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Cross-country runner gets a taste of New Rockford hospitality

An Oklahoma man passed through Eddy County earlier this month on a cross-country run. Randy Ellis, who is logging his journey on Facebook, spent two nights at the Rock Inn while on his way south to the Mexican Border.

Home to Ellis is Sapulpa, Oklahoma, located on the southwest edge of Tulsa. Once known as "the Crossroads of America," due to its location at the junction of Route 66 and Route 75, Sapulpa is home to 20,000 people.

Long distance running has been Ellis' passion for four decades. He says he's fascinated by how the body can adapt to endurance events, and he loves the challenge of training.

He has run multiple long distance races, many over 100 miles. He has run the "Race Across the Sky" in Leadville, Colorado, six times. This 100-mile race crosses the Colorado Rockies, with elevations ranging from 9,200 to 12,600 ft.

"That was probably the hardest one that I've run," Ellis said. That's interesting coming from a man who ran a 315-mile race across Tennessee in July, the hottest part of the year!

His longest run to date was completed in 1998. He was inspired to run across the country after learning about a 19-year-old Cherokee Indian named Andy Payne who won a 3,422 mile cross-country race in 1928 and became a national hero.

After reading newspaper accounts, Ellis wanted to replicate the race in his own way. So, he ran from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean that year, much of it along Route 66. His dad was with him nearly every mile of the way, encouraging him.

Ellis wrote a book about his experience, "Running With Payne." Copies of the book, which is a must-read for anyone who needs encouragement to "stay in the race," are available on Amazon.

"My dad passed away a few months ago, and I started dreaming about what I could do to honor him," Ellis recalled.

"I'll run the cross," he thought. His run in 1998, with his father by his side, crossed the country from west to east, along the iconic Route 66. This run, which he started on Aug. 3, has him traveling south from the Canadian border, along U.S. 281 and Route 75, crossing in his hometown of Sapulpa, Okla. on his way to the Mexican border.

He wore his father's favorite running shirt on day one. "I started in that as a way to kind of remember dad," Ellis said.

Before he arrived at the Canadian border, there were only six U.S. states he had never traveled to, and one of them was North Dakota.

"I love the vast, open farmland, the wide shoulders on the road, and the people that step up and help you when you need it," he said of his 235 mile journey through the state.

"New Rockford is definitely one of my highlights."

Ellis' wife and a friend scouted ahead of him to find a hotel where he could stay at the end of day three, Thursday, Aug. 5. They saw the Rock Inn, and happened to catch employee Andrew Presnell, who said there were two rooms available that evening.

"We found this wonderful place, and it's not much more than we've been paying," his wife said. Presnell checked them in.

When Ellis' wife and friend left the next day, he planned to spend the next couple of days alone, carrying a 15 lb. pack and camping in the open air at night.

Ellis is grateful to Travis Steele, local rancher and proprietor of the Rock Inn. Steele drove over 100 miles to first pick him up where he finished running on day four, then brought him back to the spot the next morning so he could continue his journey.

"I would have been in a tent in a cornfield somewhere if he hadn't picked me up," Ellis said, appreciative of having such a nice place to stay two nights in a row.

Ellis was greeted by four of Steele's children, wielding paper signs encouraging him on his journey. What the Steeles did was one of many acts of kindness he has encountered already on the trip.

When he tells people about his experiences, their response is simple: "It's really good to know there's still human kindness in the world."

Steele said he was blessed to have met Ellis and been a small part of his journey.  

"We were beyond inspired, not only by the challenge he'd undertaken, and all the others he'd completed, but by how he gives all the thanks and glory to God for giving him the opportunity and ability to do this, and also for everyone he meets along the way who helps him in some way," Steele said.

"We learned that although a journey like this obviously takes thorough planning and preparation, it's impossible to plan for every challenge you'll encounter, but the unknown is part of what makes it exciting and worthwhile!

The Steeles have been following Randy's journey daily on his Facebook page, "Run the Cross," ever since he left New Rockford and will continue until he reaches the gulf coast!

When we spoke with Ellis on Tuesday, he had made it to Aberdeen, S.D. and was enjoying a pizza at the Best Western. His next two days, he reckoned, he would be primitive camping somewhere on the South Dakota prairie.

Ellis estimates that he will have run about 1,700 miles by the time he reaches the Mexican border. At a pace of around 30-35 miles per day, he expects to finish by the end of September.

"Lord willing, that's where I will cross," he said of his hometown.

"At 69 years old, I'm incredibly blessed," he said. "I have a wonderful, supportive family."

Follow Ellis' journey on Facebook at "Run the Cross."

 
 
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