Family and friends, old coaches, teachers and neighbors waited outside the Visco family home in Glen Ellyn Sunday afternoon for their increasingly notable neighbor to appear on Cranston Court.

A few short blocks away, Katie Visco was jogging toward home. The 23-year-old is nearly one-third of the way through a 3,200-mile cross-country journey for charity in which she will run from Boston to San Diego.

Visco burst into tears the moment she crossed the "finish line" at her home, with family and friends surrounding her and snapping photos of every moment. When she got to Glen Ellyn, Visco had reached the 1,000 mile mark.

"This is all a dream come true," she said. "That's exactly the point of this whole wonderful journey."

Among those cheering was Visco's old friend and former Glenbard West High School track and cross country teammate, Brittany Bettendorf.

"I'm really excited for her," Bettendorf said. "If there was somebody that was going to do this sort of thing, it would be Katie."

While in Glen Ellyn, Visco plans to spend time with her family and do more fundraising for Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization that encourages girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. She hopes to raise $32,000 for the group.

Visco began her journey in Boston on March 29. She runs an average of 20 miles a day, five days a week, and stops at locations along the way that offer her a place to sleep. She contacts local running clubs along her route to help plan her journey, and blogs about her experience on paveyourlane.com.

Visco hopes to make it to San Diego by December. But this week, Visco will rest, catch up with friends, and run with her family in the park district's Freedom Four-Mile Run Saturday, July 4.

"Today is a big bash for her, but I'm looking forward to just playing cards and seeing some movies with my daughter," Diane Visco said.

Among the well-wishers waiting for Visco at the finish line was her old track coach, Sue Pariseau.

"It's nice to know that some of the things we taught her about running and maintaining proper nutrition filtered down," she said. "We've had kids run competitively in college and do marathons, but nothing like this."