Running through the Desert
Reading Time: 15 minutes
"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."”- Forrest Gump I decided to start every blog with a quote from Forrest Gump, as we watched the movie at the host in Las Vegas and we are passing the famous “Forrest Gump Point” in week 3. This is the point in the Monument Valley just inside of Utah where the inspiring gentleman decided to stop his run across America, which he did for multiple years! | 🇺🇸 Page (AZ), United States of America |
Week 2 was amazing with a lot of highlights such as my long item bucket list Las Vegas and visiting 2 more national parks: Zion and Grand Canyon. I haven’t heard much about Zion prior to the trip, so I was absolutely amazed by the beauty of this park. That day, we also dedicated our running miles to my cousin Leighton – my reason for running the 4K – because it was the day she left Earth 15 months earlier, which is normally my lucky number as I was born on the 15th...
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Click on the "Read More" button to read the full post
Zion is also next to Bryce National Park, where my cousin Danny and his wife Sharona went on vacation before she was born. Her little brother, Bryce Landon, is named after the park. Can’t wait to see them 3 at the finish line this August in Baltimore! It was a very emotional and special moment. Below you can read my online diary on week 2:
DAY 8 ⠀
Beatty, NV ➡️ Las Vegas, NV ⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 19.3km (12mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 190km (115mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 3,122 feet⠀
👭Running buddy: Taylor, Liz, and Baker⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Sandra van Leeuwen, Jan & Marjo Pielage,
and Sara Barnett⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen,
Paul’s brother, and Angela⠀
⠀
Today was such a mental game... We ran our longest miles of the week on literally one highway (US 95) through the dry desert of Nevada. We decided to run in groups of four so we could get at least our 12 miles of the day in before the temperature would rise to deathly heat 😬 But, after remembering who we run for, we made it safely to LAS VEGAS! Rest day number 2 is tomorrow. Anyone tips to explore Vegas? ⠀
⠀
MORE ABOUT Angela: ⠀
During our 4K why meeting last Tuesday, I was most impressed and shocked by my amazing teammate Lauren. She knew about the 4K because of her best friend’s roommate, who ran it last summer. Her best friend, Angela, was diagnosed with a tumor the size of a basketball just before that summer and doing really well during the 4K finish. However, she unexpectedly lost the battle last November... Today, I ran 12 miles for Angela! 🌸⠀
Beatty, NV ➡️ Las Vegas, NV ⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 19.3km (12mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 190km (115mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 3,122 feet⠀
👭Running buddy: Taylor, Liz, and Baker⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Sandra van Leeuwen, Jan & Marjo Pielage,
and Sara Barnett⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen,
Paul’s brother, and Angela⠀
⠀
Today was such a mental game... We ran our longest miles of the week on literally one highway (US 95) through the dry desert of Nevada. We decided to run in groups of four so we could get at least our 12 miles of the day in before the temperature would rise to deathly heat 😬 But, after remembering who we run for, we made it safely to LAS VEGAS! Rest day number 2 is tomorrow. Anyone tips to explore Vegas? ⠀
⠀
MORE ABOUT Angela: ⠀
During our 4K why meeting last Tuesday, I was most impressed and shocked by my amazing teammate Lauren. She knew about the 4K because of her best friend’s roommate, who ran it last summer. Her best friend, Angela, was diagnosed with a tumor the size of a basketball just before that summer and doing really well during the 4K finish. However, she unexpectedly lost the battle last November... Today, I ran 12 miles for Angela! 🌸⠀
DAY 9
📍 Las Vegas, NV ⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 0 (rest day)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 0⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 0⠀
👭Running buddy: none⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Corry van Koot, Gervien Pielage,
and Morgan Schroeder ⠀
💕Today I dedicate to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen⠀
⠀
Today, the team and I had our second, much needed rest day, after covering an individual distance of 87 kilometers (54 miles) in the first week of our run across America. We explored the strip of Las Vegas last night and today the dare devils of the team went sky diving while the explorers went to the Red Rock Canyon just outside the city. It was a beautiful walk around the red rocks and yellow sandstones in the desert of Nevada. Tomorrow, we are crossing the state line to our third state: Utah!
