Runners Visit Warsaw
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Tim [email protected]
Their run has taken them across three continents, past the Eiffel Tower, Red Square and the Great Wall of China.
Thursday, it brought a team from the Blue Planet Run to Miller's Merry Manor Assisted Living Home to share their message and their mission: Clean drinking water is a necessity for life and many people in the world are dying without it.
"We call ourselves global messengers," team member Lansing Brewer, Raleigh, N.C., told the crowd at Miller's.
Blue Planet Run began June 1 in New York. The route led the runners across Europe and Asia and will finish in New York on Sept. 4.
Industrialist and philanthropist Jin Zidell created the Blue Planet Run Foundation in 2002 with the goal to provide safe drinking water to 200 million people for the rest of their lives by 2027. Through the run, the foundation raises money to fund sustainable water projects in communities all around the world.
Since 2004, the Blue Planet Run Foundation has funded 11 non-governmental organizations worldwide, which have in turn established 135 sustainable water projects in 13 countries impacting an estimated 100,000 lives. The foundation also has developed a system called the Peer Water Exchange to help funders and NGOs cooperatively manage and monitor water projects.
Blue Planet runners run across the globe telling people in developed, industrialized nations of the plight of those who live in countries without the infrastructure and resources to provide clean drinking water.
"Imagine if you couldn't just go to your sink and turn on the tap when you were thirsty," said runner Sean Harrington, Menlo Park, Calif.
According to the Blue Planet Run Foundation's Web site, as many as one-fifth of the world's population does not have immediate access to clean water. People must spend hours each day transporting water back from distant sources to their families and, sometimes, a source of uncontaminated water is not available.
"Safe drinking water has an effect on more than just how they're spending their day," Harrington said.
Those who must travel to get clean water lose time they could use to provide income for their families or to pursue education. And, when people must drink contaminated water, it can mean serious illness or even death. According to the foundation's Web site, people with waterborne illnesses occupy half of the world's hospital beds and 2.2 million die each year.
The team that visited Miller's Thursday includes four of the 20 runners participating in Blue Planet Run. The runners come from many different countries and are divided into five teams.
Each day, each of the 20 runners runs at least a 10-mile leg and passes the Blue Planet Run baton to a teammate. The teams leapfrog along the route so at least one member is running 24 hours per day for 95 days.
"As of today, we have run 13,380 miles," said runner Sunila Jayaraj, Ypsilanti, Mich. "That's 1,800 miles left."
Heavy traffic of urban areas, the dry heat of the Gobi Dessert and the smoggy air of Beijing are some of the obstacles the team has overcome on their trek around the world. Jayaraj said the team's mission keeps them on their feet.
"We're willing go through these hardships because 6,000 people die every day because they don't have clean, safe drinking water," he said.
Runner Brynn Harrington, Menlo Park, Calif. told the Miller's residents that awareness of the problem is only the first step toward a solution. Support and funding from individuals, organizations and businesses in countries where clean water is readily available are needed to help provide safe water to those without. "You are the solution," Harrington said.
The audience at Miller's thanked the team for their message and sent them off with words of encouragement.
"I congratulate you in what you're trying to do," said Arnold Tonne. "It's a mammoth job."
For more information on Blue Planet Run, visit http://blueplanetrun.org/[[In-content Ad]]
Their run has taken them across three continents, past the Eiffel Tower, Red Square and the Great Wall of China.
Thursday, it brought a team from the Blue Planet Run to Miller's Merry Manor Assisted Living Home to share their message and their mission: Clean drinking water is a necessity for life and many people in the world are dying without it.
"We call ourselves global messengers," team member Lansing Brewer, Raleigh, N.C., told the crowd at Miller's.
Blue Planet Run began June 1 in New York. The route led the runners across Europe and Asia and will finish in New York on Sept. 4.
Industrialist and philanthropist Jin Zidell created the Blue Planet Run Foundation in 2002 with the goal to provide safe drinking water to 200 million people for the rest of their lives by 2027. Through the run, the foundation raises money to fund sustainable water projects in communities all around the world.
Since 2004, the Blue Planet Run Foundation has funded 11 non-governmental organizations worldwide, which have in turn established 135 sustainable water projects in 13 countries impacting an estimated 100,000 lives. The foundation also has developed a system called the Peer Water Exchange to help funders and NGOs cooperatively manage and monitor water projects.
Blue Planet runners run across the globe telling people in developed, industrialized nations of the plight of those who live in countries without the infrastructure and resources to provide clean drinking water.
"Imagine if you couldn't just go to your sink and turn on the tap when you were thirsty," said runner Sean Harrington, Menlo Park, Calif.
According to the Blue Planet Run Foundation's Web site, as many as one-fifth of the world's population does not have immediate access to clean water. People must spend hours each day transporting water back from distant sources to their families and, sometimes, a source of uncontaminated water is not available.
"Safe drinking water has an effect on more than just how they're spending their day," Harrington said.
Those who must travel to get clean water lose time they could use to provide income for their families or to pursue education. And, when people must drink contaminated water, it can mean serious illness or even death. According to the foundation's Web site, people with waterborne illnesses occupy half of the world's hospital beds and 2.2 million die each year.
The team that visited Miller's Thursday includes four of the 20 runners participating in Blue Planet Run. The runners come from many different countries and are divided into five teams.
Each day, each of the 20 runners runs at least a 10-mile leg and passes the Blue Planet Run baton to a teammate. The teams leapfrog along the route so at least one member is running 24 hours per day for 95 days.
"As of today, we have run 13,380 miles," said runner Sunila Jayaraj, Ypsilanti, Mich. "That's 1,800 miles left."
Heavy traffic of urban areas, the dry heat of the Gobi Dessert and the smoggy air of Beijing are some of the obstacles the team has overcome on their trek around the world. Jayaraj said the team's mission keeps them on their feet.
"We're willing go through these hardships because 6,000 people die every day because they don't have clean, safe drinking water," he said.
Runner Brynn Harrington, Menlo Park, Calif. told the Miller's residents that awareness of the problem is only the first step toward a solution. Support and funding from individuals, organizations and businesses in countries where clean water is readily available are needed to help provide safe water to those without. "You are the solution," Harrington said.
The audience at Miller's thanked the team for their message and sent them off with words of encouragement.
"I congratulate you in what you're trying to do," said Arnold Tonne. "It's a mammoth job."
For more information on Blue Planet Run, visit http://blueplanetrun.org/[[In-content Ad]]
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