Katie Spots & Mike on their Kayaks
Katie Spots & Mike on their Kayaks

Katie Spotz FitzGerald Announces Next Ultra-Endurance Challenge & Fundraising Initiative

By Ugandan Water Project Press Release, Katie Spotz Press Release

Update: https://katiespotz.com/s/Mentor-native-Katie-Spotz-completes-trek-across-South-America-on-Long-Journey-4-Water.pdf

A Long Way for Water will involve a record-breaking paddle from South to North America to raise money for clean water access.

Katie Spotz FitzGerald, clean water activist and adventurer, will embark on her latest ultra-endurance challenge and fundraising initiative, A Long Way for Water, on October 31, 2023. The athlete’s goal is to become the first woman ever to kayak solo directly from South to North America, and alongside teammate/husband, Mike, the first Americans to make the journey. Paddlers have crossed the Caribbean Sea and cyclists have crossed the continent of South America, but no one has achieved both…yet.

This expedition will take roughly 10 months, covering an estimated 8,000 miles crossing the length of Guyana, through Brazil, into Peru, up to the Colombian coast by bicycle, and finally hugging the shoreline of Central America, heading north until reaching the United States by kayak. The challenge also aims to raise $100,000 to fund the Ugandan Water Project and help 10,000 people to gain access to clean water along the way.

A Long Way for Water marks Katie’s 11th endurance challenge to raise money for clean water projects in developing countries around the world. She rose to the public spotlight during her 2010 campaign Row for Water where she set records by rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 70 days, becoming the youngest ever person to do it alone and first American to row from Africa to South America. To date, Spotz FitzGerald’s activism has impacted over 46,874 lives and funded 148 clean water projects across 16 countries.

Read more about this project here.

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