📍 Las Vegas, NV ⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 0 (rest day)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 0⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 0⠀
👭Running buddy: none⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Corry van Koot, Gervien Pielage,
and Morgan Schroeder ⠀
💕Today I dedicate to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen⠀
⠀
Today, the team and I had our second, much needed rest day, after covering an individual distance of 87 kilometers (54 miles) in the first week of our run across America. We explored the strip of Las Vegas last night and today the dare devils of the team went sky diving while the explorers went to the Red Rock Canyon just outside the city. It was a beautiful walk around the red rocks and yellow sandstones in the desert of Nevada. Tomorrow, we are crossing the state line to our third state: Utah!
DAY 10 ⠀
Las Vegas, NV ➡️ St. George, UT⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 19.2km (12mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 288km (180mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 9,971 feet
👭Running buddy: Caitlin⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Josine Kuijk, Ali Johnstone, and Micaela Vickers⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen, Gabe,
and Haley Vega⠀
⠀
Yesterday, we ran another 12 miler through the desert and 102F (39C) to cross 2 more state lines (Arizona, Utah) and even a time zone! Stopped at the beautiful Valley of Fire State Park to see more red rocks. Went to bed early due to increased PCS symptoms and the bright sun really wore us out. ⠀
⠀
MORE ABOUT Haley: ⠀
“Two and a million sounds like incredible odds to most people, but being diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis has made such probabilities a reality for me. My future courses of action include managing my day to day symptoms caused by my toxic epidermal necrolysis. Dealing with these invisible illnesses is hard, and in the future I will need both eye surgeries and kidney treatments to help make my life easier. All of this was caused by an incorrect dosage of a mood stabilizer that I didn't even need to be prescribed. Many "black box" labels are put on medications, meaning they can cause Stevens Johnson's syndrome, or the more severe toxic epidermal necrolysis. I feel like more people need to be made aware of my disease because although it's deemed "rare", the feeling of burning alive and watching your skin fall away with a gentle touch is something that is hard to forget. Being sick can be exhausting but surrounding yourself with enough love makes life worth it. It's all about finding out what you love and finding those people that make you feel beautiful. Just like Illona, traveling will always be my best medicine and memories from road trips make any sick day a little more bearable.”⠀
Las Vegas, NV ➡️ St. George, UT⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 19.2km (12mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 288km (180mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 9,971 feet
👭Running buddy: Caitlin⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Josine Kuijk, Ali Johnstone, and Micaela Vickers⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen, Gabe,
and Haley Vega⠀
⠀
Yesterday, we ran another 12 miler through the desert and 102F (39C) to cross 2 more state lines (Arizona, Utah) and even a time zone! Stopped at the beautiful Valley of Fire State Park to see more red rocks. Went to bed early due to increased PCS symptoms and the bright sun really wore us out. ⠀
⠀
MORE ABOUT Haley: ⠀
“Two and a million sounds like incredible odds to most people, but being diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis has made such probabilities a reality for me. My future courses of action include managing my day to day symptoms caused by my toxic epidermal necrolysis. Dealing with these invisible illnesses is hard, and in the future I will need both eye surgeries and kidney treatments to help make my life easier. All of this was caused by an incorrect dosage of a mood stabilizer that I didn't even need to be prescribed. Many "black box" labels are put on medications, meaning they can cause Stevens Johnson's syndrome, or the more severe toxic epidermal necrolysis. I feel like more people need to be made aware of my disease because although it's deemed "rare", the feeling of burning alive and watching your skin fall away with a gentle touch is something that is hard to forget. Being sick can be exhausting but surrounding yourself with enough love makes life worth it. It's all about finding out what you love and finding those people that make you feel beautiful. Just like Illona, traveling will always be my best medicine and memories from road trips make any sick day a little more bearable.”⠀
DAY 11 ⠀
St. George, UT ➡️ Hurricane, UT⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 9.6km (6mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 46km (29mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 1,686 feet⠀
👭Running buddy: Katelyn & Tyler⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Cora van Willenswaard, Judith Koster, and Baily Wargo⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen, D. Holtkamp,
Dan, and Steven⠀
⠀
Today, we had our shortest day of running. It started off pretty rough and emotional as I shared Leighton’s story and fairytale written by her mom for her funeral. The team dedicated the day to Leighton and we traveled with 19 runners and both vans to run in groups of 4, which was a lot of fun! Temperatures still raised to about 100F (40C) degrees, so it was great to be done running by 1pm. Just in time to hike 5 more miles (8km) to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park!
