Journalists and junior officers and even, um, biographers used to trip over themselves to work out with David Petraeus, the former four-star general, CIA chief and fitness freak. Now, a chance to get sweaty with the world’s most famous ex-general will cost you a little more than a sandwich.
It’s all in the name of charity. For the price of a $10 raffle ticket, you and a friend have the chance to see “whether General Petraeus can kick your butt in a 5K,” notes a description for an upcoming event benefiting veterans’ group The Mission Continues. After the run with “The Celebrity” — Petraeus — around the National Mall in Washington, there’s a session of “mental” exercises “discussing military strategy over a well-deserved coffee.”
And if you’re more into board games than hard runs, the veterans’ charity has you covered. The winner of a second raffle gets to play Battleship against retired Admiral Mike Mullen.
“This is happening,” Lindsey Hodges, The Mission Continues’ development director tells Danger Room. “All of these experiences are confirmed.”
An exact date hasn’t been specified, other than it’s supposed to happen sometime this summer of early fall. ”It will be a three-to-six-mile run around The Mall with push-up, pull-ups, dips, sit-ups, and burpees mixed in,” says Matthew Polson, co-founder of Omaze, the website that auctions off celebrity rendezvouses to help social causes. ”Based of my workout with him, the smoking will happen early and often.”
The deadline to enter the Petraeus contest is May 17, according to the website of Omaze, which also hosts raffles for meet-ups with Jennifer Lopez, Seth Green and nu-metal band Linkin Park.
The event with Admiral Mullen, who retired in 2011, includes flying (expenses paid) to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to “learn the art of strategy over a game of Battleship,” and where you will “probably lose all your battleships in 20 seconds.” (An intriguing claim, given that Mullen was better known for his diplomatic savoir-faire than his combat strategies.) You’ll also learn “why Mullen is the coolest guy you’ll ever meet,” according to Omaze. Representatives for Petraeus and Mullen couldn’t be reached for comment.
If this sounds a teeny bit ridiculous, the cause isn’t. The Mission Continues, which provides six-month, $7,000 stipends for returning veterans to work at volunteer organizations, has found real backers. A 2010 federal tax return (.pdf) lists the non-profit organization’s revenue at $6.6 million, with a hefty donation of $3.25 million that year from New York financial house Goldman Sachs, according to U-T San Diego. A senior adviser to Goldman Sachs, Gary Giglio, is chairman of the non-profit’s executive board.
Petraeus, meanwhile, has only recently begun to re-emerge following his November resignation from America’s top spy job — prompted by the public exposure of an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Last month, he gave his first public speech since the scandal on veterans’ issues. On Monday, City University of New York announced Petraeus will start a teaching gig at the university’s Macaulay Honors College beginning in August.
The “Petraeus experience” — as Hodges termed it — is also fitting. Working out with the former general was one of the main ways you got access to him, whether he was leading the CIA or overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Broadwell famously became a frequent running partner. Our own Spencer Ackerman even managed to wheeze his way through a short jog with the general in 2007.
“Apparently, Petraeus is really good at working out,” Hodges says. But don’t take her word for it. For just $10, you could find out for yourself. LINK
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