A Florida man is trying to run a 50K every day for 50 consecutive days in all 50 states, and on Monday, he ran in Charlotte.
The Charlotte Motor Speedway is typically pretty empty at 8:30 on a Monday morning, but Brady McDonald has already been there for two hours. It is day 3 of his 50-state ultramarathon mission to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. McDonald will run a 50K every day for 50 days.
That’s 31 miles a day.
McDonald has been running ultramarathons for three years. After running a 300-mile race and raising $300,000 for Make-A-Wish earlier this year, he decided to raise the stakes.
“Because my purpose was to raise $300,000 for these children, I didn’t quit. And I would’ve if it was just for myself,” McDonald said. “So I learned that if my purpose is bigger, or if our purpose is bigger than ourselves, we’re able to accomplish so much more.”
McDonald’s goal for his 50-state mission is to raise $1 million. That would cover 100 wishes for children facing critical illnesses.
“We’ve all [had] the worst moments of our lives. And somebody helped us get out of that.
“Our goal is to be that random stranger that helps facilitate that wish through Make-A-Wish, so we could give hope while people are living in fear. That’s really what this is about.”
McDonald has 47 states to go. Up next is Georgia.