by Jason McGill

ASHEVILLE, NC – Last year, Will Harlan ran for Africa. This year, he’s running for the world. Harlan helped raise nearly $25,000 toward water sustainability projects through his Run for Africa last year. The charity drew 42 relay teams and 18 soloists to Black Mountain’s Camp Rockmont for 24 hours of trail running, camping and festivities. He’s since handed the event over to the national Blue Planet Run Foundation, which will host the fundraiser this weekend.

“We made an impact with the local outdoor community and was well-received, so we decided to expand it,” Harlan said. “We brought on Blue Planet Run Foundation, which is much larger and wealthier and will help us to grow the event into what will be a national trail relay series.

“The money we raise will be even more powerful to get clean water around the world.”

If you ask Blue Planet Run Foundation CEO Lisa Nash, the next world wars will be fought over water. She points to the politicking over water access that came out of recent droughts across the Southeast, as well as skirmishes that arise in areas like Darfur, Sudan.

“Analysts are saying that water is the next oil,” Nash said. “We’re coming up with alternatives to oil. But there is no alternative to water. It’s a finite resource. We’re still using the same water that our ancestors did — there’s just so many more of us. Still, we can be fine if we manage the supply in a smart way. There are solutions. It’s not like trying to find a cure for cancer.”

The solutions, Nash said, lie in low-tech, low-cost projects like wells, cisterns and rain-catching systems.

That’s where Harlan and his runners come in. The money they raise will be “on the ground” and funding projects within two to three months, Nash said.

Making miles meaningful

The race itself is expected to draw both serious and casual runners. As of Wednesday, 400 runners had signed up.

The goal is to complete as many five-mile loops around Camp Rockmont as possible in six-, 12- and 24-hour races. Each team member must complete at least one lap. Last year’s team winner, Norm’s Maggots, completed 42 laps for 210 miles. Soloist Denise Davis won with 19 laps for 95 miles. Still, the water crisis is at the forefront.

“What brings people to this race more than anything is not a chance to win, but an opportunity to make their miles meaningful. It’s all about a basic right to water,” Harlan said. “The biggest thing is just the safe drinking water. The lack of clean water kills more people than any other diseases.”

Lansing Brewer, 61, of Raleigh, has been fundraising through distance running for years. This weekend, his four-person team — including Warren Wilson graduate Katie Spotz — will recite a script at the finish of each lap as a reminder of why they’re running.

“I believe the statistic is 1 billion people without access to safe drinking water,” said Brewer, who also ran in the Blue Planet Run Foundation namesake relay that covered 15,200 miles in 95 days. “We just want to raise awareness and funds for projects around the globe.”

More at citizen-times.com

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