And I've realized something:

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I don't want to wait for somebody else to decide when my life gets to move forward.

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I could keep trying to find the traditional path back into a career and hope the right opportunity comes along.

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Or I could start building my own.

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I've always been drawn to fitness, challenges and pushing myself physically and mentally. I'm a hybrid athlete, but I don't want my future to be limited to simply being a runner.

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I don't want every challenge I take on to look the same.

I want to do things that are hard in different ways.

I want to test myself.

I want to experience things most people wouldn't willingly sign up for.

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And I want to tell those stories.

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This run is the first one.

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On October 17, I'm leaving Bristol, Tennessee and running more than 2,800 miles to Los Angeles.

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I'll be alone.

I'll be pushing everything I need in an expedition cart.

There won't be a support vehicle following me.

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For roughly 70 days, I'll be dealing with whatever the road gives me; mountains, deserts, heat, cold, wind, rain, exhaustion, loneliness and everything in between.

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And I'm going to document all of it.

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Because I'm not just trying to complete a run.

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I’m trying to build a career around proving that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they’re willing to step far outside their comfort zone.

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The reality is that regular people don't get much exposure.

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You can work your ass off creating content about something you love, put it online, and nobody may ever see.

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There's no guarantee that the algorithm will pick you.

There's no production company waiting to discover you.

There's no audience automatically waiting for your next challenge.

Sometimes one video goes viral and changes everything.

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Most of the time, it doesn't.

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So instead of waiting for someone to give me an opportunity, I'm creating one.

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I'm willing to go farther than anyone thought possible to make people pay attention to the story.

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Not because I want to become known as the guy who ran across America.

Because I want this to be the first chapter of something much bigger.

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The next challenge might look completely different.

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Maybe it will involve another physical feat.

Maybe it will involve another part of the country.

Maybe it will involve helping other people.

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And yes, eventually, I absolutely want to use these challenges to give back.

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I'm a good-hearted and compassionate person. Helping people is something that matters to me, and if I eventually have the opportunity to use what we're building to raise money or awareness for causes that need it, I want to do that.

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But right now, I have to be honest about where we are.

My family needs me to rebuild first.

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There is nothing wrong with wanting to help other people while you're struggling.

But right now, my first responsibility is getting my own family back on solid ground.

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That's why this run isn't for a charity.

 

My family is the cause.

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And I don't want that to sound like we're asking people to feel sorry for us.

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We're not.

We're trying to build something.

We're trying to turn an incredibly difficult chapter of our lives into the beginning of something better.

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I'm not taking 70 days away from my family because I don't have responsibilities.

I'm spending those 70 days trying to create a future where I can take better care of them.

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I know what this means for my wife.

I know what it means for my kids.

I know Brittany is going to have to carry a lot while I'm gone.

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We don't take that lightly.

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But we also know that staying exactly where we are isn't going to change anything.

Something has to change.

And I'm willing to be the person who makes that change happen.

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I want my kids to see that.

I want them to grow up knowing that when life knocks you down, you don't stay there.

You get back up.

You take the next step.

And then another.

And sometimes, when the path you were on disappears completely, you have to be brave enough to make your own.

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That's what this is.

A new path.

A new career.

A new chapter.

And hopefully, a new life for our family.

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People may look at this and think the reward is reaching California.

It isn't.

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The real reward is everything that could be waiting on the other side of that finish line.

My wife.

My four kids.

The opportunities this journey could create.

The relationships it could build.

The doors it could open.

And the possibility of turning something I love into a career that allows me to provide for my family while doing things that actually mean something to me.

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That's what I'm chasing.

Not just the finish line.

Everything beyond it.

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THIS ISN'T ABOUT ASKING SOMEONE TO SAVE US.

I want to make that clear.

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My family has been through a difficult financial chapter. That's the truth, and it's one of the reasons I'm doing this in the first place.

But I'm not asking people to donate because we're struggling.

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I'm asking people to support what we're building.

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This journey is my first challenge toward creating a completely different future for myself and my family.

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Making 2,800+ miles across the country happen requires equipment, food, water, camping gear, safety supplies, technology and countless other things. We're building the entire expedition from the ground up, and that's where people's support can make a difference.

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When someone donates, they're not fixing my family's problems.

They're helping me create an opportunity.

They're helping get me to the starting line.

They're helping make the journey possible.

And they're helping give this story a chance to reach people who might never have seen it otherwise.

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Because the goal isn't to finish in California and say, "I ran across America."

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The goal is to cross that finish line with something new waiting on the other side.

A career.

Opportunities.

Partnerships.

New challenges.

A future I built instead of one I waited for someone else to give me.

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This run is the first run of that future.

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So, if you choose to support it, that's what you're supporting.

Not a handout.

Not our household expenses.

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You're supporting a person who is willing to go farther than anyone thought possible to build something better for his family.

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And hopefully, when I reach Santa Monica Pier and my wife and four kids are waiting at the finish line, we'll know that every person who followed, shared, donated, ran beside me or opened a door was part of how we got there.

That's what this journey is really about.

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And just know, if you're wanting to help.. it doesn't have to be money..

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Follow the journey.

Share it.

Tell somebody about it.

Run a mile with me when I come through your town.

Introduce us to a business that might want to partner with us.

Help us get the story in front of somebody who can open a door.

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Because I can travel 2,800+ miles.

I can push the cart.

I can put one foot in front of the other every day.

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But I can't build the audience alone.

That's where you come in.

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We're not asking you to simply watch a guy cross America.

We're asking you to watch the first chapter of a completely new life.

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And maybe, if we're lucky, you'll be able to say you were there when it started.

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Bristol, Tennessee → Los Angeles, California.

2,800+ miles.

70 days.

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One cart.

One dad.

One family.

One first challenge.

One long road toward a brighter tomorrow.

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And when I reach Santa Monica Pier, this won't be the end.

It will be the beginning.