Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 75

Here's a link to listen to this week's episode.

Guest: Cameron Balser @camerondeanbalser

Show Notes: 

Cameron Balser ⁠RAN AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Sorry, the all-caps seemed necessary. 11,170 miles in 294 days. That's ~40 miles PER DAY. I'm simply in awe of Cam and his attitude towards life and you HAVE to listen to this.

During this episode sponsored by ⁠Athlete Bouquets⁠, we talk about:

• How being called Forrest Gump doesn’t bother Cam
• The fact that Cam grew up in the “Only Swayzee in the World”
• Finding running in junior high and learning it was genuinely something he loved to do
• His sisters, his twin, Chantelle, and younger sister, Kayla, and how they all ended up in the same grade in high school
• The last minute full ride that changed his life plans from joining the Air Force to running in college in Kansas
• How he worked 80 hour weeks packing chips on a line and it showed him money definitely isn’t the key to happiness
• The role mental health has played in his life and his time in an inpatient and outpatient program
• How he got into ultramarathons by creating his own in his hometown - a ten mile loop ten times in the middle of February 🤯
• Finding ⁠MTC⁠ and sparking their interest after he proved what he could do
• ⁠The run AROUND the USA ⁠and how it happened
• What he packed for a 10 month run around the country
• The elements during his trip - lowest was 13 degrees and the highest was 97 degrees
• The biggest challenges he faced out on the road
• How his team and family would send him stuff while he was out running
• When a guy gave him $1,000 when he was in Florida
• What wildlife he encountered - and the one that scared him at night
• ⁠The Speed Project and film, Ultra: A Team Sport ⁠
• What he wants to do in the future

Support Cam by:

• ⁠Following him on Instagram⁠
• Sharing his story
• ⁠Buying merch or make a Venmo donation ⁠
• ⁠Watching the Ultra film

Episode Transcript

0:00

Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones with Allie Brett Knocker.

Incredible stories and tales of triumphs with everyday people achieving their goals and fitness.

This podcast brought to you by Athlete Bouquets.

Celebrate finish lines and milestones of the people that you love by visiting athletebouquets.com.

0:22

Hello and welcome.

This is Allie Brett Knocker and we are on episode 75.

I've got such an incredible guest for you today.

But before I introduce him, I wanted to give you a quick Ragnar update.

So if you're new here, I just did a Ragnar a Ragnar road race up in Michigan.

0:41

And if you're not familiar with Ragnar, it is a relay event, 200 ish miles.

In this case, 12 women were on my team.

We had two vans of six.

Everybody ran three times and we did it in about 31 hours.

So it was such a wonderful adventure.

1:00

I would do it again.

I have a lot of thoughts on what I would do differently, like what to pack, what not to pack, all the things, how I would decorate and really get into it a little bit more if I had the chance.

And I'm going to write a recap.

I'm trying.

1:15

It's hard to remember.

It was such a blur and it was such a long and amazing weekend.

So stay tuned for that if you're interested.

But this week, I am so thrilled to introduce you to the Cameron Balzer.

You can find him on Instagram at Cameron Dean Balzer BALSER.

1:36

And he just ran around the United States of America in the last 10 months, no big deal.

And I was introduced to him through the Mishanga Misha Track Club.

He is an athlete for them on their team.

I recently interviewed TJ Daly who is the founder of that.

1:52

My friend Christy D is the one who made me aware of what Cameron was doing and suggested that I have him on.

I did message back and forth with Cam, I think once or twice while he was on the road and finally got a chance to meet him in person now that he is home living in Kokomo, which is close to Indianapolis and close to Carmel where I live.

2:15

So it was an honor to meet Cam and have a chance to interview him because I just know he's going places.

He is going to change the world.

And I think once you listen to this interview, you're going to agree with me.

So he is actually this weekend, his twin sister Chantelle is getting married.

2:34

So I hope that if you're listening, Chantelle, you've had a wonderful wedding weekend already and congratulations.

And if you want to support Cameron you I will put all the links and everything you need in the show notes.

Be sure to go on and buy merch.

2:51

If you're interested, you can Venmo Cam donations to support future endeavors of his, which you will hear about on this interview.

But we talked about everything.

I tried to fit as much into this 90 minutes as I possibly could.

As you'll hear me say, I could have talked to Cameron literally all day.

3:09

So I really hope you enjoy this very inspiring episode with Cameron Balzer.

All right, Cameron Balzer, welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones.

Finally, I'm so happy you're here.

Me.

Too.

And I'm so happy we are finally recording, yes, with some technical difficulties this morning, yes.

3:31

And I feel like I wish we would have been recording this whole time.

I've already gotten to chat with you because there's so much good stuff we get to talk about today.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this conversation.

So for people who don't know Cam and did I say your last name right, Balser?

3:46

Yeah, you did.

Actually say.

It right, I feel like what are what are people who say?

Bowser.

I get a Bowser a lot or I don't know, jokes.

Different jokes in school so.

Oh right.

Got it.

I can see that.

4:02

OK, so now I lost my train of thought because I'm thinking about the nicknames you probably had growing up.

But so for anybody who doesn't know Cam, he ran around the perimeter of the United States of America.

Is it weird to like think that you did that?

Yeah.

I mean, it's, you know, now it's almost so crazy that it seems like a dream, you know, I mean, when I think about it too, it was so extreme to do something like that.

4:26

And it's just like it does.

It seems really surreal that, you know, I went out there and did something like that.

Yeah, it just seems to, yeah, for me, somebody who's run a marathon, the furthest distance that I've run, and I just did a Ragnar relay race, which is 200 miles split up among 12 people.

4:48

And then I just think, OK.

And then Cameron ran an average of just over 40 miles a day for like over 200 days, like 10 months.

Just just wild to me.

So, well, congratulations for that incredible achievement.

5:05

Thank you.

You're welcome.

And for anybody who's never seen you and what you look like, you have long hair and a beard.

And I've heard people call you like Forrest Gump because how could they not?

Yeah.

And I, I mean, I, I loved it.

Some people were like, did that bother you?

5:20

I was like, no, because I mean, if you see the movie, like he's just generally just a beautiful character and loves unconditionally.

And that's, you know, the kind of life I want to live.

Yeah, I that's probably one of my favorite movies of all time.

Me too, yeah.

So I would also not take offense to being being called that.

5:37

So let's just let people get to know you and your background a little bit first before we get into the nitty gritty of what you've been doing and what you're still doing.

You grew up in the only Swayze in the world.

Is it?

5:52

Do you think it's fine?

I know that because I totally have driven by it and through it.

Going to Lake Wawasee in Syracuse IN.

So it's about 2 1/2 hours north of Indy.

For anyone who's from this area, Swayze's up there in the middle of nowhere.

6:07

It's like less than 1000 people.

Oh yeah.

I mean, when you go through it, it's literally, I think it might take a minute or so like that.

Like it's it's a tiny little town.

How do they know they're the only Swayze in the world?

That's just such a funny thing, They.

Said.

I think back then it would have been harder, but I think now with all the technology we have, I'm sure there's got to be something out there because when I ran across the country, there's so many of these names that we use over and over and over and over again.

6:34

Right, Yeah, that is funny to think about and like how the heck people name things.

But anyway, so it's small town.

That's how you met TJ Daly and some others, actually, TJ.

Daily and them I met a lot later in my life like I was outside I was outside of high school and there was a mutual friend and yeah just it was it's crazy when you how it worked out and now thinking about it, but yeah, it really worked out from us meeting one another so.

7:04

Yeah, we'll get to that.

I forgot I lumped you all together because I know that he's from.

Yeah, he's from part of the area.

I mean, he's from Grant County, so I mean, I'm from Grant County.

So when you grow up, you realize the world's a lot smaller than what you do, you think?

Right, which is wild.

7:21

And you started running when you were in junior high?

Junior high, yeah, I, I was playing football and it just wasn't the thing that really, I guess spoke to my heart and had a coach that was in 8th grade, My sisters were running and, you know, I asked if I wanted to give a shot.

And you know, very first couple practices and races, I just, it was something that I just was reassured that was something I really genuinely love to do so.

7:45

That's cool.

So you have.

So you have a twin sister, which blows my mind.

I had no idea.

Yeah.

Like I knew you had a sister.

Then I'm like, she's your twin.

Yeah.

Yeah, I have a twin sister.

She's 22 minutes older than me so.

I'm a little younger brother.

And then I have a younger sister.

Well, Chantelle's my twin, Kayla's my younger sister, which we were born on February 13th.

8:05

She was born a year later on February 19th.

So we were basically, we, we all went, we actually, we at some point, me and Chantelle got held back.

So we actually spent the whole high school and well, all the way through grade school, middle school, high school together.

8:22

So we were all locker room buddies.

So yeah.

And it was a cool thing to like I didn't have a brother.

So I kind of, I got a real view and like, you know what it is like to have a sister and just be with, I mean, with my mom and my sisters just to be around women.

8:38

So I kind of grew up in a whole different set.

I'm very emotional.

As a result.

Yeah.

Yeah, and what's your mom's name?

Paula.

Paula, I I just loved when.

Well, we'll get to the film and all of that later, but I just love your mom.

Yeah.

And so that's crazy that you guys are in the same grade at one point, like in high school.

8:56

No.

Did that confuse the hell out of people?

No, not really.

But it was kind of crazy that, you know, to be known as the Balzers because even my like, when I grew up, everybody came to my house when I was in high school and even in college, it was just a place to be.

So it was just, yeah, it was, I don't know.

9:13

And then you have, you know, I have like, my friends, their friends.

And what's crazy is, as I was telling you, my twins getting married this weekend, and to be able to see all those people, it's, yeah, it's kind of crazy.

That's really cool.

Wow.

And so do you like the guy she's marrying?

9:30

Well, you have to.

You have to say yes.

Yeah, I love.

That's a little shit.

Well, that's good.

What's crazy is like he was on my cross country tomb.

I, I knew him before he started dating my twin.

So I got, we were best friends before.

So like we are really.

Yeah.

He ran high school cross country.

9:46

And if you run with somebody or do any sort sports and you, you're having those really hard practices, you really get to see someone broke down from the ego and it's just those and you see that multiple times.

You really get to know people.

So yeah, I know he's such a wonderful person.

10:03

It's it's crazy how everything just worked out and just super stoked to share a beautiful experience with them.

So.

That's really cool.

Do either Chantelle or Kayla, do they run?

Actually, they don't run anywhere like I do.

