[ ::: ♥Keep_Mailing♥ ::: ]™ Elderly Couple Run a Marathon a Day for a Whole Year

 

 

Elderly Couple Run a Marathon a Day for a Whole Year, Set New World Record

 

Most people forget their New Year resolutions within a few weeks, some can't even make it a day. But a Melbourne couple in their 60s have completed what they set out to do, every day of last year. For the whole of 2013, Janette Murray-Wakelin, 64, and Alan Murray, 68, ran marathons every single day across Australia. They completed their 366^th marathon on January 1, running 44 kilometers down the Yarra Trail to their home at Warrandyte. The couple ran a total of 15,000 kilometers last year.

The Murrays wanted to set a positive example of being responsible for one's own health. "We wanted to share as much, with as many people, for as long as we could, a really positive message of hope and just to show people anything is possible if you put your mind to it and set a goal to achieve," said Janette.

Janette and Alan followed a strictly vegan diet for the whole year, to help them achieve their goal. At 4 a.m., they would eat 10 bananas, a grapefruit and a date smoothie, before hitting the road. At 8 a.m. they had 10 more bananas, and a green smoothie at 9 a.m. Once they hit 31 kilometers, they would stop to snack on a fruit salad. At the 37-kilometer mark they would have three oranges. They would finish running by 4 p.m. and settle down to a scrumptious dinner of an avocado, vegetable juice and salad.

 

As easy as it sounds, the couple did have their fair share of challenges. The biggest challenge was the weather. "Mainly it was plain sailing, but we had a few very, very hot days and some serious bushfires that we managed to avoid," said Alan. They also came close to running through a cyclone and getting caught in a hailstorm, as they traveled the country.

Kaje Aragona-Murray, the couple's son, said his parents were "not the sort of people that sit there on the couch and relax for too long." "It's amazing what they've done," he said. "They set a goal and went for it." Ever since they got back, the Murrays have been doing interviews and spending time with their grandchildren.

 

Janette did say that it felt luxurious to sleep in her own bed after living in a caravan and running for six hours a day all through 2013. But they didn't really spend much time relaxing or sleeping-in. On January 2, the couple went for another "little" run of 8 kilometers because they thought it wouldn't be good for their bodies to suddenly stop.

After they are done meeting with family, the Murrays will be busy with supporters, sponsors, charities (that they raised funds for), writing a book and producing a documentary. Later this year, they are scheduled to tour the country to talk about the benefits of a raw vegan diet.

 

Kaje does worry a bit about his parents burning themselves out. But he has never worried about their fitness. "It's not an out-of-the-blue thing," he said. "They didn't wake up on January 1 last year and say, 'We're going to run around Australia.' They know what they're doing, so you just have to let them go and do it."

The Murrays said that their achievement would not have been possible without the help of a team of volunteers. "They all helped us," said Alan. "They gave up their valuable time to come with us, to drive our vehicles, to be our nannies, push us out the door in the morning and just generally take care of us."

 

Now the couple just want to motivate people around the world to live healthy lifestyles. "We know that we have touched thousands of people by what we've done," said Janette. "We might have finished the marathons, but this is just the beginning and together we will make a difference."

I just hope that when I'm in my 60s, I'm half as fit and healthy as the Murrays.

 

 

How to Make Cranberry-Orange Pull-Apart Bread

Recipes

January 2, 2014 // 12:53 pm // By: Natalie Purcel  

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Here's a not-so-secret secret: tart cranberries paired with sweet oranges make a remarkably delicious combination.

So, I give to you, the perfect brunch recipe: Cranberry-Orange Pull-Apart Bread. While the bread was still very good, it would have benefited from juicer berries for more moisture. I recommend re-hydrating them in some orange liqueur, orange juice, or even just some warm water, for about 30 minutes before throwing them into the bread.

Alternatively, you can use some orange marmalade instead of orange sugar for the filling, fresh cranberries instead of dried, or even leftover cranberry sauce.

Cranberry-Orange Pull-Apart Bread

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 2 loaves

What You Need

The dough

• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 4 cups + 2/3 cup all-purpose flour; divided
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

The filling

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 5 Tablespoons orange zest (about 3 to 4 large navel oranges)
• 1 cup dried cranberries* (see note below)
• 1 stick of butter; softened to room temperature

The glaze

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange juice
• 2 teaspoons milk; plus extra if needed

How to Make It

Filling

1. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and orange zest, set aside while you prepare the dough.
2. In another bowl, reconstitute dried cranberries (optional, but recommended)

Dough

1. In a large (8 cup) saucepan, mix the milk, sugar, and vegetable oil. Heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is steaming. Remove from heat and cool to luke-warm (110-115F degrees), then add the yeast. Stir to combine; let sit 5 minutes to allow yeast to bloom.
2. Stir 4 cups of flour into the milk mixture and put lid on the pot. Allow to sit for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Once the dough has risen, add remaining dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour dough out onto a large sheet of saran wrap and wrap dough tightly. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to overnight. (You could also roll the dough out immediately by sprinkling the counter with flour and kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. Once the dough isn't sticky, cover with a kitchen towel for 5 minutes to allow the dough to rest)

• To roll the dough

1. Pour dough onto lightly-floured surface and separate into two equal halves. Roll one half to a 12 x 20-inch rectangle and cover the other with a kitchen towel to prevent from drying out. Spread softened butter over the dough. Cut the rectangle lengthwise into 6 long 2-inch wide strips.
2. Spoon generous amounts of orange sugar onto one strip of dough and sprinkle with cranberries, top with another strip and sprinkle sugar/cranberries onto that strip. Repeat until all of the strips are in a pile and covered with sugar/cranberries.
3. Slice the strip of dough into 5 4-inch wide strips. Stack strips tall-wise into a loaf pan. It will be sloppy, they'll flop everywhere, it's OK.
4. Repeat with the other half of dough, sugar, cranberries, and butter.

• To bake the dough

1. Cover and let rise 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Once dough has risen and oven is preheated, bake bread 45 to 55 minutes until cooked through. If the top starts to get too brown, lightly tent with a piece of foil and continue cooking.
3. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling rack to continue cooling.

Glaze

1. Mix ingredients together, adding more milk if the mixture is too thick or more powdered sugar if the mixture is too thin.

Tips

• Those of you who use a thermoter, you want the final temp of your bread to be between 190F and 200F.
• Glaze is entirely optional, if you do use a glaze be sure to pour it on while the bread is still nice and warm.
• You can re-hydrate dried cranberries by covering with water, or another liquid. Pour liquid over dried cranberries and let stand 30 minutes.

Read more at http://foodbeast.com/2014/01/02/cranberry-orange-pull-apart-bread/#SmvMlZCG7z13kk5L.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

jckrsna 

 

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