Kevin Saunders – Tour Across America
Kevin Saunders saw firsthand in his own life how fitness and exercise can create a personal revolution. But despite the important work being done on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports, he realized that many people were still struggling to find healthy options for their own lives. So, to raise awareness of the issue, he did the one thing he knew best – decided to push forward.
Over a period of grueling weeks and months, Kevin pushed his wheelchair from one end of America to the other, over 2,500 miles, meeting with local officials and families along the way to share his insight on the nation’s health crisis. In one stop after another, in big cities and small towns, he spread hope and advice improving the well-being of communities across the country.
Despite the thousands of interviews and sponsors that the effort generated, however, Kevin’s work still wasn’t done. In an effort to better understand how it became so hard to stay fit in this world, and continue sharing his message of hope and encouragement, Kevin took his tour overseas. By pushing through Europe and meeting with politicians and experts, he was able to gain – and share – a new perspective on what’s happening in America’s grocery stores, restaurants, and dining room tables.
Health and fitness remain at the core of Kevin’s personal mission today. We invite you to contact us with your questions on his fitness related programs, and how they can make a difference in the lives of your audience members.
USA TOUR a 2,500 mile Revolution!
This was done to take the message to the people from city to city, town to town, community to community knowing that we make more of a positive difference improving health and fitness one community at a time. The Health and Fitness Tour of America was in 2004, I pushed over 2,500 miles across America from the Canadian border in Michigan to the Mexican Border in Texas, stopping in dozens of towns along the way.
My mission was to help motivate, educate and inspire the American people and to create lasting health and fitness habits. I figured I would lead the example by starting from Detroit, which at the time had the dubious honor of being America’s fattest city. To make it to Laredo on time, I needed to push my racing wheelchair or hand-cycle about 50 miles per day via state highways. Along the way, I met with the governors, mayors, city officials, community leaders, schools and anyone else I could find from the general public to let everyone know it’s going to take everyone to win this battle against obesity. We also did a lot of media. To help us get the message out, I met and had interviews with local TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers.
The trip itself was something of an adventure. There were downhill stretches where my racing chair would reach speeds over fifty miles an hour. That might not seem so quick when you’re behind the wheel of a car, but in a wheelchair you feel like you’re about to break the speed barrier, especially with eighteen wheelers barreling by. As exciting as the fast sections were though, the biggest challenges were the hills and the heat. Obviously, state roads aren’t designed for people in wheelchairs. It seemed like every time I made my way over some long, gradual incline, it would just level off enough so that I could see another one coming up. This was heading south in the dead of summer, so the waves coming up off the blacktop could burn over 130 degrees. I would curse the heat until I ran into days of rain, pounding down on me so hard that I couldn’t see what was in front of me. Sometimes it was overwhelming, and so I just tried to keep myself motivated and break it down into small stretches.
It ended up being a difficult journey, but I’m glad that I did it. We raised awareness of a really important issue and met some wonderful people along the way. For instance, on the way between Dexter and Kennett in Missouri, we met a woman who had seen me on television. She’d come out to the highway along our route just to say that she’d been complaining to her husband about how tough she had it physically, but seeing what I was doing gave her the strength to change her life. She was going to stop feeling sorry for herself and take action, and I was the inspiration. How could I ever get tired of hearing that?
There are countless other stories that I wish I had the time to share, but the moral is to never quit seeing yourself in a positive light, keep on transcending those limitations, and never quit fighting to be fit. And once you’re able to change your life, get involved in your community so that you can help others as well.
