Running for charity is nothing new, and everyone knows that many of the most noted runners in any major event are African. But usually these two facts have nothing to do with each other.

Next Sunday, this will change when six Masai Warriors run the London Marathon to raise money for water supplies back home. A semi-nomadic ethnic group from regions in Tanzania and Kenya, the Masai get most of their exercise from hunting the cattle that provide their diet of milk, meat, and blood.

Aim 4 Africa, a Sheffield-based travel firm, is sponsoring the six warriors, who hope to raise between 20,000 and 60,000 British pounds by their effort. The firm is also urging other companies to chip in. The motivation came from Paul Martin, who worked with the Masai in 2005 as part of the international aid organization Greenforce. Martin plans to run the marathon along with the warriors.

The men will race in shoes made from old tires, and sell for under one pound for a pair.

The Masai's statement is admirable, but also a little ironic: marathons use a huge amount of water to keep their thousands of runners hydrated along the 26.2 mile course. And sometimes they even run out. Last October, the Chicago Marathon ran out of water and had to cancel the race for anyone who hadn't crossed the half-way mark by a certain time. And in Paris, the marathon foregoes the more traditional paper cups for that race's 35,000 runners and serves water in 33-cl plastic bottles. With eight water stations along the route for all 35,000 marathoners, that comes to 280,000 bottles of water -- many of which are chucked to the roadside after just a few sips.

Maybe because of this, the Masai will draw some much-needed attention to the inefficient use of water in marathons such as the one they'll be running.

Now for the lighter side of the story. To smooth the Warriors' entry into an enormous European city, Greenforce has created a visitors' guide to help them blend in.