Help the Wilcox Family Finish Strong

When David first announced that he wanted to run across the country, Kris and I didn’t take him seriously. How could we? Running 3,000 miles at 20 miles per day, six days a week would take at least six months, not including the gearing up and winding down time before and after the run. In addition, seven or eight months away from our jobs was simply not realistic.

Unless . . .

Unless we cast aside our fears and our doubts and we took a 3,000-mile leap of faith.

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Faith that of the millions of people who favor a GMO Free world, even just a few of them would step forward and show their support for our run and mission.

With the help of our good friend, Owen Kindig, we launched an Indiegogo campaign. And thanks to 132 generous contributors, our campaign brought in $7,500. To be sure, seven point five grand is a lot of money. But unfortunately, we’ve spent more than that amount in health insurance alone since we’ve been on the road. (Maybe the next time we run across the country, we should run for the creation of a reasonable and corruption free health care system!!!)

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In addition, many other people have contributed either through our website or directly to us as we’ve run across the country. And we are grateful to every person and for every contribution made thus far, but as of this date our expenses still far exceed contributions received.

We made it clear before we started our Run for a GMO Free USA that we would run regardless of the amount of contributions donations. And so we have.

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No doubt, 3,000 miles ago, many people doubted our ability and our commitment to the run. No doubt, many held back with their donations because there was no guarantee that we would or could actually complete our run and mission. To be honest, we had the same doubts. We now know like some 300 other people know than that running across the USA is no easy task. And for David, running 3,000 miles as a 15-year old boy shows tenacity and spunk not seen since 15-year old Tobias Cotton completed The Great American Foot Race in 1928.

But the time for doubt has passed. We’ve nearly completed our coast-to-coast run and, along the way, we’ve made every effort to speak the truth whether at events such as the March Against Monsanto in Saint Louis, Missouri, or on the streets, or to the media.

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On July 17th at 9 a.m. we’ll speak once again. This time we will join with like-minded people at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, before running the final 60 miles to the beach at Atlantic City, New Jersey. Join us at The Liberty Bell if you can. Run with us if you can.

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Kris and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary on July 19th, the day David and I plan to jump into the Atlantic City. What a blessing it would be if we could complete this run free of the debt we’ve picked up while pounding the pavement for the past six months.

That blessing is now entirely possibly because Owen has created a second Indiegogo campaign titled Help the Wilcox Family finish strong.

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If you value our run and our mission, take a look at the campaign Owen created. Watch the videos (5 or 6 to date) and, if you feel so moved, then by all means contribute.

Yes, we’re finishing our run on July 19th, but the work will continue. Once we’re back in our home of Sitka, Alaska, I will wrap up my second book in which I expose and refute another 50 of Monsanto’s lies. We will also be working hard producing the documentary DVD based on our run. (The We’re Monsanto books and the documentary are included as perks in the current Indiegogo campaign.) After that, I plan to compile a book of essays written by religious thinkers and leaders from various faiths in which the writers provide theological and religious arguments against GMOs and supportive of natural agricultural systems.

There’s so much yet to do! Please help us finish strong and to continue our work for a GMO Free USA and world. Contribute now.

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Thank you so much!

Wichita Kansas. Half Way On Our Run For a GMO Free USA

Wichita Kansas is famous for the old Chisholm Trail and is known as the Air Capital of the World, but for our family we will always remember it as the halfway point on our Run For a GMO Free USA.

Run Schedule

Even though David and I have pounded the pavement and trails from Huntington Beach, California, to Wichita over the past three months, it’s still hard to believe that we’re actually here. But when we open up the USA map, there it is, Wichita, sitting right smack dab in the center of the USA.

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David’s been talking about needing a new pair of running shoes for a while now. I don’t know exactly when he first brought up the subject. It’s hard to take him too seriously, because we just bought him a new pair a couple of months ago. Let’s see . . . where was that? Oh yeah, we bought him a new pair of shoes back in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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So our conversation back in Texas and Oklahoma has been, “Yep, when we get to Wichita, we’ll stop by a shoe store.”

David did some Internet research and discovered a store by the name of GoRun. He liked the store long before we went there because they’ve got a treadmill with a video so the store employees can analyze your running style.

We arrived at GoRun even before it opened. When Pam arrived with the keys, we followed her in. Pam asked David how long he had owned his shoes. We all answered, “Since Flagstaff.”

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“Since Flagstaff?” she replied in her Scottish accent. “That’s a long ways.”

Kris checked out the distance on her iPhone. “Over 900 miles,” she said.

Pam checked out the soles of David’s shoes. “Yes, a long ways. I’m surprised you made it this far looking at these things.” I’m not sure is she was judging the condition or the smell of the shoes. According to Kris, they’re both pretty bad.

