Rich Roll Interviews David and Brett Wilcox

How many 15-year old kids can say they’ve been interviewed by Rich Roll, one of the fittest men on the planet? (Listen to the podcast here.)

Rich Roll 2

As of January 20, 2014, David can say it. David and I had to stop our run at nine miles so we could be on time for our interview with Rich in Thousand Oaks—85 L.A. miles away from our run location on the Santa Ana River Trail.

DSC05686

Rich has a business relationship with someone working at Sideshow Collectibles and he records his Internet podcasts in the Sideshow building. Unless you have a life-size museum quality collectable Darth Vader statue in your living room, you’ve probably never heard of Sideshow Collectibles. Whether you’re teen-agers like David and Olivia or parents of teens, being surrounded by realistic statues and gorgeous posters is a pretty awesome experience.

DSC05670

Our one and a half hour interview with Rich flew by like it was nothing. Maybe that’s because we share similar interests like running and health or maybe it’s because Rich is just plain cool. Not cool because he can complete five Ironmans in eight days, but because he adores his wife and kids and he cares about other people and the environment.

DSC05649

(Thank you, Rich, for the interview and thanks for the inspiring words your shared regarding our run and mission. We really appreciate it!!!)

DSC05648

After we finished the interview, we turned our camera on Rich. I couldn’t help but smile when Rich said he doesn’t know too much about GMOs, then, in three or four minutes, he summarized the bulk of the problems associated with GMOs.

DSC05651

One more point about Rich that, as a mental health and substance abuse counselor, I really appreciate. Not so very long ago, Rich was an active alcoholic. That’s not the part I appreciate. I appreciate that in his book, Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World’s Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself, he openly shares his story so that other people have the opportunity to grow from his growth as he left alcohol behind. But even after Rich had his last drink, he continued with his addiction to the standard American diet until he woke up to the fact that he was on the road to an early demise. Long story short: Rich replaced the junky food with a plant-based diet and his junky lifestyle with feats of endurance that boggle the minds of even serious athletes.

DSC05664

After the interview, we faced death in the eye once again by driving the L.A. freeways back to Mother’s Market in Costa Mesa where Howard Vlieger shared his GMO-related experience as a life-long farmer and researcher.

DSC05654

John Diaz introduced us to the audience. (Wow! John is passionate about the GMO issue!) We said a few words, made new friends and shared some books. Beautiful event!

DSC05675

In summary, our nine mile run, 265 L.A. mile drive, big events, and 16 hours out and about made for a great day and finally ended with much needed sleep.

DSC05681

Running For a GMO Free USA Route

Where exactly does one (or two, in our case) run when Running For a GMO Free USA?

Exactly? We have no idea.

Approximately? Thanks to Google Maps and a few suggestions from knowledgeable friends, we’ve come up with a solid projected route. (Click on this link to see the route exactly as we see it on Google Maps, complete with different views and photos along the way.)

Run Route

We’ll meet at Huntington Beach Pier on January 18th at 11 am. We’ll run the Santa Ana River trail for some 23 miles. A few of the major stops between the West and the East coast include: Corona CA, Yucca Valley CA, Flagstaff AZ, Albuquerque NM, Amarillo TX, Lake Meredith TZ, Borger TX, Wichita KS, Mansfield MO (the home of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, the seed company that is graciously supplying us with seed packets labeled “GMO Free USA”), St. Louis MO (the home of Monsanto, the chemical company that is not so graciously supplying our food with unwanted genetic pollution and toxic chemicals), Springfield IL, Indianapolis IN, Columbus OH, Washington DC, Philadelphia PA, and Atlantic City NJ.

Kris, Olivia, David, Angel and I are flying to Salt Lake City on January 8th where we will prepare for our run. Our two biggest purchases will include a truck and trailer. *We will gratefully accept a suitable donated or loaned truck and/or trailer.* We are also looking for a jogging stroller that we can covert into a dog/Seed Stroller. (At the age of 14, Angel is too old to run with us anymore.)

We will then leave for Huntington Beach on about January 14th. (We are open to GMO Free events in Salt Lake City, Saint George, Las Vegas, and the LA area.)

We plan on running an average of about 18 miles per day, six days per week, reaching the Atlantic Ocean near the end of July. We are truly a Mom and Pop and family operation. If you want to visit or run with us, we’re going to put you to work. The short list of your potential duties includes: PR, fundraiser, logistics, school teacher, shopper, massage therapist, marital and family counselor, storyteller, clothes and dish washer, cleaner, vegetarian chef extraordinaire, mechanic, coach, cheerleader, doctor, nurse, dog groomer, photographer, editor, interviewer, interviewee, blogger, tweeter, giver and receiver of hugs, musician, poet, singer, dancer, and of course, fun-loving friend.

We plan on parking the trailer in one location for two or three or four nights at a time, leaving us free to travel away from the run route as needed.

Because we’re Running For a GMO Free USA, we are actively seeking opportunities to coordinate and schedule events with local GMO Free folks. Some possibilities include: seed swaps and presentations at book stores, schools, churches, libraries, book clubs, etc., potlucks, fundraisers, hikes, group runs, planting, weeding, watering, mucking, harvesting, swimming, and family-friendly partying, etc.

And of course we want to meet with farmers and record their experiences and various stories. If you’re a farmer and you think Roundup is the greatest thing since genetically modified apple pie, we want to meet with you. If your farming operation has been hurt by patented GMOs, lawsuits, and chemical-based agribusiness, we want to meet with you as well.

If you want to stage an event within driving distance of our run route, please give us a call. Kris’ cell phone is our main contact number: 907-752-0447. We’ll do whatever we can to help make it happen.

We’d love to leave several copies of my book, We’re Monsanto: Feeding the World, Lie After Lie, at every event and in every bookstore along the way. Books can be purchased directly from us or, if you’d prefer, you can buy the paperback or electronic version at Amazon or the paperback from Barnes & Noble.

We welcome and are actively seeking media and big-name interviews. (Yes, this includes you, Oprah!)

Our on-line fundraising campaign runs through the end of January. To date, more than 6,400 people have “liked” our campaign page, that’s tons more than any of the other popular Indiegogo Health related campaigns. As much as we love the “likes,” we still need A TON MORE MONEY to help us cover the costs of this run. If you’ve already contributed, WE THANK YOU!!! If you haven’t yet contributed, NOW IS THE TIME!!! If you can contribute $10, please do so. If you can contribute $100, $1000, or $10,000, please do so. Yes, our family-based USA run is a cool thing, but our cause and mission goes way beyond cool! When you donate, you’re donating to protect honeybees, monarch butterflies, song birds, living soil, clean air and water. You’re donating to protect the health and future of our children and life on this planet. THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL!!! DONATE NOW!!!

The tide is turning! People are waking up, but there’s still so much to do! Let’s make 2014 a year a truth and a year of victories. Let’s run together for a GMO Free USA and world!

Subscribe for New Post Notifications

You have successfully subscribed to the newsletter

There was an error while trying to send your request. Please try again.

Running The Country will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing.