Through her nonprofit organization, MS Run the US, Kumlien aims to raise $500,000 for multiple sclerosis research by the time she reaches the East Coast in September. Inspired by her mother, Jill, who has lived with multiple sclerosis for 28 years, she also hopes to spread awareness about the devastating illness affecting some 400,000 Americans.
Kumlien’s story has struck nerves around the globe, from her fiance Andrew Date, who relocated from Australia to the bright orange RV in which he’s served as her one-man support team, through the Montel Williams MS Foundation and for thousands of followers on Facebook and Twitter.
While pleased by her newfound popularity, Kumlien maintains a rigorous focus on her mission. “I would like to connect with more people and get as many people involved in fundraising as possible,” she says.
Make no mistake: Kumlien has been as tireless a runner as she’s been a fundraiser and ambassador. “She’s done over 2,000 miles, so this is the real endurance, mental stage of the run,” says Date, who plans Kumlien’s day-to-day route, follows her in the RV, and on one occasion administered lifesaving first aid. “We need to look after her body as much as possible, get a lot of rest and just make sure we’re smart about what we’re doing out here,” he says.
With the heat of summer upon them, Kumlien and Date rise at 6:45 a.m., aiming to cover 10 to 15 miles before the scorching Midwest sun forces her indoors. Afternoons are dedicated to rest, hydration and refueling. “I can’t believe how quickly our food disappears,” Date says.
They steal as much time as possible on their laptops, tending their busy nonprofit, promoting upcoming fundraisers, and updating their growing legions of online followers. When the sun begins to set, Kumlien runs for two more hours, showers and finally sleeps until the alarm goes off and it’s time to put on her shoes again.
Meanwhile, their cause is gaining momentum. In Milwaukee, FOX Sports Wisconsin broadcasts weekly updates during Brewers games, and Fox 6 News anchor Jen Lada has made the run her personal beat. “She’s been at our family’s side,” says a grateful Kumlien.
In small towns from Lake Tahoe, California, to Prairie City, Iowa, inhabitants have warmed to the RV and its crew, offering Kumlien and Date meals, beds and even free haircuts. “We’ve created MS Run the US out of thin air, and now there’s a very strong buzz about it,” says Kumlien. “I want to do as much as possible to share my mom’s story with as many people as I can. I think she has a very inspiring outlook on life that many people could use a dose of right now.”
Finding her stride
Born two years after Jill Kumlien was diagnosed with MS, Ashley Kumlien has spent her entire life watching her mother battle the chronic autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system. Even such joyous family occasions as a childhood trip to Disney World are colored by the baffling illness. “We were on one of the rides and the flashing lights ended up inducing a seizure,” she recalls.
While the family shared her mother’s frustrations and struggles, few people outside their inner circle seemed to understand what they were going through. “It’s an extremely serious disease that not many people know about,” says Kumlien, who’s made awareness a cornerstone of her outreach. “It’s rare that the individual that has it is going to talk about all their symptoms with everybody that they meet.”
As her mother’s mobility declined, Kumlien’s drive to stretch her legs intensified. “Wanting to run long distance is one of my earliest memories,” she recalls. “I wanted to make sure that I really appreciated exercise and being able to move, because my mom had one by one lost her abilities to ride a bike, to drive a car, to write and to walk without assistance.”
At Waukesha North High School, Kumlien ran varsity cross country for four years, garnering team honors as Rookie of the Year and Most Dedicated Runner. She played soccer for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, but remained an avid runner and racer, training six days a week and usually finishing near the top.
In 2009, she burst onto the ultramarathon circuit, running near the front of her age group in the Ice Age Trail 50, the Glacial Trail 50 and The North Face Endurance Challenge.
“I love ultramarathons, because you can run and talk at the same time. You have enough time to share stories,” says Kumlien, who relishes swapping tales with runners who have overcome morbid obesity or trained by pushing a baby stroller. “Each runner is inspiring in their own way,” she says.
Races keep Kumlien focused. “No matter what training is like, whether you have a great race or a mediocre race, race day is awesome,” she says. She also draws inspiration from her mother, who still volunteers at her children’s various sporting events as her health permits. “She’s just a completely bright person; really thankful for the abilities she still has,” Kumlien says of her mom. “I think she’s an extremely good example of how people should attempt to live through adversity.”
Thinking big
A few years ago, Kumlien’s three siblings began to raise fund for MS research through the Waukesha County MS Walk. At the time, Kumlien was working for a cruise line in Europe, heading out on sightseeing runs when her ship was in port. “I would see a lot more than most of my friends were able to see by car,” she says. Running around Europe made her keen to see more of the U.S. and she daydreamed about taking a road trip and running through strange cities. “That’s how I thought, well, maybe I should run across America. I thought of my mom and doing it for MS, and that’s when the idea really took off.”
Kumlien floated her plan past Date, an Australian guy working on the same ship as herself she’d met a couple weeks earlier. “I really thought it was an amazing idea,” he recalls. “You have to be pretty brave to think about doing something like that, and it was for all the right reasons.”
Date offered his help if she could get the project off the ground. He made good on that promise by quitting his cruise line job and traveling to Wisconsin in November 2009.
When their daughter first announced her intentions to run across the country, Keith and Jill Kumlien were incredulous. “The day after I told them, they sat me down and were like, ‘What are your plans? How are you going to accomplish this?’” Kumlien recalls. After hearing her out, her parents realized she was serious and got on board 100 percent. Jill especially embraced her new role as “spokesmom.”
