Day 2: Connecticut

By 7 a.m. on Saturday, everyone on the Run knew it was going to be a hot one. We took off from Rocky Hill, Conn., and began making our way under intense sunshine toward Colchester. Rudy and the Yellow team (Paul Rogan, Heiko Weiner and the Frisbee-loving Laurel Dudley) pulled up at the exchange point right on the Salem, Conn., town line, and Rudy reminded everyone that although it was Shabbat, he ran that day for what he considers a life-threatening situation.

Rudy runs for "a life-threatening situation"

Later that day, the Green team rallied hundreds of Norwich residents at the local Riverfest celebration. Dot pumped everyone up by running through the middle of the festival. Jin’s address on the scale of the global water crisis moved three young elementary-school students to beg their mom for dollar bills to give to the cause. Jason asked the crowd questions about unsafe drinking water in exchange for free T-shirts, and Simon convinced some teens to carry a large vessel filled with water back and forth in front of the stage to see what life is like for so many young people around the world. The Green team stayed high energy and even took free photos with fans despite the 90-degree heat in the open sun.

Right after leaving Norwich, the group was joined by Prof. Fred Strebeigh, a lecturer in the Department of English and the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University. He asked to ride his bike alongside Jason for his 10-mile stretch and actually conducted an interview with him along the way. Despite the talking and running, Jason still managed to run the 10 miles in under an hour!

Finally, dinnertime came in Mystic, Conn. While Team Orange (Sean, Brynn, Sunila and Lansing) loaded up on carbs from the pasta at Anthony J’s, the table next door exclaimed, “Hey! Didn’t we see you on the Today show?” In between bites of pizza and gulps of water, the messengers continued to tell fellow diners about the dire water situation around the globe. After dinner, the team headed back to their van as their waitress ran out after them, asking if they would please contribute her tip to the Blue Planet Foundation. The team was floored.

Members of the crew pose with Jin

The night ended for the Green team in Norwood, Mass., but just began for the Orange team, which continued to run through the night along with the Grey team (Shiri, Emmanuel, David, Mary). Shiri was lucky enough to run through Providence, R.I., just as the bars let out, inspiring some gentleman to yell, “Hey! Come back! You’re cute!” Shiri graciously declined. Sean also attracted some late-night revelers as he passed through Rhode Island. Three strapping young men—Jim, Matt and Jeff—decided to run with Sean for a few miles despite their attire of button-down shirts, jeans and dress shoes. The trio even went home to change into running duds, but the speedy Sean lost the poor guys when they tried to meet up with him later. He was glad for the company while it lasted, nonetheless.