The physical fortitude to run 40 miles is in itself a laudatory feat. Repeating that performance 100 consecutive times, from one coast of the country to the other, is a spectacle. Doing it all as a recovering alcoholic fighting a debilitating intestinal disease would be impossible without one vital component—courage. Down for the count for far too many rounds in his life, Steve Knowlton summoned courage and sent it into the ring for the knockout blow to his challengers. That same grit propelled him forward, day after week after state, when all he wanted to do was stop. He ran over mountains and across open plains, through extreme heat, wind, rain, and cold, pushing a cart full of gear. He learned to run as an elementary school rebel, maturing into a marathoner. All grown up and battling dual enemies threatening to end his life, he turned to ultra-endurance challenges for inner peace. In the summer of 2012, he followed a 3,717-mile route to redemption. He ran with Crohn’s disease, attacking him since high school, and alcoholism, fighting with him since college. He ran to beat those adversaries, ran for forgiveness, ran for rebirth.