10:19

Well, yeah, Kayla doesn't run.

Chantelle does a little bit of running.

I know she's recently her and her fiance has been running a little bit more, but nothing.

I definitely run, probably for all my immediate family and more than that.

I feel like you run enough for like the whole running community in Indiana.

10:37

Yes, yeah, yeah, the entire state.

Yeah, it was definitely something that, yeah, I'm very a lot more passionate than my family is.

Yeah.

And So what about your parents, your mom?

Like I mean.

My mom wasn't she, she wasn't runner.

10:54

She was her valedictorian.

She went.

She was in Ohio.

I'm trying to think Cambridge.

OH, and then my dad actually he did run.

So he ran in junior high in high school and kind of, it was kind of helped me when I was younger because obviously I was wanting to run faster in my dad's times.

11:13

Once, once I got to high school, which was crazy, is like, I think my first race, I end up running faster than him throughout his like four years.

So I he was like, wow, this is something, you know, something you should definitely look into so.

Like you could be really good at that.

11:29

Yeah, I think, yeah, 1730s was like one of my first five KS when I was in high school, so it was a decent time for a freshman coming in so.

Yeah.

And then in high school, did you go to state or anything?

Like that actually, I think, I don't know, it's been so long since I've been out of the Grant County area, but I think I was the one of the only people to go to cross country all four years, track and indoor track.

11:54

So I went all freshman year, sophomore in all sports.

So yeah, but Indiana's really tough like it.

I mean, I, I placed a couple of times, but it's a, it's a very competitive state to run in.

Yeah, and how, how old are you?

12:12

33.

So what year would you have graduated high school?

2010.

OK, I was 04, so I'm 38.

OK.

So we wouldn't have.

Yeah, we were a little bit too far apart to be like in high school at the same time.

Yeah, but.

I would, yeah.

Yeah, I guess, yeah.

Where did you go to undergrad?

12:28

Let's see, OK, I had two schools, had some things, well right when I got out of high school actually I was going to join the Air Force, but last minute Cali Community College out in Kansas, Arkansas City, KS had a coach, Vince Degrado.

12:44

He reached out to me and was a junior college and offered me.

Basically got a full ride out there and last minute went out there and had my parents drive me out there and drop me off.

So I was out there for like maybe a semester a year, and then I came back home.

There's some personal home stuff that was going on that I had to come home to.

13:03

But yeah, I actually though when I was out there in Kansas, I was probably one of my craziest.

Like I was it was just I was really in tune with my running.

We end up winning nationals as as a team, both boys and girls.

And then we won nationals as the half marathon.

13:19

They do a half marathon after the cross country nationals and we end up winning that.

So yeah, yeah.

It was crazy.

Yeah.

We were the only.

Yeah, actually we just got inducted to the Hall of Fame, I think last week.

So yeah, yeah, it is crazy.

So that's a wild.

Wait, say the name of the school.

13:34

Again, Cali Community College, Cali.

Community College, OK.

Yeah, 'cause I ever end up running like a 109 1/2 like that year and I end up running, yeah, 20, like low 20 fours in the 8K.

So yeah, it was, it was, yeah.

But yeah, it's crazy because I had a really good coach in high school that knew like, if this is something you want to do, I want to save you now.

13:58

And you know, I was only running 3035 miles in high school and then I jumped up to 110.

So I had that all that improvement and it really showed what the miles.

I didn't know I could handle those miles.

And now I really know I can run those miles.

Yeah, well, yeah.

So, and that's weekly miles for people who might not understand and so for the the nationals, so Community College so.

14:22

That's what you like it.

Yeah, you, I mean, if you if you're putting in ranking, which I hardly do, I once I don't know, I've been out of college, I don't look at that anymore.

Like, you know, D1 and all that.

They're probably ranked the like they're I guess they'd be ranked the lowest to the easiest one to probably get into, but probably has the most competitive people because if you're like looking at if people are come from overseas over you're a little bit older, you can't get into D1.

14:50

I mean, I think we had a guy that won nationals that year.

I mean it was like low 20 threes in the AK, which is unreal.

I mean, I think he end up yeah, placing I think, yeah, end up placing at some point in the Olympics.

15:07

So yeah, we had some like, I mean, we had a guy go one O 3 in the the half marathon.

So I mean, that's quick and JUCO.

But, well, and there's got to be, I don't know, like more community colleges, yeah, in the in the country than there are just like D1 schools, obviously.

15:23

And a lot of those are made-up with a lot of athletes.

Yeah, I mean when.

You get a ride, a full ride.

Yeah, When I was when I went to Kansas, it was just athletes, that's all.

That's all the school was.

It was kind of wild to.

Yeah, yeah.

And what so did you like party at all in college?

15:41

Honestly, that wasn't until like later until I, I came back.

But you know, when I went out there, my obviously I had, I had fun in the summer because I had no clue I was going to go out there and run.

So that was fun trying to get in shape, but it happened so quickly.

15:57

But yeah, no, when I was out there, there was something that I don't know, it was almost like my run.

I was like, I, I was so focused and so passionate about what I was doing.

It I, that wasn't, it wasn't even my radar to do that.

So.

What made you want to join the Air Force?

16:16

My dad was in it, OK.

And I don't know, when you're a kid and you're 18, I mean, still I'm like, I don't when people ask me what what do.

You want to do with your life.

Yeah, I'm like, you're going to consistently, you know, you're going to consistently try to figure that out.

You know, you're always going to want more life once more.

16:33

But yeah, that it was kind of just, I didn't know what.

And I only went there to run because I got a full ride.

If I wouldn't have got a full ride I wouldn't want, I would have went.

I didn't know what I wanted to do in high school and I didn't want to be a kid that, you know, kept changing my major, kept changing my major.

16:50

And then like here and now I'm $80,000 in debt and I'm trying to buy a house and all that.

Like I didn't want to be stuck, right?

I don't blame.

You so you know it's just, but things work out the way they do so.

It is kind of wild just to think about how society, how as an 18 year old you're supposed to like, pick a path.

17:09

Yeah, well, do you have people telling you what to do, even though those are the people that don't even know what they're doing?

Yeah.

So it's like.

You just really have to really focus on what you're passionate about and what seems true to you, because if you're not authentically you, that's when you get depressed and you just start.

17:25

Yeah.

Yep.

Yeah, I've been, I've been there.

Especially like, I don't know, growing up, I just always thought my parents were in software and I always thought that that's like the path I would take.

And so for so long, that's what I like.

I kind of forced myself down that path and I enjoyed it to an extent for a lot of time.

17:43

But then I just, I just knew that that it just all of a sudden what I thought I was supposed to be, I just knew wasn't what I was going to be.

And then you're like, well, now what?

Right.

So.

Yeah, because if you have any inclination that this isn't the right thing to do, it is.

It's something to look at.

17:59

Like I know with all of my jobs I've had before, I remember working at a factory and someone would be like, oh, you know, I hate this so much.

I don't want to be.

I'm like, you don't like I was break it.

I was a breaker there.

I was like, you know, you don't have to be here.

Like if you hate this this much and it's bothering you, you don't have to do this.

18:16

What's a breaker?

Like for lunch, like break you like because I was working at freeway so I was working on a line.

So you basically packed chips for 12 hours a day.

So someone would you have 30.

If you're working 12 hours, you have 230 minute breaks and that 15 minute break.

18:32

So yeah, someone would take basically you go on lunch and then they're doing whatever you're doing for that amount of time, so.

OK.

I'm kind of curious about your jobs now.

Yeah, I've had, I've had so many different jobs.

But I told people you got to in order to find what you want to do, you got to do what you don't want to do.

18:48

Which is like pack chips for that long.

Like what?

So what did that try to help people visualize what that was like?

Oh, I mean, I've worked 80 hour weeks basically the two years I worked there.

And I knew, I mean, I knew going in there the overtime was bad, but it just never got any better.

19:06

And it was a easy lesson that money was not the key to be happy.

I've learned that I've made really good money there, but it was absolutely just depressing, it sounds.

Horrible.

Like do you?

Will you eat those types of chips anymore?

19:23

I just, I won't eat.

I just, I know you're a product of what you eat.

And I, I eat as healthy as I can.

Yeah.

Yeah, did you?

So did you like literally scoop them off of the line into a bag?

Oh no, no, they it's all like they might have, they might have done that.

19:40

I will say I will hardly ever eat a chip that's not out of the oven because it's like you'd be able to like they would come right out the oven onto this like Allen thing and you would be able to test them and they having a warm Dorito.

There's nothing like it.

Oh man.

19:56

Like it's fresh crunch.

Like, yeah, there's something about that.

Yeah, it's like.

Put them in the bag, eat some.

Yeah.

But then you realize, like, what they're putting in the, yeah, you know, food colors and all that.

And you're like, wow, yeah, OK.

But that's like any food place you work at.

You almost wish you didn't work there because you know you probably can't eat there again.

20:13

Yeah, right.

So what were some of the other jobs that you had?

Man, I've been, I've worked at a gas station, total seed.

I worked in Tipton, worked at a farm and I literally did everything.

And that was, man, I couldn't, it's crazy what they, yeah, they had to do when it's like time for harvest and all that.

20:35

It's kind of, it's kind of wild.

Let me try to think.

We're just talking about that.

Well, I, my last job was, I worked at the Grant County YMCA in Marion.

So, yeah, I heard you talk about that.

I did a little bit of everything there.

And yeah, I was just, I know I was happy where I was at was, yeah, it was a good job.

20:54

So if we can talk about mental health, yeah.

Because when I watched the film about the speed project, which will tell people what that is and talk more about the film.

But at the beginning, you talk about how mental health really was a driver for what you're kind of doing now and like run, like running being a tool for your mental health.

21:16

So can you talk about kind of how that weaved in and out of your life like as you were growing up and as you got older?

Yeah, I mean, I definitely, I think, you know, growing up, I think if your parents are dealing with anything personally, it kind of just subconsciously rubs off onto you and then you Start learning those things about yourself maybe in your early 20s and maybe mid 20s.

21:39

But I didn't really deal with too much mental stuff like when I was younger too much, not until I got older.

My parents end up getting a divorce, right?

Like in high school and into college, just things that, yeah, just weren't working out.

21:56

And I found myself once I got more away from who I wanted to be, the more more things started falling.

Seemed like they were falling on top of me so.

Yeah, and was there a breaking point?

Yeah, definitely a breaking point.

22:11

I mean, I end up I'm trying to think what the dates.

