450 Miles Down, 450 Miles to Go: New Jersey Man Runs 900 Miles to Raise Funds for Clean Water

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ - Wednesday, July 15, denotes the midpoint in James Leitner's 900-mile ultra-perseverance race to raise assets for his philanthropic, MissionCleanWater.

Leitner, the 27-year-old author of network based clean water association is running 30 miles for every day for 30 days during the long stretch of July. His objective: to raise $30,000 for a perfect water framework for the St. Elizabeth's All-Girls School in Uganda.

The Scotch Plains local commenced his present pledge drive on July first at the beginning of the day. For as far back as about fourteen days, he's been running 37.5 laps on a .8 mile circle at Tamaques Park in Westfeild. With 450 miles finished and the equivalent about left to go, Leitner has had some physical difficulties to survive.

"For as far back as 13 days, I have been pushing it to beat the warmth. With high temperatures and high mugginess, every day arrives at the triple-digits. I have had great accomplishment with running the separation, managing the warmth, and dealing with my torment," Leitner said on Monday. "To quiet down and unwind, I am going to change my course of action for the following hardly any days. I am going to attempt to begin my day near 5:00 a.m. furthermore, walk more. Easing back down and getting a charge out of the day is just going to bring better achievement considering we are practically most of the way!"

Up until this point, Leitner has raised quite recently over $22,000 of his $30,000 objective. In spite of the difficulties, he isn't surrendering.

"With the entirety of the good and bad times, passionate highs and lows, restless evenings, and mental depletion, when you see your work profiting somebody or a network, it's all justified, despite all the trouble. It was not until I saw clean water stream from the taps, and not until I saw the network dealing with the framework all alone, that I felt overpowered with feeling and sad with bliss."

Leitner' 900-mile run is the latest in a progression of ultra-perseverance gathering pledges occasions.

In 2017, Leitner strolled 3,250 miles from New Jersey to California while pulling 10 gallons of water to fund-raise for a spotless water framework in Tanzania. It took him 143 days, represented the separation that ladies and young ladies in Africa walk each year getting water for their families. In fall 2019, Leitner ran 100 miles in 24 hours, all on a .8 mile circle (that is more than 130 laps!). For another ultra-perseverance pledge drive, he ran a long distance race a month for 12 straight months, all while conveying 45 lbs of water over his head.

Leitner's perseverance pledge drives have financed water frameworks that have helped 4,500 individuals and 1,500 understudies access clean drinking water.