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Where EAST meets the Northwest
COAST TO COAST TO COAST. Reza Baluchi, a former member of the Iranian National Cycling Team,
is shown jogging with his belongings in a stroller in Ironwood, Mich. Baluchi is attempting to break the world record for longest solo run around the perimeter of the continental United States. (AP Photo/The Daily Globe, Julie Wroblewski)
From The Asian Reporter, V17, #50 (December 11, 2007), page 8.
Iranian cyclist running U.S. perimeter passes through Michigan
By Julie Wroblewski
Daily Globe
IRONWOOD, Mich. (AP) — Reza Baluchi is running for peace and charity at a rate of 50 miles per day.
Baluchi, 36, a former member of the Iranian National Cycling Team, is attempting to break the world record for longest solo run around the perimeter of the continental U.S. Last month, he was already more than two-thirds there.
He stopped in Ironwood on November 23 for lunch while his "baby," the souped-up stroller he pushes while running, was fixed at Hobby Wheel.
His charity choice is The Children’s Hospital in Colorado.
The current record is 10,608 miles in nine months. Baluchi aims to break the record by running the same distance in less than seven months.
"I don’t really care about the Guinness record," Baluchi said.
He said his main purpose for running the perimeter of the U.S. is to inspire people to make a difference in their world. He wants people to realize by his example that "you can do whatever you want to do, if you put your mind in it."
A volunteer from The Children’s Hospital accompanied him for most of the trip, following in a donated RV. Baluchi was running 19-hour days and covering 55 to 110 miles a day, depending on the roads and conditions.
The RV was in a wreck in Virginia, Minn., on November 10. The driver was hospitalized for several days. Rather than wait for the RV to be repaired, Baluchi put it in storage, bought a baby stroller, and continued his undertaking.
He has been alone on the road since, and the jogger has slowed his progress slightly.
"I am averaging 48 to 55 miles a day," Baluchi said. "If the road is flat, it is better."
He sleeps in a tent most nights. On November 22, he pitched his tent under a lone street lamp along U.S. 2 between Ashland, Wis., and Ironwood.
Early on November 23, he was awakened by a stranger’s voice.
"He said, ‘Hello? Are you OK in there?"’ Baluchi said.
"I told him that I was OK. Then the man asked me, ‘Do you have a baby in there?"’ Baluchi laughed. The man driving by noticed the stroller outside the tent.
"Everywhere I go, everyone is so nice. Everyone wants to help," he said.
He has dedicated this endeavor to the memory of his father, who passed away in 2006. On June 17, Father’s Day, he started his journey in New York City and worked his way south along the eastern seaboard. In the last five months, he’s run across the southern border of the U.S., up the West Coast and then east across the northernmost states.
He hopes to complete his journey sometime in January when he arrives in New York again.
A portion of the money for this run and past runs was composed of donations from the Iranian-American community and others moved by his story and message.
"I want people to know that the Iranians want peace. We are peaceful people," Baluchi said.
Baluchi has no idea how much he’s raised thus far since most of the donations go directly to The Children’s Hospital.
"People give me money wherever I go for the cause. I have sent several checks to the hospital, but most of the money I never see," Baluchi said.
Because he ran across the lower part of Texas rather than around the perimeter, Baluchi is making up the distance by running the perimeter of the Upper Peninsula, then back down through Wisconsin and around Lake Michigan.
When Baluchi is not running, he works as a mechanic in Denver and lives in Boulder, Colo. He said he likes his job, but always looks forward to his "life on the road."