Christina and "Thor"
crossing Utah's West Desert
There are bucket lists, and then there is Christina Lee’s
bucket list. The 23-year old spent four days running across Tooele County two
weeks ago.
She covered
nearly 25 miles each day running from Lake Point to Wendover while pushing her
70-pound support stroller dubbed “Thor” on I-80.
But her
West Desert journey serves as a small fraction of Christina’s ultimate quest to
run 3,100 miles from New York City to San Francisco. Lee began in early July and plans on
completing the journey Dec. 6.
“Run Across
America” is the third of 20 hand-printed line items on her personal bucket
list. That’s right. Four time zones, 11 states and countless dots on the map in
an effort to raise $100,000 for the Navy SEALS Foundation.
Now this is a serious bucket list
The Navy
SEAL Foundation provides immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the
Naval Special Warfare Community and its families.
“You have
to know and understand who you are raising the money for,” says the energetic
runner heading toward her home in San Jose. “A bake sale just isn’t going to
cut it.”
Christina continues
her efforts toward the century watermark with over $25,000 contributed to her
cause. She hopes her exposure on the front cover of the December issue of
Runner’s World magazine will push her closer to that goal.
She
explains how families of Navy SEAL soldiers are unable to proudly display bumper
stickers and wave flags of the special operations force that their husbands, sons
and brothers serve in for obvious security reasons.
“Since
there is really no ‘safety net’ for those families, they definitely need all our
support,” she says.
The foundation
supports SEAL families in a wide range of services including gaps in insurance
coverage, burial costs, flight assistance, children holiday events, tragedy
assistance, professional counseling and scholarships for surviving children.
Every
dollar contributed for the Lee’s cause goes directly to the foundation. Her
personal savings and family assistance supports her 5-month cross-country quest.
Christina, who
tackles this massive mission without a support crew, expresses gratitude for
Tooele Running Club members who have buoyed her up in western Utah.
“Tooele is
simultaneously the cat's meow and the bee's knee. The folks here are the
kindest, most warmhearted people I could ever hope to meet and they routinely
go out of their way to help me. A transcon runner couldn't ask for a better
state than Utah,” she says.
Tooele
Running Club members who met, visited, ran, fed and housed Lee mutually share
those feelings.
About 15
club members greeted her in the Lake Point Comfort Inn parking lot on their “Run
Christine Out of Town” run.
Rick Spence,
Tooele, ran with Christina in Salt Lake County and the following Saturday in
the Lake Point-Stansbury area.
“Whether in
her enthusiasm every time she sees a horse or how excited she gets when she
finds the perfect tumbleweed, Christina is the ideal example of someone who
finds fun in the journey,” Rapid Rick says.
Aaron
Spilker of Stansbury Park who completed an Ironman Triathlon in June says,
“Christina is the epitome of inspiration. I was astounded to learn that not
only is she running unsupported, she and her family are footing the bill.”
Aaron ran
with Christina for a few hours on the eastern edge of the West Desert. He
and his wife, Joey, also helped arrange housing, food and transportation so Christina avoided overnight camping on the Salt Flats.
“I was
stunned when she thanked us. Joey and I were the ones being blessed by the
experience,” Spilker added.
Christina takes an evening break
in Stansbury Park, Utah.
But the
mental stress of thinking about the logistics of housing, food and handling the
mechanics of stroller repairs can be burdensome. “Just thinking about if there
will be a room available in a hotel and things like often weighs on me.”
Christina has faced her fair share of physical challenges. “The most challenging was a snow
storm in the mountains of Wyoming at 7,000 feet above sea level. It was a
bone-chilling storm that went right through me. When that happened, I packed it
in for the day after only 13 miles.”
While crossing the plains of Iowa,
a wheel on her support stroller popped and she was forced to carry “Thor” 17 miles.
“And it’s about two-thirds my body weight.”
“Nothing
seems to get in her way as she pushes through all of the challenges,” says
Tracy Schaffer of Stansbury Park.
“As I thought about Christina
throughout the day I realized how strong a person can be if only they set their
mind to it,” she added. Tracy made additional housing contacts with people in Elko for Christina.
Christina left
the East Coast packing bachelor’s degrees from New York University and Stevens in computer
science and mechanical engineering with an emphasis robotics. She earned them
simultaneously at the two universities.
The long,
lean running machine was told as a youth that she was a slow runner. However, she
competed on her high school soccer and cross country teams and and has completed five
marathons.
“I may be a little above average for a marathoner,” she
modestly says. "I have yet to break four hours."
She now is
better than halfway across the 400-mile Nevada stretch from Wendover to Reno.
Next week she climbs the Sierra Nevada Mountains over Donner's Pass. Then it is down the home stretch
to the San Francisco Bay area where she plans to wrap up her journey on Dec. 6.
“I love
life and I love living,” she says. “It’s really just a matter of putting one
foot in front of the other.”
For
additional details about Christina Lee’s Run Across America go to https://www.crowdrise.com/runningacrossamerica/ or https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaRunsAmerica
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