States Runner

Brian Stark

States Runner Completion Plan
16 states left to cross
$48,000 Funding Goal

Big Ticket States: $5k each

Hawaii (Spring 2022)

Alaska (on the Iditarod Trail March 2022)

Rhode Island (Finishing in WaterPlace Park at the WaterFire Event, Providence, RI, Summer 2022)

Moderate Ticket States: $2k each

Texas (Guadalupe Mountains southeast to Corpus Christi, Fall 2021)

North Dakota (Summer 2017)

South Dakota (Summer 2017)

New Mexico (Spring 2016)

Florida (Spring 2021)

Maine (1/2) (half was hiked on the Appalachian Trail)

Minnesota (2016)

Montana (2018)

Little Ticket States: $1k each

Louisiana (2019)

Alabama (2019)

Arkansas (2019)

Georgia (1/2) (I hiked the northern half of GA while finishing the Appalachian Trail) (2020)

Kentucky (Summer 2016)

Mississippi (2020)

Oklahoma (2020)

Contingency: $5k

I have crossed 31 states on foot and I need your help to get to all 50. Let's bury this thing! Just to be clear, this means running from one side of a state to the other, often alone and wearing a backpack. Many of these states are 500 miles across. So imagine running nearly 20 marathons in a row in less than two weeks and I've done that 31 times.

If you can help me finish this goal, this will likely become the first time anyone has accomplished this. Beyond any historic records, I believe this project is one that can reunite America in both symbolic and tangible ways. In the 9,000+ miles I have already run and hiked across states I have been befriended by countless strangers who I now consider friends: pastors who let me sleep in their church, firemen who served up an extra dish of pasta in their firehouse, families who took me in and washed my single running outfit and an elderly woman who handed me $1.73 on the steps of a post office. I haven't solicited donations on these runs but people come to me, curious what I'm doing, but then compelled to become a part of it. I believe that we all strive to be a part of something big. We want to make a difference. And we want what we do to matter. By completing my goal to cross all 50 states on foot I believe every person I have come in contact with will join in celebrating the kindness, the beauty, the variety, and the endurance of America. As a middle school teacher, I make it a special point to share my travels with kids everywhere I go.
I do this not to tell them that they should go on a 20,000 mile run, but to instill a sense of purpose in them. I encourage them to find the thing they love, no matter what it is and do it, no matter the obstacles. For me it's meeting people by running to get places. I even published a book about my cross-country run that has proved a school favorite with my students.

The last four states of this project will be: Texas (in December), followed by Alaska (running the Iditorod Trail on snow in Februrary), followed by circumnavigating the 5 main islands of Hawaii in Spring, and finally, a border to border run across tiny Rhode Island, finishing in Waterplace Park in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Talk about an after-race party. I've recently learned of an outstanding event that happens on summer and fall weekends called WaterFire on the canals in Providence. Eighty fires are lit in metal pits elevated from the canal on posts. Gondolas take visitors down the canal and the banks are filled with spectators, musicians, performers, and vendors. And everyone who has been a part of this project is invited to be there! All four of these final states will take place on or before the year 2022. When they happen is up to you!
Small individual donations are welcome and serve as a testament to the many countless adventurers and supporters across America. Corporate donations are also welcome and sponsorship opportunities exist.

No matter what level of support you can offer, being a part of this project symbolizes the greatness of this nation, the endurance of the human body and the connection between neighbors.