RetroFit
Cathlete
Hello All,
Because the individuals on this forum are not only fitness oriented, love life, and are compassionate towards others, I wanted to call on you, NOW, to post a note to Jim here and I will print it out and forward to Jennifer/Jim.
Targeting this Saturday 4/8/2008 as an end posting date...however, if more posts come in afterward, it would be my pleasure to deliver these also. What do you say, join me in wishing Jim a speedy recovery because he isn't alone. We can do this for him - Send him your well wishes, hugs, stories, experiences and most of all your "ENERGY". Make him feel our presence.
If you want to email him directly (that's Wonderful) or send him a card ( that's Super) but Post a little something here and we'll send him "Great Big Hugs" from all of US!
You can make a difference, everyone join in - Choose Living, as Jim would say. Reach out now to a man that has inspired so many. If you don't know about him, here is a link to Jim's Story or see below:
http://www.jimmaclaren.com/ & http://www.jimmaclaren.com/about.htm & his foundation http://www.chooseliving.org .
Or if you prefer youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEE-PN23Ms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k19OECv0TbQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K9GM3ZB7Gc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a letter sent by Cardio Coach Sean O'Malley - from Jim's sister Jennifer.
Hello Everyone,
I am writing to ask you all a favorE
Jim was hospitalized on Feb. 28th with a septic blood infection and a broken knee (the good one).
He is still in the hospital and will most likely be transferred to a skilled care facility for several more weeks.
Once he is released he will need 24 hour care at home.
He is holding his own but obviously down from his decline physically.
I was hoping I could get all of you to send Jim a card and let him know he isn’t alone. This would mean so much to me and Jim.
Please mail cards to:
Jim MacLaren
PO BOX 33437
Santa Fe, NM 87594
Thank you all..
Warmly,
Jennifer
Jennifer Hippensteel
Executive Assistant to Jim MacLaren
www.jimmaclaren.com
Vice President of The Choose Living Foundation
www.chooseliving.org
[email protected]
717-471-2790
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim's Story:
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602054.jpg
"There are times I don't like the way my life went, but that doesn’t mean that I'm not in love with life," says the 43-year-old motivational speaker who created the Choose Living Foundation. "Is it fair what's happened to me? No, of course not. So what? I still have to get up in the morning. By engaging life, by moving what few muscles I have, my bed suddenly becomes an exercise mat."
At 14, MacLaren found acceptance at Vermont Academy, an exclusive boarding school where "there's nothing to do but play sports and studyE Following his passions for sports and performance brought Jim to the next level. His academic success propelled MacLaren to an Ivy League education at Yale where he not only excelled in his course studies, but also lacrosse and football. He majored in theater studies while morphing into a 300-pound defensive end for the Bull Dogs.
Finishing his undergraduate work in 1985, he ventured to New York City, to train at the Circle in the Square Theatre School on Broadway. Three weeks later, leaving a late-night rehearsal session on his motorcycle, MacLaren was broadsided by a 40,000-pound city bus. Rushed to Bellevue Hospital, he was initially diagnosed as "dead on arrival."
After 18 hours of surgery doctors stabilized a comatose MacLaren and made a decision that would shape the next eight years of his life. They amputated his left leg below the knee. He awoke from his coma, rehabbed diligently, and attempted to resume his graduate studies at the Yale School of Drama. There, he started swimming, and picked up a book on triathlons that sparked his imagination. Soon, MacLaren was ready to resume life as an athlete, as a triathlete. "I felt like I was back in it, back in life," he says. "I didn't compete against other people. I was competing against me. A buddy once said, 'Mac, nobody cares how fast you go, they just love that you're doing it.' "I told him I care. I never wanted to be taken for granted, as that guy with the fake leg. So I just kept pushing myself."
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602056.jpg
MacLaren became a media sensation in the fledgling sport of triathlons, paving the way for a new generation of disabled athletes. He competed and set scores of records in some of the toughest races on the planet, including the New York City Marathon and the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, and routinely finished ahead of 80 percent of the able-bodied athletes.
Then, on June 6, 1993, his life took another cruel turn. He was in Mission Viejo, California, racing another triathlon. Two miles into the bike leg, on a closed course, a traffic marshal misjudged MacLaren's speed approaching an intersection. The marshal directed a van to cross the street, and the van and MacLaren collided. Hurled into a signpost, MacLaren broke his neck at the C5 vertebrae, paralyzing him.
