If you happen to be fishing the tidal James on Saturday and you see a really tired-looking guy water skiing past you, give him his space. He's on a mission, and the cause is righteous.

That guy will be either Scott or Phillip Reed, cousins taking part in the first James River Runoff Rundown, an event benefiting the James River Association and, by extension, anyone who enjoys spending time on America's founding river.

On Saturday morning, participants will enter the water at pre-selected sections of the James. Each person or group will traverse that section however they see fit. There are no rules. They can swim, kayak, snorkel, canoe, fish or do all of the above. The Reeds will be water skiing their section - the 99 miles from the falls in Richmond to the Chesapeake Bay. They'd love to have some company to divide up the miles, but as of now, it's just the two of them.

"I don't even know if it's possible," said Reed, an environmental consultant with Dominion. "We might be crazy."

Bill Street, executive director of the James River Association, said the idea for the Runoff Rundown grew out of an event they held last year to coincide with the Jamestown anniversary celebration, where people passed a flag down the length of the river, kind of like the Olympic torch. The group also was inspired by an Appalachian Trail hiker who recently raised money for the JRA through his walk.

Street wondered if they could marry those two things. The result was something like a charity walkathon.

River enthusiasts sign up for different sections of the 340-mile James, from Iron Gate to the Chesapeake Bay, and solicit donations for their efforts. The goal is to raise awareness of the central role of the river in the lives of so many Virginians and raise money for the JRA, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the river's health.

Street said Scott Reed and friends Rob Erda, Harry Byrd, Cheairs Porter and Edward Mullen have been instrumental in putting together the event, coming up with a Web page (www.runoffrundown.com), and drumming up interest in communities up and down the river.

"They were excited to have an event to get involved in that focused on the river but that also supported efforts to clean up the river," Street said. "They really took the ball and started running with it."

As of late last week, the tally of donations was nearing $12,000, and Reed said there are still 18 sections open for anyone to claim. He's hopeful those will fill as the current river runners make a final push for volunteers.

Like with any first-time event, there were "some wild ideas" that never came to fruition, Street said. They contacted Sen. John W. Warner's office to look into whether he could pull some strings with the Navy and get a flyover of the river's entire distance Saturday. That didn't work out, but considering how quickly the event has come together, Street couldn't be happier.

"It's already met our expectations, and we see tremendous potential for the future as this builds and people become more aware of it. It'll take some time catch on, but after we do one, there'll be more and more interest in it."

In the meantime, Scott Reed and his cousin have to figure out how they're going to stay upright on water skis for 99 miles.

"All my buddies are saying that I should be doing squats and going to the gym to prepare," he said with a laugh. "I haven't done that yet, so we'll see. Hopefully, we can recruit some other people so I don't have to water ski 50 miles."