Running for water

So I run. A lot. Blame a good friend of mine from college--he got me hooked on running last summer and now I'm addicted. Six races total this summer (if you know of a good one in the Twin Cities area, let me know...especially if it is an adventure race):

1. May 9th - Hoofin' It For Haiti 5K 
2. June 25th - Go Commando 5K (obstacle race)
3. July 23rd - Warrior Dash 5K (obstacle race--World Wide Village is sponsoring this race, for information on how to volunteer and help us raise $1,000, email me at nromness@worldwidevillage.org)
4. August 21st - Minneapolis 13.1 (half marathon)
5. August 27th - Rugged Maniac 5K (obstacle race)
6. October 2 - Twin Cities Marathon

Obstacle races are a blast--challenging in a different way than just running on a paved course. When I started running last year, my dear brother--Daniel--asked me "Why? A bear isn't chasing you and neither am I, so why would you do that?"

I run because it helps overall health (sleeping, immune system, etc), because God gave me working legs, because this chica is a tad highstrung and it is a way to get energy out. But I mainly run because it is a way to raise money.

As it says all over this blog, I work for World Wide Village, an organization that works towards the transformation of impoverished communities. Right now our geographical focus is in Haiti, and the stories about the water situation down there right now are absolutely heart breaking.

Imagine having to decide between not drinking and dying of dehydration, or drinking and potentially contracting and dying of cholera. This is the situation many Haitian people are in as I type this post. It is rainy season again in that beautiful country. Soil integrity has been compromised by years of bad agricultural practices and now that soil is washing down the sides of hills, taking with it peoples' homes and lives. Cholera is on the rise again as flooding and poor sanitation contaminates whatever sources of water might be available.

Cholera is a waterborne bacteria that draws water out of one's cells faster than the body can replenish hydration. It is lethal, particularly as rampant malnutrition robs the body's immune system of the ability to wage war against this very nasty bacteria. Access to clean water is critical to prevent the spread of cholera and combat current infections. Sadly, many people in Haiti do not have access to this clean water.

In the U.S., we worry about trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in our water that may impact our mood over long periods of time. In Haiti, they worry that their water might kill them.

World Wide Village is able to bring water purification systems into Haiti that can purify enough water for hundreds of people daily. It does this by producing a substance called chloride--a capful of which when placed in the grubbiest water you can imagine kills all bacteria and makes the water completely safe to drink. Seriously--Randy Mortensen, President of WWV, put some chloride produced by this system in water taken from a nearby ditch and drank it and was perfectly fine.

Here is the crux of this post--people are dying from a disease that is easily prevented, we just need to get water systems into Haiti. For that, we need to raise the funds to buy the systems. For that, I am running.

This summer it is my goal to run/spin (stationary bike cycling thing at the gym) 400 miles between June 1 and the day of the Twin Cities Marathon (October 2--by the way, the miles of the marathon totally count towards that goal). Yeah yeah yeah, that's a big goal, but it is to combat a bigger problem. A friend of mine invited me to a biking challenge of similar length during the summer months, but no bike is in this lady's possession. I do have two working legs, however, and a passion to raise money to get water systems into Haiti.

I am looking for sponsors to come along side my running by sponsoring miles. Do you want to sponsor me for a particular race, or for the entire distance? Do you want to sponsor me at 10 or 100 cents per mile (or even at 1,000 cents per mile...that'd be pretty sweet too)? Each water system costs $500 (125 cents per mile). Only $500 is necessary to guarantee clean water to hundreds of people per day! Of course you can always go to the "Donate Now" page of the WWV website by clicking HERE and donate for a water system, that would be amazing as well!

People are dying now. We need more water systems in Haiti now. Won't you help? Email me at nromness@worldwidevillage.org for more info.

Imagine if this were your source of water. The water systems that we

can bring in to Haiti, with your help, can make this water drinkable!!