⠀
MORE ABOUT D. Holtkamp: ⠀
Mike Holtkamp: “At the age of eight, I lost my father, D. Holtkamp, to cancer. Unfortunately, his illness and story is not the only one affected by cancer. Cancer affects all of us. I am convinced that this disease is being overcome. I have the greatest respect for everyone who in any way works against this terrible disease. Illona and everyone who participates in this great initiative; thank you very much!” ⠀
MORE ABOUT Leighton: ⠀
Sharona van Leeuwen: “Once upon a time, there was a pretty, little princess who’s name is Leighton Hailey. She has beautiful long red hair and she is always smiling. Hopping through the grass she likes to sing a happy song about sheeps...”⠀
St. George, UT ➡️ Hurricane, UT⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 9.6km (6mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 46km (29mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 1,686 feet⠀
👭Running buddy: Katelyn & Tyler⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Cora van Willenswaard, Judith Koster, and Baily Wargo⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen, D. Holtkamp,
Dan, and Steven⠀
⠀
Today, we had our shortest day of running. It started off pretty rough and emotional as I shared Leighton’s story and fairytale written by her mom for her funeral. The team dedicated the day to Leighton and we traveled with 19 runners and both vans to run in groups of 4, which was a lot of fun! Temperatures still raised to about 100F (40C) degrees, so it was great to be done running by 1pm. Just in time to hike 5 more miles (8km) to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park!
⠀
MORE ABOUT D. Holtkamp: ⠀
Mike Holtkamp: “At the age of eight, I lost my father, D. Holtkamp, to cancer. Unfortunately, his illness and story is not the only one affected by cancer. Cancer affects all of us. I am convinced that this disease is being overcome. I have the greatest respect for everyone who in any way works against this terrible disease. Illona and everyone who participates in this great initiative; thank you very much!” ⠀
MORE ABOUT Leighton: ⠀
Sharona van Leeuwen: “Once upon a time, there was a pretty, little princess who’s name is Leighton Hailey. She has beautiful long red hair and she is always smiling. Hopping through the grass she likes to sing a happy song about sheeps...”⠀
DAY 12 ⠀
Hurricane, UT ➡️ Page, AZ⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 22.4km (14mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 224km (140mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 9,258 feet⠀
👭Running buddy: Piech ⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Steve & Pam Brooker, Caden Brooker, and Erin Milligan⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen,
Jeffrey, Caroline, and Prof. Wai Kin Che⠀
⠀
14 MILER IN THE POCKET! So proud of our team for running more than a half marathon today on our route to Page, Arizona. My running buddy today, Piech, and I both ran our longest distance ever and she did amazing. I think I am ready to run the Hokie Half now in September with my VT teammate Juliana. Rest day tomorrow to visit the Grand Canyon, our third national park in a week!
⠀
MORE ABOUT Prof. Wai Kin Che: ⠀
Prof. Danny Che: “My father, Dr. W. K. Che, was a Professor of Sociology, who dedicated his life to conduct research and higher education on our societal problems. He fought lung cancer for a few years, but unfortunately lost the battle in 2002.”
Hurricane, UT ➡️ Page, AZ⠀
⠀
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 22.4km (14mi)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 224km (140mi)⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 9,258 feet⠀
👭Running buddy: Piech ⠀
🏆Donation shout out: Steve & Pam Brooker, Caden Brooker, and Erin Milligan⠀
💕Today I dedicate my miles to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen,
Jeffrey, Caroline, and Prof. Wai Kin Che⠀
⠀
14 MILER IN THE POCKET! So proud of our team for running more than a half marathon today on our route to Page, Arizona. My running buddy today, Piech, and I both ran our longest distance ever and she did amazing. I think I am ready to run the Hokie Half now in September with my VT teammate Juliana. Rest day tomorrow to visit the Grand Canyon, our third national park in a week!
⠀
MORE ABOUT Prof. Wai Kin Che: ⠀
Prof. Danny Che: “My father, Dr. W. K. Che, was a Professor of Sociology, who dedicated his life to conduct research and higher education on our societal problems. He fought lung cancer for a few years, but unfortunately lost the battle in 2002.”