David finally got to jump on the treadmill and ran for 20 or so seconds. Pam played back David’s gait in slow motion. “Slight over-pronation,” she said. That was the same thing we heard from the store employee back in Flagstaff. Pam used that information to fit David in a suitable shoe which turned out to be a Asics GT 2000 2, the latest generation of the shoe that had carried David from Flagstaff to Wichita.

I, on the other hand, just barely bought a new pair of Hokas back in Albuquerque, and even though I’ve probably exceeded the recommended number of miles, I’ve also spent more money than we have to spend, so my wallet stayed in my pocket and my Hokas stayed on my feet and will likely stay there until I have sense enough to buy a new pair.

While we were shopping for shoes, Pam’s co-worker, Zach, pulled up the Boston Marathon on the big screen we had used to analyze David’s gait. We have a personal interest in the run because my brother Rob, and his wife, Stacy, were both running the race. Rob ran Boston last year and, like many other runners, he tells stories of inspiration and love that arose out of the violence and chaos from last year’s bombings.

We were surprised and a bit disappointed to see that Rob wasn’t running a few steps ahead of Meb and Stacy wasn’t leading the pack among the fastest women runners. Oh well, maybe next year.

Anyway, it was fun to stand there watching the marathon and take in the breathtaking beauty of these world class athletes, analyze their strides, admire their courage and athleticism, and cheer them on with millions of other people from around the world.

Next to the treadmill, GoRun has a wall for people to sign their names along with their dates and times on a notable race. For most people, “notable race” means a 5 or 10K, half or full marathon. Not many people have run from coast to American coast. Not many 15-year old runners have run from coast to coast. In fact, as far as we know, David is both the second 15-year old runner and the second youngest person to ever run across the U.S.A. The first, Tobias Cotton, did it in 1928 as a competitor in the first Great American Foot Race. David was so impressed with Tobias that he wrote a blog about him.

Anyway, Zach grabbed a marker so David could add his name to the runners’ wall. If you know David, you know that he is a man of few words and he’s definitely not one to brag about his accomplishments. And if you know David, you will also know that he is easily distracted by what’s going on around him. So there David stood with marker in hand with the nearly impossible task of writing on the wall while the final miles of the Boston marathon were playing out on a large screen in plain view just a few feet away. No easy task!

It took David a while, but the following words are now inscribed among the others on the Runners’ Wall at Go Run:

David Wilcox
Transcontinental
2014 15 years old

Technically we’ve only run half way so far, but—aside from the first day’s run when we ran on little sleep and not the best foods—David has never doubted that we are indeed going to run the distance.

There are still a million things that could sideline us, but none of that matters right now. What matters is that we get up and do what we need to do today. As Jesus sort of said some 2,000 years ago: “Sufficient unto the day are the miles thereof.” And in David’s case, John might have said, “Sufficient unto the day are the miles and schoolwork thereof.” Between running and schooling, David is one very busy boy!!!

We’re not running 3000 miles today. We’re running our 20 or 18 or 25 miles. And we’re running those miles one mile at a time, one step at a time.

Of course Running across the USA is far easier than reclaiming our food supply from chemical based, industrial GMO agriculture. But the same principle applies; we don’t need to do it all today. We just need to focus on the task at hand and get ’er done, one blog at a time, one face to face discussion at a time, one seed packet at a time, one petition at a time, one boycott at a time, one garden at a time, etc.

The work we do makes a difference. Of this I am sure because it was the work of many others who influenced me with my own food choices a couple of decades ago. I’d particularly like to thank and honor John Robbins. His book, Diet for a New America, played a large part in helping me go nearly 100% plant based for a good many years now. I’ve not yet had the honor of meeting John, but I’ve spent dozens of hours listening to his voice on-line both from YouTube and from the first two of his Food Revolution Summits he co-hosts with his son, Ocean.

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John and Ocean will launch their Food Revolution Summit 2014 tomorrow, and unfortunately, I won’t be able to catch the interviews live because there’s just no way to squeeze them into our days as we continue our transcontinental run Eastward.

But you can listen to the summit for us. John always interviews some of the world’s brightest people, but more than ever before, this summit will feature a long list of experts on the subject of GMOs as well as a host of other food related topics.

If you’ve never listened before, take advantage of this free opportunity. And while you’re listening, David and I will keep on Running For a GMO Free USA.

Thanks to the warm and welcoming people of Wichita who are doing all they can to keep GMOs out of their backyards and out of our grocery stores. Thanks to John and Ocean Robbins and so many others who have been working for decades to protect the Earth and our food supply. And thanks especially to you for everything you do!

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