The Global 6K for Water will return to the North Shore on May 9, bringing a local effort into a world‑wide push to expand access to clean drinking water. Organized by Faith Rockford and Bekah Backman, the Silver Bay event is part of a coordinated race series through World Vision, one of the largest humanitarian organizations working on water access across the globe.
Last year’s race drew about 20 to 25 runners and walkers, a turnout the organizers considered strong for a first‑time event in the area. Rockford said the response exceeded what they expected.
“It went really well. For Silver Bay, we had a pretty big turnout,” she said.
Backman said the pair set a simple benchmark when they launched the event.
“We’d love for this to be an annual event. If we can get at least 20 people, we’ll repeat it again next year,” she said. “So that was our goal last year.”
The Global 6K is designed around a specific number. Six kilometers is the average distance a person in a developing country walks each day to collect water. Rockford said that reality can be hard to grasp on the North Shore, where Lake Superior is a constant presence.
“I think it’s hard for us to understand on the North Shore because we live right next to a huge freshwater lake,” she said. “It’s hard to understand people who don’t have water or clean water.”
World Vision’s materials outline the scale of the issue. Backman said one of the statistics in this year’s race kit stood out.
“Seven hundred three million people lack basic drinking water access around the world,” she said. “I think about things like kids that should be going to school have to spend their days walking to get clean water. And actually, often they’re not getting clean water, they’re getting dirty water. So then they’re sick with parasites and malnutrition. If it’s women and girls, there’s a safety issue for them when they’re going to collect water, because they are very vulnerable. And then there are sanitation issues. When these little villages don’t have clean water, that’s very problematic.”
Participants in the 6K can run, walk, push strollers, or bring dogs along the route from Rukavina Arena in Silver Bay down into Beaver Bay, finishing near Thrivent Financial. The event begins at 9 a.m., and walk‑up registration is welcome.
The cost is $50 for adults and $25 for youth under 18, with all registration fees going directly to clean water projects.
“That $50 provides clean water for one person for life,” Backman said. “So your registration actually does that. It’s good in and of itself.”
The same impact applies to donations made online.
Participants who register ahead of time receive a race bib in the mail. Each bib features the photo of a real child from a community that lacks access to clean water. Backman said the bibs help put a face to the cause.
Backman has seen the impact of clean water projects firsthand. Her family traveled to Ethiopia several years ago and visited some of the wells and systems World Vision helped build.
“We actually saw some of the water projects,” she said. “We’ve seen some of the wells that have been drilled and how they teach people to maintain them themselves so they’re sustainable and not dependent on outsiders. They have pipelines, they have all different kinds of ways to service these communities. But we’ve seen it and it’s real, and the people congregate around those water sources. They’re also a place where they build community and celebrate.”
She recalled one moment in particular.
“There was one time when they just started singing praise. They were praising God for the clean water and wanted to share that with us, how excited they were, because it was life‑changing for them,” Backman said.
This year’s Silver Bay event takes place one week before the global race date of May 16. Backman said the organizers chose May 9 because of local scheduling conflicts, including the popular Smelt Fry in Beaver Bay. Last year, many participants headed straight there after the race.
“It’s literally one block away from where we finished,” she said.
The organizers will have a World Vision tent at the starting area, along with banners and information about the cause. Snacks will be available at the finish line. Backman said the most important thing is simply getting people involved, whether they choose to run, walk, donate, or help spread the word.
She added that the race is ultimately about advocacy and long‑term change.
“This is all about advocacy toward the issue and raising funds toward the goal,” she said. “The goal is, in our lifetime, that this issue of injustice is eradicated, and we’re tracking that way. That’s the hope, that we can conquer this monster and then move on to the next one.”
For Rockford and Backman, the race is also a way to bring the community together around a global need.
“It’s nice to have communities unite around something good,” said Backman.
Go to global6k.worldvision.org/teams/northshore and click on “Join Our Team” to register for the 6K. Donations can also be made through the same link under “Support Us.”
