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| Jeff Grabosky posted this self portrait to his Facebook page, Jeff Runs America, Feb. 2 from Arizona. He regularly updates his Facebook page and website with stories from his four-month trek from California to New York. |
Jeff Grabosky is running and praying his way across America, and he’s found the journey to be both humbling and amazing.
“I’m just trying to be an instrument of God’s will,” he said recently in a telephone interview with Arkansas Catholic. “The world really does need prayer.”
It hasn’t been easy for the young runner who’s pledged to pray a decade of the rosary for anyone who asks. Just 45 days and 1,400 miles into the journey, the physical pain became so severe, he had to stop for medical treatment in Oklahoma. The good news was he hadn’t suffered a stress fracture, but Grabosky was clearly in pain despite medication when he spoke by telephone from near Oklahoma City March 6.
“I’ve had probably about 50 dogs chase me, and I ran into a mountain lion once,” he said. But Grabosky, 28, a member of St. Mary Parish in Alexandria, Va., shrugged off those dangers. “I’m still here and I’m still OK.” The mountain lion hadn’t really sought him out anyway. “It kept going. It didn’t want anything to do with me.”
Still, “If I never run into another one,” he said, that would be just fine.
So what leads a young man to leave his job, family and friends for a sometimes lonely and often difficult run of 3,800 miles?
For Grabosky, it was heartbreak.
A 2005 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Grabosky landed a plum insurance industry job in the Chicago area, married his college sweetheart and bought a house.
It seemed an ideal life but in 2006, everything fell apart. His mother died in October and a few days later his wife left. Grabosky, who tells the story on his website (www.jeffrunsamerica.com), admits he was devastated. He moved to Washington, D.C., to be near family and took up running again, returning to a sport he had first enjoyed as a youngster. He began running 5K races and trained for and participated in marathons.
After toying with the idea of a cross-country run for a couple of years, Grabosky found himself at a crossroads last summer when his brother, who was also his roommate, got married. Faced with the prospect of signing a new lease or moving on, Grabosky opted to train for the run of his life.
He mapped out the route from Oceanside, Calif., starting Jan. 20 to Long Island, N.Y., and sent e-mail messages to churches along the route, asking for help in spreading the word.
“The purpose of this run is to encourage prayer, especially through the rosary. While I will be running across the country, the real journey will be more of praying across the nation as I have begun to take prayer requests and will pray a decade of the rosary for each intention I receive as I run,” his note said in part. “I am not raising money for any cause, but hopefully will show the message that we should always put our trust and faith in the Lord for whatever is going on in our lives. My Catholic faith is a big part of who I am and prayers to our Heavenly Father (have) helped me overcome many obstacles. My desire is to use my talents as a runner to bring the same message of hope through prayer to others.”
In Arkansas, Grabosky will come through the northwest corner, passing through Siloam Springs about March 22.
While he’s comfortable camping or staying in hotels, Grabosky happily accepts invitations to crash on a couch. His run is a solo commitment, but anyone is welcome to run with him for a few miles. His spirits have been lifted by passersby who stop to check on him and he’s gotten prayer requests from throughout the world.
The road can be lonely but, “I have a lot of people praying for me. I’m definitely not out there alone.”
And yes, he believes his mother is watching his progress.
“Oh, I have no doubt (about that),” he said. “If she were here, she’d be driving along. I’m sure she’s keeping me safe and watching over me the entire way.”
He doesn’t know what he’ll do after he completes the run, scheduled for May 28, but that doesn’t faze Grabosky. He said he’s learned that God’s plans are better than his anyway.
Grabosky is glad he undertook the run. “I wouldn’t change a thing. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
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