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June 22, 201026.2 Miles for Water
Why I run
Recently, I made the mistake of going to church. A World Vision marathon recruiter shared stories of African villages that don’t have water. Women and children walk miles every day just to find water. And whatever water they find typically is bacteria-ridden.
As I sat listening to her pitch about how we could run the Chicago Marathon and raise funds to help bring water to the driest places in the world, something inside me rose up and said, “Yes, I can help. I may not be able to pay for a well or a water filtration system, but I bet I could raise enough money for water.”
Once the vision was planted in my brain, there was no turning back. So one month ago I registered to run the Chicago Marathon for the first time. I’ve never run a marathon before. The farthest I’ve ever run is three miles! But I knew God was challenging me to step out in faith to make a difference in the lives of women and children who desperately need the basic necessities of life—something I too often take for granted.
So now I’m part of Team World Vision, one of the world’s largest Christian charitable organizations. Never in a million years would I have conceived of running a marathon. Each week now, I have been training with my Team World Vision running mates. I will continue meeting with them every Saturday for the next 18 weeks. And on October 10, 2010 (10/10/10), I will run 26.2 miles in the Chicago Marathon, an endeavor I never would have thought to attempt for my own sake. But for water, I will run, even though there’s nothing within my physical capabilities today to indicate I can do this.
Because there’s no way I’ll be able to run this marathon without God’s help, I decided to set an equally audacious fundraising goal—$26,200! That’s a thousand dollars for each mile. I’m claiming Mark 10:27: “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
I’ll keep you posted on my progress here on Kyria.com. You can follow me with my team and donate to this great cause at http://bit.ly/af9HfV. And of course, you can pray for me and my teammates—and all the folks who will be running in World Vision marathons across the country this year—that we’ll be able to train well, run hard, and keep the focus on why we’re doing what we’re doing.
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Comments
Recently, I made the mistake of going to church.....LOL. God can be kind of funny that way; capturing your attention in such farfetched ways. I know. He did that last year for this "marathoner". With God all things are possible. Who knew? Enjoy the journey.
Posted By: Eileen Walsh | June 24, 2010 11:21 AM
I will be running with you. I registered for the Chicago Marathon back in February. First time runner, and and after 4 months of training, just finished my first half marathon.
I'd love to raise money for World vision too. Let me know how I can.
...because of Him,
Pamela
Posted By: Pamela | June 24, 2010 4:12 PM
Thanks, Marian, for pushing yourself on behalf of those who don't have access to the "luxury" of running water like most of us Kyria readers do. It's even more powerful that you're not a runner by nature! To God be the glory. You've reminded me to not only pray for those who lack access to basic necessities, but, since I'm not running myself, to also do practical things to conserve water! I didn't think reading a blog post about World Vision and marathons would remind me to keep the faucet off when I brush my teeth, but there ya go.
Posted By: hollie | June 28, 2010 10:36 PM
I think it is wonderful that people want to raise money for clean water. What I don't understand is "running" to raise money. If a person wants to donate their money, they will. I won't pay someone to run a marathon. If someone wants to run a marathon, go for it! If you want to encourage people to donate money to provide clean water, go for it! I don't see what the one has to do with the other. This applies to all "walk for fill-in-the-blank" fundraisers.
Posted By: Teri | July 21, 2010 2:50 PM