FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2018

BEACON, NY – Alicja Barahona, a 64-year old scientist at Regeneron, will run a marathon across a frozen lake in Russia to support Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the leading environmental education organization focused on sustainability in the Hudson Valley region.

Barahona will run 26.2 miles over the frozen lake for the Baikal Ice Marathon on Wednesday, March 7th. She will then continue another 50 miles beyond the marathon crossing the width of Lake Baikal. For 50 miles, Barahona will be pulling a sled laden with 2 weeks of survival supplies to prep her for her ultramarathon next year across the total 400-mile length of Lake Baikal.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, celebrating its 50th sailing season, is the beneficiary of all funds raised by people supporting Barahona’s run. Clearwater’s Board of Directors is issuing a match challenge and will give $20,000 if support for Alicja’s Run reaches that amount. Regeneron will match donations of $50 or more by their employees.  To support Alicja Barahona’s tremendous effort on behalf of Clearwater, visit: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/Clearwater_Run or contact devdir@clearwater.org for more details.

Pete and Toshi Seeger and friends founded Clearwater in 1966 when fundraising to build a replica of a Hudson River sloop first began. Since that time, Clearwater has sailed with over half a million people, teaching the ecology of the Hudson River with a vision of keeping environmentalism alive. Seeger wrote, “The world is the concern of everyone. Lake Baikal is my worry as well as the Siberians’. The Pentagon is their worry as well as mine.” — Pete Seeger, from Rob and Sam Rosenthal’s collection of letters, Pete Seeger: In His Own Words.

Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest freshwater lake and the world’s largest volume of fresh water, containing about 23% of the world’s fresh surface water, more water than in North America’s five Great Lakes combined. More half of the species found in Lake Baikal exist nowhere else. Known as the ‘Galapagos of Russia’, its age and isolation have produced one of the world’s richest and most unusual freshwater faunas.

About Alicja Barahona

Alicja Barahona runs for charity. She is a pinnacle of outdoor adventurism, athleticism and most of all, philanthropy. As an ultramarathoner, she was described in riveting detail by Chuck Slater in the New York Times on January 27, 2002  and was interviewed by Gale Ritterhoff of Westchester Magazine. Barahona has run in the Arctic wilderness in Greenland for Doctors without Borders. She accumulated 1,200 miles running the long way across Long Island for 10 years for Breast Cancer Awareness. Her adventure for Clearwater takes place on March 7th at Baikal Ice Marathon, in Siberia, Russia. Support Alicja Barahona in her endeavor for Clean Water Now! If donations reach $20,000, they will be matched 100% by the Clearwater Board of Directors.