Slowly, MacLaren pulled himself back again, grappling with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and even reclaiming some motor function of his limbs. Most importantly, he fostered an inner force that enabled him to act in ways he couldn't as an able-bodied athlete. "It took two years of self study, going deep, and then deeper again," he says. "And, sometime in 2000-2001, I chose life."
MacLaren's Choose Living Foundation, which he launched in 2005, and his ongoing speaking engagements are a distillation of those experiences that have shaped and changed Jim’s every day. While it sounds simple, even simplistic, MacLaren doesn't shy from the no-nonsense challenge that such a straightforward moniker entails.
Today, MacLaren considers himself blessed not only because of the enlightenment achieved through his recoveries, his studies and self-exploration, but also because his speaking schedule allows him to impart those lessons. He's grateful for the exposure that came his way when he and Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2005 ESPY Awards, and the ensuing widespread media attention, including televised appearances with Oprah Winfrey and Jim Rome.
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602057.jpg
While working as a motivational speaker, Jim refuses to cast himself as a victim and has garnered two masters' degrees, and is currently working toward his Ph. D. in mythology and depth psychology. MacLaren also understands the opportunity he's been given to motivate others, and readily accepts that responsibility, offering his own experience as example. A friend recently told him of a girl at a high school basketball game in rural Pennsylvania wearing a T-shirt that said: "What would Jim MacLaren do?" The answer is obvious. He'd choose to live life to the fullest, without excuses, without regret.
"It's a journey," says MacLaren today, acknowledging the universal truth of his life. "Rather than overcoming adversity, it's a journey about living with adversity.
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602055.jpg
Jim's runs towards a world record in the Hawaiian Ironman
"Live each moment like it's the last moment in your life."
- Jim MacLaren
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If interested you might read earlier posts from the March CC-PP this past Saturday which informed us of Jim’s condition:
Michele (mf545) "**Cardio Coach Press Play Special Download!!!**"
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=488076&mesg_id=488076&page=
Gayle (Banslug): "CCPP Day TODAY!!! How did YOU do???"
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?..._id=488101&mesg_id=488101&listing_type=search
and one from Feb:
Shelley (allwildgirl) "Hey Vrinda!!!!"
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?..._id=479883&mesg_id=479883&listing_type=search
...and a special Thanks to Shelley for providing our monthy CC-PP Saturday Reminder Thread on the forum.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 27, 2007
About Choose Living/Cardio Coach “PRESS PLAYEDay
VO2 Maxed, Inc. and Cardio CoachEbegan promoting Choose Living/Cardio Coach “PRESS PLAYEDay several months ago. This summer, we will continue this promotion alongside Jim MacLaren's Choose Living Foundation.
PREMISE: Imagine enjoying an awesome sweat-filled workout with people from all around the globe and helping out a good cause at the same time! On January 27, 2007, Cardio Coach exercisers will have the opportunity to do just that. Participants in Choose Living/Cardio Coach “PRESS PLAYEDay will purchase a specially-created and marketed Cardio Coach workout created just for this event.
The workout package will include an audio interview with MacLaren, and all proceeds from the sales will go to the Choose Living Foundation. On January 27 at 12 p.m. EST., (or as close as possible), we will ask participants to hop on their cardio equipment of choice, or head out for a walk, run or bike ride, and click play on their MP3 player or other portable music device. The journey will then begin.
After the workout, participants will log on to the Cardio Coach website and share their experiences and positive energy. Prizes and other goodies will be awarded as well.
At Cardio Coach, our motto is "It All Starts With the Heart." When it comes to pushing your limits and living your life with energy and strength, we can't think of anyone who better signifies Cardio Coach's message than MacLaren, founder of the Choose Living Foundation. MacLaren, a retired professional athlete and quadriplegic who has survived two near fatal accidents, inspires and motivates from the heart.
He and his Choose Living Foundation are well known throughout the United States. MacLaren received the 2005 ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and the IDEA Health and Fitness Association awarded him their prestigious Fitness Inspiration Award in 2004. He's been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as in newspapers, on television shows and in magazines such as ESPN, The Orlando Sentinel, and Sports Illustrated. He is also featured in the movie, Emmanuel's Gift, with friend and fellow Courage Award winner Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, as it was through MacLaren's foundation that the native of Ghana obtained the bike that changed his life.
