Cross Country Journey 4 Clean Water

Mission: To help provide clean water to areas in Tanzania by walking across the country while pulling 10 gallons of water and completing a marathon a month for a year whil carrying 45lbs of water.

All donations recieved will go towards the nonprofit, the Philadelphia Serengeti Alliance. A nonprofit working to improve education, health, and gender equality in the Mara Region of Tanzania by providing clean accessible drinking water.

Cross Country Journey: On May 17th, I will begin to walk across country from Princeton, NJ to Flint, MI to San Francisco, CA while pulling 10 gallons of water to symbolize the harsh conditions women and children face every day in search for water. The total journey is 3,200 miles and 140,000 ft of elevation change.  This is the same amount of distance the average person will walk in Tanzania for a year in order to find water.  There will be days that are freezing, days that are very hot, and days where it does not stop raining. Some days I will meet the nicest people and on others I might meet the meanest. And  I could not be any more excited to begin. 

Link to Official Press Release: http://goo.gl/b0xUz5

MARATHONS: Running a marathon is no easy feat to accomplish, but just imagine carrying an extra 45 pounds with you for those 26.2 miles and then doing it every month for a solid year - that’s 314.4 miles in rain, snow, and frigid cold.  James Leitner, 23 years-old, has been running a marathon every month while carrying a 45-pound jug of water to raise awareness about the long journeys people take every day just to find water.  Every grueling race he finishes helps the Philadelphia-Serengeti Alliance - a nonprofit organization committed to providing clean drinking water to rural communities in Tanzania.

James completed his ninth marathon on January 7, 2017 and has three more to go before accomplishing his goal of raising $15,000 for this great cause. Here is a list of James’ accomplishments to date:

1. May 2016: Novo Nordisk NJ Marathon, Monmouth Park, NJ

2. June 2016: Paul Mitchell XTERRA Big Elk Trail Marathon, Elkton, MD

3. July 2016: Loonies Midnight Marathon, Livingston, TN

4. August 2016: Drake Well Marathon, Titusville, PA

5. September 2016: Morgantown Marathon, Morgantown, WV

6. October 2016: Southhampton Marathon, Southhampton, NY

7. November 2016: C&O Canal Towpath Marathon, Washington, DC

8. December 2016: Rehoboth Beach Marathon, Rehoboth, DE

9. January 2017: Watchung Winter Marathon, Watchung, NJ

10. February 2017: George Washington’s Birthday Marathon, Greenbelt, MD

11. March 2017 Tobacco Road Marathon, Cary, NC

12. April 2017: Carmel Marathon, Carmel, IN

James, a West Virginia resident says his perspective on life changed forever while he was doing research for a paper in high school. He learned that nearly one billion people in the world don't have access to clean drinking water. "Children five years old, walking ten miles a day carrying 45 lbs of water, the idea baffled me. I decided at that moment that I wanted to work in another country and dedicate my entire life to provide clean drinking water," he says.

The weight of the jug is significant because "45 lbs is equal to 5 gallons of water. That amount is enough for one person to do what they need for water, whether washing, bathing, drinking, or cleaning.”

His mission definitely hasn't been easy -- each marathon takes him about six hours to finish, leaving him sore and exhausted afterward. He's also run in the freezing cold while it was snowing, but it's all worth it to him.

If you'd like to contribute to this cause, you can donate to the Philadelphia-Serengeti Alliance here, and be sure to share this inspiring story with others to raise awareness about the clean water crisis. 

Thank you,

James Leitner