The Run: Moving Natural Medicine Forward

An Epic Run across America, as summarized by Dr. Dennis Godby, ND, Founder and Runner

Imagine, two older men drinking beer in a western Ohio bar, being inspired and quickly becoming emotional and raising their hands to give a “high five” as if their favorite team just scored a point- all to show their enthusiasm and support for The Run: Moving Natural Medicine Forward! These men got “it” – how desperately it was time for the American people to take their health into their own hands and DO SOMETHING about it and how encouraged they were that 4 men would run across the country to promote health and natural medicine!

Scenes like the two men above were typical across the country, whether it was a small business owner in Nevada, or a college student in Ohio, or a high school kid working at an RV campground in Utah, or a 20 year old pregnant waitress at Pizza Hut in Kansas, or the other thousands of people we encountered on The Run, people were genuinely moved by the very idea of running 3,100 miles across the USA. A 30 mile per day pace raised eyebrows everywhere across the country in our effort to transform America’s health through lifestyle change and natural medicine.

The American public clearly demonstrated a thirst for preventative healthcare solutions that likened our arduous thirst for water as we ran through the Nevada desert. We consistently observed an overwhelming acknowledgement that America is too dependent on drugs – pharmaceutical drugs!

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, or I should say, smooth running. We definitely had our moments over the 124 days – when we were unsure if our bodies and traveling “home” (motor home) would make it all the way to our ending point in Bridgeport, CT.  Just a few of the vehicle problems we encountered were:

• three tires blowing out on the freeway before the run even started,
• breaking down at night in a Pennsylvania pitch black night, what I called the local “Bermuda Triangle,”
• or our hole in the gas tank gasoline spill in a parking lot that required a local fire department to clean up for 4-6 hours,
• or how about the time the tires locked up while we were climbing and descending curves in the Rocky Mountains?

At one point in Media, PA, we got stuck, literally between a “rock and a hard place.”  Oh, just one more for fun, the fuse on the radiator blew out just as we were ready to climb one of the steepest sections of the Appalachian highway. But, the bottom line is, we kept determined and MOVING: pulling resources together and kept our eye on our goal. With tremendous support from generous Americans across the country, we reached our many destinations and our final ending point for this run in Connecticut, as we received a tremendous welcome and celebration at the University of Bridgeport!

Possibly the greatest accomplishment of The Run, was not killing or injuring each other after “living” together for 124 days (71 nights actually sleeping together in the motor home) in an old RV that was, literally, falling apart. There were no “comforts” such as electricity, WiFi, water for showers, safely refrigerated food; mechanically, we were just waiting for the next “shoe to fall” never knowing when or where the RV would break down next, or what interior gadget would break next. Our support/recovery specialist, Michael, ended up disconnecting the battery cables each night to better ensure the RV would start the next morning! After a while, we just had to laugh. Our modest shelter (RV) was leaking so badly a few times, that one night before bed, I said my goodbyes to Michael, “in case we all float away, it has been wonderful working with you.”

Did I mention the wild lions, wolves, tigers, bears and monkeys that were on the loose just a few miles from where we were running – seriously – this was a world-wide story from Zanesville, OH, on October 18. You can Google it! Another day, we were running along a Utah highway, minding our own business, when a high speed chase ensued, with, literally, cops chasing the robbers, until the “bad guys” crashed and were captured in front of our eyes.

But, as the saying goes, “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!” Among all of the bumps and struggles along the way, the little nuisances we endured paled in comparison to: the joy we felt for the many amazing experiences we had, gratitude for the people we met along the way and the relationships formed. There were so many out-stretched hands and homes to provide a warm shelter and meal, it would be impossible to forget and too numerous to try to mention.

The Run was, and will continue to be, a grassroots effort to transform America’s health. All activists must understand that, as Gandhi said, “the minority leads the majority.” The minority of NDs who seized the opportunity to get involved in The Run in whatever way that they deemed appropriate, I was completely impressed, and I couldn’t be any happier about their support. They stood up and asked to be counted on behalf of spreading the word about naturopathic medicine. Quite a few NDs told us they didn’t know how to organize an event, who didn’t see themselves as activists, but are now completely hooked by The Run, and were completely overjoyed by their participation and new sense of empowerment!

