Two weeks ago, I made a promise that I'm about to regret: I told a couple of friends that I would join them for a polar bear swim in Lake Michigan on New Year's Day.

Yikes. Today it's 13 degrees in Chicago, and tomorrow probably won't be any better. My basic emergency medical knowledge tells me that a bit of dabbling in hypothermic conditions probably won't kill me. Nonetheless, I'm silently repeating old sayings from my high school white water kayaking instructors, frequently uttered on those bitterly cold days of paddling through New Hampshire river systems in March:

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Pain is weakness leaving the body. That'll put hair on your teeth."

I wonder if hairy teeth still chatter.

To mentally prepare for my arctic plunge, I remind myself about all of the other senseless polar bear swimmers (or martyrs) who continually freeze their butts off to promote good causes.  

Polar bear charity events span from the cold winter waters of Maine to the (artificially chilled with bags of ice) waters of Hawai'i. Cold-water fools—I mean champs—dive in to raise money for myriad causes, such as special Olympics, the domestic violence (DV) movement, animal welfare, and other equally worthy endeavors.

I'll let you know how the swim goes—after my fingers thaw, of course.

World middleweight boxing champion Laila Ali has more going for her than stellar athletic ability. As the youngest daughter of world-renowned boxing champ Muhammad Ali, she has some pretty big shoes to fill. But she proved her boxing worth right from the get-go when she knocked out her very first opponent without a hitch.

That was back in 99. Since then, Laila has kept rocking the ring and using her time in the spotlight to advocate for positive social change. Ali currently serves on the board of trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to “advance the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity.” She works for better health and fitness through her partnerships with the American Diabetes Alliance and the Nation’s Food Bank Network, which helps to alleviate hunger for low-income children in the United States. She has participated in fundraisers for ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. She is an outspoken advocate of women and girls in sports, and also addresses the specific challenges faced by women of color and low-income women in sports. Rock on, Laila.

Watch this short video segment where Laila talks about how media representations affect young people, women, and people of color.

Last week, a charity golf tournament raised $29,000 for Upstate Challenger Sports, a program in South Carolina that offers athletic opportunities to children and adults with mental, physical, or developmental disabilities.

Last week, motorcyclists raised a million to benefit several California charities in the 25th Annual Love Ride that cruised the streets from Glendale to Pomona.

Last week, a rugby tournament in Bulgaria raised both money and awareness for Dreams and Teams—a program to help disabled kids learn leadership skills through sports.

Then pro tennis star Andy Murray and other pro athletes posed for photos that will be auctioned off later this week to benefit Right to Play. The organization helps third world children use sport and play for personal empowerment and fun.

And in the UK, participants walked across a 20-foot bed of hot coals to raise money for a new shelter. (They may be crazy, but it's okay because they do nice things.)

Let’s see how much good stuff we can do for sports and charity next week.

This morning I was trying to look up some breast cancer awareness events centered around cycling, but I ended up coming across something else just as interesting.  Bikersforboobs.org is a website created by motorcycle enthusiasts  in Atlanta to promote charity rides that they're planning.  I spend a lot of time here extolling the value of people-powered vehicles and putting down engine sports for their effects on the environment.  Bikers are really interesting to me though, because they do so many charity events.

The motorcycle community does an amazing job of raising money for charities-- maybe it's because they're self-conscious about the bad reputation that follows bikers around everywhere they go, but to me it hardly matters.  Last summer, a group of bikers in New Jersey raised $160,000 dollars for diabetes research and treatment just by organizing some group rides.  On one hand, a group of fifty plus bikers could be seen as a loud, emission spewing parade of petroleum consumption.  But that would be ignoring the coolness of a chromed-out bike parade raising a boatload of money for a good cause.

In some cases, the bike community's participation in charity events may be a way to organize large rides without police interference-- biker gangs don't have the best reputation as civic leaders, so getting involved with positive organizations is a great way to appease police and avoid problems.  In Las Vegas recently, the Hell's Angels were involved in a ride for children's muscular distrophy that earned a lot of police scrutiny.  Diana Cox of the Las Vegas Sun wrote that after "a fight with a rival gang the Mongols during the Laughlin River Run in 2002 that left three people dead and a dozen injured, the Hells Angels organizers were faced with apprehension from law enforcement."  These charity rides are a way for bikers to show the world that violence and crime aren't the only defining traits of their culture.  "'Anything to do with kids, we're there,' said a member of the Teamsters Horsemen motorcycle club who identified himself only by his road name, Zorro" Cox wrote. 

This morning I awoke to the sounds of clapping, cow bells, whistles, and a few woot-woots. Still decked out in my PJs and rubbing the sleep crust out of my eyes, I opened the front door. Outside, I saw crowds cheering for a large mass of runners, who were all busy dripping sweat from their mop-like hair and glistening quadriceps.

Yep, today was the Chicago Marathon, an event that ran right past my front door on 18th street.

Some highlights:

1. A man ran by wearing a Minnie Mouse costume. We're talking a fluffy red polka-dot skirt with a matching little red top (and puffy, lace-lined shoulders). He wore mouse ears and a red bow to top it off.

2. The jogglers! We saw one man juggling three balls as he ran through mile 20. Then we saw another guy juggling five balls. We cheered loudly for that guy.

3. Our friend Phil (a.k.a. Oso) rode his unicycle while playing the guitar on the street, much to the amusement of the marathoners. I know that the folks on the sidelines are supposed to cheer for the runners, but this time the runners were cheering for Phil on the sidelines. It was quite the spectacle.

The Chicago Marathon is an annual event. 26 miles is a huge accomplishment, but an even greater accomplishment is the charity money raised by the runners. Many participants choose to run for a cause; 7,000 runners collectively raised $10.1 million for charitable organizations at the 2007 Chicago Marathon. I'm not sure what the numbers are for this year, but I'm sure it's another impressive figure. Featured organizations include the AIDS Marathon, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, World Vision, and others.