Rodgers and her daughter are on a self-imposed tight schedule. They want to finish the seventh leg by the time Rodgers turns 60, which she’ll do in March 2015.
“When I run it’s not fast—it’s not pretty, but I have to go the distance,” Rodgers said.
With each kilometer they run—a half marathon is 13.1 miles—donors can give $1 toward the campaign, dubbed “Running the World for the World.” Rodgers also gives lectures about environmental issues, for which she plants a tree for every student who attends her talk.
After the run in Zimbabwe, Katie and Rodgers will plant trees and give talks about environmental sustainability and agroforestry projects. Most of their work takes place in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park. To date, they have planted more than 125,000 trees around the world, more than 20,000 of which were planted in Kenya.
“One of our mantras is while one person can’t do everything, we all can do something,”
Katie said. “Collectively, we can do so much.”
The organization is dedicated to reforestation globally but has special ties to Kenya.
Although the mother-daughter duo completes projects in the Amazon and in Central America, it was an encounter with Kenya environmental activist and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai that got Rodgers inspired to reach out to the eastern African nation.
During a speaking engagement where she plants a tree for every student, she taught a class with nearly 1,000 people. Rogers said she knew nothing about large-scale tree planting, so she Googled it and found Maathai. After she emailed him, he invited her to visit Kenya to learn how to plant trees en masse.
As part of the fundraiser, Rooted in Hope will run in the Henry Coe Fun Run and Walk June 14. As part of the run, Rooted in Hope plans to plant trees in Morgan Hill. Rodgers said she will meet with the City April 23 to decide where the trees will be planted and how many.
Rooted in Hope is teaming up with St. Mary’s School in Gilroy to write letters to Miaguyu Primary School in Gakanga, Kenya. As part of it, the children sold tree bags, collected donations and raised more than $3,800; enough to purchase 1,100 trees for Kenya.