We invite you to join with all of us at Cardio Coach to share our positive energy and to make a difference this January!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regards,
*** Cynthia aka RetroFit ***
http://www.picturetrail.com/retrofit
Because the individuals on this forum are not only fitness oriented, love life, and are compassionate towards others, I wanted to call on you, NOW, to post a note to Jim here and I will print it out and forward to Jennifer/Jim.
Targeting this Saturday 4/8/2008 as an end posting date...however, if more posts come in afterward, it would be my pleasure to deliver these also. What do you say, join me in wishing Jim a speedy recovery because he isn't alone. We can do this for him - Send him your well wishes, hugs, stories, experiences and most of all your "ENERGY". Make him feel our presence.
If you want to email him directly (that's Wonderful) or send him a card ( that's Super) but Post a little something here and we'll send him "Great Big Hugs" from all of US!
You can make a difference, everyone join in - Choose Living, as Jim would say. Reach out now to a man that has inspired so many. If you don't know about him, here is a link to Jim's Story or see below:
http://www.jimmaclaren.com/ & http://www.jimmaclaren.com/about.htm & his foundation http://www.chooseliving.org .
Or if you prefer youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEE-PN23Ms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k19OECv0TbQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K9GM3ZB7Gc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a letter sent by Cardio Coach Sean O'Malley - from Jim's sister Jennifer.
Hello Everyone,
I am writing to ask you all a favorE
Jim was hospitalized on Feb. 28th with a septic blood infection and a broken knee (the good one).
He is still in the hospital and will most likely be transferred to a skilled care facility for several more weeks.
Once he is released he will need 24 hour care at home.
He is holding his own but obviously down from his decline physically.
I was hoping I could get all of you to send Jim a card and let him know he isn’t alone. This would mean so much to me and Jim.
Please mail cards to:
Jim MacLaren
PO BOX 33437
Santa Fe, NM 87594
Thank you all..
Warmly,
Jennifer
Jennifer Hippensteel
Executive Assistant to Jim MacLaren
www.jimmaclaren.com
Vice President of The Choose Living Foundation
www.chooseliving.org
[email protected]
717-471-2790
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim's Story:
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602054.jpg
"There are times I don't like the way my life went, but that doesn’t mean that I'm not in love with life," says the 43-year-old motivational speaker who created the Choose Living Foundation. "Is it fair what's happened to me? No, of course not. So what? I still have to get up in the morning. By engaging life, by moving what few muscles I have, my bed suddenly becomes an exercise mat."
At 14, MacLaren found acceptance at Vermont Academy, an exclusive boarding school where "there's nothing to do but play sports and studyE Following his passions for sports and performance brought Jim to the next level. His academic success propelled MacLaren to an Ivy League education at Yale where he not only excelled in his course studies, but also lacrosse and football. He majored in theater studies while morphing into a 300-pound defensive end for the Bull Dogs.
Finishing his undergraduate work in 1985, he ventured to New York City, to train at the Circle in the Square Theatre School on Broadway. Three weeks later, leaving a late-night rehearsal session on his motorcycle, MacLaren was broadsided by a 40,000-pound city bus. Rushed to Bellevue Hospital, he was initially diagnosed as "dead on arrival."
After 18 hours of surgery doctors stabilized a comatose MacLaren and made a decision that would shape the next eight years of his life. They amputated his left leg below the knee. He awoke from his coma, rehabbed diligently, and attempted to resume his graduate studies at the Yale School of Drama. There, he started swimming, and picked up a book on triathlons that sparked his imagination. Soon, MacLaren was ready to resume life as an athlete, as a triathlete. "I felt like I was back in it, back in life," he says. "I didn't compete against other people. I was competing against me. A buddy once said, 'Mac, nobody cares how fast you go, they just love that you're doing it.' "I told him I care. I never wanted to be taken for granted, as that guy with the fake leg. So I just kept pushing myself."
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602056.jpg
MacLaren became a media sensation in the fledgling sport of triathlons, paving the way for a new generation of disabled athletes. He competed and set scores of records in some of the toughest races on the planet, including the New York City Marathon and the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, and routinely finished ahead of 80 percent of the able-bodied athletes.
Then, on June 6, 1993, his life took another cruel turn. He was in Mission Viejo, California, racing another triathlon. Two miles into the bike leg, on a closed course, a traffic marshal misjudged MacLaren's speed approaching an intersection. The marshal directed a van to cross the street, and the van and MacLaren collided. Hurled into a signpost, MacLaren broke his neck at the C5 vertebrae, paralyzing him.
