by Dave Whatever and Nancy Feehrer (MEdu'92)
(Nomad Press, 32 pages; 2019)
As a teenager,听Boston Marathon Race Director听Dave听McGillivray听heard a news story听about a person biking across the United States. 鈥淲hat a great idea!鈥� he听thought. 鈥淏ut instead of a bike, I鈥檒l use my sneakers!鈥澨�
Thus听begins the funny, touching, true听story of听McGillivray鈥檚听80-day,听3452-mile run from Medford, Oregon,听to听his hometown of听Medford, Massachusetts, in 1978. In听Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home,听McGillivray听tells the tale of how he braved the Sierra and Rocky Mountains, millions of听grasshoppers听in Nebraska, days of pouring rain in Ohio, the occasional rattlesnake, and听persistent听sore knees.听听
And听McGillivray isn鈥檛 running just to chase his own dream.听By making the run a fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund, McGillivray听joins his favorite baseball team, the Red Sox, in making lives better for听kids听battling cancer.听听
Through 13听states, blistering heat, and being 鈥減ulled over鈥� by a State Trooper,听McGillivray听relies on good friends, family,听a sense of humor,听and sheer determination to fulfill a dream鈥攁nd to help kids who can鈥檛 run.听听