Marine & dog completing cross-country run for veterans issue awareness

A marine and his dog are running cross-country to raise awareness for veteran’s issues 

Marine veteran Russell Larkin has been running across the country with his dog Stormy since the end of April, hoping to raise awareness for veteran’s issues across the country. 

“I’m running across America for veterans. I started in North Carolina and I’m going all the way to California,” Larkin said.

The journey began shortly after the coronavirus pandemic started to get serious, when Larkin realized many veterans had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. 

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These Amazing Humans gave me food, water, and a Huge Donation! Thank you so Much!!! . @tumblweedllc . . . #venue #smallbusiness #business #america #flag #americanflag #running #charity #donation #giving #grateful #runner #ultrarunner #iam1stphorm #legionofboom #veteran #usmc #run20 #garminfitness #teamultra #marinecorps #runacrossamerica

A post shared by Russell Larkins (@runrussellrun_) on Jul 12, 2020 at 5:13pm PDT

“I wanted to start running for specific veterans mainly to acknowledge their lives,” Larkin said.

Armed with his dog, an american flag, and plenty of water, Larkin hopes to reach San Francisco in about two months, recently dedicating a leg of his run to the Fort Hood soldiers who were found dead after going missing for as long as two months. 

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I woke up covered in FREEDOM! Happy Independence Day! . . . #4thofjuly #independenceday #flag #americanflag #america #husky #dog #puppy #servicedog #running #runner #puppylove #puppy #runwithme #fit #fitness #iam1stphorm #puppylife #travel #adventure #hilton #smile #hiltonhotels #love #peace #joy

A post shared by Storm Le (@stormy_runs_across_america) on Jul 4, 2020 at 6:50am PDT

“They joined their country, they wanted to better themselves, they wanted to do something great and they were killed on American soil which is disgusting,” Larkin said. “It’s horrible.”

“I’m just trying to raise awareness for anybody that was in the military, for all veteran issues such as this, for all our veterans who commit suicide,” Larkin said. “I just want their lives to be acknowledged as well, they still mattered and there’s an issue there. Why are 20 veterans committing suicide every day? It’s not okay.”

In addition to raising awareness, Larkin is collecting donations along the way to help train Service Dogs for Veterans.

You can follow Larkin’s journey on his webpage or following him @runrussellrun on Facebook and Instagram.

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Running with Horses! . . . #horse #horses #running #run #runacrossamerica #animals #fit #horsesofinstagram #runner #kansas #country #usa #flag #america #veterans #usmc #army #navy #airforce #nationalguard #police #love #peace #god #godscountry #iam1stphorm #legionofboom #teamultra #newbalance #cepcompression

A post shared by Russell Larkins (@runrussellrun_) on Jul 13, 2020 at 8:53am PDT