To our surprise it was central station for a man named Steve Knowlton who is running across the country to raise money and awareness for Autism, but also to break the world record for fastest run across the country. The current record is held by Frank Giannino at 46 days eight hours and 36 minutes. Knowlton's goal is to make the run in 45 days, averaging 70 miles per day. Pretty cool!
My week in OR included running, as I am training for my first 5K. I bought new running pants and got some great tips from Christina about taking care of my legs as not to aggravate my shin splints and the pain in the muscles of my calfs. (I didn't give myself enough time to train) One of the things she told me to do was use a rolling pin on my calfs to help break up the lactic acid buildup. It's helped a lot!
As we were getting dressed and ready to leave in the morning I decided, instead of wearing my lounge pants for the long drive I wanted to wear my running pants, because they are super comfy. So I dug them out of my suitcase, already packed in the car. Then during the long drive I kept wishing I had a rolling pin to work on my legs rather than just sitting there. While driving through Fallon we passed a walmart so I made Nate stop to so I could pick up a rolling pin. (quick stop, no on/off ramps, score!) I spent a lot of time rolling my calfs during the next couple hours. Little did I know about Steve up ahead.
So when we came upon Steve, I thought, I have running pants on, my legs are feeling good, I need to run 3 times this week anyway, I have a sweet little someone I love to run for... Why not?! I got out and ran with Steve for 2 miles! It was cool, and he was really kind to let me run with him. That was when I learned he was 10 days into his run (now 11) and trying to break the world record. I learned who he's doing this for, and that in 2010 he ran across country, from Seatle to Key Largo, only that time solo. It took him 100 days. What I didn't know about that run at the time was that he was running for Crohn's disease, which he was diagnosed with at a young age. I learned that he was inspired by another runner, Terry, who made a trip from St. Paul to Atlanta in 75 days at the age of 57. Steve is "pushing 48" (as he put it). We talked about some other stuff, nothing terribly deep, but still it was cool.
His legs are blistered from sunburn and his ankles are swollen and he runs, hoping his body will kick into auto pilot any day now and accept that this is what he's going to do. I hope that for him too. It's crazy to me but in a, "I wish I were that kind of crazy cool" sort of way.I'm grateful to have experienced that. I'm grateful to have spent a few minutes with someone who is an example of dreaming big and achieving those dreams. And while the entire experience wasn't what I'd call life changing, (I only ran 2 miles after all), it was something for me to learn from~ about becoming and doing. And my small, menial tasks, goals and dreams may feel even smaller now, but they are mine, and I can accomplish them, and feel good about that. I have a resolved desire to serve others, even if only in the littlest ways, but hopefully some big ways too.
It made me think of who I am becoming and to whom that matters most. It made me wonder if my goals are aligned with the goals Heavenly Father has for me and if he's happy with what I'm doing with my time on earth. And best of all I know that I'm still young and every minute is fresh, with no mistakes in it yet. Now is the best time to correct my course and to finish goals and make more goals.
It was just a cool experience.
If you want to know more about it you can go to his website and his blog. If you want to donate to Steve's Run for the cause for Autism go here.
