June 06, 2008

Marathon in Training week two …

Posted to Columbus Attractions, Greg Giessler

Once again I missed the group training session at Thomas Worthington High School. Fortunately, I did not miss the long run for the week. Instead of staying in Columbus for the weekend I had the opportunity to travel to southeast Ohio close to Logan in the Hocking Hills region. Outside of Logan is a year round retreat called Camp Akita. Camp Akita is a mission of the First Community Church, in Columbus, Ohio. The camp can accommodate a wide range of group sizes up to 200 people. Camp Akita has over 1,200 acres, 15 acres of hiking trails, and a 7 acre lake. The land was originally donated by John Galbreath, a local philanthropist, back in 1949.

The weekend was perfect! Great weather and good times had by all. A group of about 10 went down for the weekend to help prepare the camp before the summer sessions begin. We had projects of making a nature center, making flower boxes, and quite a bit of moving furniture from building to building.

I was lucky enough to be able to go for a 10mile run through the camp trails and along some of the winding roads surrounding the camp. The hills made more difficult than running in Columbus on the Olentangy multi-use trail, but it was a nice and welcome change. The only sounds were the sounds of nature and me.

Later in this summer I will be travelling with a group of 15 people through Camp Akita to Luperon in the Dominican Republic to build houses. This will be my third and the third overall mission trip with Akita International to the Dominican Republic. Both times in the past have been unbelievable experiences.

If you have the ability to travel to Camp Akita or travel to the Hocking Hills region of Ohio you will have a memorable experience. For further information check out http://www.campakita.org

Posted By: Greg Giessler