I think it's 2017, 2018, I was actually working at Frito Lay and stuff like that.

So I was, I was doing a job I didn't like.

I, I was just not a person I was liking to be.

22:27

And I end up actually checking myself into inpatient program because yeah, I I had made it attempt and I knew there was no other way to go except go get help.

Now, so an attempt on your life, you're saying, And where were your sisters involved in like your family involved in like helping you make that decision?

22:51

Did they know?

Yeah.

I mean they there was AI mean a a long period where I think they kind of knew I was just kind of out of sorts and I I was with somebody at that point too as well.

And you know, I think that helped me a lot.

23:07

I think when you fall in love with somebody, they're a good source to mirror what you don't want to be like.

You know, you see your, the things you're going through with it, like from them.

And I was really able to look, look at myself at that point.

23:24

And yeah, it's kind of crazy to think about.

Right.

Well, I mean, especially just yeah, who who I see now like that I'm meeting today.

Yeah.

I was just like, I was so far from who I who I was.

And the more, yeah, I think the more you're not authentically yourself, the more you're going to go down that kind of path.

23:43

Yeah.

And what do you, what do you mean by that?

Were you just like an angrier person?

Were you like I was just?

Doing things you, it's almost like, yeah, it was almost like I was just like trying to, you know, you were formed in the society that you were supposed to do to and be this person.

And the, the mold I was going into wasn't who I was like, I'm completely like, I'm off the grid kind of person.

24:06

Like I could what I did that that last year, I could do that for the rest of my life.

Like just be out there living in the wild because you realize there's a peace and all the chaos just a couple miles away from you.

Yeah.

Gosh, there really is.

24:23

It's kind of crazy.

It's like you, you realize all these problems that we've created, they all have solutions, you know, like it's kind of, yeah, it's just wild.

Like, it's wild to be back here.

Yeah, yeah.

I just think, yeah, I think a lot about that sometimes because all the noise is just like that's all it is.

24:40

It's like a lot of noise.

Yeah.

So wow.

So the inpatient place, was that near your home?

Yeah, it was in Kokomo.

Like, yeah, I remember, yeah, just before, yeah, going in there because it was like a family thing.

Like I think when you realize you're going to do something like that, you're like, yeah, I'm there.

25:00

And then when you actually get there to do that, you realize, hey, like you're getting ready to make a crazy decision to go in there because they won't let you out right away if you're, you go in.

So actually I was actually in the, you're only supposed to be there for two days, but a doctor wasn't there for the week.

25:17

And I end up actually end up spending like a week in the inpatient program, which I didn't need.

I I probably needed a a day there, but that really was like, wow, like what am I doing in here?

So is it part of like a hospital that?

You go in, yeah, it's a Trinity.

25:33

So I will say like the program there with that, definitely the outpatient program I had was absolutely remarkable.

Just being able to talk to other people and see what they were going through and, you know, to see what works for other people and what doesn't.

And just to know that, you know, there's so many people in the similar thing and it all just came back to the same thing.

25:54

They were so far from who who they wanted to be and they were doing something that we often think that we can't get out of having a job or having being with somebody that we don't want to be with or drinking, whatever, right?

We always think of it.

26:10

It's outside of us.

And it's really, it's, it's not.

It's such a simple thing.

Yeah.

And so this is what you've talked about because you've talked about group therapy.

So that's what you're referring to this like group therapy when you're in the the program?

There, Yeah.

And that was with the outpatient program.

26:25

We've met three times a week and did all sorts of different kind of things.

A lot of what was cool, it was like a lot of holistic kind of stuff.

So we did a lot of meditation, sound therapy, because when I was out there on my run, I anything I could do for free out there, I would, you know, there's so many things out there that we can do that that is free.

26:49

You know that we can really help ourselves.

Yeah, interesting.

What is sound therapy kind of like?

I see.

Like sound baths, yeah.

Yeah, sound baths, different tones.

I mean, yeah, they've been, it's crazy.

Yeah.

I think more and more people are going into those kind of things.

Or huge thing is, I wasn't.

27:07

My diet before then was absolutely horrible.

And now I know, like food is our medicine.

Like 90% of chronic disease is caused by what we eat are the stuff we take in.

Man, I know I could use some help there, that's for sure.

Yeah.

27:22

No, it's, it's it's hard because like, yeah, I mean, I ate really clean after.

But it's, I mean, it's when you go to a grocery store, it's there's not a lot of stuff.

But it's funny when I go out with my mom and they're like you're you're just going to eat a, a potato.

And like, I know, like I just, I just know what, Yeah.

27:40

Yeah, for the most part, I know where this came from.

Out of the ground, Wash it off.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's interesting.

So you get out of the week that you were there and then you so you still go like 3 * a week and do something like that today.

Do you still do therapy or?

27:57

Not not so much I, you know, for anybody that is struggling, I know that was a huge help to me.

But you know, as a growing like older you, you learn that the best your best therapist is you.

You know your best doctor is you like you if you know what works best for your body, like you, learn that everything, all those answers that you're seeking is within you already.

28:21

So you.

Just have to listen.

You have to.

Listen, and you have to know that your intuition, your gut is really what you should follow.

And anytime you don't is when you, you it's, there's so many lessons we were learning.

It's just like we almost have to learn them ourselves cause other people are doing this.

28:39

And we, yeah, it's kind of crazy when I think about it now, like, yeah.

Right.

Gosh, so you mentioned in college like the half marathon at nationals.

Like at what point in your life did you or did you like do races?

28:55

Like did you do marathons, half marathons during that time of your.

Life.

No, I, I mean after that, well, 'cause I was at Cali and then when I came back from Cali, I came back home for like a semester and then I went to, I did like Ivy Tech for a little bit and then I went to Vincent's Community College down in southern Indiana.

29:14

To finish up your to.

Finish up, I forgot the question again.

Oh, and then so were you like, did you do races?

Yeah, I mean, if I wasn't competing there, obviously when I was in, I did the cross country and track, but I didn't start doing like races and stuff like that until I got into ultra marathons.

29:33

And my first ultra marathon was basically something I just kind of created back in my hometown.

I did like a 10 mile loop 10 times.

And it was in the middle of February.

I set a date and it ended up being really crazy that day.

Like 25 mile an hour winds with his end up being like 1° or -2° the whole time.

29:52

And it's fine 'cause everyone's like, you know, you can change it.

I was like, no, I set this day, I'm going to do it.

So that was the first one I did.

And then a couple months later, I, I, yeah, it's funny, TJ when I talked to him about it, but I did, I attempted to do a 200 mile race and it was Pearl Illinois Potawami 200.

30:12

And it's a 10 mile loop, 1500 feet of elevation each loop.

And I did 110, I did 110 miles.

So I was like, you know, I didn't do the 200, but I did do 10 more miles than I did before.

So, so that's shit.

That's something.

I it's, it's funny just to think about you going from cross country track, not really like doing anything like, I don't know, I want to say like air quotes, like a traditional runner who's a traditional runner, I don't know.

30:40

But like if you just picture people who go do like a road race, yeah, he's like, that's kind of the world I live in, right?

Yeah.

You're just like, huh.

I just want to do like 100 miles and I'll make up this loop and I'll.

Yeah.

Is that when you found Mishanga Misha?

Yeah, that's when we were getting to know each other because especially after I did that, I think I end up, yeah, doing it in under 24 hours.

31:02

It was like 22 hours and 30 some minutes, but I think I might have been able to spark the interest of TJA little bit more.

Because if you, I don't know, if you have somebody talking about they want to do something but they've never done anything.

It is like you have to, you have to prove you prove what you can do.

31:19

But yeah, after that it seemed, yeah.

He was like, huh, well, OK.

Yeah, maybe he's not.

He is crazy, but maybe not too crazy.

Like he's there's a it's crazy, but a passionate crazy, which is a difference.

Yeah, for anyone who doesn't know TJ Daly from MTC, he was on this podcast recently, so got to go listen to that episode too, because he kind of gives the other side of like being like, yeah, he wanted to do this.

31:45

And I was like, OK, and then you did yeah.

What, like, so you just decided to do that.

I just.

Yeah, well, I just, I, you know, I just, I was getting when I was I got or just thought about getting intellitrous.

32:01

I just like when I was out there doing those things like with running and it's just on the there's that sense of freedom out there, like I don't have to do anything but what I'm doing.

Yeah.

Like I'd I'd anymore with my run, I don't have, even when I was going out there to run around the country, there's nothing to prove.

32:17

It's just the feeling that I'm out there.

Like I don't, it doesn't matter.

Even when I ran that race at TSP, like I don't care.

Like, I'm just so happy to be doing what I'm doing, like.

Yeah, yeah.

OK.

So we got it.

We got to talk about this whole journey.

32:33

Yeah, in TSP, the speed project, this little thing called I just watching the film.

I was just, yeah.

I mean, it's mind blowing.

So tell people how you like, how you dreamed up this like run around the country.

32:50

Like, oh, I'll just do this because I mean, people have run across the country.

So like, why not just run across the country and try to do it better than somebody else?

They're like, how did you, how did you do this?

Hey, quick reminder that this episode is brought to you by Athlete Bouquets.

You can shop for gifts for the marathoner or runner in your life by visiting athletebouquets.com and use the code podcast for 10% off your order.

33:17

Yeah, I guess you know, well, just getting into the Ultra community, it's funny because my story's just like a lot of other people with David Goggins, but I remember reading Living with the Seal with Jesse, I forget what his last name, Insler.

33:33

Eisler I don't know how to say it.

Yeah, he.

Yeah, but he's like a popular entrepreneur.

But I remember reading that and then just like, oh, that's possible.

And I, I was in, I was doing some cycling stuff too.

Like I was, I'm always been crazy with trying to ride or run do stuff, but I was doing like, you know, 3 or 400 miles on my bike.

33:55

And you know, I was just like reading more on to him.

And then I remember reading him doing that 100 miles and I was like, man, that's so crazy.

And then, you know, getting more in the ultra community with running more races.

I did Potawami the 200 again, actually, I was able to finish it.

34:12

So I was starting to knock down those berries that, hey, this is getting away from the impossibility that hey, to me, if someone's done it, it can be done again.

Maybe it's not the same pace or anything, but it can be done.

But I, I, yeah, I just started doing more races.

34:30

And then during COVID we did a Great American like relay challenge.

Like, I think you went from like LA to New York and then maybe back and you have a.

Group.

What?

It was a virtual.

Yeah, virtual.

So everyone had to log, yeah.

