Surgical Nurse Runs Berlin Marathon for Clean Water

Run With Me: How a Surgical Nurse from Michigan is Turning Her Stride into Someone Else’s Starting Line

Jayme Brantsen has spent her young career in the operating room—steady hands, long hours, high stakes. But outside the hospital walls, she finds rhythm and resilience in a different kind of work: running.

This fall, she’ll take on the BMW Berlin Marathon, one of the world’s six major races. It’s another step toward her personal goal of completing all seven—and another way to push the limits of what she thought was possible.

But Jayme isn’t running this one for herself.

In rural Mozambique, children like Alfinete, just thirteen, used to walk home from school just to drink from a shallow, unsafe hole in the ground. Without a water bottle, and with nothing clean or safe to drink nearby, he’d miss class, lose focus, and fall behind. Then, one day, something changed: a water well was built on the school grounds.

For Alfinete, it meant more than hydration—it meant he could stay in school. Learn. Dream bigger.

That’s the kind of change Jayme is running toward.

Through her campaign, Run With Me, she’s raising $12,000 to fund a new water well in Mozambique. One that will serve a school just like Alfinete’s—unlocking access not only to clean water, but to dignity, safety, and opportunity.

“For me, running is a gift,” Jayme says. “But millions of kids are walking—miles and miles—just for water that could make them sick. If I can use my miles to give them something better, I’ll run every single one with purpose.”

She’s pledging $1 for every mile she runs in training. And she’s inviting others to join—by giving, running, fundraising, or simply spreading the word. It’s not just a campaign; it’s a movement. A belief that every mile we run here helps someone else reach their starting line.

Because when we run together, we don’t just cross finish lines—we create them.

#RunWithMe