A Regular Dad. 2,800 Miles. One Big Journey.
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HELP ZAC RUN 2,800+ MILES FROM BRISTOL TO LA.
A LONG ROAD FOR A BRIGHTER TOMORROW.
On October 17, 2026, my husband, Zac Deel, is going to do something that, honestly, sounds a little crazy.
He is going to leave our hometown of Bristol, Tennessee and start running west.
His destination is Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, California.
Between those two places are more than 2,800 miles of road.
Zac plans to run them.
He'll be traveling alone, pushing his gear in an expedition cart, without a support vehicle following him.
And there's one detail that makes this challenge even crazier:
Zac has never run a full marathon.
He's a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt. He's a wrestling dad. He's an avid lifter. He's always been active and considers himself a pretty good runner.
But running 2,800+ miles across the country?
That's something most of us has ever attempted.
And that's exactly why this isn't really a story about running.
THIS IS ABOUT STARTING OVER.
Over the last few years, Zac's life has been filled with setbacks, uncertainty, and circumstances that often felt completely outside of his control.
There were times when it felt like the direction of our family's life was being decided by everyone and everything except us.
Plans didn't work out.
Doors closed.
Things happened that we couldn't control.
And eventually, Zac realized something:
Waiting for life to change wasn't going to change anything.
So instead of waiting for a fresh start, he's going to run toward one.
This journey is Zac taking control of his own direction.
One step.
One mile.
One day at a time.
WHY LOS ANGELES?
Los Angeles isn't simply a finish line.
It's the beginning of what comes next.
Zac wants to use this expedition as the launch point for a completely new chapter of his life; a career built around content creation, storytelling, fitness, entrepreneurship, and the experiences he collects along the road.
We're not trying to create one viral moment.
We're trying to build something that lasts.
Something our family can grow from.
Something Zac can build with his own hands.
Something that can give our four kids a different example of what happens when life knocks you down.
Because we want our kids to see that sometimes you don't get to choose what happens to you.
But you do get to choose what you do next.
And when you get knocked down, you get back up.
2,800+ MILES. 70 DAYS. ONE VERY BIG FINISH LINE.
Zac will leave Bristol on October 17 with the goal of reaching Santa Monica Pier on December 24.
That's more than 2,800 miles.
Roughly 70 days.
Thousands of miles of pavement, weather, exhaustion, uncertainty, unexpected problems, and moments we can't possibly predict from our home in Tennessee.
But there will also be people.
Communities.
Stories.
Miles shared with strangers.
And moments that we could never plan from the beginning.
That's what makes this journey so exciting.
We don't know everything that's going to happen.
We're going to find out along the way.
AND THERE'S A REASON DECEMBER 24 MATTERS SO MUCH.
Zac isn't trying to make it back home for Christmas.
He's trying to make it to California in time to spend Christmas with his family.
Our goal is to travel to California and be waiting for him at the Santa Monica Pier when he finishes.
We want his four kids there.
We want them to see their dad complete something that, at the beginning, sounded almost impossible.
We want them to watch him take those final steps.
We want them to be there when the cart finally stops.
And we want Zac to look up after 2,800+ miles and see the people he has been thinking about every single mile of the way.
His family waiting for him at the finish line.
That's the moment we're working toward.
December 24, 2026.
Santa Monica Pier.
2,800+ miles from Bristol.
One last step.
And then his kids.
WE ARE BUILDING THIS FROM THE GROUND UP.
This isn't a professionally funded expedition.
There isn't a giant production company behind Zac.
There isn't a support vehicle.
There isn't an unlimited budget.
We're figuring this out ourselves.
The expedition cart.
Running equipment.
Food and hydration.
Lodging.
Resupply.
Safety equipment.
Communication.
Route planning.
Content creation.
And all of the unexpected expenses that come with spending roughly 70 days traveling across the country on foot.
We're building this one piece at a time.
And we're asking people to help us build it.
Your support will help with the real costs of making this expedition possible, including:
Food, water, and electrolytes
Running shoes and replacement gear
Clothing and weather equipment
Expedition cart equipment and maintenance
Lodging and overnight accommodations
Resupply and transportation-related expenses
Safety and communication equipment
Navigation and technology
Content creation and documentation
Unexpected expenses that come with a journey of this size
Our goal is to be transparent about where the support goes and to document the journey along the way.
BUT WE DON'T JUST WANT YOU TO DONATE.
We want you to become part of the journey.
If you can't donate, share this fundraiser.
If you can donate $5, you're helping.
If you can sponsor a stretch of miles, you're helping.
If you own a business and want to partner with Zac, we'd love to hear from you.
And if Zac's route takes him through your town...
COME RUN WITH HIM.
You don't have to run a marathon.
You don't have to be fast.
You don't even have to be an experienced runner.
Come run a mile.
Come run five.
Walk beside him.
Bring your kids.
Bring your friends.
Bring your running club.
Whatever you can do, come be part of the road.
Because we don't want people to simply watch Zac run across the country.
We want people to feel like they're running it with him.
Imagine Zac being hundreds or thousands of miles from home and looking over to see someone he has never met running beside him.
That's the kind of journey we want to create.
A journey where the miles belong to more than just one person.
WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR HELP
This is probably the hardest part for us.
We're not accustomed to asking people to help us build something.
But we've also learned that some things are too big to do alone.
Zac can put one foot in front of the other.
He can push the cart.
He can train.
He can run when he's tired.
He can keep going when the road gets hard.
But he can't make this story reach people by himself.
That's where you come in.
Every share puts this story in front of someone new.
Every follower gives Zac another person cheering him on.
Every donation helps make another part of the expedition possible.
Every sponsor helps put another stretch of road behind him.
And every person who runs beside him becomes part of the miles.
THIS IS BIGGER THAN A RUN.
When Zac reaches Santa Monica Pier, we don't want the story to end.
We want those 2,800+ miles to be the beginning of something.
A new career.
A fresh start.
A new future for our family.
And hopefully, a reminder to anyone watching that your circumstances don't have to determine the rest of your story.
Sometimes the road ahead looks completely unreasonable.
Sometimes you don't feel ready.
Sometimes you have no idea how you're going to get there.
You just have to start.
Then take the next step.
And then the next one.
That's what Zac is doing.
On October 17, he's going to leave Bristol with an expedition cart, a goal, and a whole lot of road ahead of him.
He doesn't know every obstacle he'll face.
He doesn't know every person he'll meet.
He doesn't know exactly what will happen between Tennessee and California.
But he knows where he's going.
And for the first time in a long time, he's the one choosing the direction.
WILL YOU COME WITH US?
Help us put the first miles behind him.
Donate. Share. Follow. Sponsor a stretch. Run a few miles with him.
Whatever you can do, you'll be part of this story.
And when December 24 comes, we're hoping to stand at the Santa Monica Pier with his four kids, waiting to watch Zac finish the road he started in Bristol.
Because after 2,800+ miles, we don't want the last thing he sees to be a finish line.
We want it to be his family.
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE → SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
OCTOBER 17 – DECEMBER 24, 2026
2,800+ MILES • 70 DAYS • 1 RUNNER • 1 CART
A LONG ROAD FOR A BRIGHTER TOMORROW.
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