Boston woman using cross-country run to inspire others

"It's a perfect day," she said Wednesday, pausing a few miles from Brookville. Drivers of cattle trucks honked as they passed Visco and Jenny Sadler, her support van driver who sometimes joins in the morning runs on the 3,150-mile cross-country journey.

Running is Visco's passion, and it's her method of inspiring others to pursue their dreams. She's running from Boston to San Diego -- averaging 18 miles a day -- to spread the word through her Pave Your Lane campaign and raise money for the nonprofit Girls on the Run program.

"I think of it as being an entrepreneur. This is my life's work. I just want to give," said Visco, 24, who lives in the Boston area.

"This message is all about inspiring people to follow their passions in life," she said.

Visco, a college graduate with an economics degree, said her run across the United States has been a goal since her freshman year in high school.

"I've always wanted to do something big and bold that will catch people's attention, help people think about what gives them life," Visco said.

She is using the run as a platform to spread her message.

"She's a ball of fire, so enthusiastic about what she's doing," Melanie Terrill said.

Terrill and her husband, Mike Soetaert, of Salina, served as a host family to Visco Monday through Wednesday. Visco ran on a cross country team with Terrill's niece, Cassie Funke, at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.

Visco hadn't yet secured accommodations for her Thursday night stay in Ellsworth.

Her route cuts diagonally across western Kansas, through Liberal and into New Mexico.

Visco began her run March 29 in Boston and intends to conclude it during late December in San Diego.

While driving back to Boston, she will offer motivational talks to schools and other groups to spread her message.

Visco intends to eventually incorporate Pave Your Lane into a living, and also write a book about her experience.

"Making a living? That's a challenge. Hopefully, the book and speaking tour will make this possible," she said.

She said one prompt for her run occurred while she was working in a youth services program in the Boston area. While working with a group of youths, she asked them to express their dreams, goals and ambitions.

She asked, "What do you want to do in the world to make it better?"

It was the first time such a question had been posed to them.

"They didn't have a role model to show them it's possible to achieve your dreams," Visco said.

Her run has touched a number of people. In Ohio, a "40-something" man who ran with her for two days vowed to stop making excuses, "that there's no limits for him anymore," Visco said.

She said she moved a young girl to tears during a presentation in Chicago.

"She said her passion is acting, making an audience laugh. I've kept in touch with her. She has enrolled in an acting class," Visco said. "Sometimes, we need a kick in the butt."

Visco also inspired Terrill, who is retired from her job as public information director for the Salina School District. Her husband is a retired district budget director.

"What she's saying is, 'Go do it,' " Terrill said.

Visco has helped raise $12,000 for Girls on the Run, a North Carolina-based nonprofit for girls ages 8 to 13, which has 160 chapters nationwide. The program combines training for a 3.1-mile running event with help to improve self-esteem through positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development, according to the group's Web site.

Its mission: "To educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living," the Web site reads.

To donate, go to www.paveyourlane.com and click on the "donate" button.

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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says....
What a wonderful adventure she is living! Katie, I applaud you for your energy and heart and I thank you for being an inspiration to us all! I wish you much success with your remaining runs and your future adventures!
9/3/2009

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