Cross country runner stops in Red Oak

 During the last 70-some days, Noah Coughlan has worn through nine pairs of shoes, crossed five states and consumed more than 600,000 calories, the same as roughly 16 cheeseburgers per day. 

After passing through Red Oak Wednesday, Coughlan, 29, is on his way to becoming the 27th person to run across America. Twice. 

The fame and glory that accompany such a title are of little concern to him, though. 

Coughlan is running to raise awareness for Batten disease, a rare, fatal genetic brain disease that has taken the life of one friend and is threatening the life of another. 

Batten disease compromises sight, motor skills, cognitive speech and other abilities in children. It forms when both parents have a defective gene, which leads to an offspring lacking the proper enzyme to rid the brain of waste. Batten patients typically only survive to their early 20s. 

The disease occurs in only two-four of every 100,000 live births in the United States. 

Growing up in Vacaville, Calif., Coughlan became friends with the Allio family and for the last two decades, he has seen firsthand the impact of Batten disease on two of the family’s children, Catie and Annie. 

Catie died last year at the age of 23, and Annie, 15, is still struggling, having lost the ability to see. 

“I knew about them and their disease for 20 years, but I  didn’t realize how rare it was until I did some research. I decided it’s time to do something big, something really big for something so rare,” Coughlan said. “I started running for Catie and Annie and ended up running for all the kids who have the disease.”

This is Coughlan’s second run across America. He completed the first in July 2011, and realized it was something he could do again to continue spreading the word about Batten. 

“I’m able to break away from normal life for a while, and this is the last window I see to make a big impact,” he said. “I’d rather trade three months of my life doing something that’s impacting a lot a people than just run of the mill ordinary life back home.”

Throughout his journey, which started in San Francisco and will end in Boston in roughly a month, Coughlan is meeting with families impacted by the disease, including two in Iowa and five in the Omaha area. 

When not visiting with media or Batten families, the majority of Coughlan’s time is spent alone, on the road with just an iPhone, a stroller of supplies and an American flag. 

During his first run in 2011, Coughlan had a driver with him. The feeling of complete isolation has been the biggest challenge this time. 

“Mentally, it gets defeating sometime because of the monotony, but every day is an adventure. I get to see the whole country at three miles an hour, and I meet people from all walks of life. I’m witnessing the kindness of the American people firsthand every single day.”

Coughlan said cars stop on occasion to see what he’s doing, and the support he’s received has been overwhelming. The American flag has a lot to do with that. 

“Without the flag, I’m just a weird guy with a stroller. With the flag, it kind of validates me; let’s people know I’m not a weirdo and I’m walking for a purpose.”

The flag is more than just a sign of patriotism, though; it’s also for safety, Coughlan said, as people can see it from a mile away. 

Crossing through deserts and mountain ranges, safety has remained a key priority. Coughlan said weather has been the main issue; he had to take an unplanned five days off because of storms in Nevada and the flooding in Colorado. 

“Every day is different. There is no safe way across America on foot so you really just have to stay flexible in your approach because of weather, detours and situations beyond your control,” he said. “But, I have to head east no matter what.”

To make his deadline, Coughlin must travel 35 miles per day, which he said takes eight-12 hours. Motivation to keep going despite the pain and boredom is in no short supply, though.

“There is no cure for the disease, yet. I say ‘yet’ because you just never know if there’s a cure out there. I think with the right amount of funding and research there could be a cure,” he said. “I’m more of a missionary going coast to coast and helping these kids. I’m just a messenger telling the story. This is my contribution to the cause.”

Aside from Batten disease, Coughlan is also running for a second charity, 20K Watts. The international non-profit organization works to bring solar lanterns to Central America. While he has no direct ties to Central America, Coughlan is running for the organization’s founder, Ryan Rossi, who died of lymphoma at 27, the same age Coughlan was during his first run. 

“I know what it’s like to be young and have a dream,” he said. “It seemed appropriate to help Ryan continue his dream.”

After the run, the police academy graduate, intends to use his experiences to impact others through motivational speaking. He is also in the process of writing a book on the 2011 run and intends to write another on this one as well. 

For more information or to follow Coughlan through his journey, visit his website at runcoast2coast.com. Donations to fund the run or to Batten research organizations are accepted through the site.