About Larry Dearlove

Larry is a marathon runner whose life was changed nine years ago when he found out about child sex trafficking in Cambodia. Larry lives in Ontario, Canada with his lovely wife Gloria and their two daughters. You can read his thoughts about God, anti-sex trafficking and running through his blog.

Walkathon background

The idea of the Ratanak 5KM Walkathon came in 2010 when I prepared for running in Mississauga Marathon. I noticed my estimated finishing time would allow me to qualify for the Boston Marathon. At the time I thought of organizing an event that could allow more participants to raise funds on their own, thinking I could possibly use some of the Boston publicity to help create a buzz. I settled on a small 5 km race and waited. I did not have to wait long as I have come to know someone who organized for a race to fundraise for building wells in Africa through an advertisement in a running magazine. She shared her wisdom with me how to organize race like this. I also shared with her the work of Ratanak in Cambodia. She was very moved by the plight of the children as she also has two young daughters. I was hoping one day she would be the one organizing for this Ratanak 5KM Walkathon. After waiting for a long time, I realized she was not going to let me off the hook from organizing this walkathon. Fast forward to now, we find ourselves putting together our 6th annual 5KM Walkathon.

“So with nothing more than a pair of running shoes, I’m taking a run at the big and frightening problem of the billion-dollar-a-year sale of children. And, I have found peace and tranquility through training in my ravine. In trying to bring freedom, I have experienced freedom myself.” – Running the Good Race, Larry Dearlove

Why $40 252?

This is the seventh year of our walkathon. In that time I have been amazed at the number of people who have attended, and the amount of money that has been raised, we are still without a major corporate donor. Running down my ravine this winter I thought of the significance of the number seven in the Bible as I tried to set what I thought would be a realistic goal. The number “7″ that kept coming to mind was the days of the week and Sabbath rest; and how God wants us to work hard for six days and rest for one. A wise pastor once told me that even though we rest, God is always at work. So I thought for this year, instead of relying on my strength, why not let God do the heavy lifting for the walkathon? About the same time Ratanak International shared their theme “Dare Greatly!” I was challenged to rethink my original goal of $20,052. I thought of Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” A new number came to mind that took a while for me to accept. The next challenge for me was to share this number with the other volunteers of the 5km. As always they were all in agreement that this should be the number. I know we humanly cannot reach this number, I also know that God can and probably will help us reach this number. The goal is $40 052.

Final thoughts

I think in some ways our society is a lot like an old image I have stored away in my memory. I see the picture of the three monkeys with one covering his eyes (see no evil), one covering his ears (hear no evil), and one covering its mouth (speak no evil).
My blessing to those who decide to participate in this fundraiser on June 9, 2018:

I bless you with eyes of grace so as you learn more about the people of Cambodia, you will not close your eyes and shy away, but you will look past the obvious to the unseen and have your eyes open to hope and possibilities that you could have never imagined.

I bless you with ears that learn to never accept the thinking of the day that this issue of sexual exploitation of children is too big, that you are too small and this problem is better left alone.  I pray your ears never learn to tune out the cries of the poor and you use these as your fuel for advocating and bringing justice to these precious ones.

I bless you with the mouth of boldness as you learn which area of your life matches best your skills to become and stay involved in amplifying their voice.

I bless you with a tender heart that never hardens but at the same time never breaks at the stories you are to hear.

I bless you with a strong back to carry the burdens of Cambodia’s most vulnerable people when they need it most.

Lastly, I bless you with feet that move swiftly, never stumble, and never grow tired of moving you into new and sometimes frightening places.