By Uyen Nguyen, The Burlington Free Press

Brandon McDonald, 13, used to be a couch potato before joining the King Street Youth Center. “I wasn’t really doing anything, mostly just sitting,” he said. “I was kind of sloppy.”

Since joining the center, Brandon has gotten rid of his sedentary lifestyle. He now bikes every day and even runs in youth marathons. “Everything with King Street and running changed my life,” he said.

Sunday, Brandon will be among hundreds of people participating in the Race to the Top of Vermont, sponsored by Fleischer Jacobs Group.

This will be the second such fundraiser that the Catamount Trail Association has hosted, Executive Director James Fredericks said. Last year, more than 300 people took part in the race; this year, 600 to 800 people are expected, he said.

The challenge is for people to run or bike their way up Vermont’s highest peak. The course is 4.3 miles long and climbs 2,550 vertical feet to the summit of Mount Mansfield. In a race such as this, speed doesn’t matter as much as strength, Fredericks said.

“It’s a matter of endurance,” he said.

CTA organized this event to raise money for the Catamount Trail, a 300-mile ski trail stretching from Vermont’s southern border to Canada.

This year, CTA invited members of Mobius Inc., an umbrella organization that supports mentoring programs throughout Chittenden County, to join and fundraise for their organization, Fredericks said. Participating members solicit pledges, all of which will go to Mobius or to individual mentoring programs, he said.

Fredericks hopes the race will raise $40,000 for CTA, he said. That money will go toward purchasing easements from private land owners. An easement allows the Catamount Trail to remain on private property indefinitely, even if the property is sold. Currently, two-thirds of the trail has been protected, Fredericks said.

Regardless of how much money is raised, the ultimate goal is getting people out on the trail, Fredericks said.

“It’s all about protecting the Catamount Trail and getting people out into the environment and appreciating what Vermont is all about,” he said.

Brandon and his mentor, Michael Fife, 26, have been training since the beginning of August for this race. They simply want to finish the race and to give back to King Street, Fife said.

The two hope to raise $1,000 for the mentoring program at King Street, which was responsible for placing the pair together three years ago, he said. Since then, they have continued to be friends, as well as positive influences on each other’s lives, he said.

“Being a role model makes you clean up a little bit, do a little more,” Fife said. “He makes me act better.”

For more details about supporting mentoring via the FJG Race to the Top of Vermont, please visit www.MobiusMentors.org

Source URL:  http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090824/NEWS02/908240313/1007

Tags: Activities, Events, Fundraising, Mentoring, Volunteering, volunteerism