MANSFIELD — A man running across the United States stopped by Richland County this past weekend.
About a month into his “6 million steps of gratitude,” Joe Turcotte of Colorado stayed Saturday and Sunday night in Mansfield with a local family and Monday in Shelby at the Relax Inn.
Turcotte is taking his time. He had intentions to run further Monday, but stayed in Shelby to meet with dozens of Ohio “puppy raisers” from Canine Companions for Independence. His hope is to raise more than $30,000 in total for CCI and another nonprofit, Achilles International by the time he reaches Oceanside, California.
He left Boston, Massachusetts on April 28 and hopes to touch the Pacific Ocean by Sept. 9, his 60th birthday.
But it’s not hard-and-fast deadline. Turcotte quit his work-from-home medical billing job, so has no pressing responsibilities awaiting him at home.
“My whole world was the size of this hotel room,” Turotte recalled his secure, but under-rewarding job. “I’d get up turn on coffee, sit and stare at monitors for ten hours a day. This was sucking the life out of me.
“Society dictates I had the best job ever, with money and benefits, but it was driving me nuts.”
He imagined his wife Diane would someday come home to find him passed out, slouched over the keyboard.
Until five years ago, Turcotte had worked “fun jobs with no money.” He spent time as an athletic trainer, a triathlon coach and once got a gig taking photos at an Iron Man competition championship in Hawaii.
He had an degree in IT, so a stay-at-home billing job seemed like a good fit — for awhile anyways.
As he became more and more restless, Turcotte and his wife spoke to their pastor. A year and a half later and more than a month into his cross-country trip, he recalls that conversation as his inspiration.
“What’s the one thing you’ve always wanted to do in life but been afraid to do?” the pastor asked.
“Run across the country,” Turcotte answered, not skipping a beat.
“I’ve known you 22 years. Where the hell did that come from?” Diane reacted.
It was always something in the back of his mind, Turcottte explained, but he never imagined he’d do it.
He’s always been athletic. He’s enjoyed running and was the first person to his knowledge that signed up for five Iron Man competitions (2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.22-mile run) in the United States within one year.
But when his hearing started to decline 15 years ago, he began to seclude himself.
“After so many years, I started avoiding social situations,” Turcotte said. “But I thought, I want to put myself in situations where I’m forced to communicate with people, to ask for directions.
“I’m going to put myself in uncomfortable situations and see where it leads.”
So though surprised, his wife encouraged him to take the trip.
Turcotte researched the topic and found dozens of other who have ran across the United States in the Facebook group USA Crossers, where he connected with a man named Paul Wheeler.
Wheeler, a British soldier, had ran from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge with his trusty “Wheelson,” named after the volleyball”Wilson” in the movie Cast Away.
Turcotte asked about Wheelson, hoping to buy something similar for himself, but Wheeler instead offered it for free with three requirements.
1. Turcotte must keep the name.
2. He must keep the British Flag.
3. He must give Wheelson to someone else who plans to run across the United States at the end of his journey.
Turcotte has followed the rules so far and intends to continue.
The exchange also connected Turcotte with Melani Eyerly and her Mansfield family that had previously hosted Wheeler.
“They saw a picture of Wheelson on USA Crossers and said, ‘I understand you adopted Wheelson. Are you coming to Ohio?'”
The family picked Turcotte up from Wooster Saturday and again from Ashland Sunday. Each time, they returned him to where he let off so he could run the whole distance.
“Although, I put in the miles, my two days here were like a vacation,” Turcotte wrote in a Facebook post. “I figured I’d probably lost about eight pounds since leaving Boston. After two days of wonderful home cooking and an Amish buffet dinner, it’s safe to say I found those eight pounds.”
Eyerly and her family even allowed Turcotte’s wife to ship a new pair of glasses and more to their home.
Turcotte started his trip in Boston because that’s where he’s from. He now resides permanently in Colorado, but knew plenty of people to stay with in and around his hometown.
“My understanding was that the people who usually undertake something like this, if they’re going to quit, do so within the first couple weeks — and I get why,” Turcotte said, “but I thought, I won’t have to deal with camping or hotels for the first few weeks, I’ll stay with family or friends.”
Since then, he’s camped in cemeteries, slept in park pavilions and even found cover from rain in a car wash.
In his daily Facebook posts, he can be found occasionally grumbling about the rain or the heat, but the kindness he’s found in people all throughout his journey has propelled him forward.
“I am absolutely amazed and impressed by the kindness and generosity of everyone,” he said. “I have approached guys walking out the woods with their shotguns turkey hunting, people at biker bars in New York. And everyone has been incredibly nice and helpful without exception.”
Shortly after crossing the Ohio border, Turcotte remembers how a woman stopped offering him a ride. Though he couldn’t accept the offer, she said a prayer and gave him a large bag of pistachios and water.
“It was an awesome, awesome experience. Things like that make me so happy,” Turcotte said.
Another time, a teenage Subway employee approached him with the only two-dollars she had on-hand for one of the two nonprofits Turcotte is raising funds for.
By the end of his trip, Turcotte hopes to raise at least $20,000 for CCI, which aims to enhance the lives of people with disabilities by providing trained assistance dogs, and at least $10,000 for Achilles International, which provides athletes with disabilities with a community of support.
He’s personally interacted with both nonprofits and seen the powerful affects they often have. He volunteers personally with Achilles International and has been impressed by his interactions with CCI.
Once when photographing a CCI puppy training class, Turcotte asked, “What’s the coolest thing about having Comet?”
The boy looked down at his dog and answered, “The other kids talk to me now.”
This stuck with Turcotte and even encouraged him to raise money once before during his five Iron Man Competition in the mid-2000’s. In that instance, he raised more than $30,000 for the organization.
Turcotte hopes people will consider donating to one of the two nonprofits with links listed here.
To follow him on his journey, find 6 Million Steps of Gratitude on Facebook.
