By EMILY GEDDE
Staff Writer
A face familiar to Borderland appeared on the online version of Reader’s Digest Oct. 29.
A photo of Mike Ehredt followed by members of the Falls High cross country team accompanied a story that featured the runner who began in International Falls a 2,100-mile journey across the country to honor and remember service members who died in Afghanistan.
Ehredt began Project America Run Aug. 23 after dipping the wheel of his jogging stroller in Rainy River’s international waters at the Pat Roche Memorial Access. He will finish Nov. 11 — Veteran’s Day — on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas.
“I’ve only had a couple flat tires, but I’m doing good,” Ehredt told The Journal from Jonesville, La., this week.
The flat tires he is referring to are the five pairs of shoes he’s gone through since beginning his adventure — which consists of a marathon per day — 73 days and 1,812 miles ago.
The 51-year-old U.S. Army veteran, retired postal clerk and experienced ultra-marathoner, in 2010 ran more than 4,400 miles, from Oregon to Maine, in honor of service members who died in Iraq.
This run has a similar theme as the last — at each mile Ehredt places a flag that holds a ribbon bearing the name, rank, age, hometown, and service affiliation of the fallen soldiers. After placing the flag, Ehredt salutes and continues his journey.
This time around, he said next week’s ending is bitter sweet.
“I’m excited to be done, but sad in a way,” he said. “I am realizing I’ll never do anything like this again in my life.”
Ehredt said his journey has been “going just fine” and has had few days with inclement weather. The runner said he only had three days of rain in Minnesota, Illinois and Tennessee.
“It’s just like a day at work,” he said of each day he runs. “If it rains, I run in the rain.”
Ehredt explained that along the way, he has spent time with some “wonderful people.” Rather than bunking in a hotel each night, Ehredt has been staying with host families along the way.
“I’ve stayed with everybody from state representatives to farmers to teachers,” he said. “I’ve attended a Mississippi State football game and have seen cotton growing for the first time.”
Ehredt said he is 10 pounds lighter than when he started and with a chuckle, admitted there “wasn’t much to me anyway.
“I don’t know how much help I’ll be in the (Pulling for Peace) tug-of-war next summer. I’m like a brick foundation with a straw hut.”
He said there are times he cannot believe he is as far into his journey as he is. “It feels like I was just up (in International Falls,)” he said.
The 11 a.m. finish scheduled for Nov. 11 will feature a round of speakers and a dinner in honor of Ehredt, and the next day he’ll be on a plane home to Hope, Idaho.
“When I get home, I have a lot of wood to split for the winter,” he said with a laugh.
A documentary of the 2012 Project America Run is expected to be released sometime next year and Ehredt said he is excited to share his journey with everyone.
For more information on Project America Run and to see video clips of Ehredt’s journey, visit www.projectamericarun.com.
