Milwaukee Talks: Cross country runner Ashley Kumlien

By the time you grabbed your first cup of coffee this morning, Ashley Kumlien likely had been on the road for an hour or two, pounding the pavement somewhere in Indiana.

When you start to think about what to have for dinner this evening, she'll be back on the road.

That's pretty much been the case all summer.

Kumlien, a 26-year-old Brookfield native, is running across the United States to raise money for multiple sclerosis research. Her 3,200-mile quest, which is chronicled at the Web site msruntheus.com, began on the Golden Gate Bridge in April and will finish in New York City at the end of September.

Inspired by her mother, Jill, who has battled MS for 28 years, Kumlien has been collecting donations and seeking sponsors to help on her journey. Sponsors provided a 30-foot RV, a car, running shoes, clothes and money for food.

Kumlien recently took a five-day break in the Milwaukee area, and we asked her about the journey and her future plans.

OnMilwaukee.com: We'll get the basics out of the way first. When did you start this endeavor.

Ashley Kumlien: I started in April at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. I started south and ran north, up over Napa Valley and then headed towards South Lake Tahoe and into Nevada.

OMC: How many miles do you run each day?

AK: I'm average about 25 miles a day. I try to do 10 to 15 miles in the morning and then do whatever is left at night. Basically, I try and stay out of the heat of the middle of the day.

OMC: How many pairs of running shoes have you gone through?

AK: I've gone through four, but I rotate three at one time. I have seven pair, but four that cannot be used anymore.

OMC: What do you do when you're not running?

AK: There is a lot of stuff to do. I usually have somewhere around 50 e-mails a day, so I answer those. I have to go grocery shopping. We have to fill the propane tank, fill the gas tank, do interviews ...

OMC: Do you ever do interviews while you are running?

AK: I did that with Kramp and Adler. I didn't tell them I was doing it. I was on the highway and a truck went by and they said, "Are you running right now?"

OMC: You have an RV and you're pulling a car. Do you run to the RV every day?

AK: If we can, that's ideal. I try and end where the RV is parked.

OMC: Your fiance, Andrew Date, has been with you for a lot of this trip. If you can survive this, your marriage should last 60 years. A lot of married couples find vacations stressful, because they aren't used to being together all day.

AK: This is far, far from a vacation. When he signed up, he thought it was going to be a vacation. It's a lot of work. We're in an RV on the road.

OMC: Have there been times when you just wanted to quit?

AK: It's for a good cause. I'm running for my mom, who has had MS for 28 years. Every time you meet her or talk to her, for me, personally, it rejuvenates me. It makes me realize why I'm out there. It's all the more reason not to quit.

OMC: Do you listen to an iPod while you run?

AK: I listen to nature. I don't listen to an iPod very often. I found Pandora on my phone, that was cool for two days. I looked into books on tape, but I thought ‘Do I really want to pay $14 to listen to this person read to me while I run?'

OMC: When you started this, did you talk to other people who have done it?

AK: I did.

OMC: What did they tell you?

AK: Everybody has their own opinion about the hardest part. Some were saying Nebraska was the hardest part. I love Nebraska. Someone told me Iowa was going to be extremely easy. That was the worst state I've run through.

One big difference is that most people tried to do it without anyone else knowing because they were afraid if they didn't get there, everybody would know. I'm trying to get as much attention from the media and press as possible so that people will make donations.

OMC: You are mentioned on Fox Sports Wisconsin during Brewers telecasts. Do you have a lot of people here talking to you about that?

AK: I get a lot of Facebook requests during Brewers games or right after the game. A lot of people from when I grew up. I was kind of quiet in high school (at Waukesha North). I was far from popular.

OMC: We talked about the mental aspect and the logistics, but how are you holding up physically? Some people get injuries running three miles a day.

AK: Actually, the most i got injured was when I tried to bike 60 miles (for an MS event). I made it 52 and my knee started hurting me. Running-wise, I haven't had any injuries. I had a couple blisters on my toes, but that was it.

I was a runner my whole life. It was one of those things i liked to do when i was younger. I think that growing up through adolescence and running, my muscles and tendons and bones just formed to accommodate long distance running. Then, it was a matter of wanting to do it for my mom.

I'm sure someone if they were having plantar fasciitis or a knee injury, it would be different. It's hard for me to say it's physically demanding. Right now, I don't have any injuries.

OMC: What is your daily diet like? How many calories a day do you consume?

AK: I'm hungry all the time. When I wake up in the morning, a lot of my thoughts are about what I want to eat and when. It drives Andrew up the wall. Sometimes, he gets sick of trying to find food for me.

I'm averaging about 4,500 calories a day. By the end of the week, it's 35,000 calories.

OMC: Are you checking out a lot of greasy spoons along the way?

AK: I don't like to eat greasy stuff, because I can't run with that in my stomach. I eat as many fruits and vegetables as I can. Chicken and turkey are my main proteins, besides my whey protein shakes.

OMC: Don't you ever feel the need to crush a whole pizza?

AK: Pizza is not as bad as a burger, because it's mainly dough and cheese. I can eat as many refined carbohydrates as I want right now and not have a problem. But, I'm not going to go for a pizza at lunch.

OMC: How did you get the idea to do this? Did it stem from ultra-marathoning?

AK: Actually, I started ultra running after I got the idea to do this.

I was working as a rock climbing and surf instructor with Royal Caribbean, so i was working in Europe on one of their ships and I was actually seeing different countries and decided I wanted to see more of the U.S. One of my favorite things was to go into these foreign countries and run around and see the cities by foot. That's where the seed came from. I thought about running in cities in the US, and that kind of formed into running across America.

I quit my job immediately when I thought about my mom. That was kind of the big push that I should do this for a charity and a cause that is close to my heart and has affected my family. I wanted to make a difference.

OMC: What will you do when you finish this run?

AK: I was having this discussion the other day. I'm really happy doing this run and fund raising for MS. I think it's really important that people are understood a little more within their disease. Someone can have MS and still hold a job and walk and exercise, so there are some people who don't think it's a disease worth fund raising for.

What you don't see are people like my mom; people who are really disabled from the disease who are left almost with a lack of independence. My mom is completely dependent on my dad as her caregiver and it has strongly affected the family.

I'm really happy doing this. It's not really often that someone finds happiness doing their work every day. If something I can do inspires people, that's great.

People tell me "If you can run 20 or 30 miles a day, I can go walking." I got my degree (from UW-La Crosse) in exercise and sports science. I think inspiring people to be fit -- at any age -- is important.

It's never too late.