Anybody who got involved in The Run is a hero to me – regardless of the outcome of the events, or how they participated. Because of space limitations, it is impossible to acknowledge all the event planners. Jessica Patella (event in Dayton, OH), and Mandy Corwin (event in Richmond, IN) are from North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. They organized an event 800 to 1,000 miles from where they practice to support The Run. The Run team was blown away that they would travel so far to help spread the good news!

The Run received significant media coverage on the internet, television, radio and newspapers, and had incredible opportunities to educate in close to 100 towns and cities along the route, ranging from an audience of 250 grade school children in Delaware to the offices of 25 members of Congress in Washington, DC. (where we were very warmly received and given the opportunity to discuss the national healthcare crisis, natural and preventive medicine).

The Run was also presented with proclamations from governors in support of natural medicine in the states of: Colorado, New York and Connecticut, and Board of Supervisors and mayors of the cities of: San Francisco, Brooklyn, and Louisville, Colorado. Herb Schultz, the region IX director of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, expressed his 100% commitment to natural medicine in our struggle for a healthier world.

Countless people through the media, and thousands of people that we talked with directly in the 16 states and Washington, DC, heard the story of why an old guy (me) and three young men, Jonas Ely, Isaiah Godby, and Jeremiah Godby, (ages 18-21) would run 30 miles a day for 4 months across the USA. Lives were changed as a result of The Run and we are determined to carry this mission forward. The Run will continue. Currently, we are working hard to figure out exactly what The Run will look like for the coming future. If you would like to help make The Run movement even more effective than The Run 2011, please let me know!

On behalf of The Run leadership team, Rebecca Asmar, ND, Meghan O’Hara, RD, Mary Rita Ely, MA, Holly Lucille, ND, and myself, we would like to acknowledge and thank the many individuals and institutions, such as: AANP, naturopathic universities and the naturopathic state associations, and our corporate sponsors, Metagenics, Bioresource, Professional Formulas and Nordic Naturals, who had the vision to support and participate in The Run: Moving Natural Medicine Forward, to transform America’s health through lifestyle change and natural medicine.

Please check out www.TheRun.org and sign up for our email to keep involved and updated!

Imagine a group of high school athletes (and more than likely many others in the school as well), that can’t play to their potential simply because they don’t have enough food! Below is a feel good story which I highly recommend you watch! The larger question remains, however, why do the majority of Americans struggle with obesity and what to do with the abundance of food, while others simply do not have the financial resources to buy food so they have any chance of reaching their potential  – in the United States of America?

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Georgia-school-overcomes-hunger-to-claim-state-t?urn=highschool-wp10283

It seems forever since I’ve blogged, and I wasn’t sure how/what to write in a post The Run 2011 blog!

We began planning The Run, 2011, just over 2 years ago, in Sacramento, and actually doing The Run from July 17 to November 17, 2011, which seemed natural, and congruent, but I am/was less prepared for the conclusion of The Run and being back to “normal.”

If you are wondering about Jonas, Jeremiah and Isaiah, here’s the scoop as I know it! Jonas is, right now, on his way to Costa Rica with his family (Mary Rita, Craig, sister Tessa and brother Colin). They will visit Craig’s brother, Brian Ely, who owns an organic coffee hacienda in this peaceful country of Central America! For the two weeks after Jonas returned to Alaska, besides snowboarding, he was interviewed extensively in the Anchorage media about his participation in The Run! He will return to Chico State University in CA in late January for spring semester!

Isaiah and Jeremiah are back at the family home in Davis, and are working on plans for moving back to Oregon after the holidays! Isaiah and Jeremiah both ran the California International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento on December 4, had a great time and were happy about their times in the marathon, about 3:35.

Michael is back in Australia and Kristen moved back to Portland, OR.

As for me, I started seeing patients two weeks ago, and I am now back into the groove, but after being away for over 4 months, I have been doing quite of bit of reorganization at the office – updating my medical practice website, etc.

