Krista @ Chicago Marathon 2009

On October 11th, my wife, Krista, ran the Chicago Marathon.

That's 26.2 miles of sweating, pushing, giving everything she had.

Sounds rough, right? Well imagine doing all of that without clean water.

Every week, millions of women and their children walk more than 14 miles just to get water for their families. That's over a half marathon. Most of this water is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They take the chance of catching diseases like bilharzia and schistosomiasis (parasites) - with every sip. There's nothing they can do to change it.

Our mission is to raise $676 for water. That's 26 people donating $26 for clean water. We're asking for pledges per mile or flat out donations to help achieve our goal. You may be saying to yourself, "But 26.2 times 26 doesn't equal $676." You're right. There's an extra .2 unaccounted for. Well, that's going to clean water too. Krista ran with Team Worldvision, who is also raising money for clean water in Africa. So if you donate $26 to charity: water we're asking that you do the same for Team Worldvision.

Because of charity: water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to water projects, and each donation is "proved" when projects are complete. I aim to raise $676 in the next three months.

We hope you'll join us in helping them now.