Wheaton man will spend birthday on 51K run for water
For most people, the most work their lungs do on their birthdays occurs when it's time to blow out the candles. But Steve Spear will spend his 51st birthday huffing and puffing as he blows through 51 kilometers on the streets of downtown Wheaton. He'll be fueled by memories and a quest to raise $5,100.
Spear, who recently moved to Wheaton from St. Charles, is known for his efforts with World Vision to bring clean water to African villages. Reaching his $5,100 goal would give 102 people clean water for life. For Spear, the $5,100 is a bigger challenge than the 51 kilometers, which equals about 31.6 miles.
Spear completed a 3,243-mile run across America in 2013, raising nearly $500,000 to construct wells and water systems in Africa. In September of this year he finished his first full Ironman race in 15 hours and 29 minutes. So far, he's received commitments totaling only $2,700 for his birthday run. No matter the total raised, Spear said he'll still run on New Year's Eve, just like he's done the past four years.
“By nature, I'm a pretty boring individual,” Spear said. “My family always used to ask me what I wanted to do on my birthday. I'm not the kind of guy who says, ‘Let's go to the Shedd Aquarium.' I never had any good ideas for what to do. So it was always what do I do to take up the hours on my birthday. When I started this five years ago, I was in good marathon shape. So I thought, ‘Why don't I just go out and run?' ”
As he ran a 1-kilometer loop, he found himself reflecting on his life. Each lap, he tried to focus on another year of his life. Some of his favorite laps are Nos. 9, 18, 22, 24, 28 and 50.
When Spear was 9, his family went on a road trip along part of the perimeter of the United States. They traveled 24 states in 30 days, planting the seed for the idea of Spear's run across the country.
When he was 18, Spear turned his life toward “getting serious about my faith and pursuing a life of being more than a young idiot.”
He got married at age 22. He had his first child at 24, the second at age 28. And he was 50 when he completed his run across the country.
With that fundraising experience under his belt, Spear thought it would be a good idea to use his birthday run for more than just reflection and fitness. If he reaches his goal, it could cement a plan he envisions for the rest of his life: raise $20,000 a year of more for clean water and be able to run 80 kilometers on his 80th birthday.
“My lifelong running goal is to just stay in decent enough shape to do a birthday reflection run every year,” Spear said. “There's tons of great causes and inspirations to run. When I talk to people about running a first marathon, I get a lot of, ‘Oh, I could never do that.'
“The truth is you can do it. There are people with all kinds of physical challenges and barriers to running. I've seen every type of person cross the finish line of marathons. Now, if you say, ‘I don't want to,' I can accept that. But to say, ‘I can't do it,' that's not true.”
To prove it, Spear invites anyone to come run at least one lap of the 1-kilometer birthday loop with him around the Wheaton 121 apartment complex campus. The run is free, but Spear encourages donations to the clean water cause. To learn more about Spear, his run, or just donate to the cause, visit www.teamworldvision.org and search for Spear's name under “Give to Your Friend.”