Endurance Runner Crossing All 50 States on Foot Reaches St. Cloud

(KNSI) – An endurance runner on an ambitious trek passed through St. Cloud on Monday, completing a grueling 30-mile stretch from Princeton on one of the coldest mornings of his journey.

Noah Coughlan is attempting to become only the third person in history to cross all 50 U.S. states on foot. The 41-year-old from Vacaville, California, arrived in St. Cloud on Day 150 of a 260-day expedition. By the time he reached the city, he had covered nearly 2,900 of the journey’s 5,500 total miles, more than half the distance, along Highway 95.

Monday’s leg came with an extra degree of difficulty. Temperatures hovered around 5 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of 11 degrees below zero.

Coughlan wrote on social media, “It is dangerously cold if you don’t keep moving. The show must go on.”

He received a safety escort from the Princeton Police Department for the stretch into St. Cloud.

Now on his fifth transcontinental run, what he describes as his last, Coughlan’s mission extends beyond the physical feat. Along his route, he has been documenting the lives of everyday Americans, meeting with families affected by rare diseases, and conducting interviews with surviving World War II veterans. His journey is documented at runforusa.com.

With 110 days and roughly 2,600 miles still ahead, Coughlan’s arrival in St. Cloud marks the halfway point of a journey that began five months ago.

He plans to finish his run on America’s 250th birthday on July 4th in Hawaii.

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