Elgin runner vows another attempt at cross-country charity run

It's difficult to tell what hurt Bruce Johnson more in his failed attempt to run across the United States: his pride or his feet.

Three weeks ago, the Elgin man had to cut short his 3,000-mile run in Texas when pain from a left ankle injury and plantar fasciitis on his right foot became too much.

"I should be somewhere in Arizona now," he said. "In 53 days, I still averaged 22 miles each day, even though I took six days off. It was nice to cross the Mississippi (River) again."

Johnson, who turns 53 on Monday, hoped to complete his second cross-United States run to raise money for the Community Crisis Center in Elgin.

In 2005, he made the journey from west to east. This time he was running from Florida to California.

Overall, he ran 1,158.5 miles and raised more than $10,000 for the center, which like many area agencies is hurting because of the state's budget disaster.

But Johnson also spent about $12,000 of his own money for hotel rooms, food, fuel and supplies for himself and a support driver.

He wished he could have raised more for the center, which helps nearly 7,000 people a year, many of them women and child victims of domestic abuse from northern Kane County and northwest suburban Cook County.

Doctors have ordered Johnson to take it easy for two months, but he already is planning his next run across the United States for Dec. 2012 or sooner.

Johnson said his 2010 journey got off to a bad start when his driver - who maps out daily routes and sets food by the side of the road - had to back out after three days because he was weak from lymphoma.

Johnson later sprained his ankle on a chunk of truck tire on an Alabama highway shoulder then, as a result of overcompensating, injured his right foot as he plugged away through nearly four more states.

"It got to where I couldn't even run three miles. I knew that was it," he said. "There wasn't a lot of real good (running) days. It was cold, dreary, unseasonably cold. I went through two support drivers. ... Everything that could go wrong went wrong. The only thing I didn't hit was locusts and a tornado."

Johnson, who owns a roofing business, said it costs him about $24,000 to run across the country. He hopes to launch another attempt in late 2012, this time from South Carolina.

But he could leave sooner if he finds a sponsor or some investments pan out. And he has pledged to raise money on his next run for the crisis center.

"It will happen," he said.

To follow Johnson or for ways to donate to the crisis center, visit unitedstatesrun.com or crisiscenter.org/run.