DAY 13
📍 Page, AZ
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 0 (rest day)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 0⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 0⠀
👭Running buddy: none
🏆Donation shout out: Lydia Ramlo, Tat Shing, and Noah Rich⠀
💕Today I dedicate to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen ⠀
⠀
Today we had our third recovery day since we started about 2 weeks ago! We got to sleep in before we left the police station, who is hosting us, to go to the Southern entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. First, we went to the Desert View to have a first look at the canyon before we went on the South Rim Trail near the visitor center. The canyon was massive with an average depth of a mile (1.6km) downward!
⠀
MORE ABOUT Leighton: ⠀
“...She is always friendly and happy towards everyone. Furthermore, she is strong and determined...”⠀
📍 Page, AZ
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 0 (rest day)⠀
🛤Team mileage: 0⠀
🏔Total elevation gain: 0⠀
👭Running buddy: none
🏆Donation shout out: Lydia Ramlo, Tat Shing, and Noah Rich⠀
💕Today I dedicate to: Leighton Hailey van Leeuwen ⠀
⠀
Today we had our third recovery day since we started about 2 weeks ago! We got to sleep in before we left the police station, who is hosting us, to go to the Southern entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. First, we went to the Desert View to have a first look at the canyon before we went on the South Rim Trail near the visitor center. The canyon was massive with an average depth of a mile (1.6km) downward!
⠀
MORE ABOUT Leighton: ⠀
“...She is always friendly and happy towards everyone. Furthermore, she is strong and determined...”⠀
Total Stats for Week 2:
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 70.5 kilometers (44.1 miles)
🛤Team mileage: 748 kilometers (467.5 miles)
🏔Total elevation gain: 7,326 meters (24,037 feet)
Total Stats after 2 Weeks:
🏃🏽♀️Total Personal Distance: 150.5 kilometers (94 miles)
🛤Total Team Distance: 1,833.5 kilometers (1,145.9 miles)
Upcoming Route for Week 3:
Sunday (June 30th): Bluff, UT – Durango, CO
Monday (July 1st): Durango, CO – Pagosa Springs, CO
Tuesday (July 2nd): Pagosa Springs, CO – Alamosa, CO
Wednesday (July 3rd): Rest Day in Alamosa, CO
Thursday (July 4th): Alamosa, CO – Salida, CO
Friday (July 5th): Salida, CO – Colorado Springs, CO
Saturday (July 6th): Colorado Springs, CO – Denver, CO
Week 2 was quite the adventure and a great motivation for the next 5 weeks to come. I am extremely excited about our week in Colorado and after that I am getting closer and closer to Ohio where I hope to see my boyfriend again! I think I am slowly getting used to the 4:30 AM workouts, although I am pretty sure that I will sleep for a couple days straight after I get to Baltimore on August 3rd, haha.
Stay tuned for more adventures soon!
Love, Illona.
🏃🏽♀️Personal mileage: 70.5 kilometers (44.1 miles)
🛤Team mileage: 748 kilometers (467.5 miles)
🏔Total elevation gain: 7,326 meters (24,037 feet)
Total Stats after 2 Weeks:
🏃🏽♀️Total Personal Distance: 150.5 kilometers (94 miles)
🛤Total Team Distance: 1,833.5 kilometers (1,145.9 miles)
Upcoming Route for Week 3:
Sunday (June 30th): Bluff, UT – Durango, CO
Monday (July 1st): Durango, CO – Pagosa Springs, CO
Tuesday (July 2nd): Pagosa Springs, CO – Alamosa, CO
Wednesday (July 3rd): Rest Day in Alamosa, CO
Thursday (July 4th): Alamosa, CO – Salida, CO
Friday (July 5th): Salida, CO – Colorado Springs, CO
Saturday (July 6th): Colorado Springs, CO – Denver, CO
Week 2 was quite the adventure and a great motivation for the next 5 weeks to come. I am extremely excited about our week in Colorado and after that I am getting closer and closer to Ohio where I hope to see my boyfriend again! I think I am slowly getting used to the 4:30 AM workouts, although I am pretty sure that I will sleep for a couple days straight after I get to Baltimore on August 3rd, haha.
Stay tuned for more adventures soon!
Love, Illona.