As Jim Shiew was nearing his 70th birthday, he decided it was time to make a longtime dream of his a reality. A lifelong runner and veteran of the Korean War, he wanted to do a long distance run to raise money for living veterans returning from war. He struggled to find an organization to partner with that fit the mission he envisioned and at one point gave up on the entire endeavor. However, through the help of friends and contacts Jim was put in touch with Special Operations Warrior Foundation in Tampa, Florida. SOWF has a mission of “Ensuring full scholarship grants as well as educational and family counseling to the surviving children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel who lose their lives in the line of duty and immediate financial assistance for severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.“ http://www.specialops.org. Jim liked what the organization stood for and decided to dedicate his run to those they support.
So after some delays and bumps in the road, Jim officially hit the road on January 1st after dipping his toes in the Pacific Ocean and just last week Jim ran through his hometown of Jetmore, Kansas. He is almost halfway through his run and averaging 15 miles a day. He plans to finish on November 1st in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He has battled wind and snow and will soon be dealing with intense summer heat. He runs miles on country roads alone often without seeing a car for miles. He tows a small Subaru behind a van that serves as his home away from home. He tows the Subaru to where he finished the day before, drives the van forward 2 or 3 miles then runs back to the Subaru and drives forward to the van. He repeats this process until he has run 12 to 15 miles for the day.
Please join us in supporting Jim and Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Follow Jim’s progress at www.facebook.com/JimForVets and consider a donation to SOWF in his name. We salute Jim in following his dream, no matter his age or the roadblocks he encountered.
