Global Water Sponsors Steve Carlson as He Prepares to Compete in Cozumel Mexico’s Ironman

Oxnard, CA, May 25, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Training for an Ironman competition takes focus, dedication and discipline. The long hours of workouts can prove too much for even the most competitive athletes. Steve Carlson of Washington, D.C. knows these challenges, as he prepares to compete in the Ironman competition this November in Cozumel, Mexico. Racing, he knows, brings self-satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment and the thrill of having met a challenge. For this race, however, Steve has other motivations to train - an organization known as “Global Water”, and the memory of an African village he visited two years ago.

On a trip to South Africa, Steve’s safari guides took him outside of the city limits to a village where the workers lived, a township not far in miles from Capetown the capital, but light years away in terms of its development. The homes were one-room shacks with tin roofs. The driver explained to Steve that the residents of the township did not have any plumbing in their homes, rather they had to use communal bathrooms and walk a few miles to a water source the entire community shared.

Steve made a promise to himself that he was going to do something to help that African township. If he couldn’t help this township in particular, he decided he was going to find a way to bring water to an African village. When, some months later, Steve had the opportunity to sign up for the Ironman competition in Cozumel, he seized it readily, and then decided what to do. He would raise money by racing, money that would go for a water system.

His search for a partner in this endeavor brought him to Global Water. Global Water is an international all-volunteer non-profit, non-sectarian organization committed to the development of safe water supplies and related sanitation programs in rural areas of developing countries. The systems Global Water builds – water wells, spring capture systems, water storage and distribution systems - do not require electricity, are simple to operate, and are made of materials that last for many years. Global Water has had many successful projects around the world, in particular in Central America and Africa. Steve will be racing to raise funds for one of Global Water’s projects in Africa.

Knowing he is racing for Global Water, has kept Steve motivated through the long workouts. “It is a constant reminder,” he says.

It will also keep him motivated throughout the race. “Usually when I race, I think only about the race, about my pedal stroke or whether my technique is all right.

“If someone has to walk for miles in Africa to get water, it is like, whoa, I think I can run a few miles,” Steve says.

In fact Steve Carlson will be swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112, and running 26 miles to complete the Ironman. And, yes, he will also be drinking a lot of water.

“I think there’s a correlation between trying to raise money for clean water and the fact that I have plenty of fresh water available for me for training and for the race.” Steve says.

“The villagers need to go to great lengths just to get clean water, so I am going to great lengths – literally – to help them get it.”

“I saw that the people in that African township have almost nothing materially and yet they have such a positive attitude,” continues Steve. “We have so much here in the U.S. I feel like it’s time to give back.”

For more information on Steve Carlson’s training and fundraising efforts, please visit his website: raceforwater.org

For further information on Global Water’s ongoing projects, please visit their website globalwater.org or contact Ted Kuepper, Executive Director, info@globalwater.org.

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