Bolingbrook Couple Running Chicago Marathon to Bring Clean Water to African Village

For the past nine months, Eric and Faith Bruck have been training to run the Chicago marathon. 

The Brucks will take on the 26.2 challenge Sunday, along with several other Bolingbrook church-goers. 

Runners from Westbrook Christian Church, Joyful Spirit, Living Water and New Song have teamed up to raise money for Team World Vision, a non-profit that works to help children in Africa and Haiti. 

The team, which trains together each week, hopes to raise $40,000 for a water harvesting project in its sister community in Tanzania. More than 40 people raised $33,000 last year for the project. 

There are 10 people running the marathon from Westbrook, Bruck said. There are 15 to 20 people running the marathon on their team. 

Bruck said he and his wife started a World Vision running training guide for beginners in January and have been training ever since. 

Four years of running together

Westbrook Christian Church members have run marathons or half-marathons to raise money for the past four years. It all started when Children's Director Dave Fischer started running six years ago.

Four years ago, after hearing a presentation from Team World Vision, he decided to run to raise funds for the organization. His wife and another church member joined him in running the Chicago Marathon. The three of them raised $3,500. 

The next year, the group grew to 25 and set the goal to raise $13,000 -- enough to fund a well project in Africa. They raised $16,500. Every year since, the money has been allocated specifically for the churches' sister community in Tanzania. 

As the group has grown, the runners have grown closer together, Fischer said. 

"It's a byproduct of running for hours together," Fischer said. "Doing a 16-mile training run by yourself can be pretty miserable."

The runners need encouragement from each other, he said.

"If you have at least one other person to run with, it makes such a difference," Fischer said. "You share lots of conversation. If you can last 16 miles with somebody you pretty much know somebody really well."