The first step in any 12-step program is admitting that you have a problem. So here we go: I, Michelle Kretzer, admit that I am powerless to resist chocolate.
Like any good vegan, I don’t junk up my body with animal products, and I eat my veggies. That’s what I do that’s good for me. And here’s what I do that isn’t: I can polish off a handful of Oreos or a Ghirardelli bar faster than you can say, “Godiva.” Let’s be honest: One of Tofutti’s Yours Truly Triple Chocolate Happiness ice cream cones really is happiness. Unfortunately, there’s no 12-step program for chocoholics.
So instead, I’m on a 12,000-step program. That’s about how many footsteps there are in a 10K race. But it’s not just any 10K race—it’s a race for a cause. Swimsuit season alone is not enough to motivate me, but animals are. That’s why I’m running with the PETA Pack.
After my initial hesitation about joining the PETA Pack—because I thought it was only for real athletes, not amateurs like me—I did it for the first time last year. And I’m so glad I did. I got free online coaching from vegan Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier, a weekly training schedule to keep me on track, support from the PETA Pack coordinators, and a chance to win some nice prizes.
But my real motivation was knowing that I was helping to stop cruelty to animals. I asked my friends and family to sponsor me, and all the money I raised went to PETA’s Investigations & Rescue Fund.
Here are just a few of the animals my “run for the money” helped rescue:
Lucy and Peggy are two of more than 250 rabbits who were saved from the filthy hoarding facility Bunny Magic Wildlife & Rabbit Rescue, Inc.
After a long and hard-fought battle, Ben the bear was rescued from the concrete cell where he was held for years at a roadside zoo and will live out the rest of his life at a beautiful accredited wildlife sanctuary.
PETA’s investigation into the horse-racing industry exposed rampant abuse and resulted in unprecedented reforms. When Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon saw our footage of Valediction, a horse who broke his leg in a race, he purchased the thoroughbred and retired him to a spacious farm.
PETA fieldworkers found Blue inside a well-hidden crate in his owner’s yard. Blue’s companion, Dynasty, lay beside him, dead from starvation. And Blue probably wouldn’t have been far behind. But we made sure that their owner went to jail and that Blue went to the Virginia Beach SPCA, and after he had recuperated, he was placed in a loving home.
Ready to start runnin’ down the dream of ending animal abuse? Check out the PETA Pack and then choose a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or marathon in your area and start training. I can tell you from experience: You’ll be glad you did.