As for The Run, we believe it is critical that we keep the wonderful momentum going with more events in 2012, but we are in the preliminary stages right now, and will keep you posted.  If you have any feedback about The Run 2011, please email me at DrGodby@TheRun.org!

It is expected that being the first run of its kind (four family members running across the USA and living out of an old RV), there were many things that I would have done differently. That being said, from my perspective as: the founder of The Run, one of the four runners, and as the  administrator of The Run on the road for four months, I believe it was a smashing success!

As I reflect on The Run on the first morning back on the West Coast in Sacramento (after being gone for over 124 days), where the ideas for The Run were germinated, I am filled with awe, inspiration and a tremendous sense of gratitude for all of you that have regularly ready this column and have contributed so greatly to the realization of our dream to inspire the nation with natural medicine and to prevent the preventable!

I haven’t yet written on the finale in Bridgeport, because we were working practically around the clock to get things done so that we could return to California yesterday, and it was not a reflection on all that happened there!

Jonas, Jeremiah and Isaiah ran into Bridgeport ahead of the motor home; Jonas called me to report on what was happening at the University of Bridgeport, and was so excited and emotional at what he saw when he ran into Wheeler Rec Center, that he couldn’t help but call and share his excitement! It meant the world to the three runners who had just completed 3,000 miles!

Thanks to everybody who helped to make The Run happen!

The official end of The Run was Friday at 11 am, 11-11-11, in Manhattan at Sports Authority – 118 days after we left San Francisco on July 17! What a ride it has been, or I should say, what a run it has been!

The day started wonderfully in Brooklyn at The Green Fig Bakery Cafe! Their warm welcome was extremely timely. The spread of food and hospitality they provided was breath-taking. My only regret is that I didn’t have time to eat much of it! I can still visualize almost every detail of the food they had prepared, and can almost taste it!

The President of Brooklyn declared November 11-13 Natural Medicine Awareness Days in Brooklyn!

The Run over the Brooklyn Bridge, flanked by the incoming president of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Michael Cronin, ND, of Scottsdale, AZ, was awesome! The six of us on the trip had awaited New York City for so long -  to actually be running into Manhattan from Brooklyn was overwhelmingly positive! What sights could be seen running across the bridge on a gorgeous day!

Sports Authority was the arrival point in Manhattan! We received a wonderful and warm welcome at the store!

Special thanks 2 NDNR, Natural Health Choices, Buffalo NY, Douglas Labs, XY Wellness of NYC 4 their support during our time in The Big Apple.

Philadelphia, in Greek, means, “City of Brotherly/Sisterly Love;” Philadelphia was anything, but love, after the Philadelphia Eagles fans lost their game on Monday night. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jonas and I were very fortunate and grateful for being able to attend the Monday Night football Eagles/Chicago Bears game. After the game we witnessed some pretty angry fans after the loss. But, we had a lot of fun! Thank you to Tony O’Hara for the 4 wonderful seats and a lot of great memories! We will never forget it! Jonas is a football fan at 21, like I was a fan at that age, and I remember how important football and sports were for me during those years. Rep Chaka Fattah flew into Philadelphia with the President on Tuesday on Air Force 1 to promote Head Start, and Rep Fattah told us that on the short plane flight to Philly, Pres Obama gave Rep Fattah a hard time about his Eagles losing to Obama’s Bears!

But all the rest of our experience of Philadelphia and area was nothing but love! There are no words that can adequately describe how we felt, and the red carpet treatment we received from The O’Hara family, from Hagerstown, MD, to Philadelphia, PA. The three days we spent in their Glen Mills home was deeply hit all of our hearts! Thank you soooo much, O’Haras!

Day 115 started with a 10 am-1 pm Farmer’s Market booth at Rittenhouse Square, led by the three naturopathic doctors actually “consulting” in Philly: Jaie Bosse, ND, Jill Hoffman, ND, and Rose Paisley, ND. The three NDs call themselves “consultants” since Pennsylvania is not a licensed state for naturopathic medicine. They are pioneers for our medicine and should be commended for being there for the people of Philadelphia, instead of being in an “easier” place to practice medicine! Thank you Philadelphia NDs for coming out for The Run and for Pennsylvania!

