Running Across the Country

Welcome to Sullivan's Island!
Funny thing happened to me as I was out for my long run Saturday afternoon…

I ran into someone who was finishing the last part of her “across the country” run!

No! Really!!!  

I knew that Zoe (Zoe Goes Running) was running across the country and she would be the youngest female (23 years old) to do it unsupported (she was pushing a baby stroller the whole way).  I also knew that she was stopping at a Boys and Girls Club in Downtown Charleston and then finishing her run on Sullivan’s Island.

Sullivan’s Island?!  I run there all the time!



When I finally made it out for my run and was around the area I thought she might be traveling, it was late in the afternoon and I figured she had already finished.  I went on with my run and ran over to Sullivan’s Island and was heading back over the Ben Sawyer Bridge when I saw a group of people coming towards me.  As soon as I saw the baby stroller I knew it was her.  Her family was running with her and looked like they could not be more proud.

I had already been running for a while and was low on water, but how many chances do you get to run with someone that is finishing a run across the USA?  I decided to turn around and run with the group back to Sullivan’s Island and the beach.

I talked with Zoe as she ran.  Amazingly, she was injury free and said she felt great.  She said she had run at about an 11 minute pace (sometimes faster) for most of the time.  She had gone through the South (unlike Dean K who just finished his cross country run this week too) and stayed with friends, family, family friends and friends of family (you get it).  She had done all of this to raise money and awareness for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America!

After talking with her for a few minutes I told her I was proud of her.  Isn’t that strange?  I don’t really know her (she’s just a kid from Maine), but I was truly proud of her.  I saw the pride in the eyes of her father and the relief on the face of her mother and it made me think of my own awesome son and how I would feel.

Her dad even left this message on her blog:

"My Dearest Zoë…you have chased a dream and caught it ! I have so much to say and look forward to kicking back with you and talking for hours …I hope you will find another dream to chase , something tells me you will !!
I will miss reading your blog and the places it took me , the
 people it introduced me to , the tastes of the journey , the mountains we all climbed together , the bridges and water towers that greeted us along the way …I’ll long remember the hills of California , the deserts of Arizona , the high and low plains of New Mexico , the Texas dust storms , the ever changing green slopes of Arkansas , the Alabama Spring , the sweet winds of Mississippi , the watermelons of Georgia and the South Carolina finish…forever remembered will be your smiling face , your great big loving heart and the successful desire to make the lives of so many Boys and Girls better .
Dream on …..
I love you …always have and always will . Dad xoxox"
Looks like I was teaching a class :)
How cool is that?

The group stopped at the Sullivan’s Island welcome sign and took pictures.  I ended up taking a bunch of pictures for them so the whole family could be together in at least a few shots.

We started back up and went passed Dunleavy’s Bar and to the beach.  Zoe ran straight to the Atlantic Ocean and dove in and so did her family and friends!  People were cheering as they found out what she had just done.  A lot of people were in shock and could not believe their luck in being at that spot at that very moment (I knew how they felt).  I stood there watching them for a few minutes and then headed back home (I ended up running 20 miles total).  It was truly an amazing experience…

And then I got home and saw a note on the door from my wife (uh oh)…

She and my son had been driving around looking for me for over an hour!  Ugh…  I had forgotten to tell her which way I was going or how long I would be running.  I called her on her cell phone and she was happy I was okay, but that would be the last words she said to me for awhile (well, I deserved it)…

It did give me some time to reflect on the day though.  Yes... that’s what it did.  It gave me time to reflect J


Donate to the Boys and Girls Club Here

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