Running For a GMO Free USA Schedule

After being on the road for over two weeks,we are excited to–finally!!!–announce our run schedule. We are now fairly confident that–knock on wood–we can maintain a 20 miles/day, 6 days/week running schedule from now forward. If–knock on some more wood–that turns out to be true, then the following schedule should be fairly accurate. Keep in mind that we can travel off the run path–north, south, forward or backward in our trusty 1998 Ford truck to participate in GMO Free events as needed. We are available for GMO Free presentations, book signings, seed swaps, pot lucks, etc. We welcome opportunities to speak with the media, and we are actively seeking opportunities to interview farmers, scientists, etc. who have strong GMO related positions, whatever those positions might be. We love vegetarian home cooked meals and welcome the opportunity to stay with people when possible. We regret that we can’t meet with everyone, but we look forward to meeting with as many people as possible as we run for a GMO Free USA.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our run and mission. If you feel inspired to make a tax-deductible donation, please do so here. Thank you so much!

Run Schedule

Huntington Beach, CA, Jan 18, 0 miles

Riverside, CA, Jan 23, 48 miles

Twentynine Palms, CA, Feb 1, 144 miles

Needles, CA, Feb 8, 273 miles

Kingman, AZ, Feb 11, 320 miles

Flagstaff, AZ, Feb 21, 487 miles

Gallup, NM, Mar 3, 673 miles

Albuquerque, NM, Mar 12, 821 miles

Tucumcari, NM, Mar 24, 1021 miles

Amarillo, TX, Mar 31, 1148 miles

Borger, TX, Apr 3, 1197 miles

Wichita, KS, Apr 22, 1523 miles

Mansfield, MO, May 9, 1810 miles

St. Louis, MO, May 20, 2011 miles

Springfield, IL, May 26, 2106 miles

Indianapolis, IN, Jun 6, 2298 miles

Columbus, OH, Jun 16, 2466 miles

Washington DC, Jul 10, 2864 miles

Philadelphia, PA, Jul 18, 3000 miles

Atlantic City, NJ, Jul 21, 3061 miles

Sweaty, Tired, Broke and Having a Blast as We Run For a GMO Free USA

We started our Run For a GMO Free USA just over a week ago at Huntington Beach Pier. Thanks to everyone who showed up, introduced yourselves and cheered us on.

DSC05597(David and I are joined by GMO Free Girl Scout cookie crusader, Alicia Serratos, and the ever passionate activist, John Diaz.)

Since that time, Kris and I keep repeating the phrase, “Well, it’s a learning experience.” That’s because virtually everything we’re doing is a first time experience.

David and I have never run 18 miles a day . . . day after day. And who knows if I’m going to be able to keep up with David.

DSC01312Kris and I have never owned a truck and trailer. If you saw us trying to back up the trailer, you’d call the police to report our mid-day DUIs! And speaking of trailers, did it take anyone else 3 days to figure out how to get hot water out of the faucet on their maiden trailer voyage?

I’ve never been so tired at the end of yet another big mileage, big activity day that I skipped the shower (yes, cold) and just crashed onto the bed.

David and I have never been interviewed by a super athlete like Rich Roll.

And believe it or not, I’ve never owned a cell phone before . . . until now. Let alone a top-of-the-line sucky sounding Samsung. So sucky, in fact, that I had to reschedule a radio interview because Kris, David, Olivia and their non-sucky phones weren’t available at the interview time.

IMG_7201(Kathleen Hallal with Moms Across America joins Kris and Brett for a photo.)

Needless to say, Kris and I have never walked away from our jobs to help one of our kids—David— fulfill his dream to run across the USA.

And we’ve never committed ourselves fully to the GMO issue until now, trusting that like-minded people—many of whom we may never meet—will share of their means because they’re inspired by our run and mission, or more likely, they recognize just how desperately we need the cash.

IMG_7207

We’re meeting with and talking to people everyday. On Saturday’s run to Banning, California, David and I stopped at a strawberry stand at the side of the road. The farmers—South Koreans—didn’t speak much English and at first they had no idea what GMOs stand for. But after they googled GMOs on their phones, they quickly understood. They gave us thumbs up and smiles in support of our run and mission.

Later that evening, long after dark, after we had finally completed the day’s run, we met a guy named Michael in a store parking lot. He told us that he manages an orange grove. From the way he spoke it was obvious he loved that grove. And he hated watching honey bees do the dizzy dance before dying the last time the grove owner sprayed the grove with RoundUp. He’s sick to his stomach that the owner is talking about spraying the place again to kill off the ground cover. I passed along a DVD copy of Howard Vlieger’s presentation regarding GMOs, RoundUp, inflamed pig intestines, etc.

IMG_7167(This guy’s face reminds me of GMO-fed pig intestines!)

I also gave him a couple of copies of my book, We’re Monsanto: Feeding the World, Lie After Lie. He’s hopeful that the DVD and the book will persuade the orange grove owner to show a little more love to her orange trees, soil and the environment.

Running everyday is the easy part of this experience. Kris and Olivia have the much harder job making sure that a million different details are taken care of while David and I are pounding the pavement. If Kris were getting paid for her work, she’d clock in 16-hour days for at least three different people.

IMG_7196(Life-time farmer Howard Vlieger joins David for a photo.)

Yes, our run is amazing and our mission is crucial. And we’ve sacrificed a ton to make it happen, including our full-time jobs. Our Indiegogo campaign is drawing to a close on January 31st. It will take a small miracle to reach our campaign goal. But we’re used to miracles. We’ve experienced miracles everyday in connection with our run and mission. And we’ve got faith that many miracles will yet appear as we run our way across the country. We’re asking you to be a part of another much-needed miracle right now. Join us! Run with us now by contributing to our fundraising campaign.

Let’s run together for a GMO Free USA!

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