No, I see.

34:45

I was like, wait a minute, how did I miss that?

No, but we did it with yeah, we did it with my team and I had been discussing one around across America, but that was like, I end up running 280 miles that week and we end up winning by it was crazy, but we were doing unreal miles so.

35:04

You like log it on a website somewhere and then it would show kind of where you were?

And plus Strava like during that was so great because we have MTC group on Strava.

So he's just see people like, Oh my gosh, like everyone's in different time zones.

Like you'd see, oh, oh, he did that.

35:20

I got to get going now.

Like so it's very fun and competitive, but I went out there and my body felt I was, it was kind of crazy.

I was talking to the person I was with at that time.

I was just like, Oh my gosh, yeah, I ran 280 miles and I'm not wrecked.

And at that time I ran those a lot quicker than I had ran what I ran across America.

35:39

But I was like me and, you know, and that was like me.

I'm going to start looking into, you know, just things started coming up.

And then I was like, man, has anybody done the circumference?

Like it was just something that kind of does molded into it because I was like, I'm a person that there's been so many people do so many things over and over and over again.

36:01

And I'm a guy that I want to create a, yeah.

What hasn't been done?

Yeah, what hasn't been done or, you know, whatever.

And then, yeah, I was.

Then I started talking to TJ and them, and then, yeah, I mean, it couldn't have been more than like a year, you know, from me, really.

Thinking about it.

36:16

Thinking about it to putting it out there and a lot of people think there was some crazy planning.

It wasn't.

It was very organic like it was.

There was nothing there when I left out of Cleveland, which is kind of crazy, yeah.

Yeah, so I'm not a super planner, but the idea that you would just be like, I'm going to start running.

36:36

Yeah, or I was just like, hey, I'm going to put because I worked at the Y for a long time, so I put in a a decent notice before just because at the Y, like you probably aren't you pay, you pray to work there because of what you're doing for the community.

Yeah.

But yeah, I remember, yeah, putting in like 2 months or something like that and basically being like, hey, you know, like I, yeah.

36:58

Like how did they?

React Oh, no, I I had been talking about what I wanted to do for Oh no, honestly, being there and talking to the people that had been retired and telling me like, you know, there's so many things I wish I could have done.

And it's like we have so many of those lessons that are around us that we don't have to learn.

37:17

We can learn that through other people.

And I was like, something's talking to me and telling me now, now, now, now, like this is always here.

Like my purpose isn't here right now.

And I just knew that.

So I'm very thankful for them.

And just like, yeah, there's the universe is talking to you.

37:34

It's just are you listening?

Right.

Yeah.

How, what did you when you're, when you told your family, like your parents, your sisters, like, what did they say?

Scared everybody.

I think a lot of people in my my group, even with my team, I think they were just they knew I would run until I couldn't run like they knew like, hey, this guy, he will like I got ASOS device, he will run himself until he hits that SOS device.

38:01

So I think that did scare people and people are scared of the world.

I mean if.

Unfortunately.

Yeah, like my, it's crazy how my energy is completely kind of changed since being out there to here because I just, I'm kind of engulfed in all of what society is right now.

38:17

It seems so chaos and wild and honestly that is so far from the truth of what was out there.

Right.

When you actually get out there, you're not, you're not on your phone looking at all the social media shit and the media.

You're like literally out in every community around the United States and you're like, no, no, yeah, it's mostly amazing and great.

38:39

Yeah, it's 99% amazing.

And some of the stuff that you don't think it is just because it is your perception.

Right.

Which, yeah.

Yeah, I never, Yeah, yeah.

My view of like how this life is, is this the best thing to do is it's a simple, it's a very simple thing.

38:59

Yeah, so talk about your setup, like how I know you got the kid runner that you're pulling behind.

You tell people like what that what that is and like what would you?

Pack.

For God sake I just did a Ragnar relay like I said and I way over pack you thought I was going somewhere for 10 months but yeah.

39:18

Yeah, I mean before we let we had all our basics, I was obviously we had the kid runner and that was that was TJ is actually for his kid.

So like, yeah, because we're, I mean, when I say like nothing was it's crazy.

It's crazy.

Nothing was really prepared.

39:33

Like I.

Bring something to the.

Thing is like, OK, I have the kid runner.

What maintenance do I have to do on the kid runner?

Because I didn't really, really think about that other than tires and tubes.

I didn't really realize the bearings were going to be an issue.

But yeah, I had the kid runner.

Then I had an extra pair of shoes, sleeping bags, sleeping mat, tent.

39:54

Let's see toilet paper.

Toilet paper.

If I have Sometimes I didn't right.

I know.

Let's see food.

Dehydrated food.

I did it quite a bit and my sister actually helped Basically anything you cook, you can dehydrate.

OK, so it's like camping not get this Oh yeah, yeah.

40:11

Then she would ship any of which one your.

Twin.

Or my younger sister.

So she did that and let's see water filter tools for to maintenance on the card.

Let's see rain gear I'm trying to do.

40:30

You feel like shampoo and stuff like bar.

Soap, bar soap.

Yeah, because I mean, there was plenty of times.

I mean, I probably average at least two or three weeks without shower.

I think the longest I went was like a month or something like that without shower.

I mean, obviously I was still jumping in the creeks and ponds as much as I could, but.

40:47

Sprinklers.

I get a sprinkler.

Shower.

Yeah, yeah, it's funny.

Anytime I could get a good, like source of water that wasn't stagnant.

Yeah.

Right.

And I knew like, yeah, didn't have a bunch of chemicals in it.

Yeah, Yeah.

But yeah, I think when I think about, I think that's all in this stuff, yeah.

41:04

And then like a couple changes of clothes.

Or did you like at the end of it I honestly just stayed in the same clothes.

Like it was so crazy how I would run down stuff like seeing like the lining of my shorts inside my shorts completely disintegrate.

Or see your socks disintegrate in your shoes, like, because you're.

41:21

I mean, you're right. 40 miles a day.

Like, yeah, it was kind of yeah.

You don't really.

I mean, yeah.

I mean, and two, I didn't replace things until I needed to, Like when, because if people ask me about this trip, I'm like, yeah, you know, I made it memo like I didn't sleep in campgrounds or anything like that.

41:37

Like I stealth camped.

I.

I love that term, it's so funny.

It's it is funny.

And it was yeah, some of the times when I wake up and feel like, why is he sleeping here?

And I'm.

Well, I also think like, you talk about society and like, oh, it's scary.

Well, I feel like probably people are pretty scared of you because like, you're like this unshowered, long haired dude with like clearly like all of his belongings on his back.

42:01

People are like, who's this like homeless drug, you know, drug guy.

Oh, yeah.

You know, just running around.

Yeah.

No, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You realize that people, they're just not going to mess with you, right?

Because they think that's the thing.

Yeah.

Or yeah.

And it was like that until like I was coming all the way or, I don't know, it was like somewhere in Montana, my thing blew up and it was like people didn't start noticing who I was.

42:25

Yeah, right.

And they're like, Oh my gosh, you're the guy running.

Around the country I am.

I'm not just some homeless guy on the other state.

I remember I was trying to remember where you were maybe like Texas or somewhere around there, and I just remember being like, wow, this guy like has 1000 followers on Instagram.

42:41

How is this possible?

He's running around the United States like how is like it's just blows my mind, which now I feel like you have more of the audience you should because of what you have accomplished and are continuing to accomplish.

But that's so funny.

So how did you and how was like?

42:58

How are the elements like the weather you started in October?

Yeah, it was kind of crazy.

I mean, the weather was wild.

It rained a whole lot more during my journey than I anticipated.

Even the beginning.

It actually rained at first, I think three or four days of my trip, like off and on, not crazy rain, but if you're out in the outside all day every day in the rain, it's different than going for a 10 mile run and then off in the shower or whatever.

43:26

But yeah, I had quite a bit of rain.

Cool.

The lowest temperatures I dealt with is I think 13° and the highest was like 9597°.

OK.

So on the 15's, not too terrible.

No, I got, I mean double digits, Yeah, no, I got lucky.

43:43

And that was in Pensacola, FL, It was 13°.

So I honestly I got lucky.

Out of here.

Yeah, I mean Texas though, a lot of stuff they were like and the zeros like.

So if I would have been in Texas at that point, I wouldn't even, there's certain temperatures.

43:58

I mean, when it was 13°, I didn't have the gear like you had to have.

Like, I was so cold.

I remember, yeah, like, I mean, if I'd slept maybe two hours and I got up and start running again because so cold, so cold.

Like, and I remember it was a cold to say I'd been there for, I don't know, 20-30 years and all they had plastic pipes.

44:16

So when I woke up, everything was closed and all the pipes were burst.

Like, it's crazy to see that.

Yeah, yeah, you know, And they're like, yeah, 13°, we're not going to work.

And I'm like back at home, it's like -20.

Right.

And you're like, OK, people.

Yeah.

So you mentioned, like, not really having a true, like, plan.

44:34

And so when I talked to TJ, he said that like, the team helped you figure out kind of where to go and how to kind of plan.

How did you communicate with the team to know?

Like, I'm just picturing you set off on a road.

Yeah.

I mean, how do you know where to go?

I mean, we.

The good thing is especially now as we have technology where it's like incredible like I, I, you can download all the maps you need on there, but I did do AI did I mean the planning I did do a quite a bit of planning like the first three months, but within the first like week, you know, if I don't go on that thing the.

45:08

Whole plan.

Yeah, and I realized that real quick.

And once I knew that, then I knew I had to either do it day by day.

And then when it got later where it was big portions where I wouldn't see a town, Then I started playing it a little bit before because I knew, hey, I got 120 miles, that's about 3 days until I see something.

45:26

So it's like, you know, you might start, well, you like, you have a lot of water, but you slowly see that dwindle and it's like, wow, yeah, what do I do?

Like.

Because where was it was that in Texas where you had like that three days where you were like.

There's so many there.

I mean, I, there's plenty of points where I average either, you know, at least a day to 120 miles.

45:48

And I did that multiple, multiple times where it'd be like days before I would see water, food.

And like when I was in the South, there's just not a lot of water.

If you're in the Northwest, you got a lot of places for water to to filter water because I'd filter my water as much as I could because as I tell a lot of people, a gallon of water is 8 lbs.

46:07

So yeah.

You can't just like fill up your car with gallons of water.

You're That would be awful.

Yeah.

And you.

Yeah, you.

It's funny.

Yeah, it's funny what you.