Slowly, MacLaren pulled himself back again, grappling with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and even reclaiming some motor function of his limbs. Most importantly, he fostered an inner force that enabled him to act in ways he couldn't as an able-bodied athlete. "It took two years of self study, going deep, and then deeper again," he says. "And, sometime in 2000-2001, I chose life."
MacLaren's Choose Living Foundation, which he launched in 2005, and his ongoing speaking engagements are a distillation of those experiences that have shaped and changed Jim’s every day. While it sounds simple, even simplistic, MacLaren doesn't shy from the no-nonsense challenge that such a straightforward moniker entails.
Today, MacLaren considers himself blessed not only because of the enlightenment achieved through his recoveries, his studies and self-exploration, but also because his speaking schedule allows him to impart those lessons. He's grateful for the exposure that came his way when he and Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2005 ESPY Awards, and the ensuing widespread media attention, including televised appearances with Oprah Winfrey and Jim Rome.
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602057.jpg
While working as a motivational speaker, Jim refuses to cast himself as a victim and has garnered two masters' degrees, and is currently working toward his Ph. D. in mythology and depth psychology. MacLaren also understands the opportunity he's been given to motivate others, and readily accepts that responsibility, offering his own experience as example. A friend recently told him of a girl at a high school basketball game in rural Pennsylvania wearing a T-shirt that said: "What would Jim MacLaren do?" The answer is obvious. He'd choose to live life to the fullest, without excuses, without regret.
"It's a journey," says MacLaren today, acknowledging the universal truth of his life. "Rather than overcoming adversity, it's a journey about living with adversity.
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL1141/3867818/19401986/311602055.jpg
Jim's runs towards a world record in the Hawaiian Ironman
"Live each moment like it's the last moment in your life."
- Jim MacLaren
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If interested you might read earlier posts from the March CC-PP this past Saturday which informed us of Jim’s condition:
Michele (mf545) "**Cardio Coach Press Play Special Download!!!**"
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=488076&mesg_id=488076&page=
Gayle (Banslug): "CCPP Day TODAY!!! How did YOU do???"
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?..._id=488101&mesg_id=488101&listing_type=search
and one from Feb:
Shelley (allwildgirl) "Hey Vrinda!!!!"
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?..._id=479883&mesg_id=479883&listing_type=search
...and a special Thanks to Shelley for providing our monthy CC-PP Saturday Reminder Thread on the forum.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 27, 2007
About Choose Living/Cardio Coach “PRESS PLAYEDay
VO2 Maxed, Inc. and Cardio CoachEbegan promoting Choose Living/Cardio Coach “PRESS PLAYEDay several months ago. This summer, we will continue this promotion alongside Jim MacLaren's Choose Living Foundation.
PREMISE: Imagine enjoying an awesome sweat-filled workout with people from all around the globe and helping out a good cause at the same time! On January 27, 2007, Cardio Coach exercisers will have the opportunity to do just that. Participants in Choose Living/Cardio Coach “PRESS PLAYEDay will purchase a specially-created and marketed Cardio Coach workout created just for this event.
The workout package will include an audio interview with MacLaren, and all proceeds from the sales will go to the Choose Living Foundation. On January 27 at 12 p.m. EST., (or as close as possible), we will ask participants to hop on their cardio equipment of choice, or head out for a walk, run or bike ride, and click play on their MP3 player or other portable music device. The journey will then begin.
After the workout, participants will log on to the Cardio Coach website and share their experiences and positive energy. Prizes and other goodies will be awarded as well.
At Cardio Coach, our motto is "It All Starts With the Heart." When it comes to pushing your limits and living your life with energy and strength, we can't think of anyone who better signifies Cardio Coach's message than MacLaren, founder of the Choose Living Foundation. MacLaren, a retired professional athlete and quadriplegic who has survived two near fatal accidents, inspires and motivates from the heart.
He and his Choose Living Foundation are well known throughout the United States. MacLaren received the 2005 ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and the IDEA Health and Fitness Association awarded him their prestigious Fitness Inspiration Award in 2004. He's been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as in newspapers, on television shows and in magazines such as ESPN, The Orlando Sentinel, and Sports Illustrated. He is also featured in the movie, Emmanuel's Gift, with friend and fellow Courage Award winner Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, as it was through MacLaren's foundation that the native of Ghana obtained the bike that changed his life.
We invite you to join with all of us at Cardio Coach to share our positive energy and to make a difference this January!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regards,
*** Cynthia aka RetroFit ***
http://www.picturetrail.com/retrofit
