Day 29 - Underway

Having seriously fuelled up yesterday I'm now ready for a good day on the road here in Utah. Today's miles are in memory of William "Bill" Saavedra. The dedication from his son Joey is as follows:

"A great soldier, a great man, and a great Father. He was taken from this earth after a long struggle with Lymphoma and is survived by two sons, two brothers, five sisters, his father and mother and many other friends and relatives for whom miss him more than words can say.

My father served his country in the U.S Army for more than 22 years. By the time of his passing, he had served overseas during the Iraq War of 2003 (Operation Iraqi Freedom), and also the first Iraqi conflict of 1990/91 (Operation Desert Storm). He was decorated with many awards and medals, including the Bronze Star.".

Day 27 - Underway

Day 27 is underway in boiling hot conditions and up at 6277 ft. If all goes well, I will break through the 800 mile barrier today. 

Today's miles are dedicated by Fred and Ursula Darlington to the memory of Angelika Darlington - "In memory of a very special Mother who never gave up and whose strength of character is an inspiration to me".

Miles in memory

Running 3100 miles across the USA is a massive undertaking. Just like my 2007 run from John O'Groats to Lands End, I'll be running in memory of lost family members such as my parents Margery and Terry and my brother David. I don't want the dedication to lost loved ones to stop there, however.

I want to open up this event to as many people as I can. Apart from the obvious effects of raising 10's of thousands of pounds for the 2 charities, it is my sincere hope that this run will have as far reaching an effect as possible and will serve to inspire and to give hope and comfort to as many people as possible.

I know from the 1000's of emails I've received over the last few years, just how much the run in 2007 and the cause I was running for meant to all of those people who got in touch. It soon became apparent that for every 1 runner like me, there are thousands of stories of great loss but usually great inspiration also.

With that in mind, it is my intention to dedicate 3000 miles of the run from California to New York to the memory of lost loved ones. These people will be in my thoughts as I run each mile and I will most certainly hope to draw on the dedications left for inspiration as well as running in their memory. At the start of each day, in the USA, I will publish on this website who I'm running in memory of. I will also include a photo and the dedication in a series of short video clips. The first of which can be viewed below.

If you would like to dedicate a mile to the memory of a lost loved one then please complete this form. An amount, at your discretion, can be paid via justgiving.com or by cheque direct to the charities. Details of how to pay are shown after the form has been completed. Any donation per mile would be gratefully received, be it £2 or £10. The important thing is that we can create a lasting memorial to those people who we love that are sadly no longer with us.