I was compensated by World Vision for my time in writing this post. All opinions are my own.

The running is happening folks! I have been training a little at a time and I have learned a few key things. First, having a goal in running and/or training is a real motivation. If you didn’t read my previous World Vision post, allow me to tell you the exciting news that I will be running in the Global #6kforWater race which is May 6, 2017! This goal has kept me going on a few hard laps and several sluggish evenings.

The second thing I have learned while training is that if you do decide to run in any kind of race, (or run in general) I think it is extremely advantageous to spend some money downloading some upbeat music. Seasoned runners know this. They spend the money to have good music on their workout playlist and they spend the money on getting the right kind of armband to hold a smartphone. I’ve got a bangin’ playlist right now, but I haven’t worked up to a reasonable way of holding my phone yet. I’m working on that. As of right now, I’m getting pretty used to carrying my phone in my hand. Remember the olden days when you had to carry the cd Walkman in your hands? Oh my goodness. You might as well have been carrying a record player. You had to keep that thing steady or it would start skipping. Keeping it so steady really became a bicep workout. You would burn all kinds of calories. The whole experience was “hashtag cumbersome.”[SP1]

That’s kind of funny thinking about running with a cd Walkman. Those things were cumbersome, but I wonder what it is like carrying a jug of water? I haven’t ever carried water (while running or walking) very far. I carried a big watering can around the backyard as a kid. It was a third of my size and I remember thinking that there must’ve been a better way of watering plants. There was! All I had to do was walk around with a hose. It was far less cumbersome. Besides, my parents let us drink out of the hose, but never out of the watering can because there were dangerous chemicals left in there from fertilizer.

That was my childhood – cumbersome Walkmans and weighty watering cans. Compare this to Ethiopia where 40 million people lack a clean water source and an estimated 70 million live without adequate sanitation. The watering can doesn’t seem so cumbersome anymore. Here are some more facts about global water issues that are sobering:

Nearly 1,000 children under age 5 die every day from diarrhea caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation and improper hygiene.
Every day, people around the world walk an average of 6 kilometers (approximately 3.7 miles) in search of water, and that water is often contaminated with life-threatening diseases.
Women and children are the most impacted by the water crisis, as the burden of finding and carrying water each day often falls to them.
Safe drinking water, improved sanitation, good hygiene and good water resource management can lead to a reduction in child mortality, cut transmission of malaria, improve public health and reduce extreme poverty.

· Combining water, sanitation and hygiene solutions together can cut preventable child deaths by up to 57 percent, reduce chronic malnutrition by 40 percent, reduce school absenteeism among girls by 50 percent, and obtain an 8:1 economic return in target communities.

What now? What do we do with those facts? How do we do something, anything to help those who can’t easily walk around with a hose, or brimming watering can? What do we do to help those who are drinking unsafe water? My mom was able to teach me about chemicals and fertilizer and that clean water came from our kitchen sink. What do kids from impoverished countries learn from their parents about water? That it is scarce, valuable, and maybe carrying a disease?

World Vision is on a mission to provide clean water and sanitation to one new person every 10 seconds by 2020. World Vision boldly believes the global water and sanitation crisis can be solved within our lifetime! They provide a new person with clean water every 30 seconds as part of their full solution to end poverty. In 2015, World Vision provided access to clean water to 2.3 million people!

This is what we can do! We can support World Vision by running! It seems simple because it is simple! Join World Vision in making a difference! Join me in running the #6kforwater!

Carrying water around 6 kilometers on a regular basis is more cumbersome than I can imagine. These facts about the global water crisis are also cumbersome, but they are also real.

All this gives me plenty to think about as I continue to train for race day. My t-shirt came in the mail. It’s all becoming more and more real as it becomes more and more meaningful.

Lindsey Feldpausch :)

Learn more about World Vision’s water programs here.