Robert Raven Kraft
Allow me to introduce you to Raven. A most remarkable human being. It is not every day you encounter someone who has surely found their mission in life...who has a strength of committment bordering on the obsessive, yet is also balanced by an unswerving loyalty and generosity. Let me be a bit more specific. The Raven runs. every day. I mean every day. This is a man who has seen every sunset for the past twenty four years from a strip of sand now called South Beach. I knew Raven very well, or at least I thought I did, before I understood what EVERY day really meant. I'm not sure understand it yet.

Let me try to explain. He runs eight miles on the beach in softsand each afternoon. Beginning and ending at the same plae...the sixth street lifeguard stand. What is so special about that? (You may ask) Perhaps more than the sheer doggedness of never failing to appear, of always finishing, is the manner in which this gentle man conducts himself. You see, this run takes place under the most beautiful skies....alongside the Atlantic Ocean...each day is a celebration of all time, of all days, each one special in itself, individual. ...forgive me, I am sometimes overwhelmed by poetry...It is as if by the act of running, Raven is drawing a portrait of each day, dignifying its grace, beauty, temporality, its thereness. Well, I guess you gotta be there. The thing is, it is not a race...this is a way of being, THERE.

This is something that Raven shares with anyone who cares to slow down long enough to run with him. Even people who don't do the run, can hang with the group and experience the connection, the hope the encouragement. Don't we all need a bit of encouragement? Raven's running, his life, shows us that there just might be another way to live. Happily. Peacefuly. Not driven by TV news, money markets, traffic jams, and all of the other races we so habitually engage ourselves in. When was the last time you saw a news report about...another beautiful sunset?

Raven ran alone the first eight years. A young man does what he must. Then, as he opened to possibilities, he began to find people who wanted to run with him, or, maybe they found HIM. Either way, today, over 160 people have completed the "Raven Run". RAVEN has kept a list of all the runners who have made the eight mile run.