Team 99 Counties finds love on the roads

Editor's note: Daren Schumaker of Cedar Rapids and Dennis Lee of Walford are attempting to run across Iowa's 99 counties to raise money for the American Heart Association. They've completed 83 counties. This is No. 78. Next: Sac

By Daren Schumaker, community contributor

Love is blind. Love is powerful. Love can make people do some pretty crazy things.

When love is not madness, it is not love. The story of Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of a love story and the crazy things love can make one do. In the name of love, Juliet drank a potion that placed her into a deathlike coma. Thinking his love had died, Romeo purchased poison from an apothecary and subsequently took his own life by drinking the poison in Juliet's family crypt. Juliet then awoke and, finding Romeo dead, stabbed herself with his dagger.

With regard to Romeo and Juliet, love was blind, powerful and made two 'star-crossed lovers” do some very crazy things. Love stories, such as the tale of Romeo and Juliet, take place all around us - not just along the shores of the Adige River in Verona, Italy. In fact, love stories also take place and are born along the shores of the Des Moines River near and in Boone.

On July 18, we woke with love in our hearts and a burning desire to do what we love - run. So we drove westward along Highway 30 to Boone County in central Iowa. Our run started on 210th Street at A Avenue, an intersection of two gravel roads surrounded by fields filled with row upon row of tall corn. It is said love burns hot, and the sun in rural Boone County already was burning hot well before we took our first strides at 8:10 a.m. We followed the gravel of 210th street for six miles, passing many ears of corn and climbing many hills as we passed Beaver and approached the western edge of Ogden. When we reached Ogden, we ran south for one mile along G Avenue and then danced through town, at times on a shaded trail, before emerging on the eastern edge of town on 216th Drive.

As we completed our 11th mile, we started our decent into the Des Moines River valley as the temperature continued to climb toward 90 degrees. We were circled by hundreds of swallows as we crossed the Des Moines River, and we reached the midpoint of our run just before we started a more than mile long climb into Boone. We made our standard visit to the Boone County Courthouse, and soon noted many of the streets we passed were named after counties that we had already crossed - Harrison, Monona, Carroll, Story, Marshall, Benton, Tama, Benton, Linn, Clinton, and Jackson to name a few. The highlight of our visit to Boone sits at 709 (formerly 718) Carroll Street, the birthplace of former First Lady Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower.

After spending four miles traversing the streets of Boone, we started a long climb out of town and soon found ourselves running a hot three-mile stretch where there was little shade and attacks by red-winged blackbirds were all too common. We continued eastward on 210th Street as it turned from pavement back to gravel, and the heat continued to beat us down along the way. The last few miles, which were hot and hilly, ended as the day's heat advisory still was in full effect. As the dust settled, our watches read 3:40:13 and the cramps in our legs told us that we had traveled 26.2 miles.

Love is blind, powerful, and can make people do some pretty crazy things. The power of love pulled Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower from her roots in Boone, binding her to Dwight David Eisenhower on July 1, 1916, and taking her on a journey in which she would relocate 28 times before having a home of her own. Mamie was blinded by love, allowed the power of love to make all things possible, and did a few crazy things in the name of love - like moving 28 times.

To us, running is love - love of the challenge, love of others and love of ourselves. As we continue on our quest to run across each of Iowa's 99 counties, it is quite clear love has blinded us of everything but our goal. Love has provided us with the power we have needed to conquer each of the mental and physical obstacles we have encountered. Love has made us do something pretty crazy and we are finally neck-deep in this craziness - 78/99th to be exact.

Challenge yourself. Don't settle. Learn to love yourself. Learn to love others. If you let it, love can help you focus on goals you once thought were unattainable. If you let it, love can fuel you to climb mountains you once thought too high. If you let it, love can help you do things you once thought were crazy. Do these things and ensure the love story of your life has a happy ending.

Inspiration through perspiration. Become active or make a donation to Team 99 Counties or the American Heart Association to help fight heart disease today.

l To make a donation or buy a T-shirt, email Dennis Lee at telcoden@yahoo.com