The start of this journey seems like a lifetime ago. Time has a way of sorting things out and organizing life in a way few people comprehend. During my trek this was a thought I clung to and prayed to be true. I knew if I could somehow keep putting one foot in front of the other, survive just one more day, one more night, eventually time and steps would take me to the end. I had been riding an emotional, physical, mental and spiritual roller coaster for months and the end was finally insight. This end being the Atlantic Ocean and the accomplishment of my wildest and most incomprehensible dream to date. It’s hard to describe the feeling of approaching the end of such an epic journey or the thoughts that went through my head in the closing miles. When I started out with my feet submerged in the Pacific Ocean my mind was filled with questions, wonder and the daunting thought of the unknown. I think this is one reason why the run was so interesting to follow. Everyone had the same questions, and the only way to answer them was to run. As the miles and days passed, questions found their answers, wonder was replaced with memories and the unknown became stories written in blogs. A later a book Running Water

People ask me all the time, “Why did you decide to do the run?” I usually reply by saying, “The adventure aspect intrigued me, and I wanted to do something to improve the water crisis.” Although this is true, it only scratches the surface of my reasoning. Running across America was the biggest dream I had at the time. After fulfilling a smaller dream of fixing up an old sailboat and living on it in Lake Michigan last summer, I spoke with so many people who shared their regrets. They kept telling me I need to do these things while I’m still young, before life gets ahold of me. Although, their advice struck me as odd since in my eyes, they were still capable of fulfilling their dreams. If you want to accomplish something the answer is not tomorrow it is today. It is now. It is always now. I have always desired to lead a fulfilled and meaningful life. For some reason my answer to that was running across America. The philosophy I learned on the sailboat also rang true for the run, follow your dreams and you will not be disappointed. You will not look back and say, “If only I would have lived on a sailboat,” or “If only I would have ran across America.” I know how time works and I know one day I will have to look back. Anything can be accomplished one step at a time. Sometimes the first step is the hardest, but without that first step I would have never been able to take my last step into the Atlantic Ocean.