You start like, yeah, 'cause I was just, I had so much weight on that cart where, yeah, it was burning a lot of the bearings I had.

They had two bearings in each wheel hub and I I just I had too much weight in it.

46:27

What are bearings?

Are they like screws?

Or bearings are like an axle goes through it and it just spent like, yeah, I didn't know, I didn't know anything about bearings when I left.

Yeah, yeah, 'cause I mean, I dealt with broken bearings for basically till I got to Durham, NC So I think, yeah, my first bearings went out and then got the wrong bearings.

46:52

So I had like 1000 miles where the bearings are wrong and the wheels are like cutting into my kid cart.

And then like when I was like just dragging.

Oh yeah, I was dragging.

The wheels aren't spinning, they were spinning.

But yeah, you had to see it.

Like, I didn't know the resistance I had until I talked to my buddy Dylan, which he's a, he's a cyclist and engineer.

47:14

And he knew exactly when he got when I got there.

There.

He's like, dude, you are, he's like, you're tough, man.

Like, what are you doing?

How do you do that?

How did you drag this for this long?

I was like, I didn't know any different.

And then when he took that off or we fixed it, the 40 miles was like, oh, my gosh.

47:30

It went from like, I felt like I was running, you know, like six 30s.

And then it felt like I was, you know, it took me nothing to run, you know?

Yeah, it was crazy how how much that helped me.

Yeah, Oh my gosh.

I mean, I can't even imagine.

But yeah, I've heard you say like people like, well, what was your biggest challenge?

47:47

It's like my freaking bearings in my cart.

Yeah.

And the yeah also also when I think about it was the accessibility to clean food.

I didn't realize, I think that's I'm still paying the prices of eating very unhealthy and just knowing like how we do, like just how we are and just the places to be able to get good clean food and what that really does to your body.

48:13

Like I couldn't tell you how sick I felt, you know, coming back, like just switching my diet.

I didn't know how bad I felt until getting bad.

Right, just like energy wise or?

Like, I mean, honestly, just lethargic gut stuff.

48:29

And then mentally, mentally, like that's why I tell people like if you are not feeling well, the best thing you do is look at your diet and do a little bit of exercise because mainly a lot of your stuff is your diet.

And you wouldn't think that your gut or your.

Yeah, your gut's basically your mind, yeah.

48:47

Oh man, yeah.

I'm like, still like I need to.

I've been talking about like trying to do better nutrition to fuel for marathon training in general, but like, yeah, just life in general.

There's just.

But I also picture running like through small town USA.

49:02

Yeah, no, there's just and there's.

Nothing.

There's a gas station like do you have?

Dollar General and stuff like that.

And yeah, it's just, it made me just like.

Eating like Snickers bars or.

Like I'm the I the I ate everything I could until like at one point because I was eating so bad and I'm taking, I mean I was burning 10,000 some calories a day.

49:22

So I ended up losing a tooth and that you know, it was literally because I was the amount of sugar and stuff like that I was eating like.

Because I guess you're not really brushed.

Did you have?

A tooth I, I did, but I as much as I could.

I mean, I use hydro peroxide and just would, I mean at times what?

49:39

But yeah, I've ended up losing.

And then after that I was like, which tooth, right?

OK.

So like in the back?

OK.

Yeah, well, The thing is it was the most painful thing.

I I mean, it got to the point where my face actually swelled up pretty bad.

Actually ended up passing my passing out in my tent at one point somewhere in.

49:59

Yeah, no, yeah, it was crazy.

The only time where it was like I, we almost had to call it, but I was able to get amoxicillin.

Thank you for a doctor that was able to call that in.

And I was able to get the tooth actually removed in Redmond at Washington.

50:15

So I actually got really lucky, but it was the most painful thing.

It was kind of it.

Was all infected.

Oh yeah, no, yeah.

I remember waking up and then pushing all the thing, all the stuff out and then like almost throwing up and then getting to the town.

And obviously the MOX is still in help, but it wasn't.

50:32

It was a Band-Aid for the issue.

So I just knew once we got there and I was able to get that tooth removed, yeah, being at the right place at the right time, because you can't really just get your tooth removed out in the middle of nowhere.

Right, yeah so I now Oh my gosh.

So you just like go to a dentist office.

50:48

Yeah.

And were you like UN showered and you're like.

No, I luckily like being at the right place at the right time.

I was with one of my teammates, Corey, and you just thank thanks to him because, you know, he helped me out a lot right there.

Because that could have been a turning point.

51:03

And I mean, I was almost done.

So I could have been like, yeah, I was just, I was getting ready to turn right to go home.

So like, I it was crazy how my intuition to know what was the right thing to do.

I I, I knew like I, I can't.

It's crazy.

51:19

It's a little bit different now, my intuition, but yeah, I just knew what to do at the right time and I knew to trust it.

I never, I stopped second guessing myself.

Yeah, it was kind of loud as.

Soon as you pass out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it was insane.

51:35

That and The thing is like people are like how how did you, why did you get all the way at that point?

Like I didn't know.

It just got so bad so quick and there's nothing.

I'm like, what do you?

I can't do anything.

There's nobody out here.

Like like I kind of had to.

I had to run to this next town.

Yeah.

But I mean you had.

51:51

To just be feeling.

So Oh no, I oh, I was, yeah, I was praying to every God out there.

Well, and you and I were talking before this because I had to, We had rescheduled this because I got the flu.

And then I told you I couldn't believe, like, how healthy.

But in all, you know, you really were pretty healthy the whole time to be able to do that.

52:08

But you said there was a few days where you ran with a fever.

Yeah.

The.

Point in the trip was that after I left Durham, I got, yeah, I had a probably like 102 fever for like two or three days.

So I just chose like 'cause I mean, it was really other than that, I could have probably just stayed somewhere, but I just chose to take it easy.

52:25

And the, you know, maybe didn't do all the way 40 miles that day, but yeah, but it, but the crazy thing is I was able to get over it pretty quick.

And the only reason why I was is I got a shipment at Durham too.

And my sister every all the food she was sending me was clean, so I made sure I ate clean that whole week and I was able to recover really quickly.

52:48

Where would she send it?

That was lucky because my buddy lives in Durham so he just sent it to the house.

Some places would be post offices and honestly most of the time we'd had to just pick a hotel sometimes.

Because right, Like, hey, there's a hotel that's like 100 miles away.

53:04

And yeah, cameras coming, we're going to send this.

This stuff is just OK with your hotel.

That's so interesting.

Or like one of the first big things was like the first kid runner broke and then we had to have a kid runner sent to like this bed and breakfast in Vermont.

And I just remember the people being like, what do you do?

53:21

Like what is this?

And then when I got to talking to him, a guy, some guy was actually they had like, I mean, who's like a 405 mile or so that worked there.

So like he was a big runner too.

And we talked.

It's like just such a cool like experience, like to be able to share that because it's like I told them, you're a huge part of this because we needed, I can't go anywhere without this stuff.

53:42

So.

Did any of those places ever say like, hey dude, why don't you just like, you're welcome to stay or shower?

Some.

I mean, there was so many places, so many times where I got like an offer to stay somewhere.

I mean, 294 days, I think at least 100 of those were with completely strangers.

54:00

Like I just, I had no clue who they were.

And I mean, I have all those people on my phone and they all like once I finished and stuff like that, or if I wanted to come back around and come see them, they're like, you have more, you have a place to stay anytime you want to stay.

54:16

That's.

Really cool, yeah.

How did you find them?

Just they found me, they found we found each other.

I'll say that like I said, if you're doing something you're passionate about, those things will just line up and that and because people are like, man, you didn't plant.

You really like if you look at some of these people that are going across the country and stuff like that, you see the plane that goes into it.

54:38

But I just, I didn't know then, but I almost wanted to trust.

It's almost like I was really trusting my intuition about something, like everything's going to work out and if I just stand away from it and try not to force anything, what could happen?

54:54

And that's what that whole trip was, was just going against going with the current life and it all, everything worked out so perfectly.

Yeah.

Did you, when you started out, did you say, hey, I'd like to do this within?

Oh yeah, 300.

55:10

Days like was that?

Kind of your exactly what I said I wanted to do.

I did actually a little bit quicker.

I did exactly what I said before I set out to do it, which was insane.

Well, as I'm getting to know you now, it's not really surprising me.

Yeah, but it's just like it's wild back, Hey, when I talk to my guys like 10 months, 40 miles a day, they're this is crazy.

55:30

Yeah, like, OK.

And I'm like, yeah, I get that.

Because people when they you tell some someone their your dream, it's not their dream.

So it's like it's hard to you know, right.

People get upset about those like when I'm like, it's, it's in what they view, what they can do.

55:46

Like, yeah.

So it's like, if you know it's Trudy Hart, go out.

There, right?

And you've been thinking about it for like every day for like a year or longer, right?

Yeah, just, I mean, the dream basically is to do what you love to do, you know what to feel like, find that passion, that love.

56:04

And you know exactly when you're doing what you love to do because it's it's you.

You're in this like timeless place, like it's you don't think about anything else but what you're doing.

Yeah.

Now, were there any moments where you felt like unsafe, not necessarily because of people, but like.

56:26

Yeah.

I mean, I would say like the the environment can be really just the weather.

I mean, some place sometimes when it would be lightning and you know, you're out in the middle of Montana and there's nothing out there and it's like there's nothing you.

Can do skid runner's got some metal.

56:42

Yeah, and then you're looking at I'm just, I would laugh because I'm like, I look at the animals and they're like, they don't care at all like that.

That's there's like literally 1000 Volt bolts everywhere.

That time a few times with the weather definitely scared me, especially if if it was rainy and cold, if it was anything below 50 and it was rain like you had, it's so quick to be hypothermic.

57:07

You just don't realize it.

And then it's that's, and I dealt with like so much rain, like it rained and it was in those temperatures most of the time.

One time when I was in outside of like Melbourne, FL, there's a kind of a weird situation with because it had been storming but end up just being fine.

57:25

But I was with some people that were also trying to get out of the rain and they might have been doing some questionable things.

I'm just, I'm just, I've never been around people doing those things.

If I had been, maybe I know how their reaction is, but it was kind of interesting.

I just remember telling the guys I was getting ready to go to sleep and be like, hey, I'm I'm going to sleep.

57:45

I don't care what you guys are doing.

He's like told me and he meant it.

I know now he meant in a kind way, but he's like, just know I'm not going to steal any of your.

Stuff, right?

