Thursday, May 9, 2013

Dane to Davenport

When I finished the Pacific Coast 350 last year, I was almost immediately struck with the idea  to reach out and do something similar but in a different part of the country. I wanted to be able to speak to even more children about pursuing their dreams, ignoring the impossible and doing what I can to help fight the obesity epidemic in America.

One of the truly fun things about being one of the many runners who has traversed great distances on foot is being able to look at a map and think: "Yeah, I can run there from here." Having been given a rather unique name, I have know about the existence of Dane,Wisconsin for quite some time.  But how I would go about incorporating it into some sort of run to be more than just something to say I had either been there or run from there was another question.

That's where the Quad Cities Marathon comes in.  Having intimately worked with the race on numerous occasions, I am always looking for a reason to go back. Now I have it.

So from September 18th-20th, I will run approximately 165 miles from Dane, WI to Davenport, IA, stopping along the way to speak to schoolchildren, organizations and runners. I hope to make them think about what they feel are their limitations and then throwing any of those ideas out the door. While I have run further than this without stopping, I knew a one shot deal would not create the same opportunities to meet with as many people as possible.

As such, I devised the plan to do 55 miles a day for three straight days, ending at the Quad Cities (Davenport) on race weekend. Each day of running will contain at least one special stop somewhere along the route to spread my message. After finishing the run and presenting at both the expo and the pre-race dinner, I will take part in the race on Sunday, capping off a run across one of the more beautiful portions of mid-western America.

All told, it will be another opportunity for me to personally be inspired by this country and its inhabitants, all while I hope to do the same for those I meet and come across.

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