On March 22nd, while other people were going for their morning jogs, Anna Judd was heading out from Venice Pier in Venice, CA on a 3,200 mile run across America. Powered by nothing but her own two legs, iron clad will, and compassion, the 28 year old artist is running not for herself, but for U.S. veterans.
In less than a month, on Friday, August 22nd, Women You Should Know plans to be in New York City’s Times Square, which is where her epic Anna Runs America journey to benefit Team Red, White and Blue is scheduled to end.
As of today, Anna is in North Carolina and compliments of the live broadcasting social media power tool “Hang With” you can watch live coverage of her run as she continues on her way through Virginia, Washington, D.C, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey before cross her finishing line in New York City.
We are so inspired by this Woman You Should Know and her reasons for taking on this selfless challenge. She explains her motivation here, in her own moving words…
Growing up, I was never a runner. I wasn’t born with a physical gift for running, and I don’t have a runner’s body. I was never a track star or an athlete. On my high school track team, I was always bringing up the back of the pack. But I still loved it, and little by little, I started running longer and longer distances. I started out with one mile, then five, then twenty, then fifty.
I started running long distances because I could constantly push myself farther and farther each and every time I went out. I haven’t found my limitations yet.
This run about being removed from everything I know. It’s about surrendering to the fact that there is nothing between me and New York, or between me and veterans, or between me and the possibility of helping people in the way that I hope to. I’m learning how to believe in myself, and I want others to learn to believe in themselves too.
This run is about learning to care for people unconditionally.
I recognize great nobility in the sacrifices veterans have made, and I am inspired by their courage. When I speak with veterans and members of the military across the country, there is so much to love. And more than that, they deserve to be heard and they need our help.
They are very brave men and women who are deserving of recognition.
This run is about pushing myself to cultivate true compassion for a valiant group of people who I’m trying very hard to understand. I want to inspire people to know that anything is possible.
Go ahead. Try to find your own limitations.
My guess is that you won’t be able to. Instead, you will find out how powerful you really are. – Anna Judd
All photos credited to: Miss Robot Photography