Because you're kind of like, you're probably thinking about it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I was like, someone says that when they're going to do that, but to give context, he was the guy that he actually came in because it had been raining and I actually had been given an extra jacket and I had an extra pair of pants and he was freezing, so I gave him that.

58:13

So I think.

That's really.

Kind.

Now that I think when I thought about it, I'm like, OK.

And then when I woke up, he was just like, I had my tent under there because I put my stuff with me and he was staring at me.

No, he was.

Yeah, he was staring at me when I woke up and that was he was like, I got took my stuff and left.

But I was like, man, I did give him something.

58:30

So he probably was like he, he was really thinking, he was watching my stuff and it's like.

He was literally watching your stuff all night while you slept.

Yeah, and he might have stood there literally that whole.

Time he might have just stared at your tent for the.

When I say goodnight, I never moved, Oh my God.

That's wild.

58:46

That's so wild.

I remember what I was going to ask you.

I was going to ask you about money.

Yeah, like things cost money, obviously.

And so you're not, you're being very simple and like, you know, as frugal as you can.

But how did you pay?

For we did, yeah, in the beginning I did like 100 mile thing.

59:06

I had donations and stuff like that and anytime really needed thing for gear and stuff like that, MTC told me that they would take care of it.

And we just had a lot of people that came together.

And you know, back in my hometown, a lot of people had talked about doing this and I said, you know, financially this doesn't, I don't know how this is going to, you know, how this is even going to be possible.

59:29

And that was like a huge thing that I almost didn't do it because I'm like, what am I going to do?

Like if I go out there and I just I just didn't run out and I just got really lucky that people also was, you know, they saw that I was very passionate about it.

59:45

And I think it ended up being a little bit bit a little bit different journey than what I think what people expected.

It was more more there was more, there was a more important thing than just the running out there.

It was the beauty of the of, you know, how people are truly are like, you know, to be able to experience the world through my eyes in a different way.

1:00:07

So.

But yeah, like I had a lot of people with donations.

I had a lot of people help me like if they let me stay.

And I think, yeah, if when I think about how much it probably cost probably about 20 to $30,000 in total.

So, and that was a lot of like small donations, like 5-10 dollars.

1:00:26

Like, like a lot of people got on board and more people got on board as I continue to do things.

And I had some places, I mean, I remember being at a a shop down in Florida, a guy gave me $1000 for yeah.

And that, yeah.

1:00:43

And they, it was crazy.

I something ended up having the cart and I had to get some stuff.

So ended up I needed that.

So a.

Guy gave you $1000.

And they ended up letting me stay at his place like two nights, and it was a Amadora or Almadora.

1:01:00

It's down in the keys.

But yeah, yeah, his business.

Yeah.

I was like, and just like, like I would take anything, food, water, any food, like I ate people's leftovers.

Like people will be driving down the road and be like, we just yeah.

1:01:16

And I'm like, I'll eat it like anything.

But yeah.

I mean, I had to really say thank you to the people like that did the small.

It's it's amazing what we can do when we come together and we don't have to wait for somebody or some, you know, something to do something.

1:01:33

You can create something and if you're truly passionate about it, people will get behind it.

And I'm just thankful for each and every one of those people.

If it was donations through, you know, Venmo or if it was, I had gear, people were buying shirts and stuff like that.

And actually that was doing really well.

1:01:50

So we gave was able to give something to people and then MTC not just not was TJ, but I got actually I think it was like 8000 miles I picked up actually a whole like shoe brand so.

Right.

I was gonna ask you about when it was that at the outset.

1:02:07

Was that.

Yeah, that was, yeah, 8000 miles in. 8000 miles in so you're like go to, you know, over 11,000.

So yeah, okay.

You're like, what shoes did you run in before that?

Everything Athletic Annex down here, Andy, they were sending me and I ran every shoe they give me like it was.

1:02:23

Yeah, let's test the durability of all these shoes.

Yeah, and I'll say all the shoes I ran in Hoka, you know, Adidas, all the every shoe that I got, they were phenomenal.

Yeah.

And so now it's what is it called?

Mount to Coast, Mount to Coast, Mount to Coast.

I'd never heard of that brand.

What are they out of?

1:02:39

I'm pretty sure they have a location in China and London.

So so.

How did how did that happen?

TJ knew TJ, so tji think they were because they they do some they actually sponsored the race that we had Prairie on Fire.

So they do some sponsorships with them as well.

1:02:57

And they were like, TJ is like, hey, I got this crazy guy.

Because they're just, they are strictly just ultra marathon shoes.

So it's like, and that's what they're about.

And what's cool about them.

You don't see a lot of other shoe companies kind of like saying like, oh, this is how far a shoe can go, right?

1:03:16

No, they don't.

And people are like, why wouldn't it?

Because we were like, oh, they want you to be a test subject.

I'm like, these people already know what their shoes can do.

They don't want you to know that they can go 5-6 hundred miles and be fine.

They want you to buy more.

Yeah, I'm like, it's and it makes sense.

They're a business.

1:03:31

They need to make money.

But yeah, I, yeah, yeah.

So was it 28 pairs of shoes that?

You wanted 2728 pairs, 28, Yeah, something like that.

So yeah, definitely.

I mean, just depend on the terrain.

A lot of dirt roads.

1:03:47

It's kind of crazy how I could actually see what's the difference between running on a road and running on the dirt road or what have you, what it will do to a pair of shoes, pair of tires, what have you.

At what point 'cause I know I picture like, you know, you mentioned, like the lining of your shorts falling apart, your socks disintegrating.

1:04:05

So at what point did you switch shoes 'cause I could picture you literally like running with shoes with the holes?

In that, how did you?

Decide.

In the beginning, I think, yeah, we had a let me see how far I got.

I think it was somewhere in like, yeah, New HAMP, New Hampshire is when I first pair.

1:04:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't know.

It's funny because it's just like, yeah, that's a lot.

I mean, you're putting just so many miles.

Yeah, and sometimes I would be actually get some like if I'd stayed with somebody.

I remember I stayed with someone in Fort Lauderdale and they bought me a pair of shoes and I still had probably enough miles to put on the other the other ones.

1:04:47

But if I someone did that, I always switch it out.

Yeah.

Because it's like, you just don't know, Like you.

Because the one time I remember we couldn't get a delivery.

So I had to run from like, Winnett to Montana to Woodland, Michigan, which is like 1000.

1:05:03

Yeah.

Oh.

My.

Gosh, something Miles and I just had one pair of shoes.

You're just like, yeah, I crossed your fingers because nothing in between there.

I I could name almost the stores that I could have bought anything from.

You know, there's just not a lot of stuff out there, right?

Yeah.

1:05:19

OK.

And all right, one more question about, I mean, I have so many questions, but animals, we talked a little bit about that because you were like mentioning that they didn't really care about the storms, but what kind of animals did you see?

I saw quite a few blackberries.

I saw alligators.

Not near as many as you would.

See in Florida.

1:05:36

Yeah, because, I mean, I was there forever about.

Yeah, Yeah, I only saw eight of them, and most of those were in the Everglades when I saw them.

The animals I saw in the Everglades was crazy.

Even just Florida.

Florida is just like the.

1:05:51

Tropical.

Lizards, like, yeah, lizards.

I mean, I said like.

Big iguanas down in the.

Keys big and then like all kinds of different.

I, I stepped on a few of them.

I felt so bad but I'm like they're just they fly underneath.

You dude, A pregnant girl on our Ragnar team stepped on a live snake during her run in the.

1:06:07

Night.

Oh man did.

You ever have anything like that?

Where you.

Like snakes.

I didn't.

I didn't see hardly any snakes.

The only thing at night that really scared me is in Florida.

The pigs I remember, yeah, wild pig.

I remember just or they call them boars.

But I remember hearing something like.

1:06:22

And The thing is they have cats and bears down there.

So I heard something and then I just see this huge thing and I just knew that it was a pig and I was getting ready to put up for the.

It scared me so bad.

But I, I mean, I did, I mean, like I said that I guess the scariest thing would have been like I saw grizzly at one point, but it was way up there and a lot of those bears, I mean.

1:06:45

Is it brown?

You lay down black, you fight back.

Yeah, but but I'm like, what am I going to do?

You don't.

Yeah.

It's like, yeah.

It's like when people think, you know, chimpanzee and you don't realize how strong these animals are.

And, you know, I realize that, you know, animals are.

1:07:02

If you think about what we do to the like animals, they are so terrified of us.

It's kind of sad.

Like I just saw like that, you know, the agriculture and what we do.

Like it was kind of, yeah, it almost turned me into a vegan.

Right.

I was, you know, I, I could see why.

1:07:19

You know, yeah, I was just like, yeah, it's just, it's.

Especially being you mentioned like yeah, being on the farm and.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, you just like, I don't know.

I don't, I don't know.

I don't have to be told that something's conscience when I know it is when it looks at me.

I mean anybody that has a pet, you know?

Oh yeah, my dog for sure.

1:07:35

Yeah, you're just like for sure.

Yeah, well, I'm glad you didn't have any encounters with bears like too.

Close, right?

Yeah, not really any close.

The only animal was actually people's wild dogs down in the South.

Just dogs.

Dogs were a big issue.

1:07:51

And The thing is like they dogs might come and attack you, but they honestly think they are protecting their owner, right?

I mean it's.

Not I know it's not.

Yeah, I know they're not.

I never, I mean, I got close a few times, but I had, I did have bear spray and stuff like that.

1:08:06

But dogs were the biggest thing that I was scared of because they just, they don't know you don't know they're you are a threat to them.

Yeah.

Anytime like yeah.

Yeah.

And well, I remember seeing in the film, Yeah.

The dogs, Yeah, I mean.

And you can.

The thing is, it's like when you're outside in the wall, you kind of get to know what a good dog and a bad dog and a.

1:08:25

Vibe.

I bet you see enough of them and like can tell by the way that they're holding themselves.

Yeah, and they, they know they stand your ground and be tough and they, I mean, granted, if it's three big dogs, I mean, you're like, well, yeah, you might you do anything to get out of there.

Yeah, Oh my gosh, I bet you just have so many stories, Cameron.

1:08:43

OK, but let's talk about TSP, the Speed Project, because OK, until I watched the film I, which is called Ultra A-Team Sport.

Where can you watch it now?

Can you?

Yeah, no, actually on YouTube I'll.

Look for it on YouTube.

1:08:58

I teach me, yeah.

Send me the link.

I'll send you the link.

I don't know where.

