Man runs across America raising money for children’s hospitals
By Jordan Mazza
FRANKLIN, MA (WLNE) — Meet Jamie McDonald — also known as “Adventureman,” currently running 5,500 miles solo across the United States.
“I mean, I do look a bit crazy, don’t I?” McDonald said. “I mean, it is a bit weird. I run across a country wearing a cape.”
Yet Jamie McDonald didn’t always feel like a superhero.
He spent much of his childhood hospitalized, suffering from a rare spinal condition that could have prevented him from ever walking again.
But with the support of his doctors and family, he worked to stay physically active — and eventually his condition improved.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to jump in and just try,” McDonald said.
He jumped into this cross–country adventure with virtually no planning or physical training.
“You don’t recover,” he said of the marathon-equivalent distances he runs almost daily. “You just get stronger.”
But McDonald says what keeps him going is giving back to children’s hospitals through the Superhero Foundation.
“Every single state that I run through, I end up visiting the kids’ hospitals,” he said. “And so going in there dressed as a superhero and meeting the kids – that’s what it’s all about.”
That means a lot, even to complete strangers like Melissa McStravick.
She says her four children have all been treated at Boston Children’s Hospital. They enjoy following “Adventureman” online, and now the family has provided him food and shelter.
“It’s completely crazy, and that’s half the reason we support it,” McStravick said. “To do fun things, exciting things with your life, that are adventurous, but for a good cause.”
McDonald is in the final stretch of his journey. His coast–to–coast tour ends Wednesday in Gloucester, Massachusetts — a nod to his hometown of Gloucester, England.
But he is already energized for his next adventure.
“I won’t stop,” he said. “For me, this is just the beginning.”
McDonald encourages followers to track his movements online and donate to the Superhero Foundation.
(C)WLNE-TV 2019
