Aurora Teacher Ran Entirety Of Mississippi River To Raise $12K For Childhood Cancer Research

AURORA, IL — During his summer vacation, an Aurora man who teaches at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy set out to run the entirety of the Mississippi River. Not only did he accomplish his goal, but he beat his own target, completing the journey in 52 days instead of 70.

Grant Bell, who was born and raised on the shores of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, trekked the river — covering 2,139 on foot through sun, heatwaves and torrential downpours.

With summer break being about 75 days long, Bell had a set timeframe in which he had to complete his journey: about 70 days, not including travel days. He started in Lake Itasca, Minnesota, and ended in Venice, Louisiana, 52 days later, on July 18.

He did it by averaging about 41 miles per day. Rest days weren't part of the equation, either, not even on a sick day — that just meant running a little less.

"It was always just going to be an attempt," Bell told Patch. "If we couldn't get the whole way through, that'd be okay as long as we made the attempt. But now, it's nice to know that it was successful and that we accomplished it."

Bell's father joined him on the route, driving his truck and bringing the food, camping equipment and air conditioning.

"I was the only one running, but my dad was with me as my crew for 48 or 49 of the days," he said.

Throughout the journey, he raised more than $12,000 for childhood cancer research. He plans to donate the funds to St. Jude's.

It was Bell's niece who inspired his country-traversing run, according to Bell's GoFundMe campaign. Less than a year ago, she was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare, aggressive form of cancer that primarily develops in the bones or surrounding soft tissues of children, teenagers and young adults. She kept a positive attitude throughout her treatment, but her journey pulled Bell to spread awareness and raise money for cancer research.

Although Bell had been dreaming of running along the second-longest river in the country for almost a decade, he said he thought it would "be a great experience to run even more of the river and use it to bring awareness."

"No one needs to be reminded of how detrimental or impactful cancer can [be] on people or on families, but it always helps to have something incredible, something that stands out, more than just your neighborhood 5K fun run," he said.

Bell shared that he could partially relate to his niece because, as a child, Legg-Calve-Perthes, a rare childhood hip disorder, left him in a wheelchair for a time.

"I say that I can only partially relate because although my experience was painful, difficult, and could affect me for the rest of my life, it didn't," he wrote on GoFundMe. "Instead, I experienced what I could only label as a miracle. After a matter of weeks, not years, of being in a wheelchair, my pain went away and I was able to stand and walk with a correctly formed hip."

To raise money, Bell posted daily on social media and recorded his entire run to share on Strava. He amassed an audience that included not only friends and family but also current and former students and altogether strangers. In one instance, someone commented that they passed Bell running as they drove into work and saw him still running when they drove back at the end of the day.

"It was inspirational seeing people just be so supportive," he said.

The trip came with unplanned bonuses, too.

"I actually have the fastest time now ever doing it, which was never the goal," he said. "Just finishing it was the goal, but doing it faster is always a nice thing to have."

Then, about halfway through the run, one of Bell's college professors sent him a message: "I think you just broke the world record for most miles run in 30 days."

"He was right," Bell said. "It was completely unintentional. It wasn't something we were setting out for."

Since he filmed his entire run, Bell has the documentation to submit to Guinness World Records in hopes of making the record official.

"It was just a grand experience," Bell said. "... Knowing where the end was and how close I was and being able to get there and lay down in the water at the end of the trail, it was just great, relieving feelings. Nothing bad, but just an incredible feeling to have that relief of doing the whole thing."