|
|
Jes and Julie Koski are planning on walking from Arcadia, Maine to San Diego this summer and fall and are dedicating the walk to raise awareness about drug addiction. Jes and Julie have dubbed their six-month trek, “Walk, for the Love.” Photo’s courtesy of Jes Koski
A Grand Portage couple is planning an ambitious journey.
If all goes as hoped, Jess and Julie Koski will spend six months walking across America, dedicating their journey to the war on drugs.
When asked if this journey was on the couple’s “bucket list,” Jes replied,
“Aside from just fulfilling a life-long desire to do a walk/run like this, we are also trying to raise awareness about overdose death prevention. Julie sees a lot of it in her work as an ER nurse, and we’ve also lost people who were friends of our kids. So, we call our walk “Walk, for the Love” and will try to get donations to give to Harm Reduction organizations.”
When all of the details get worked out, Jes said, “We plan on leaving from Acadia National Park in Maine and walking ‘relay style’ diagonally across the United States to San Diego.
“Originally, we had hoped to walk together pushing a couple of strollers, but with two older dogs at the time (one recently died and was replaced with a youngster), we didn’t think they could deal with the desert heat and sun.
“So, now, we are taking our camper, and I’ll do like 20 miles, and then Julie will do her miles after me. So, kind of a leapfrog style.”
Hmmm, twenty miles is a lot to start with. Are you sure you can handle that kind of mileage? Jes was asked.
“I’ll probably ease into it. Mostly walking at first. Maybe 15-20 miles per day. Then work up to 20-25 a day with some running.
“Julie mostly walks. She had lung cancer surgery two years ago.”
When asked if Julie has a long-distance running background similar to his, Jes responded, “Notably, she likes to brag about finishing third in the North Dakota state cross country meet in high school. (Third from last).”
To get ready, the couple has been walking, with Jes, 68, a retired college English teacher, pushing the envelope.
“I’ve been doing long walks for up to six hours. And my longest run recently is 16 miles.”
Jes is a well-known long-distance runner in the Northland. The 1973 Duluth Central High School graduate was a top schoolboy track and cross-country runner and then proceeded to carry on with the sport throughout his life, culminating in a 2:25.29 marathon in 1986. He still runs, just not as fast as he used to.
As for the couple’s journey, it is going to be rigorous. “We’ll be crossing the White Mountains, the northern Appalachians, then the Rockies in Colorado. After that, it will be mostly desert after we pass through Flagstaff, Arizona. Finally, we hope to veer north to come through Duluth (but not Grand Marais or Grand Portage).
Jes said to do this big adventure, “Julie is taking around six months off from work, hoping not to have to quit to do it… she is still working out the details.”
All this walking and running will keep Jes fit as a fiddle, and he hopes to qualify for the Boston Marathon at Grandmas Marathon this June by running the 26.2-mile distance under 4:05:00, something well within his ability.
After that, “I also have a 100-miler planned for Nov. in Illinois, so if I don’t get injured, I should be well prepared for that!”
If you would like to help the Koski’s, “People can also throw a few dollars at us for our expenses… a cup of coffee or a campsite,” said Jes.
Leave a Reply