It’s been a couple days now since I ended my last run in New York City, and I haven’t really done much of anything since I’ve gotten home. That was my plan though, to take a few days off after this whole thing was over, just relax and not worry about anything. It’s been pretty great, but I’m starting to feel a bit restless.

Last night my dad had a slideshow going on his computer of all of the pictures he’d taken throughout the run. Even though I just finished a couple of days ago, it felt pretty cool to look back at all of the places run through across the country. Looking at some of the pictures I could go back to that moment and remember exactly how I was feeling, and what I was listening to on my headphones.

A very exciting thing that just happened today is that we crossed over the $20,000 mark for our donations, more than doubling our goal. I’m extremely psyched about this and so grateful to all of you who donated and helped spread the word. I’m going to leave the donations open for a while longer, so it’d be awesome if we could raise even more, but I’m perfectly happy with how much we’ve already raised.

I’m not really sure how to end this blog post. It feels so weird that this is the last one. When I first started writing these I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually care or take the time to read them. I was so pleasantly surprised to see how many of you actually did, and I really appreciate it. It was nice to be able to share my experience with all of you, and seeing all of the positive comments and feedback really helped keep me going the entire way.

One of the biggest questions people have asked lately is what i’m going to do next. It’s a very good question, and one that I would also like an answer to. My answer is usually that i’m going to relax for a while and take it easy, then figure out the next move. If you ask my parents though, the answer is “He’s getting a job!” Maybe we can find a happy medium. Like maybe something where I don’t actually have to do any work, but still get paid. If anyone knows of something like this, please let me know.

As far as doing something like this run ever again, I would say it’s possible. When I first decided that I was going to do this, I looked at it as one last feat to end my running career on a high note. But as I went along, I realized that this couldn’t be the end, but was rather the beginning of a new chapter in my running career and my life. As much as I try to deny it at times, I am a runner, and I will be for as long as my body allows. I’ll probably try to get back into racing this year, maybe finally run a marathon.

I will also continue to support Stand Up to Cancer any way I can. They’ve been so amazing to work with and I just want to do whatever I can to keep fighting for their cause. Some people have suggested that I run across the world for my next big journey. While it sounds great and i’ve certainly had the same thought, i’m not quite sure how I’d be able to pull that off. One problem is getting across the ocean. I could swim, but I’m not the best swimmer. I’m not a terrible swimmer, I can get by without completely embarrassing myself in the pool, but i’m not sure if I could quite make it across the ocean. Also, the water is too cold for my liking. If i’m going to swim across the ocean it needs to be AT LEAST 85 degrees. Maybe then I’d consider it. There’s also the whole thing of running across a foreign country of which I don’t speak the language. I guess I could listen to some Rosetta Stone while I’m running, but I still think it would be difficult. I mean, I had enough trouble getting across Missouri, let alone Ukraine.

If I learned anything from this whole experience it’s that you have to just go after whatever it is you want in life and make it happen. Also, three legged dogs are just as dangerous, if not more so than the ones with four legs. And if you come across a turkey in the suburbs, do not stop to take it’s picture because they will put you in the ground.

Thank you all again for everything, and keep on livin’.