Hello everyone! We’ve been in Blue Planet Run team “BOOT CAMP” at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center now for four days. It has been a whir of activity, getting to know each other, organizing our equipment and training. The scheduled training has included massage technique, logistics, blogging, run transition training, medical and emergency response, and much more! Doing all of this in Lake Placid with the spirits of past Olympics present has been inspirational. It is a return for me to a place with special memories having participated as a runner on the 1980 Winter Olympics Torch Relay Team held here. The Olympic torch I carried in 1980 and the one my father carried in 1936 for Germany are still on display at the Olympic Center.

We, the Blue Planet Run Team, are already a family. My roommate this week is Taeko from Japan, an amazing runner and gentle soul. We all cannot wait to begin our odyssey on Friday. Our commitment to the cause grows as we are learning more and more about the water issue and the realization that we WILL make a difference as we run step by step around the world.

We WILL save lives. The problem is solvable yet it is immense. In preparing to carry this message we will be safe, secure and smiling as the incredible staff is giving us the tools we need to pull off this inaugural global event for the good of billions of peoples around the world. I am so honored to be a part of this team and this message. I look forward to sharing the experience with you as we move along. Thank you for allowing me to be an ambassador for safe water, and thank you for your support, however you choose to give it.