“She’s a social butterfly, so she loves the people it brings to our family,” Ashley Kumlien says.
Her first serious roadblock appeared well ahead of the run itself. Founding a nonprofit organization meant filing a tortuous 25-page application with the Internal Revenue Service and paying a nonrefundable $700 processing fee, all while jumping through bureaucratic and fiscal hoops.
“I got my degree in exercise and sport science, so I’d never written up a budget in my entire life. I didn’t know what it would cost to do something like this,” says Kumlien, who tried to go it alone at first. “I’d break down and talk to someone and they’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, my dad started a nonprofit 17 years ago.’ And all of a sudden, someone would be there, helping me.”
In March 2010, with financial sponsorship secured and the nonprofit alive and kicking, Kumlien and Date climbed into their donated 30-foot RV and headed west for San Francisco.
On the road
Kumlien originally planned to run six days a week, but quickly fell behind schedule. “We had a couple of problems with the RV, so all of sudden I had to take two days off, three days off,” she says. They decided instead to maximize each day’s mileage, aiming for 25 to 30 miles a day as her endurance increased. “That way if something does come up, we have miles reserved and we can take a day off,” she explains. This flexible approach paid dividends; soon they were running several days ahead of their self-appointed schedule.
Another start-up hassle, particularly for Date, involved leapfrogging two vehicles across the country. “I’d follow Ashley in the car for, say, 10 to 15 miles and pick her up,” he explains. “Then we’d go back to the RV. I’d jump in the RV, Ashley would jump in the car, and we’d move them both together to where she’d stopped, and then we’d do it all over again. That really frustrated me. I mean, driving across the country’s long enough, let alone doing all those extra miles.” Tensions eased when the family who’d donated the RV provided a tow dolly, allowing them to move both vehicles together.
Then the elements struck, starting with cold temperatures. “We were three weeks into the run. I had just completed my first big elevation climb, and we got caught in a snowstorm in Lake Tahoe,” Kumlien says.
All roads were closed and running was out of the question, so they hit the slopes for the day. Then Date suggested they hike to the summit. High in the Sierra Nevada with the snow still falling, he asked her to marry him. “I didn’t think he was serious at first,” Kumlien says, laughing. “I thought if anything, he was going to wait for New York.”
Both she and Date describe that day as the unparalleled highlight of the journey.
Leaving behind the Rockies meant warmer weather, but the rolling Midwest hills proved murder on Kumlien’s legs. “In Iowa, you go up and down, up and down,” Date says. “It’s almost like interval training.”
Mounting heat and humidity caused further grief. On an afternoon run in mid-July, Date, following in the RV, noticed Kumlien’s form deteriorating and thought she looked flustered. “It was the first time in the whole run that I was worried for her safety,” he says. He immediately pulled over and coaxed the heatstroke runner into the air-conditioned RV. Fortunately, they were staying the night at a friend’s house where Kumlien could soak in an ice bath to bring down her temperature. “When you’re doing that many miles a day,” says Date, “your body can catch up with you.”
Despite the hardships, Kumlien remains upbeat. “Some people say that, oh, Nebraska’s boring or Iowa’s boring, but we’ve had a great time here,” she says. “You appreciate the cornfields, you appreciate the wildlife that’s around and the sunsets and how the sky is.” When asked how she deals with boredom, she insists it’s never an issue. “I have a pretty busy mind, so I write blogs in my head and I always try to think of ways to fundraise and to inspire people more. There’s always something going on when I’m running.”
The unkindest cut?
In late July, as torrential rains lashed the upper Midwest and Kumlien and Date approached Milwaukee for a week of hometown fundraisers, fate dealt them a crushing blow. Because his U.S. tourist visa was due to expire during the run, Date applied for an extension. His application was denied.
“A complete disaster,” Kumlien wrote of the news on her blog. The couple’s emotional and logistical upheaval was tempered by the overwhelming support of friends and family, several of whom offered to take up the torch in case of Date’s premature departure. Kumlien still hopes her fiance can mend his visa woes and go the distance to New York, as much for his sake as her own.
“Andrew has been amazing enough to volunteer his time away from his family, friends and his country to ensure the success of this run to help end multiple sclerosis,” she says. “People will never know the degree of sacrifice he’s taken to make MS Run the US possible.”
Date’s visa status was still unclear as of early August. Although Kumlien was hesitant to talk much about it, she said the couple remained optimistic. “We have some options and a small window of time” to sort the visa out, she says. “We’ll be sure to let everyone know what’s going on when we figure it all out.”
Now in the homestretch with New York in her sights, Kumlien seems determined to dedicate every remaining minute to the fight against MS.
“I started running across America because I knew I could,” she says. “I would really like to reach the fundraising goal. That’s what I’m really trying to focus on right now.”
Date takes a broader view. “However much money we raise, I’m happy with it,” he says. “Obviously more would be better. But I think the amount of awareness we’re raising, that’s bigger than a dollar amount.”
Donations raised through MS Run the US benefit The Montel Williams MS Foundation and the National MS Society. To learn more, visit www.msruntheus.com or contact msruntheus@live.com.
Sarah Maurer is a freelance writer based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Contact her at maurer_kg@yahoo.com.
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