I don't know why I couldn't find it because I wanted to watch it again before meeting you, But I because I watched it right after I interviewed TJ.

And so the Speed Project is a race that's held every year from Santa Monica to Las Vegas.

And you, it's unsupported.

1:09:13

You find your own way.

Yeah.

And.

And you decided that you just do this like in the middle of running around the United States.

Yeah, yeah, I got a phone call from TJ and I was somewhere in, yeah, Texas.

And he was like, I know you're doing what you're doing, but we have this like this, the thing that we're thinking about doing, and he told me about it.

1:09:34

He's like, it's an unsanctioned race from Santa Monica to to Vegas.

And he's like, you know how I am.

I did all the calculations.

You, you could get there, you know, two days before and take two days off and go out there and take what you need to and then head back on your journey.

1:09:51

And I was just like, yeah, let's, let's, let's do this.

Well, it's like I knew then I just like it shows you what happens when you follow what you love to do.

Well.

To your point, like universe like two days before it starts, you're going to get there and you're in Texas.

1:10:08

Yeah, it's like, here it is.

Are you going to take it?

You know, And I was like, and I to me, it was, I wasn't even thinking about trying to race to win or any of that.

It was like, I get to be with the people I love for five days out in the middle of nowhere and then we're going to be in Vegas.

1:10:26

Like that's great.

Like it was so cool to be with all these people and do something really cool with one another.

And it's because I was following what I love to do.

And it was like, what else is going to come out of this?

Like I would have never thought because I was like when I was younger, I was like, I just want to do something with running, with running.

1:10:44

And I was like, there's just nothing just to do with running.

And then now I've done this and it's like, yeah, there's if there you're passionate about something, anything is possible.

It's crazy.

Yeah.

So for anybody who doesn't know the distance, it's like what, 300 miles?

1:10:59

Yeah, end up it it, it does change because you choose, you choose your own route.

The only thing you can't do is run on the Interstate, which, yeah, it makes sense.

So yeah, I mean, some of the routes could have been like, I think the OG route's 340, but I think, yeah, it was around two 295 miles is what I end up running or something like that.

1:11:21

Yeah.

So ultimately you ended up running a lot under power lines.

Yeah, yeah, a lot of sand.

Like, I mean, when you get on a beach, that kind of sand, and I mean, it was I think 80 to 90 miles of just sand like that.

Like it was insane.

And up until that point, had you run on sand at all?

1:11:38

Yeah, I did actually.

Yeah, I've no, yeah, I'd pulled the cart through like stuff.

Oh yeah, yeah, thousand, yeah, thousand.

Like like probably on sand trails, like probably within the whole trip, at least 1000 miles on like dirt and sand.

1:11:53

Yeah, yeah, 'cause if you go to New Mexico, Arizona, I mean, if I didn't stay on the Interstate, it was dirt, it was ATV roads.

And I mean, if you're out there, it's rock.

And I mean, some of the stuff I pulled that car through, yeah.

I mean, I feel like it's so hard to visualize, it's so hard to like because I'm trying my best to like ask the questions to really try to understand.

1:12:17

But yeah, I just don't think there there is a way to do that.

Yeah, I think it.

And we've talked about maybe even doing like a short film to like, because I try to, yeah, 'cause I have those.

What's nice about your phone is like, I have the pictures and the location gets, you get a coordinate every time you have a picture.

1:12:32

So like, I know those areas that people would be like, they'd be like, what, why did you just, why'd you do this?

Like, like I would have never went out in the, I mean, when I was in New Mexico, I literally was, I remember not seeing anybody but a train for two or three days.

1:12:48

Like it was crazy to be in that because you never have that sense of being alone.

Like it was just.

How did you charge your phone?

TJ is a tech guy, so he had everything you could think of.

It was definitely in the beginning.

1:13:03

We were.

I didn't have mirrors enough, but I just use portable chargers.

Like it's amazing what technology can do now.

Like, that's wild.

Yeah.

I.

Didn't really even think about that part of it.

Yeah, we'll talk about that.

You don't have service anywhere.

Oh yeah, no, service was kind of, yeah, it was crazy.

Like I'd be an Sosa lot more than you would think.

1:13:21

You would think.

Yeah, you'd think that would be something that we've.

We have just in Michigan this weekend, it was like, no, you barely ever had service.

I'm like, this is wild to me.

Yeah, nice in some ways, but wild.

Yeah.

It just seems kind of, yeah, it seems like with what we have it kind of.

1:13:36

You see those commercials where they like overlay on the US and you're like, it looks like you have service everywhere.

No, no, they do not.

Like when I was in the North Cascades, I didn't have service for I think four or five days.

Was that Washington?

Yeah, OK.

And that's the other thing about, like geography.

1:13:52

Yeah.

Now you really.

Yeah.

Because you went 33 states.

Yeah, 33 States and we live in such a beautiful country.

It's so and north of the West is just so open.

It's not like the east East is a little bit more congested by more people, but out West there's just when people are like it's overpopulated.

1:14:09

I was like, you have not seen America.

Like I remember just like they would call it a look if you'd run to like a top point and then you could look and see somewhere.

So if you ran into that, they would call it look.

So if they would say hey, and three looks, you can get to the city.

1:14:26

So it's funny how people would say that.

That is funny.

That is funny.

I'm really lucky that growing up, my parents took me and I'm the oldest of three girls.

I have two younger sisters, and we went on three different summers.

We did RV trips around the country.

And so I have been to every state in the United States.

1:14:42

Oh wow.

Yeah, see a lot of.

It is true.

Like there's so much here that people just don't even realize.

You think you have to go to Europe or other places.

But like, I was so lucky to really see our country before I travelled internationally, which is really a blessing.

1:14:59

And a lot of it I need to revisit because it's when I was like a kid.

But yeah, it's such an amazing place.

So the speed project, I'm like, I could talk to you all afternoon, Cameron.

The speed project, you had MTC come out.

1:15:14

Yeah.

And kind of help.

Was somebody with you the whole time you did that?

Yeah, actually my mom, Catherine, TJ, I think that Dylan, I think those.

Are is Catherine a friend or on the?

Team yeah.

Catherine she yeah, she was a friend.

1:15:30

Yeah, I think it was.

Yeah.

And then T JS daughter.

Yes, Kaylyn.

Kaylyn.

She's a beast, Yeah.

Yeah, she is.

Yeah, she ran 33 miles at the fairy.

Empire, Yeah, she's just amazing.

Yeah, but those were the those, they they were there to crew me.

And then my twin and younger sister surprised me at the Vegas side when I was there and I didn't know.

1:15:51

So cool.

Yeah.

So they, they, they, all the five except my sisters, they came to Santa Monica.

So we started there.

And then I met the other two.

And then my one's a boyfriend as well, Doc.

So do you still have a relationship?

1:16:08

With your dad, yeah, it's it's a re mending thing.

Yeah, cuz I just noticed like it's like OK, well.

We're what's he doing?

Yeah, yeah.

And, you know, I love my dad with all my heart and, you know, he gave me the best thing to be here, you know?

Yeah.

1:16:23

And yeah, it's just a yeah.

You know, it's crazy when you grow up with things happen and there's this moment in time when you turn into adult where you start seeing adults different.

Because you've now experienced, yeah, it as a kid.

1:16:38

And now you're like, oh.

Yeah.

And then it's like I'm also having to have the thing to know, like, why is he the way he is?

And it is because it's the way you grow up.

And, you know, the best thing I can do is learn from the things that he's done to, in order to what to do with the rest of my life.

1:16:58

And again, you know, break a generational kind of thing and do something different.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's just yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's kind of a yeah.

Sorry, side note.

No, no, no, no.

It's like it's a well, it's the thing I I'm kind of like, I don't know where to go with it, you know, other than alls I can do is show unconditional love towards him and not judge him.

1:17:22

Try not to judge him.

Yeah, yeah.

Wow.

Because like I find out things you judge in people is what you judge in yourself.

So ain't.

That the truth?

Yeah.

Yeah.

OK, so you are the speed project.

You grind through this 300 miles.

1:17:37

You've got to you've got to go watch the film on YouTube.

I'm going to link it.

Yes, it's so good and.

It is crazy because it's like I ran 6000 miles to get there to run a 300 mile race.

Right.

And and TJ was like, you know, normal people who are doing this race are like tapering.

1:17:52

They're taking it so easy leading up to this because you're running 300 miles.

Yeah.

And Cameron, just like Doo, Doo, Doo, I'm going to run a 6000 miles to get here.

And then, yeah, you stand up in front of everyone and you're like, hey, hi, I'm Cameron, and I'm running around the United States.

And now I'm going to just run to Vegas.

1:18:08

Yeah, it was cool though, because it's like all those people were people that I just like because it was that kind of race where everyone else, you, they were basically were doing what I was doing the whole thing around like you create your own thing, we're going to get to Vegas, you know?

1:18:23

Like it was, there was a girl from Australia that ran across Australia.

So I was asking about all those kind of things.

So it's like it was a really cool group to be with.

Yeah, I feel like it would have to be.

I mean, that's what a cool, what a cool thing.

And you ended up in second, didn't you?

1:18:39

Yeah, I end up placing second.

Actually was able to get under the previous record time just on Yeah.

Because that's kind of what you're setting out.

Yeah, no, yeah, it was crazy.

Even in that race.

I set out for a pace and I end up that.

Yeah, yeah.

1:18:55

It's like that's one thing you have to learn too.

Like I did what I wanted to do, yeah.

Yeah, geez.

And then you make it all the way around the country, come back like I see like the celebration.

And you've done some stuff here locally, which has been so cool.

1:19:12

I'm bummed I haven't been able to meet you up to this point.

And then, and then you're like, OK, so I've run 11,170 miles.

And that's got to be such a hard thing to like, finish and be like, OK, well, geez, that was this huge dream I had.

1:19:29

Yeah.

And now it's.

It's over.

Yeah.

And so like, how did you grapple with that and like, decide to go after the record that you're going after now?

Yeah, Yeah.

I I think that the record was kind of the thing that just kind of fell into our labs.

1:19:47

Who told you about it?

Who?

TJ.

OK.

TJ Yeah, yeah.

So yeah, it's been a wild transition.

That's definitely.

Because you get home, you're like, I'm done.

Woo.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Congrats.

Mic drop.

And then it's like, hey, how would you like to run 40 miles, 44 miles?

A day until Yeah, I knew, yeah.

1:20:04

And when I get back, yeah, like I said, I've been running as much as I can because my body, like I said, was not.

