What are you running for?

I had my first 10-mile run of the year last weekend. It was one of those runs that remind me why I love running. At first the run was slow and plodding like many of my runs have been lately. Then around mile 8, I felt more awake and alive than I have in months. I felt like I could run forever. But of course my knees reminded me at mile 10 that this was not the case.

I am training for the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon which I run every year. I love this race. It was my first 1/2 marathon and where I always get my best times. It is however, very cold. Last year, I started the race wearing a trash bag which I lost around mile 5. The Yuengling beer and irish stew make up for the cold at the end.

I also run the Rock n' Roll 1/2 Marathon every year. A very different race with a lot more people and humidity. I need a bit more motivation to make it to this race. The heat and humidity are just brutal here in August.

Running for a cause has helped me stay motivated to train through the heat and humidity. Two-years ago I ran for the victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech and last year I ran for water.

I went high-tech for my run for water and used a site called FirstGiving. I was able to create my own personal fundraising webpage. I chose the charity I wanted to run for (WaterPartners) and added some text and a picture. The cool part is that people can leave messages of encouragement when they donate. I raised over $800 for safe drinking water!

You can still see my Run for Water webpage: http://firstgiving.com/tracyjackson

The World Water Crisis

There are a billion people in the world without safe water. Each year more than 5 million people die from water-related disease, mostly children. In fact, 84% of water-related deaths are children. As a mother of two, I cannot imagine losing my children to a disease that is completely preventable.

Why isn't the whole world trying to stop these preventable deaths? Why is this not the top of the agenda of the governments of the world? I think it is simply because most people don't know about it. So here are some facts about the water crisis from WaterPartners:

• Each year more than five million people die from water-related disease.
• 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation, including 1.2 billion people who still have no facilities at all.
• Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
• For children under age five, water-related diseases are the leading cause of death.
• Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources.
• At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.
• No intervention has greater overall impact upon national development and public health than the provision of safe drinking water and the proper disposal of human waste.

Want to help? Learn more about the water crisis. Raise awareness by blogging about the water crisis. Donate to organizations like WaterPartners.

Picture courtesy of WaterPartners International.