While running across the entire state of Utah may seem like a crazy idea, it’s not quite as out-there as the story that prompted Tommy Green, a 37-year-old from Salt Lake City, to do it in the first place.
In 2015, Green, who formerly sang with the Christian metal band Sleeping Giant, was posting videos to his popular Youtube channel when he received a strange email from a fan. In the message, a 15-year-old girl from France explained that she was stuck in an abusive home, and felt threatened by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. She said she needed help fast.
“When I first opened the message, I thought it was a scam,” Green said in a phone call to Runner’s World. But his wife, Krissi, encouraged him to reply and tell the girl to alert the police. The couple sent a message back with this advice, and soon, they were locked in an anxious back-and-forth email conversation with the mysterious French teen as she attempted to get out of her troubled home.
Over the next year, the Greens kept in touch with the girl and even attempted to adopt her from their home in Utah, but she fell into one bad situation after another. Later, they found out she had been sold into human trafficking in France, and that she passed away in 2016 when she was just 16, from a health condition likely caused by the abuse.
The news shook the Greens, who have four children of their own.
“We knew we wanted to do something to help prevent human trafficking, so this doesn’t happen to more children,” Green said. “Because this problem happens in America, too.” As he was brainstorming ways to raise funds and awareness for the issue, he remembered hearing about a man who had skateboarded across the country to raise money for charity.
“I can’t skateboard, but I can run,” said Green, who started running in 2009 when he agreed to race the Salt Lake City Marathon with his friend. After finishing, Green continued to train, routinely going out for 30-minute jogs before shows when he was still touring with Sleeping Giant, and later, fitting in morning runs with his real estate work schedule.
[Smash your goals with a Runner’s World Training Plan, designed for any speed and any distance.]
While going cross-country was a little too daunting, Green thought he might be able to run across the state of Utah—a 426-mile trek on backroads—with the goal of raising $100,000 to help fund Utah rescue centers for trafficking victims as well as educational efforts in local high schools. So in May of this year, he and Krissi mapped out his course and simultaneously launched their own nonprofit organization to support the cause, Run Against Traffic.
On October 3, Green kicked off his run in Portage, Utah. His goal was to arrive in St. George two weeks later, which would require averaging around 30 miles per day.
To prepare for the journey, Green said he ran 50 to 58 miles a week, including a weekend long run of 15 to 24 miles. Though he was fit and injury-free going into the run, the long days ahead were daunting.
“The worst part was the constant dread that it wasn’t ending anytime soon,” said Green, who was supported by two vans stocked with fuel and ice, driven by his wife and friends.
The first day went smoothly, but it poured rain for all of day two, which gave Green terrible blisters. When those healed, he had to deal with deep fatigue in his quads that no ice bath could cure, which eventually caused his right leg to completely seize up about mid-way through his journey.
That day, he could only make it eight miles before he had to call it quits.
“For the next few days, I had to walk my mileage,” Green said. “That was definitely the lowest part of the run.” To fuel those long days on his feet, Green said he ate everything he could get his hands on, particularly Rice Krispy treats. “They got me through it,” he said.
Though his leg injury put him two days behind schedule, Green still made good time: On Friday, October 19, he finished his last stretch into St. George, joined by an entourage of members of the city’s ultrarunning club, as well as friends who flew in for the event. Even some runners whom Green didn’t know joined along to support his cause.
“It was incredible to have everyone there,” said Green, who raised $4,700 during the run, and is continuing to fundraise through his site. “My legs are going to take a long time to recover, but it’s so worth it to make a difference in children’s lives.”
Hailey first got hooked on running news as an intern with Running Times, and now she reports on elite runners and cyclists, feel-good stories, and training pieces for Runner's World and Bicycling magazines.