It did.

I don't think I knew what the effects of my body was until I got home and was able to like.

Sleep in your bed.

1:20:21

Yeah, just like this.

I don't know if you've read David Goggin's book.

I haven't yet.

OK, yeah, yeah, he's a different kind of character.

He is like his hard but.

I feel like I I feel like I could read it.

Yeah, he talked about like after he did so much and it just this like fatigue.

1:20:37

I was dealing with like like chronic fatigue for some reason, so.

Well, yeah, yeah.

So did you take any time off?

Yeah, no, I did.

I actually took like 3 or 4 days completely off.

I thought you're going to say weeks, which I was going to.

1:20:52

I guess that's not possible given I don't even know what day it is for six.

OK, well that's good.

Like you gave yourself a few days off and then did the math for the world record for the number of miles run in a consecutive 365 days is is how how much like. 14,000 maybe 100 or something like that.

1:21:14

Yeah.

Oh my God, yeah.

Yeah, it's crazy.

So I mean, I feel like you set out to do something, you're going to do it, so you're going to, I mean, do you feel like, yeah, I'm going to get it done?

I'm going to do the best I can, OK?

I mean, I don't like to put things, yeah.

It's hard because it's like, well, if you don't get there, how can you beat yourself up for that?

1:21:32

Because you just freaking ran around the whole country and nobody's done that.

Yeah, no, yeah.

I've came to the thing where it's like I had to really take in what I did.

Yeah, did across too.

Like, because it's like, I don't want to stay in it too much, but I also want to see what.

1:21:49

Yeah.

Because I think there's so much of that story that hasn't been told.

Yeah.

Well, I feel that because it's like I want more.

Because of yeah, it was a very I did, it wasn't something I did promote hardly at all.

Like I said, I mean, yeah, when I, when I left, my mom dropped me off and then like that was the only person that really other than my teammates and a few other people.

1:22:11

And then if I think about now, there's probably millions of people that have actually came in contact with me since I've, I mean, I've, I at least saw a couple million people by people driving by me, like, I mean, so many people are just seeing me out on the road or something like that, like.

1:22:29

Well, I'm like, you need APR person who's going to like.

I'm like, why aren't you on like Good Morning America?

Yeah.

How have you not been on like I mean, is that do you aspire to to Share your story?

Yeah, no, I do.

There's just so much going on right now, if you think about it.

Well, yeah, I mean after October, yeah.

People are just so they're so embedded in things that yeah, that take you away from who you want to be.

1:22:50

Yeah.

So it's like it's kind of hard.

I mean, I, I've had people tell me like, you know, these kind of things don't I don't what things people want are interested in, you know, like.

That bullshit, yeah.

Well, I mean, like they, they did this story, but they were like this.

1:23:08

They're like the, the truth of matter is people like this, the the all the crappy stuff.

Yeah, all the crappy stuff.

And it's, I mean, that's with everything in life, the food, the way it is.

Everything is it's supply and demand.

We can't blame somebody else when we're the problem.

1:23:26

But yeah, no.

And that's what we've been trying to do.

And I just tried to do as many of these and I'd like to say that things just happen the way they're.

Posed to.

Because I mean, that guy that did all the rock climbing stuff, it wasn't until like, I forget what his name is, but it wasn't until like a year or so two years after until he got on Joe Rogan.

1:23:47

Yeah.

So I bet he was like, it's like, I'm not ever going to get out, you know?

Right.

Like he just never know you.

Just never know you'll you'll encounter the right person, yeah, like that whole 5° of separation.

You like encounter somebody that yeah, will make that happen.

And if it's supposed to happen, yes and yeah.

1:24:03

Oh my gosh, that would be so.

Wild, Yeah, it would be and plus I have yeah, I mean, after doing this run, I have something that if if it works out with the team and stuff like that, I have something that would really.

What?

What is that?

Are you going to tell me or you're not?

1:24:18

I think, I mean, yeah, I'm not afraid to.

I mean, I know there's six other continents that I haven't ran on.

And what I found out there was running just in America.

It was just I, I yearn for to be back out there just with the people and stuff like that.

1:24:37

And I just want to, I was able to show that, yeah, that love and connection that I think really a lot of people were able to really hold onto.

And we don't get to see that overseas.

And I know some places I might not be able to show that, but I really like the because it's more, yeah, the running feet is crazy, but it's more than that.

1:24:56

It's more it's showing the connection that we have to each and every one of us because I'm a guy that doesn't see, you know, that's overseas.

This, this is home there at this home to me.

Oh.

My gosh.

So I'd like to do something with that and actually work with some sort of like fundraiser with like clean water and stuff like that because like food and water became so important to me out there.

1:25:21

I don't know who exactly that is.

I've been looking, but I would like to do stuff like that where people are able to have access to clean food and water and that the money that goes into it, I see it that it's done.

Not that I give you this money, no.

1:25:38

Put it.

Right back yeah, I want to see that you know but I would like to do that because it's it's kind of crazy that there's like I think 3 billion people that don't have access to that and I couldn't imagine from being out there how important because I.

I didn't know how important it was because I can just go to my sink, I can go to my fridge like.

1:25:57

Right, it's something that everyday.

And it's like a basic, basic thing that a lot of people don't have.

Yeah, yeah, it's wild, wild to think about that.

I gosh, I don't want to stop talking to you.

No, it's like, it's just, I love your attitude and the message that you're sharing too, just with like kindness and being yourself and all the things, especially coming from a place where you didn't think you wanted to be on this earth.

1:26:25

Well, it shows you what happens if you don't, you don't be authentically you.

And it it is hard not to be because like the way we grow up, we're taught to that you had to do this a certain way and be this way and you honestly don't have to.

1:26:41

We live in such a beautiful time right now that we have those, we have those avenues to do whatever we want to do compared to 100 years ago.

Like you can look at YouTube, some of these people that do stuff like the only person that stops us is ourselves.

1:26:58

Like the only person I'll ever be mad at is myself.

For even if someone does something, it's my reaction on how I react.

So it's like I took that a lot out there like and no one can make you upset but yourself.

And I want to live in a beautiful world, so.

1:27:16

Are people mean to you on the Internet?

All right they are.

It doesn't matter.

OK, I bet you that there are some and you're just like how?

How can you be mean to Cam?

Yeah, well, it's just, I mean, it's just a reflection of the world.

It really is.

So, I mean, all I say is that is like, I hope at the end of the day you feel better because I wouldn't want to feel like that.

1:27:34

Like when I see, I remember watching Paul Johnson run across the country, and obviously some people were giving him some hate.

But I was like, you know, those people aren't in your shoes.

They don't know what you're doing.

Like, and they just the best thing to do is not reply because I don't need to reply because I'm doing.

1:27:52

Yeah.

I'm out, I'm doing.

I'm doing what I love to do.

And hopefully, hopefully you can see that.

Yeah, right.

And it doesn't matter because I'm going to keep doing.

Yeah.

And it's like we just.

That's one thing with technology.

We can see all that.

It wasn't like, yeah, 10 years ago, you didn't have a when I was young, you didn't you didn't see if anyone was hating on.

1:28:12

You're not.

Yeah, didn't care.

Thank goodness.

And sometimes, though, like I learned like with my stuff, some of the stuff, even the hate, some of the stuff, you don't even know if these are real people, like they're fake people on the Internet.

Like, and I, I didn't notice that until my things started getting a lot bigger.

1:28:29

And it seemed like even the people that were fighting against each other weren't actual people.

It was almost like I was like, what's going on?

I was like, what is going on?

I just want to.

Yeah.

And you're Cameron Balzer on Instagram.

Yeah, Cameron Dean Balzer.

Oh, Dean, I forgot about the Dean.

That.

Is that your middle name I assume?

1:28:45

Yeah.

OK.

I don't want to ask you then.

I have one more question before I end of the podcast.

Questions.

You have tattoos?

Yeah.

Will you get a tattoo to like, commemorate this adventure?

Yeah, I had somebody that came up with a tattoo idea and that's funny you say that.

1:29:03

I'm going to actually probably message him and see because they came up with something and said he said that their place would do it as a donation.

So I think yeah, that would definitely be.

It would be really cool.

OK, I'll.

Be I'll be staying tuned for that.

Yeah.

OK, end of the podcast.

So sad.

1:29:19

So for you, I imagine you didn't listen to music while you're out on the out on the road.

But I always ask everybody what their favorite running like song and or mantra is.

Probably never going to break my stride.

I forget.

Oh, that's a good one.

Yeah, I don't know either.

1:29:34

But whatever my yeah my code.

That is definitely your vibe.

Too.

Yeah, probably mantra moving and grooving.

Moving and yeah, of course, that makes sense.

Yeah.

OK.

And then next milestone, we'll find out I guess by October 8th if if you're going to get that record, I know everyone's cheering for you.

1:29:54

Yes and if I don't, I will definitely with what I want to do next.

But I know this last trip was mainly about the running thing, but this I want to integrate a little bit more of like a humanitarian kind of thing, like, because I really, yeah, I know my life's more important than running right now.

1:30:12

Like I just, I, yeah, I just, I don't know, I just want to be able to help people.

That's like the means to helping is like the running piece.

Of it, and I know, I guess they go hand in hand.

They do go hand in hand.

It's like it's running club.

Yeah, yeah, you can just be like I, I'm going to start the running club for the Earth and I'm going to travel over the world and.

1:30:31

Just yeah, I just want, I just want to see what people are doing in, in their culture and what works just even health wise, like what can we do?

Like, because when I did run across America, it it's it's kind of scary to see how, how sick people are.

1:30:49

Yeah.

And it's like, yeah.

And a lot of them just don't know any better.

And I just, yeah, I've been there like mentally, maybe not physically, but I've been there mentally, so.

Yeah, we have something for you too.

I made a movin and Groovin mug and then I got the stats off of the MTC website so hopefully they're so.

1:31:13

If they're not right, you can blame TJ or whoever does the website.

That is so great.

So yeah, thank you.

But thank you so much for doing this.

Thank you.

Yes, Yeah, I'll, I'll come down again.

Oh, it's such an honor to meet you in person.

I feel like I've gotten to know you through watching video of you and like, listening to you on other interviews.

1:31:31

But yeah, you're just amazing.

So thank you so much for your doing.

Thank you so much for yeah, spreading this.

That really means a lot to me.

And thanks everybody who has listened and happy run in.

Yep, thank you.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and share and follow me on Instagram.

1:31:47

ALYTBRET under score runs.