Bum arch forces Elgin man to halt cross-country run for Crisis Center

An Elgin man attempting to run 3,000 miles from Florida to California to raise money for the Community Crisis Center in Elgin has called off his mission.

Bruce Johnson made it 1,158.5 miles to mid-Texas, but pain in his right arch made continuing impossible.

"My run has failed," Johnson wrote on his Web site, unitedstatesrun.com on Sunday. "I cannot go on with this arch/ankle pain. I wasn't letting on to how much pain I was really in. I feel I am doing damage to myself in the long run because it's not healing. I am sorry I have let down people who have supported me on this run. There is nothing anyone can say at this point, I just need time to recover in my mind, and body."

Five years ago, Johnson ran from California to Florida.

He hoped his repeat run - albeit in the other direction - would help the Crisis Center. He and organizers asked for donations of $12, with the number signifying the number of inches in a foot.

Johnson could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. He hoped to reach the Pacific Ocean by May.

The Crisis Center serves nearly 7,000 people a year, many of them women and child victims of domestic abuse.

Clients primarily come from northern Kane County and northwest suburban Cook County, but the center accepts anyone throughout the state who is fleeing domestic violence and can't go home.

In all, Johnson raised about $9,200, which will help the Crisis Center pay for ongoing operations, Executive Director Gretchen Vapnar said.

"We have to keep the lights on and the heat on," Vapnar said of the center, which is still owed at least $150,000 from the state.

Vapnar said she and her colleagues are disappointed Johnson wasn't able to make it all the way and they are concerned for his recovery.

"He made a valiant effort. He's still our hero," Vapnar said. "He was able to do what he could; use his skill and determination to help us."

Vapnar said Crisis Center officials were considering a recognition for Johnson during their Shamrock 'n' Roll dinner and silent/live auction fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Q Center, 1405 S. Fifth Ave., St. Charles.

Donations are still being accepted at unitedstatesrun.com or crisiscenter.org/run.