On May 1, 2010, I'm going to race in my first Ironman triathlon in St. George, Utah.

That's a 2.4 mile swim, followed by cycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles for a total of 140.6 miles of sweating, pushing, giving everything I've got.

Sounds rough, right? Well imagine doing all of that without clean water.

Every week, millions of women and their children walk more than 14 miles just to get water for their families. Most of this water is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They take the chance of catching diseases like bilharzia and schistosomiasis (parasites) - with every sip. There's nothing they can do to change it.

So, what can I do?

I want every stroke, every revolution and every step to matter. I'm asking for pledges per foot, per mile or flat out donations to help achieve my goal.

Because of charity: water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to water projects, and each donation is "proved" when projects are complete. I aim to raise $5000.00 in the next three months.

This quest would not be possible without the unyielding love and support of my wife Jennifer and my sons Gianluca & Matteo - I love you. A special thanks goes to my coach Joe Sulak, for knowing when to pull back the reins and when to let them go, to Jordan Rapp aka Rappstar - whose own charity quest and wise words inspired me to race for a cause, and finally to my parents, brothers and sister I love you all.

Unshaken - charity: water's campaign for Haiti from charity: water on Vimeo.