New Hill Challenge PRESENTED BY LULULEMON Brings Heart and Hustle to Run For The Water
This fall, when runners lace up for the 19th Annual Run For The Water 5K, 10-Miler, Kids K, they’ll have a new reason to take on Austin’s hills with joy and purpose. The Gazelle Foundation has created the first-ever Hill Challenge, presented by Lululemon. This exciting new feature of the 10-mile Run For The Water course puts strength, endurance, and heart to the test.
And the best part? Every step up the hill brings clean water one step closer to communities in Burundi.
What Is the Hill Challenge?
The Hill Challenge is a timed segment of the Run For The Water 10-mile race course, which spans approximately 800 meters along a rolling stretch of the scenic west Austin route. Anyone who signs up to run the Run For The Water 10-mile distance are automatically entered, and the fastest times between the two timing mats will determine the winners.
There are nine chances to be crowned Hill Champion — one male, one female, and one non-binary winner in each of the following categories:
Overall
Masters (ages 40–59)
Grand Masters (ages 60+)
Winners will be recognized during a special Hill Challenge Award Presentation in the Winner’s Circle at the post-race festival, and their names will be celebrated on the finish line screens.
HOW WILL LULULEMON BE INVOLVED?
Lululemon is the presenting sponsor of inaugural Hill Challenge for the 19th annual Run For The Water. A uniquely transformative event, entry to Run For The Water allows the Gazelle Foundation to provide people in Burundi with access to clean water – for life.
Each November, over 5,000 runners and walkers take to the streets of downtown Austin for the annual Run For The Water 5K, 10-Miler, and Kids K through our beautiful West Austin course which starts along Lady Bird Lake.
Our partnership with Lululemon is driven by purpose and built to empower as many people as possible to set, start, and strive towards their goals.
"Together with Lululemon we will deliver game-changing motivation to help people get after it and chase greatness," said Mason Wheeless, Race Director of Run For The Water. “Running is meant to be joyful and hill training is part of that.”
Why This Hill Matters
At the Gazelle Foundation, we believe running is about more than competition. Gilbert is fond of reminding us to run with joy, always! Running together and doing hard things builds camaraderie, confidence, fitness, and hope for people living in Burundi. That’s why the Hill Challenge is more than just a fun new feature. It highlights the physical and mental power runners build when they train on hills, while helping people across the globe gain access to something much more basic: clean water.
And no one understands the deeper meaning of the climb better than Gazelle Foundation Co-Founder, running coach, and Burundian native Gilbert Tuhabonye:
“When you train on hills you build endurance, muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness and mental power. This Hill Challenge is a great way to foster a love of fitness, and to help as many people in Burundi gain daily access to as much water as they need.”
The Mission Behind Every Mile
Women and children spend hours walking miles and miles to fetch water, which often isn’t clean. The Gazelle Foundation’s sustainable, gravity-fed water systems collect and filter water before it can be contaminated. Through hand-dug distribution pipes, water is distributed throughout communities at tap stands like this one. This reduces the distance to fetch clean water from 4 miles to 400 meters.
The Gazelle Foundation was founded in 2006 by a passionate group of Central Texans inspired by Gilbert’s journey as a national champion runner and genocide survivor. Since then, the nonprofit has built 73 clean water systems and counting across rural Burundi, serving more than 138,000 people with sustainable, life-changing infrastructure. See our impact.
In Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world, access to water is not just about convenience — it’s about survival and breaking the cycle of poverty. The average walk to water where we work was about four miles, and we have reduced that to 400 meters in 73 communities.
This why the theme for this year’s race is “Our Mission, Your Movement for Change.” Each race registration supports that mission. Every runner, walker, and supporter helps bring clean water to families, schools, and medical facilities across rural Burundi.
A Tale of Two Hilly Places: Austin and BuruNDI
There’s something poetic about a race in Austin, Texas — known for its rolling terrain and vibrant running community — fueling transformation in Burundi’s Bururi Province, a mountainous area with its own breathtaking, tropical hillsides. The Run For The Water Hill Challenge brings these two worlds together, turning every climb into a symbol of hope and strength.
Whether you’re running the hill segment to win or just to prove to yourself you can do hard things, know this: you’re climbing for a reason.
How to Get Involved
Register for the 10-Miler, 5K, Kids K or Global Run: RunForTheWater.com
Train and share: Post your hill training workouts on Strava or share GPS screenshots using hashtags like #HillChampionTraining, #CrownTheClimb, or #R4TWChallengeAccepted for a chance to win prizes and be featured on social media.
Join the mission: Learn more about the Gazelle Foundation’s work on our blog which features regular updates.
These children are fetching water from a water system currently under construction. A tap stand will soon be connected to these pipes.
This November 9, 2025, whether you’re powering up an Austin hill or jogging your own course virtually from across the world, you’re part of something bigger. You’re helping us crown the climb — and bring clean water, health, and hope to communities who need it most.