Ukraine is 785 miles wide from east to west. That's how far Elizabeth Liz Rudd of Waco is walking to raise money for and awareness. "They are having to walk for safety across their land. I wanted to challenge myself."
But let's be clear. Rudd is safely walking around a part of Waco she's familiar with. She hits the trails and pavement in the morning. Rudd, who works from home, uses her treadmill in the afternoon and in the evening.
"It was originally 15 miles a day for the 52 days, but a couple of days I lost a couple of miles. So I'm actually having to do 18 miles a day" said Rudd.
As of Monday night, she has logged 323 miles and has another 462 to go. She is a little more than halfway through and hopes to be finished by the end of May.
She says it's been what she calls a massive mental and physical challenge. "My feet are a bit worse for wear. I have a lot of blisters and they keep returning every day. It has also been a mental challenge too. A lot comes up when you're on your own, walking."
This very long walk has given her plenty of time to think about the people she wants to help. "You just don't know what they were able to take with them, because they literally just fled their home with whatever they could carry. To me that's just incredibly hard to think about. I'm lucky. Anything I need I get my nutrients and my food, but they don't know where their next meal is coming from."
Rudd is raising money for two charities. The former chef originally wanted to join up with the charity the World Central Kitchen operating at the Ukraine/Polish border to prepare and hand out food to refugees. However, she could not afford to pay for her travel and accommodations. Aside from the World Central Kitchen, her proceeds will also go to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, also operating out of that area.
Read about Rudd's journey here. A link to her GoFundMe page can be found here.
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