Faversham will this month be on the route of an athlete undertaking a 750-mile charity run from Prague to London on the eve of the Olympic Games.
David Christof (33), a teacher of English at the German School in Prague, has set himself the goal of running the 750 miles from the Czech capital to London to raise money for WaterisLife, a charity that provides safe drinking water through a non-profit foundation, Blue Planet Network.
David is due in Faversham on Friday, 20 July, the day after runners carry the Olympic Torch through the town. He will be staying with a Faversham family in a visit organised by the faversham.org website.
Lucy Guthrie, who runs faversham.org and two Facebook accounts for Faversham, was approached by David Christof’s team and was inspired by his project.
David began his run on 18 June and intends to take five weeks passing through the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and the UK with the aim of reaching London just before the start of the Olympics. He hopes to raise enough money to provide safe drinking water for 333 people.
You can follow David's daily progress on the Facebook page
www.facebook.com/WaterIsLife and can pledge a donation to help him to reach his target at
www.blueplanetnetwork.org/waterheroes/david.
Faversham.org will follow his journey and put updates on
www.facebook.com/VisitFaversham and
www.facebook.com/FavershamFun.
The event is run by the German School and is supported by its partner, the company Bayer.
David, who has already run 21 marathons, aims to cover 19 to 27 miles a day while pushing a stroller with all his essentials. On his journey, he will be talking at schools about the world water crisis in which more than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water.
David has previously cycled 2,360 miles through eight European countries in seven weeks. He received his Master’s degree from St Cloud State University in Minnesota, US, and has previously worked in American universities as an academic adviser.