BOONE
Matt Jenkins has kicked off his shoes, but he's hardly relaxing.
He's running barefoot. Across the state.
Jenkins, 29, works at an after-school program for the Western Youth Network in Boone that provides mentoring and summer programs to kids in the area. For the second year in a row, Jenkins, a long-distance runner who prefers to run without shoes, has decided to undertake a run to raise awareness about state budget cuts to programs that affect young people.
Last year, Jenkins ran to different sites around Watauga on three consecutive Sundays for a total of 108 miles.
"After that, I was being sarcastic and said, ‘Next year, I'm going to run across the state.' And people were like, ‘OK. That's a good idea,'" Jenkins said.
Jenkins, who says that his idea of a good time is to run five marathons in five days, was game for the challenge.
He was scheduled to take off from Manteo this morning on a 760-mile journey that he estimates will take four weeks. He plans to run about 30 miles a day, and will store his gear, which will be not much more than a pair of Crocs, a bar of soap, a lightweight tent, food and water, in a pack he'll carry on his back or a jogging stroller that he will push.
Jenkins laughed when asked about any kind of support team that might accompany him.
"I'm totally winging it," he said. "I have a tentative schedule of how far I'm running each day, but I have no idea how I'm going to feel on Day 1, much less how I will feel on Day 20."
Jenkins' feet are callused after years of running barefoot, so he can handle hot pavement and pebbles for the most part. However, he will take a break during the heat of the day if he comes across any freshly laid asphalt.
Jenkins hopes to raise $15,000 for an after-school program that lost its state financing two years ago. It is the only after-school program for middle-school youngsters in Watauga County. Jenkins said he hopes that people will read about his run and either donate to his organization or consider donating to their community's youth programs. Donations to the Western Youth Network can be made at www.western
youthnetwork.org.
"All the kids are tracking him," said Angela McMann, who works with Jenkins at the Western Youth Network. "They know he's into this and does this barefoot. We all think he's a little nuts about running barefoot with the alligators in Manteo and the heat, but we're thankful to have someone who wants to show how much he cares."
lo'donnell@wsjournal.com
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