Today I woke up feeling highly inadequate yet overtly inspired as my day is much of the same. Actually that’s a lie, I’m in Argentina while most of you are stuck working in an office. My good friend Sam, however, will be running 40 miles today, and 40 miles each subsquent day for 60 days thereafter in fact. Sam Fox is attempting to run the length of the Pacific Crest Trail to break a record of 65 days. The 2,650 mile trail runs the length of the west coast, from Canada to Mexico. The average daily elevation gain and loss is over 16,000 vertical feet. Sam organized the charitable endeavor in conjunction with his new foundation, Run While You Can to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s disease research. He dedicates all his efforts to his mother, who suffers from Parkinson’s, and all proceeds will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. His goal is to raise $250,000 to fight the terrible disease.
Sam was born in Rhode Island, and he is 23 years old. He attended Yale University where he was a 4 year varsity letterman in Track and Field. He won a gold medal in the High Jump at the 2007 Penn Relays, and earned All Ivy and All East recognition in 2009, while also qualifying for the NCAA East Regional Championships (all in the high jump). Sam is a 2007 graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
His newly found organization, Run While You Can is a registered 501(c)3 charitable foundation whose mission is to challenge the notion that a healthy tomorrow is promised to anyone, by creating awareness and financial support for events that emphasize the urgency of living fully today. If you want to donating to Run While You Can you can visit his website and track his 60 day endeavor HERE
