Day 92 - Gaithersburg, MD – Washington, D.C. - Wilmington, DE

Emmanuel arrives at the Capitol exchange point met by a good crowd.

Today was an exciting day for the runners: lots of enthusiastic supporters and two big cities! The morning exchange point in Bethesda was at the Mansion at Strathmore, a home for the arts, where the coordinator took members of the team on a personal tour and was very excited about the Blue Planet Run cause.

Kenyan runner Emmanuel and George Washington University Alum Shiri ran together through Washington, D.C. towards an excellent exchange at Lincoln Memorial in the National Mall. Emmanuel ran into the exchange where the Kenyan Ambassador Peter N.R.O. Ogego was waiting for him! After saying the message, Emmanuel presented Mr. Ogego with a BPR jersey that all 21 runners had signed. The exchange was full of people, with great support from the N.G.O. community, and speeches given by Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA Assistant Administrator from the Office of Water, Representative Van Hollen from Maryland, Stephen Jordan from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and John Oldfield from Water Advocates. There was an hour long “fun run” that Simon led around the Mall with around 20 people, including members of the University of the District of Columbia's track team. Dot ran out of D.C. through the Mall joined by guest runner Navid who ran with her for the entire 10 miles, having already run 3 miles with Shiri and Emmanuel prior to the D.C. exchange.

Simon leads a fun run around the National Mall with the womens UDC track team.

Team Blue enjoyed a nice exchange in Baltimore at Fells Point Plaza, where a couple of young men got really enthusiastic about the cause and donated. However, the highlight of Team Blue's shift was Victor's birthday! Dill had a barbeque after their shift and cooked steaks for everyone – another BPR birthday in style.

Wanting to change more than just his location, David ran in jeans for 10 miles. Paul ran in under 60 minutes, passing over the Susquehanna River. The runners gained a new team member yesterday: Bodhi the chiropractor. After learning about the Run from National Geographic, Bodhi has been following the Run and met the team yesterday in D.C. He offered his services to the runners yesterday and today – hopefully he can extend his Labor Day weekend until Tuesday!

Several guest runners came out in the early morning hours and helped the shift fly by! Mary enjoyed her run with Scott who was so energized that when they were done, he ran the same route back to the start where his car was. Emmanuel ran his leg through Wilmington, DE with Chris who was impressively able to keep up with him! Shiri was pleased to run with an old NYU Cross Country teammate Maureen who traveled all the way from Lancaster, PA. Shiri's dad even came with cupcakes!

Emmanuel poses with the womens UDC track team.

The exchange point crowd hears about the world water crisis and how to change it.

Although it is his birthday, Victor has to pass up The Love Zone in Baltimore.

The newlyweds run on Baltimores waterfront.