For the past 7 years World of Water has been a proud sponsor of the Manitoba Marathon, we are honored to provide the participants of the Marathon with over 40,000lbs of Distilled water each year. In past years World of Water would sponsor Mile 22; we would gather volunteers from all our stores and would hand out water and Gatorade to all the runners. We were always blown away with the out pouring of 'praise' and 'thanks' from all the participants as they ran by. The consensus from all the World of Water volunteers was that they couldn't get over the fact that the runners were thanking us, when all we were doing was handing out paper cups full of water...it was very touching. We have sponsored Mile 22 for the past few years, however this year we decided to change up our involvement. We were situated at the Recovery Area located at the University of Manitoba where all the runners pass through once they have completed either the Half or Full Marathon.

We were fortunate enough to also have access to the Finish-Line, which shed a completely different light on the Marathon for us this year. Being able to see the runners cross the finish-line and the range of emotions they all experienced definitely created many awe inspiring moments. We were able to watch Mike Both (4-time Manitoba Marathon Winner) battle fatigue and exhaustion as he entered the University of Manitoba stadium, only to end up sprinting to the finish-line in a 'photo finish' for 3rd place. We had the privilege of working with Mike a few weeks earlier, as he begun the exciting adventure of opening up his own massage athletic company called Massage Atheltica ( www.massageathletica.com/index.php ) and used World of Water to create a Customized Water Bottle label for his company. On behalf of all the staff at World of Water we are confident that Mike will once again regain his title as the Manitoba Marathon Champion, and we wish him great success with his new business.

The day produced some heart-break but also provided many inspirational moments as well, and seeing the joy on the faces of the participants as they crossed the finish-line would give you chills. Every year the Marathon hosts a Media Luncheon the Friday before the race; when we attended the Luncheon this year we had the privilege of sitting with Adam Aleshka. When Adam found out that we were from World of Water he understood the magnitude of what we do on Race day, and from an athlete's perspective he was happy that he had Distilled water during the Marathon to help him perform. Adam ended up placing 2nd in this year's Full-Marathon with a time of 2 hours and 44 minutes, which is his personal best time to date. We greeted Adam at the finish-line and even after enduring a Marathon he still took the time to thank us for all the hard work and water we provided. To pull off what we do at the Marathon takes the help and support of all our Franchisees and Staff, yet it still seems insignificant compared to the time and training all the participants put their bodies through. We feel absolutely privileged to be part of this truly amazing Manitoba event.

We look forward to seeing everyone at next year's Manitoba Marathon as we provide them with the "Purest Water and Ice Possible."