As far as I know, no father and son team has ever run across America together. David and I want to change that. Of course, I don’t want to hold David back, so I’ve got one beautiful and busy year to get ready. Sitka ain’t much for roads, but that’s okay, neither am I. I’m a trail runner and Sitka is a trail runner’s paradise. In the past four days, I’ve run three runs: Indian River Falls, Beaver Lake, and Picnic Rock, for a total of 30 hilly miles. That’s not as much as we’ll be running when we cross the U.S.A., but it’s a good start. And it was done on great trails with great company, including, Jeff, Drew, Els, Russell, David, and Angel. (Thank you all!)
Photographers dream of taking pictures in places as beautiful as Sitka’s trails. I’m lucky enough to run those trails every chance I get. I snapped the following photos on the Indian River and Beaver Lake runs.
A few years ago I surfed onto a cool Internet site that told the story of Jasmine “Jazzy” Jordan, the 17-year old girl who is one of the youngest people to ever run across America. (To the best of Google’s knowledge, Louis Michael Figueroa is the youngest, crossing in 1982 at the age of 16.) David likes to run so I showed him the site.
“I want to do that,” he said. “I want to run across America.”
Jazzy Jasmine runs the country.
Fun thought! But real life pushed that thought aside. You know: work, school, homework, band, dance, scouts, dinner, dishes, etc.
But David didn’t forget the dream. A while back, he asked, “Dad, are we gonna run across America?”
4th of July (many years ago)
Hmmmmmm. What do you say to your son when he looks you in the eye and asks you a question like that?
“No?”
“I’d sure like to, but . . .?”
“It’s good to dream . . .?”
Wouldn’t it be awesome to rise above the norm of real life and say, “Yes, David! Let’s make it happen!”
Just saying those words out loud: “Yes, David! Let’s make it happen!” wakes me up, shakes me up, and lights a fire in my heart.
Glad we’re not crossing the country liks this!
Imagine! Being the youngest person to run across America. Not only that. Imagine making the actual run! Imagine being the only father and son team to make this run! What an epic adventure! I’m excited that David’s got a mind and imagination that dreams big dreams, and he’s got heart, lungs, guts, and feet to bring those dreams to life.
David has lit a fire in my heart and under my feet. I want to run with him! Now we’ve got to take that fire to family and friends (we’ve got several billion) and light up their hearts and imaginations with David’s dream. And we’ve got to partner with corporate sponsors who will see the amazing value of aligning their companies and brands with David’s run.
I have full confidence that thousands of people and numerous corporate sponsors will be more than happy to join our team and help David make this epic run, and help him achieve his dream of being the youngest person to run the U.S.A.
So the count down is on. David turns 16 on November 13, 2014. If we’re going to complete David’s run before he turns 16, we’ve got to start the run in January, 2014. That gives us just over a year to prepare, train, and fundraise.
Running Sitka
We’re now preparing to host a successful crowdfunding campaign with indiegogo.com. Of course people only contribute to projects they believe in. I might be biased, but being the youngest person to run the USA is just plain cool! Who wouldn’t want to be a part of such a cool concept? Another big part of the success of crowdfunding is based on the perks offered. We’ve thought of endless possibilities: cool Running The Country swag like T-shirts, digital or real posters of David posing in front of a map of the U.S.A., etc. And then there’s the bigger stuff like the books and DVD that will definitely come from this run. I personally think one of the best perks would be the chance to run for a day (or bike if running’s not your thing) next to David on a scenic hunk of U.S.A. somewhere between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Imagine saying to people, “I was there. I ran with David.”
Exciting stuff! Real life, you’ve been good to us, but it’s time to amp it up. Time to light a fire. Time to walk into the phone booth like Clark Kent and time to dash out like Super Man.
“Yes, David! Let’s make it happen.”
Let’s put together a team of people who are just as fired-up as we are to make this run with you.
You’re not running the country alone. You’ve got a huge support team. And we’re going to run the country together.
Let’s run!
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