Caitlin Adams, a University of Maryland sophomore marketing major, runs across Maryland this past summer. She plans to run across the country this summer to raise money to give people prosthetic limbs.

Caitlin Adams was convinced she was a terrible runner in middle school, considering she was the last one to cross the finish line during a mile run.

Now, the University of Maryland sophomore is ready to run across the country after already running through Maryland, using her talent for a good cause.

“A lot of changes happened in my life … but running was one of the things that got me through [them],” said Adams, a marketing major. “It was a place where I could clear my mind, so from there I realized I was actually decent at running.”

Last year, Adams ran for Towson University, but she said she lost her passion for it because of the pressures of being a Division I athlete. She quit the track team at the end of cross country season and transferred to the University of Maryland this semester.

READ MORE: RecWell holds combine to encourage student exercise as finals approach

She said she had been thinking for a while that she could run to help people in need instead of in competition — perhaps for people who don’t have limbs to run. So she made the decision to run across the state last summer to raise money for amputees who might not be able to afford prosthetic limbs.

“One of the reasons that I loved running was because it gave me my natural high,” Adams said. “And this thing that we complain about everywhere — running, walking, having to wait in line — is really a blessing.”

Thanks to the $24,000 she raised from the run around the state for Limbs For Life, eight people were able to receive prosthetic legs.

“When we met with a couple of the people who had received the limbs from her, that was a wonderful feeling for Caitlin and for myself,” said Adams’ mother, Gina Adams. “To see what it meant to these people was … a wonderful thing, and words can’t even describe what kind of feeling it gives you.”

Before she went on her run across the state, she consulted Croix Sather, a motivational speaker who ran across America in 2011, for advice on a long-distance run.

“[Adams] did the training on her own for the most part. She did the whole thing, she just called me for advice and a little bit of guidance and that was it,” Sather said. “She’s the one that did it all.”

Adams now plans to run across the United States this summer from June 1 to July 31 for a total of 60 days. She has been lifting weights in order to build muscle and running often to prepare, she said, and she plans to run about 50 miles each day.

She is also attempting to break the female world record for running across America, which is currently 69 days, two hours and 40 minutes, she said.

Sather has continued advising Adams on training for this run as well, because the way one trains for these runs tends to be different from how one trains for a marathon, he said.

“She’s got this indomitable spirit that few people have,” Sather said.

Gina Adams said she is proud of her daughter for pursuing the idea but was wary at first of what she was getting herself into by running across the country.

“It was kind of a mixed reaction. I at first was like, ‘Wow, do you know what you’re getting yourself into?’” Gina Adams said. “How many people would do this? Not too many, so that makes you a very proud parent.”

Adams said she plans to raise enough money to complete the run and donate, using her GoFundMe account to do so. She plans to gather sponsorships to help purchase food and water, as well as an RV for sleeping.

“As long as I believe in my idea and can show that this is what I did last year, and I know that I can do it again, that people will believe in it too, and I’ll probably end up with the same result, if not better,” Adams said.