91-year-old man runs across the country. Greatest generation continues to troll us.
He's putting the rest of us to shame.
Running: It's soooooo hard.
Artist's rendering of me after running 1/2 a mile. Photo by Aimee Rivers/Flickr.
Or, at least I used to think so.
Until I heard about what Ernie Andrus is doing. And now I feel majorly ashamed.
Ernie Andrus is a 91-year-old World War II veteran. He is currently running cross-country from California to Georgia. By himself.
That's him in the green vest. Photo via Coast2coastruns/Facebook.
"My wife didn't want me to do it," Ernie told Upworthy via e-mail. "But when I said it's something I really want to do, she started helping me make plans. Some said I was crazy but no one tried to talk me out of it."
Ernie is running to raise money for the LST 325 Memorial, which hopes to bring Ernie's old World War II landing craft back to Normandy for the next D-Day commemoration. Not only was Ernie a crewmember on the LST 325, but it's also the last fully operational ship of its kind. Which makes it hugely historically significant.
At this point, the run barely even fazes him.
Ernie in California in 2014. Photo via Coast2coastruns/Facebook.
"After a long run, I have to either keep running or hold onto something. If I try to stop or walk I lose my balance. That only last for a couple minutes. Then I feel great."
Is he making progress? We'll, let's put it this way:
As of March 2015, Ernie had made it all the way from California to Texas.
Original map image by Wapcaplet/Wikimedia Commons.
He plans to run the rest of the way in the next two years. You can follow his journey on Facebook and support him with money (or just encouragement) here.
"I'm sure there are many others my age who could do what I'm doing," Ernie said. "It's just not something they want to do."
I'm 29 years old. In my physical prime. And I can't run half a block without getting winded. But to see Ernie run so far, so persistently at 91 is to know hope.
Maybe not for me.
Again, this is basically what I would look like. Photo by Aimee Rivers/Flickr.
But perhaps for you.
Go, Ernie, go!
Photo via Coast2coastruns/Facebook.