Jeanne Jacque Has Water!

Jeanne used to feel the absence of water in her family's life every minute of every day. And never more acutely than when her children were sick, often because they drank dirty water or couldn't wash their hands.

But not anymore.

"We drink, the children can bathe, they don't get sick anymore," Jeanne says. "Now, if I come by a little money, it isn't spent on doctor’s visits. I can buy a small animal [to raise for food], or better, I can pay for school for the children."

When you give water to women like Jeanne, you give them so much more.

You give health to her family.

You give education to her kids.

You give her the margin to earn money to support her daughters.

You give her hope.

Water.org is committed to developing solutions that most effectively and efficiently respond to the specific needs of each community where they work. Kelly and I are supporting water.org in our running in the LIMA 42K Marathon this May. You can support our efforts and lean more at http://give.water.org/fundraiser/4948/#

Meet My Traveling/Running Buddy Flat Stanley

My grand-daughter Ava wanted to know if I would take "Stanley" with me on my road trip to Dallas and post some photos for her class project. Stanley and I had a great time! 

He even met a friend in Dallas! The two of them traveled together when she was "younger. She's now so old! In the third grade!"

Stanley barely survived a stampede, got all sweaty (so sorry Ava!) out on a training run, got lost in some weeds, nearly lost his head in the sculpture garden, and fell off the fence when seeing the giant eyeball staring at him. Thankfully, I'm letting him sleep in during the half! 


 Through my adventures with Stanley I probably met a dozen parents, children, and teachers who all knew who Stanley was. So, fun conversations about my grandchildren, Dallas, the race, running a marathon, and raising funds for water.org. One family even said they knew that Matt Damon was associated with water.org. So... Stanley and Matt are famous, but who's that old guy hanging out with them?

Adventures with Ava and Stella

Dallas: The Big D: Cowboys and Stampedes

Well, I'm in Dallas this weekend mixing a little business and training. It was a pleasure to meet face-to-face with the fabulous Staff of Cultural Awareness International.  This dedicated team of intercultural specialists assist families, work teams and businesses worldwide in developing cultural understanding for successful integration into every day life and international organizational culture. I always enjoy the opportunity to work with them.





This is also a great opportunity to take advantage of Dallas hospitality and warm weather in doing the mandated weekend "long run." The long run Sunday morning will be the Dallas Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon! This morning, I was out for my last short "get everything loosened up" run and came across some Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders in a photo shoot. (OK, I have no idea who they were and what they were doing--except taking photos like pros on a project) One took pity on me and agreed to take her photo with me!





Early Sunday morning I found a great little coffee place to get caffeine running through my veins before the big event. The crowd was, as always, at events like this, alive and excited. Thank goodness there were a plethora of port-a-potties. I think half the crowd was standing in line at one point or another.

With the temp at 85º and the humidity at 89% by 9:00 a.m., this was not a race I will enjoy remembering. My time was ok until mile 10. At that point the heat was too much for this ole body and I slowed to a crawl. Other than that, it was a fun race and good training run!

So here is proof that I'm here and working hard to be ready for the Lima Peru Marathon. Can't wait for this first ever "vacation" with my daughter who is going to run it with me! AND-- all for a good cause! We are raising $$$ for water.org- a fantastic organizations making a difference in bringing health to communities in every part of the globe.

From water.org: The Water & Sanitation Crisis in Peru

“With a total population of 31 million Peruvians, roughly four million lack access to safe water, while nearly eight million lack access to improved sanitation. Throughout Peru, urban water and sanitation coverage is higher than rural coverage,...

Despite these challenges, the Peruvian microfinance market is among the most developed in the world in terms of its regulatory enabling environment and competition. Water.org sees this market as holding significant promise for the water and sanitation sector.

Launched in 2013, Water.org’s five-year WaterCredit initiative in Peru prioritizes regions that have a strong financial institution presence and high demand for water and sanitation improvements. With lending that began in June 2015, we are helping financial institutions develop products best suited for local demand. Our partners began to scale their portfolios in 2016.

Water.org’s partners have a strong presence nationwide, but especially in Lima, the northern coast and the southern highlands. We estimate that our partners will disburse more than 40,000 loans for indoor bathrooms, water and sewerage connections, improved sanitary installations (e.g., toilet with septic tank, upgraded latrine) and tanks for water collection and storage. In total, we aim to reach approximately 140,000 people in Peru with access to improved water and sanitation by 2018.”

Clicking the button on the left of this blog lets you help support this worthy cause!

Training ... Not there yet!

Getting pumped about running a marathon is one thing. Getting in shape is another!

Liberty Memorial Steps:

This run is one of my favorites (I try to do it once a week), and also one of my slowest. (and one which makes me ache all over! I try to run 4-5 miles of which 3+ are steps. Repetitive but worth it... if for nothing else than the comments from tourists!

 KCTC Saturday Morning Running Brunch Bunch:

Carmen Ruder (on left) organizes the routes every week. Fifteen to thirty show up and run one of three routes then have breakfast afterwards. This is a training group for the Rock the Parkway race in April. I love this group! They are all young enough to be my kids and we have fun conversations.

 The Little Blue Parkway QuickTrip Loop:

One of my "go to" neighborhood runs (with about a dozen variations) is running to QuickTrip and back. (6-8 miles). This run involved a couple of loops around the track at the hospital on 39th St. This is the intersection where I got clipped by a pickup truck a few years ago. While my head says, "Get over it. Run through the intersection!" my body always seems to hesitate, screaming, "Stop! Idiot! Just go home!" After spending six months lying flat on my back on the floor in constant pain, I am so grateful the voice inside my head said, "Get up off your ass and go run!"

Little Blue to Big Biscuit Run:

On Saturday morning I told the family I would meet them after a long run at Big Biscuit on Lee's Summit Road. Great run made even better by this Royals fan greeting me!

I am so looking forward to running with my daughter Kelly in the Lima Peru Marathon in May. We are raising $$$ for water.org, a Kansas City organization doing great tings across the world, and in Peru!