Blue Planet Run 24 - Black Mountain
Asheville, North Carolina
RELAY FOR SAFE DRINKING WATER
A big thank you to all of the runners, volunteers, sponsors and attendees that made the Blue Planet Run 24 event a huge success!
:: RACE RESULTS :: FUNDRAISING LEADERS :: PHOTOS :: SUPPORT THEM
Severe thunderstorms were forecast, but Mother Nature smiled down on the first Blue Planet Run 24 trail relay event, May 3-4, in Black Mountain, NC, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. Nearly 300 runners participated in the event, which started with a five-mile run, and included 6-, 12- and 24-hour relay races along a mountain trail that went through endless forests and dogwood trees, along crystal clear Lake Eden and up and down the rough terrain of Camp Rockmount. The chief complaint heard from the runners was that they were too busy running to enjoy everything else going on!
This first Blue Planet Run 24 brought in an impressive $23,000 to support the Foundation’s efforts and fund water projects around the world. Teams of up to 10 people, as well as solo runners, tested their endurance along the challenging trail. Elite ultra-marathoners ran alongside regional running clubs, Girl Scouts, local Sage Academy and Warren Wilson College students and people whose only credential was their commitment to safe drinking water. Friends, families and over 50 volunteers camped below in the Blue Planet Run 24 village, enjoying musical bands, delicious food, videos and information sessions on the Foundation’s global run Blue Planet Run 2007 and current water projects bringing safe drinking water to nearly 150,000 people around the world. The Foundation even fielded a 4-person team in the 24-hour race, with Lansing Brewer, Rudy van Prooyen and David Christof, Blue Planet Run 2007 runners as well as Katie Spotz, a local Warren Wilson College student, who will be rowwing for water across the Atlantic, solo, next year.
As far as we are concerned, everybody who attended the Blue Planet Run 24 is
a big-time winner!
[click here for complete race results]
1st Place Winners Include:
5 Mile
• 19 years and under: Robbie Wheelock & Jennifer Gamez
• 20 – 29 years: Frank Lombardo & Kristen Haun
• 30 – 39 years: Pete Newsome & Meadow Tarves
• 40 – 49 years: Scott Appleton & Cathy Hebert
• 50 – 59 years: Roger Wheelock & Marcia Tate
• 60 – 69 years: Denny Young & Pat Andrews
6-Hour
• Male Solo: Matthew Tyner (ran 7 laps or 35 miles)
• Female Solo: Traci Malone (ran 4 laps or 20 miles)
• Male Masters Solo: William Harwood (ran 8 laps or 40 miles)
• 2-Person Coed: Water for People
• 2-Person Coed Masters: Team K-4
• Open Team: Hebrews
• Co-ed Team: St. James
• Female Team: Water for People
12-Hour
• Male Solo: Drew Sheifer (ran 14 laps or 70 miles)
• Female Solo: Wendy Wright (ran 11 laps or 55 miles)
• Male Masters Solo: Richard Lilly (ran 14 laps or 70 miles)
• Female Masters Solo: Melinda Day (ran 6 laps or 30 miles)
• Open Team: Body Snatchers
• Co-Ed Team: Mixed Nuts
• Female Team: Krul & Unusual Punishment
24-Hour
• Male Solo: Gerald Buckner (ran 20 laps or 100 miles)
• Female Solo: Denise David (ran 20 laps or 100 miles)
• Male Masters Solo: Alex Morton (ran 18 laps or 90 miles)
• Open Team: Black Dome/Inov-8
• Co-Ed Team: Warren Wilson
The idea behind Blue Planet Run 24 began in 2007 when Will Harlan created Run for Africa, a similar 24-hour trail relay event in Black Mountain, to raise money for water projects in east Africa. He merged his efforts with the Blue Planet Run Foundation in order, as he puts it, “to reach a national audience and join forces in the battle to provide safe drinking water.” Will was deeply involved in the development of Blue Planet Run 24 this year. Even his baby son, River, was on hand to cheer on the runners.
Today, 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. 2.2 million people die each year from lack of safe drinking water, more than HIV/AIDS, malaria, combat and accidental deaths combined. Half of all hospital beds worldwide are filled with people suffering from water-borne diseases. Women and children spend up to 8 hours daily fetching water, preventing them from receiving an education or contributing to their family’s economic betterment.
The hopeful news is that this is a solvable crisis. There are many simple solutions to the safe drinking water problem that have been used for thousands of years, including wells, rainwater catchment systems, and cisterns. For only $30, you can bring a person a lifetime of safe drinking water. The challenge is that thousands of low-cost projects must be funded, mostly in rural or peri-urban areas that receive little governmental attention.
Thank you to our top fundraisers!
• William Harwood and the Rainbow Mountain School – raised more
than $1,000
• NC Water for People – raised $670
• Bryanna Gibbs – raised $638
• Black & Veatch – raised $590
• Jairemy Drooger – raised $500
• Melissa Mertz – raised $290
The Blue Planet Run Foundation is focusing its efforts on the global water crisis in two ways:
• First, by raising consumer awareness and commitment to action through events like Blue Planet Run 24 – Black Mountain.
• Second, by creating a transparent, inexpensive online review system where non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) can apply for water project funding while sharing knowledge and experience to make all participants better able to fight their water issues (www.peerwater.org). Currently, the Foundation has 18 partner NGO’s, including Water for People, which fielded a winning 6-hour team at Blue Planet Run 24 – Black Mountain.
Given the success of this first Blue Planet Run 24 weekend, the Foundation looks forward to holding similar events in other parts of the country to enlist more people in the race to provide safe drinking water. In addition, Lansing Brewer, from the Foundation’s Blue Planet Run 24 team, is launching a run from Raleigh, NC to Seattle, WA in August to raise money for the Foundation’s efforts. Katie Spotz, also from the same team, will attempt to row alone across the Atlantic in 2009 to raise money for Blue Planet Run Foundation and safe water projects.
Sign up for our email and learn about the life-changing impact simple projects can have on entire villages. Donate $30 or more and know that you have not only saved a life, but made it a much more hopeful one as well.
Stay tuned for further news of the Foundation’s plans for 2009 and how everyone across America can become involved in this basic but fundamental fight for human survival. Together, we can do this!
:: RACE RESULTS :: FUNDRAISING LEADERS :: PHOTOS :: SUPPORT THEM