The day was so warm, about 71 degrees – an incredible November day in the Northeast! The clear and absolutely gorgeous day made the flight up the “Rocky” stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum, flanked by a strong supporter of The Run, U.S. Congressional Rep Chaka Fattah, that much sweeter! It was so wonderful to have the Rep. Fattah out there with us six, along with Diana Paradise, Liz O’Hara, and The Run Volunteer Coordinator, Meghan O’Hara, three medical students from Temple University, and a group of high school students from Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep.

The highlight for day 116 was being on the Princeton University campus, and running with the Princeton Women’s track and cross country team. I was in awe just being on the absolutely amazing and beautiful campus, knowing that Albert Einstein walked these same paths many moons ago! Jeremiah, Isaiah and Jonas loved the 6+ miles they ran with the women, and I doubt, will ever forget it! Sarah Houtmann, a member of the track team invited The Run to run with their teams. Thank you, Sarah, for your invitation, support of The Run and being our guide for the afternoon! It made our last full day, before New York, amazing!

The day started off at Mt Pleasant Elementary School, with an audience of over 200 3rd and 4th graders. Meghan’s presentation on nutrition was well received by the large crowd! Jonas’ showed his impressive video production of The Run, which he continues to work on in the evenings after he has finished his 30 miles of running!

Channel 6 news of Philadelphia was there and filmed the presentation to the kids, as well as running with a smaller group of kids out of the school and around a 1/6 mile track at the school!

The evening was jam-packed with the wonderful Lotus Farm to Table fundraising dinner for The Run! What an amazing dinner, and even more amazing group of people there to celebrate the importance of natural medicine and prevention. Diane Paradise and Renee Awad, ND, of Lancaster Co, PA, both hit it out of the park with their talks.  I spoke on the need to reach all Americans with the health message – not just keep talking to each other and call it good!

A huge thank you to Courtney Rozsas for hosting the amazing event at her very charming restaurant in Media, PA! Also, thanks to Michael Reece, ND, for attending the dinner. Dr. Reece was Liz O’Hara’s doctor, when she was pregnant with Meghan, 27 years ago! Liz showed me his business card from 27 years ago! Also, continued thanks to Liz O’Hara and Diane Paradise for organizing so many wonderful events in Pennsylvania and Delaware!

A huge thank you to Domenic Migatz, the manager of CVS Pharmacy, for helping us our of a very tight jam with the motor home, as we got stuck between a building wall and a fence. I can only imagine what could have happened without his guidance, patience, and persistence in engineering us out of the mess! Thank you so much! It it easy to see why Domenic is a manager.

Arrival into Delaware, our 13th state, seemed appropriate that it would be called The Delaware Running Company. We were hosted by Mike Monagle, the owner of the wonderful running store! Mike is also the cousin of a naturopathic doctor in Marin County, CA, JK Monagle. Mike and Meghan ran the last mile with us into Newark, and past the University of Delaware.

We were greeted by the amazing and inspiring, Diane Paradise, a 4 time cancer survivor, and an inspiration to all of us who support  naturopathic medicine, organized the event at DRC, and many of the events that are scheduled in the next couple of days. Thank you, Diane!

The next stop on our journey was an adventure-filled drive in the dark in the wooded hills of northeast PA trying to find Meghan’s parent’s home in Glen Mills. When we entered their home for the first time, it was exactly as I had imagined – I’m not speaking of the actual house – but the warm atmosphere of a welcome home and wonderful family reunion with lots of hugs and great feelings. Food and cheer surrounded us, while the incredible smell of garlic in the approaching dinner was steaming from the oven! The house was packed with people anxious to hear the story of The Run!

The dinner was amazing – there will be leftovers for days that will fill the RV with the sweet smell of Sunday evening! Thank you Liz for helping to orchestrate our wonderful experiences in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania!

Meghan’s family is now our East Coast family!