With a little over a week remaining until the deadline, we hit our crowdfunding goal for the “RunTellmanRun: Mile 0 – 654″ documentary. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who supported the project. By producing an honest yet entertaining piece, we’re hoping to reach audiences across the country and the world… audiences that may not understand the serious, often overlooked issue of youth homelessness. We have you guys to thank for helping us on this quest. To everyone who made a contribution, we’ll be getting in touch with you soon about your “backer rewards.”
And Mr. John Wallace, you sir are the man (John provided the final pledge that got us to the $6,000 mark).
Meanwhile, our video editor, Sara, is brimming with ideas about the documentary. With over 25 hours of footage from the road to sift through, she’s got plenty of content. Now she just has to pare it down and make the RTR crew look like sane, normal people.
Alas, 10 days remain until the deadline for crowdfunding. We hit our goal, but that doesn’t mean the fundraising has to stop. The more “backers” we have, the more time Sara will have to make the doc more professional and appealing. The more mass-appeal we have, the larger the audience we can reach. The larger the audience we can reach, the more people will understand youth homelessness. The more people…. you get the idea.
So please continue to tweet our Kickstarter page, or post it on your Facebook wall, or call up your grandma and say, “Yo, Grandma. Did you see this documentary project about a crazy dude running across America without shoes? We can be a part of it!”
After lunch today I opened the “RTR/Photos” folder on my hard drive to find a specific picture of Tellman running in the snow. I found it almost immediately (organization rules!), but before I knew it I had spent half an hour perusing through the hundreds and hundreds of photos from the road, reminiscing about the time spent with Chuck, Dean, Ben, Tellman, Jodi, Torger and Monica.
I captured all those images on my trusty Canon Rebel xTi digital camera. I put it through daily abuse in the hotel rooms, RVs, in the minivan, cruising on my skateboard, in hot weather, in the snow. It pretty much went everywhere with me.
Probably my favorite photo was taken in a small farming valley in central-western Pennsylvania. There was so much gorgeous scenery there, and I began to notice a theme of old tobacco advertisements painted onto the side of barns. Some were faded after decades of exposure to the sun, but some were meticulously maintained, offering a juxtaposition to the natural landscape behind it (see the video above for a sample).
But I think the most important photo, after all my thousands of shutter clicks, was the one below. It’s a black-and-white of a kid named Bryan and his dog sitting behind an Arby’s near a Lowe’s parking lot. Tellman spoke to him later and learned that he was living in a tent with his brother on the riverbanks in Parkersburg, West Virginia. I snapped this photo from the cab of the crew RV; Tellman is about 10 feet out of frame on the right, about to say hi to Bryan and offer whatever kind of assistance he could. We ended up going to Wal-Mart and buying sleeping bags and sleeping pads for Bryan and his brother after this.
Anyhoo, my Canon Rebel xTi digital camera is still taking solid pictures back here in Vermont (albeit with a few more surface scratches and dings from on-the-road duties). I hope some of my images have inspired you to donate, and I’d just like to remind you that you can head to my personal fund at http://runtellmanrun.com/lukefund/ which Tellman and I created to help the homeless youth population in Parkersburg, WV. Donate now!
Hi Luke,
Those were some pretty cool & funny shots you took with your camera. Although you're a lot braver than I am takng pictures while on your skateboard. You wouldn't catch me dead on one of those things!
Muitas vezes eu também admirar uma foto em preto e branco.
Acho que ela tem uma beleza peculiar.
A foto do garoto é realmente muito bonita..O rústico, o original, o natural e porque não dizer o que choca, de um íncendio,ou com a pobreza, traz em si, beleza, reflexão e admiração.
Man it feels great to be out running again. The fresh, cold air in my lungs; the early morning sunshine on the streets of Brattleboro; the endorphins running through me… it’s reminding why I love running.
My heel is still causing me slight pangs of pain- and I don’t want to push it – so I’ve only been running for about a half hour each time I go out. And I have to say, my Vibram Five Fingers have never been more important. I mean, I relied heavily on them when I was training last summer, but these “barefoot experience” shoes are perfect for my needs right now (I have to keep my barefoot muscles in shape, but I also need to protect my heel as it heals up).
As I revel in the Five Finger while I’m running, I’m also reminded of my visit to Tent City in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Rick Francis, a Parkersburg local with a passion for helping the homeless, visited a group of homeless men with the RTR crew and asked one of the men, “What do you need the most?” With a fresh layer of snow coating the ground, the man replied, “socks. Warm socks.”
It’s true. If you can’t get your feet warm, it’s nearly impossible to get your body warm. Anyone who’s spent an extended period of time outdoors in New England knows this.
A fresh pair of winter socks costs about $5 at Wal-Mart. Can you spare a pair? Head to http://www.runtellmanrun.com/donateright now, before you break for lunch and forget, and give $5. Vibram’s “barefoot running shoe” may be a miracle of technology, but a plain ‘ol pair of warm socks is something every man, woman and child in America deserves.
Dude! That rocks! I love the Vibrams for running in the snow up here in good 'ol Canada!
Anyway, i thought about what you said about socks for these kids in tent city. You are giving 10K for the kitchen, which is great, but why not send $1K over to walmart for some socks? I dont know how many kids there are over there, but i did some research and for $4 you can get good quality winter socks with 40% wool. So for even $800 you can outfit 100 kids with two pair of great winter socks. Just a suggestion.
As you know, i think you totally rock and i cant wait for you to get back on the road so i can come out and run with you!
Rock on!
David in Canada
Dude, i forgot one more thing.
There was a great article in the newspaper about barefoot running vs. with shoes that your readers might find cool.
In a study of 68 young runners who ran both barefoot and with high-end running shoes, they found that with running shoes they had:
54% increase in hip rotation torque
38% increase in knee torque
36% increase in knee flexion torque
Wow! Doesn't sound good for shoes!
Rock on!
David in Canada
Tellman, YOUR EXAMPLE will LIGHT_UP that Nation that has so MANY "DAK-PLACES". you could get the Congressional Medal when The Congress "WAKES-UP" to the LIGHT YOU ARE CREATING, Go Tellman, from many Aussies from Down Under! Ian.
