Multi-Platinum Country Music Star Dierks Bentley to Take Part in the Dow Live Earth Run for Water - The Largest Global Water Initiative in History Aimed at Helping Solve the World Water Crisis

MINNEAPOLIS, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Live Earth, organizer of the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, and Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM), race director for the Minneapolis event, today announced multi-platinum country music star Dierks Bentley will perform live at the Minneapolis event.  The largest worldwide water initiative on record to help combat the global water crisis, the Dow Live Earth Run for Water is a series of 6km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to get water), culminating with water education villages and live musical performances.

"I'm looking forward to this event and helping bring attention to the global water crisis," said Bentley.  "The run/walks that are happening on the same day across the world are a great reminder that we are all connected and that we are all responsible for helping each other. I've always loved playing in Minneapolis…lots of country music fans there, and I'm excited to be part of this historic event."

The events will take place in 100 cities across 50 countries around the world on April 18, 2010 to raise awareness and funds to help solve the global water crisis.  Rob Thomas, Melissa Etheridge, Pete Wentz, Angelique Kidjo, Alexandra Cousteau, Carl Lewis, Kara Goucher and Jenny Fletcher have already been announced to support events on April 18.  Additional artist announcements for events taking place in Chicago and New York are coming soon.

Funds raised from the events will benefit Global Water Challenge, a coalition of non profit organizations working to bring clean, safe drinking water to millions of people worldwide. This includes innovative projects that provide clean drinking water to communities in Haiti, Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. GWC has invested in previous projects with donations going towards improving access to water in schools and supporting local entrepreneurs who provide market-based solutions.  

"The money raised from these events will help thousands of people in the developing world get access to clean drinking water. We look forward to investing these funds and impacting lives." said Paul Faeth, President of Global Water Challenge.  

The Minneapolis Dow Live Earth Run for Water event will start at Thomas Beach at Lake Nokomis off of Lake Nokomis Parkway. The run/walk will go counter clock wise around the lake finishing back at Thomas Beach.  A map of the route, as well as a turn-by-turn description can be found on the local event Web site at http://minneapolis.liveearthevents.net/.

"The water crisis is a global one and we all have a responsibility to help identify solution," said Life Time Fitness Vice President of Athletic Events Dave Campbell. "Life Time is proud to be teaming up with Live Earth in support of the Dow Live Earth Run for Water and bring Minnesotans together with people from around the world to raise money and awareness for this very important cause."

People in Minneapolis can register for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water run/walk today via The Active Network at http://liveearth.org/run.  All participants will receive a free online ActiveTrainer plan to help them prepare for the event. A portion of all registration fees for the events will go directly to Global Water Challenge.  

"Live Earth is honoured to have Dierks Bentley as part of this global movement to help raise awareness for the global water crisis," said Kevin Wall, Founder of Live Earth.  "Through his commitment, we are able to connect with a wider audience on this important issue and ultimately encourage them to participate in this movement to bring clean, safe, drinking water to the nearly one billion people on this planet in need."

The Dow Live Earth Run for Water is a global movement focused on the actions individuals can take to effectively address the issue.  People are encouraged to START solving the problem today, RUN in a Dow Live Earth Run for Water run/walk in their community or organize their own run/walk through the Friends of Live Earth program, SAVE water in their home and local community through conservation efforts, GIVE money to support clean, safe water projects and SPEAK UP by signing the Live Earth petition to add water as a basic human right to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.

"As the title sponsor for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, Dow is committed to bringing the science, technology and "human element" it will take to help solve one of the world's greatest challenges – the global water crisis," said Ian Barbour, general manager at Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow. "On April 18, 2010, Dow's 52,000 employees – including nearly 700 from Dow Water & Process Solutions, based in Minneapolis – will join people from around the world to help people around the world gain access to safe, clean drinking water."

For more information about the Dow Live Earth Run for Water visit www.liveearth.org. To participate in the Minneapolis event, please visit www.livearth.org/run.

About Lifetime Fitness

Life Time Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:LTM) operates distinctive and large, multi-use sports and athletic, professional fitness, family recreation and resort and spa centers. The Company also provides consumers with personal training services, full-service spas and cafes, corporate wellness programs, health and nutrition education, the healthy lifestyle magazine, Experience Life, athletic events and nutritional products. As of March 22, 2010, Life Time Fitness operated 87 centers in 19 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Life Time Fitness is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota, and can be located on the Web at lifetimefitness.com. LIFE TIME FITNESS, LIFE TIME ATHLETIC, EXPERIENCE LIFE, and the LIFE TIME FITNESS TRIATHLON SERIES are trademarks of Life Time Fitness, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Global Water Challenge

GWC is a diverse coalition that consists of leading organizations working to provide creative and sustainable solutions for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.  GWC's mission is to generate a global movement to meet the urgent need for safe water and sanitation by spurring collective awareness and investment in water supply/sanitation innovation by corporate, public, and nongovernmental actors.  Our challenge is to reach people with the tools and education they need to empower themselves.  Access to clean water and sanitation leads to healthier, longer and more productive lives, and breaks the cycle of poverty.  Water and sanitation are not just human rights, they are human necessities.  More information about Global Water Challenge can be found at http://www.globalwaterchallenge.org.

About Live Earth

Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action.  A for-profit company, Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.  More information about Live Earth can be found at http://liveearth.org.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

SOURCE Live Earth