Bay Area Athletes to Race the Remote and Rugged Kimberley in Western Australia

March 18, 2010 - PRLog -- This April, three Bay Area runners will race as “Team Good For Kids” in a 7-day expedition length stage race in Western Australia. Team Good For Kids will be racing to support San Francisco’s Good For Kids Foundation, which offers 6th, 7th and 8th graders from low-income families summer camp programs, 12 week 1-on-1 coaching scholarships, and advisory services to help them realize their artistic and athletic abilities.  

Team Good For Kids racers are Lia Farley from Oakland, Nicholas Wickes from San Francisco, and Stephen Major from Concord.

Team Good For Kids will participate in RacingThePlanet: Australia 2010, which will cover the areas of the Kimberley and Bungle Bungle Range over a total distance of 150 miles.  The expedition length stage race is a 7-day foot race with race stages averaging 24 miles daily, and one stage of 50 to 60 miles.  Over 200 racers from more than 30 countries are expected to participate. Racers carry up to 30 lb backpacks with mandatory food quantities, equipment, and clothing, while the race organization provides water, tents, and medical and emergency staff.

Team Good For Kids’ members Farley and Wickes have a record of winning performances in expedition length footraces. In 2008 Farley came in first in the women’s division and eighth overall in RacingThePlanet: Gobi March. Last year in RacingThePlanet: Namibia 2009, Farley placed second amongst the women and earned a fifth place ranking overall. The team welcomes Stephen Major, a firefighter from Concord, CA who is taking on the challenge of an expedition race for the first time.  Veteran expedition racer and Executive Director of Good For Kids Foundation, Nicholas Wickes, has competed in these races since 2003, and looks forward to his eighth expedition footrace.

Team Good For Kids began in 2007 to help raise donations to support Good For Kids Foundation, a youth arts and sports 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in San Francisco. Since 2004, Good For Kids has awarded more than 100 summer camp scholarships and 40 1-on1 coaching scholarships.  GFK graduates have gone onto to participate in San Francisco Opera productions, displayed their artwork at the deYoung Museum, and been accepted into the Junior Olympic Archery Development Team.  “I know we’ve done our job when Coaching Scholarship graduates return to Good For Kids as Assistant Coaches and Junior Advisory Board Members to support the next generation of scholarship recipients, further building their skills and communities.” says Nicholas Wickes, Good for Kids Executive Director.

Team Good For Kids will be competing in RacingThePlanet: Australia 2010, which begins Sunday, April 25th and ends Saturday, May 1, 2010. To stay updated on each stage of the race and Team Good For Kids’ progress log on to http://www.goodforkidsfoundation.org/TeamGoodforKids2010 and http://teamgoodforkids.blogspot.com.

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About Good For Kids: Good for Kids enables and empowers young people to achieve personal goals by helping them discover and nurture their artistic and athletic talents. About Team Good For Kids: San Francisco and Bay Area team of expedition footrace runners raising awareness and support for Good For Kids Foundation scholarships and programs by participating in expedition length stage races.