'An indescribable feeling': Bainbridge's Greg Nance completes trip across US on foot

With the sun sinking toward the Pacific Ocean, Greg Nance takes a few steps into the saltwater and pauses for a few beats, letting the moment wash over him.

It’s Sunday, his journey’s 84th day, and he’s 3,156 miles away from its origin point in the Atlantic Ocean back in April. He’s made it all those miles on his own two feet and has reached the trip’s end at the Pacific Coast in Ocean Shores.

Nance trotted mile after mile, putting states behind him, battling nature, his own body, the mental strain of the Sisyphean task he'd taken on in running the width of the country. In those 84 days, he logged a mind-boggling average of 37.5 miles per day and finished an ultramarathon on all but three of those days. He stepped into the Pacific on his third pair of jogging shoes, having crossed 14 states and taken 5,867,148 steps. He left New York cleanshaven; he arrived in Washington sporting a beard.

Front and center in his mind during the trip: Raising awareness and money for his nonprofit Run Far Foundation, which is seeking to fund youth-led volunteer projects and support youth mental health efforts. The trip has raised more than $100,000.

“It’s an indescribable feeling, it’s cloud nine,” he said of the finish on Tuesday, back at home on Bainbridge Island. “I’ve run a lot of miles in my life, none compares to that 3,156th.”

Dozens and dozens lined up for high fives, and horns blared as Nance made his way through Ocean Shores, the finish line in sight.

“It was emotional,” he said. “It really hit me when the Pacific was hitting my ankles and then my knees, where it’s like, ‘Wow, this is it. We did it.’”

He added: “For me, the run across America, for now almost 11 years, has been that big crazy dream. I just kept believing in it, probably beyond what was rational, logical, coherent. It was a North Star for me, and it helped me get through some tough stuff. I credit this dream with keeping me sober during a lot of times where I knew, ‘Hey, I can’t make that happen if I’m drinking again.’ That was an inspiration. Your big dream can change your life.”

Listening to bird songs, audiobooks, music playlists, admiring the landscape and letting his mind drift helped Nance to pass the time. Breaking down a daunting journey into tiny pieces made it more achievable.

“You can’t look at the whole thing,” he said. “My whole mantra was ‘Eat the elephant one bite at a time.’ I found myself saying that multiple times a day. I can definitely run this little hill. I can definitely get to that telephone pole or that fence post. I can definitely knock out this mile. And the beauty of that is if you keep doing that, you will make it to the Pacific, as long as you keep going west. You will make it.”

It was far from easy though. Alongside the mental slog, the journey presented a number of physical challenges to Nance, including sleep deprivation, nighttime cold sweats, back spasms, cramps, hip issues, ankle tendionitis. At one point, he was concerned the ankle issue was going to end the entire trip. Nance, 33, quipped that at times he felt like he was 133 years old.

Even with those challenges, he is happy to note that he finished the run having taken zero painkillers and is quick to credit a support team that kept him going by coaxing him out of bed with coffee or offering a massage.

Roc Powell, of Youngstown, Ohio, was among the group of supporters that helped to get Nance across the country. Powell had a unique perspective on the journey, having completed a similar cross-country trip himself, from Delaware to California, in 2014.

“I told him, in a year’s time he’s going to want to do it again,” he said. “He’ll get the itch and want to do it again or something very similar.”

In his journey, Powell ran unsupported over a period of several months, pushing a cart laden with supplies. He too raised money for a good cause, and, like Nance, found plenty of hospitality and friendly faces.

“This country is full of wonderful, wonderful people,” Powell said. “People would invite me in their homes, feed me. It was just fantastic.”

At a gathering on the Seattle waterfront last week, Nance’s parents looked on alongside a group of supporters as their son shared about his journey.

Said Dean Nance, Greg’s mother: “I think it’s fabulous, but I was worried the whole time, because I was afraid of all kinds of things that could go wrong, but that’s the mother. I can’t believe he’s got as much will and drive as he does. It’s just kind of amazing.”

“He’s always been one to set big goals and then go achieve them. I guess I’m not surprised,” said Mike Nance, reflecting on his son making it to the trip's home stretch. “I’m a little relieved that he’s here in one piece.”

For more information about the trip, to donate to the Run Far Foundation or to apply for a grant from the nonprofit, visit runfarfoundation.com.

Homecoming celebration

An event celebrating Nance’s run across the country will take place from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday at Bainbridge Island’s Waterfront Park.

Nathan Pilling is a reporter covering Bainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Washington State Ferries for the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-5242, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @KSNatePilling.

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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bainbridge Island's Greg Nance completes run across America