As he travels in a Dodge minivan to every one of the 254 counties in Texas as part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Beto O'Rourke is literally running for office.

O'Rourke, an experienced runner, first incorporated a distance run into a campaign stop not long after announcing his candidacy in early 2017. The runs were a natural move for the 45-year-old, third-term Democratic congressman from El Paso.

"Campaigns don't have to be formal and stiff," said O'Rourke, who had previously held town halls outdoors while walking or biking with constituents.

The first campaign run last year in Austin attracted 200 people, and the campaign since has held approximately 12 running events to date.

"Folks will run up and keep pace and ask questions," O'Rourke said. The runs typically pause halfway for questions.

O'Rourke travels the state with memories of the people he's met and the places they've run.

"In San Antonio, we met early and had 250 to 300 people," O'Rourke said.

And like almost everyone who visits San Antonio, they stopped at the Alamo. A local run began at Pioneer Plaza in downtown Dallas. In Lubbock, the route wound through the Texas Tech campus.

Beto O'Rourke, in the center, second row, with a group of runners at the Alamo in San Antonio. (Chris Evans)

The crowds vary, from fewer than 60 in Corpus Christi, to more than 300 in Houston. No matter the size of the crowd, the runs offer a way to learn about a community, its hopes and concerns, in a way O'Rourke might not otherwise.

He's connected with people with different party affiliations and backgrounds, even people who've never been to a political event before.

"Being involved outdoors can connect you to the community, the state and the country ... and even democracy itself," he said.

O'Rourke enlists local runners who choose the best routes, and a local runner takes the lead and narrates the sites and the history of the areas the groups run through.

Runs are typically three to five miles, and O'Rourke often modifies his pace for the campaign runs.

"I typically run an 8- to 8.5-minute mile," he said. "For the campaign runs, the pace is slowed down so people can talk and connect."

O'Rourke's father, the late Pat O'Rourke, was also a runner. He instilled a passion for running and a tradition of public service in his son. O'Rourke's father served as El Paso County Commissioner and then County Judge in the 1970s and 1980s.

The younger O'Rourke started distance running in high school, where he ran cross country for El Paso High School and for Woodberry Forest School, where he graduated. Nowadays, his wife Amy often runs with him for memorable events like the bi-national U.S.-Mexico 10K from El Paso to Ciudad Juarez.

His three young children, a son and two daughters, also show running ability, he said with a father's pride.

Like many runners, O'Rourke often questions what he's doing as he anticipates getting up before daybreak for an early run.

"The night before, after a really long day, I often say to myself, 'Why am I doing this?' Then we run, and I think, 'Why am I not doing this every morning?' "

O'Rourke views the runs as a crucial part of his campaign, which holds a variety of events around the state.

"We are meeting with people where they are," he explained. "When so many people from the community come out, their energy becomes part of the campaign. And for me, the benefits are the people that you get to meet, and the sites you get to see."

Why else would a Senate campaign, he noted, talk to people as they run along the Trinity River in Fort Worth or "see the sun rise over the ocean in Corpus Christi?"

And like so many runners, the act of running means more to O'Rourke than the pace and the distance.

"Running is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually necessary to me," he said.