CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Brady McDonald crossed the finish line in Hawaii after 50 straight days of running, completing a 50K in every state while raising money for Make-A-Wish.
The Cape Coral runner covered more than 1,500 miles as part of his Zero to 100 Wishes challenge.
“It was very relieving,” McDonald said. “Crossing the finish line with my kids, with my wife, and knowing that one, I didn’t have to run, two, we were definitely hitting the $1 million.”
About 24 hours later, the campaign crossed that mark, raising $1 million with the goal of helping grant 100 wishes. McDonald said donations were coming in at roughly $40,000 to $60,000 a day near the end of the challenge.
“The physical feat is impressive, right? But that’s not what mattered,” McDonald said. “We did this to raise $1 million. We did this to grant 100 wishes. We did this for the impact on their lives. And of course, to do that, we had to run far.”
The 50-day journey tested that commitment. McDonald dealt with hamstring trouble and other physical issues along the way, but said he and his wife had already discussed what they would do if he could no longer run.
“If that happens, what’s worst-case scenario? We’ll get a wheelchair,” McDonald said. “I would literally get a wheelchair and I will push myself 31 miles every single day.”
People joined McDonald throughout the journey, including at Sunrise Wish Runs held across the country.
“I’m the face of it, but I’m just one of thousands of people that made this possible,” McDonald said. “This was the country coming together.”
McDonald documented the journey on his YouTube channel, Brady McDonald, where viewers can follow the challenge from state to state.
And he is already thinking about what comes next.
“This is just now the foundation to what the greater and bigger thing is,” McDonald said. “We now have a platform that we’ve proven to people that we can do what we said we were going to do in a very, very big way.”