WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - During the stay-at-home order during COVID-19, many view jogging as therapeutic - a chance to clear one's head. Aidan Talcott's reason for running is the opposite. He's keeping something in mind.
"They've inspired me to get a new perspective on things, and think about what others are going through," Talcott said Thursday.
Aidan, an assistant coach for the men's tennis team at The College of William & Mary - his alma mater, was scheduled to race in the Dirty German urban ultramarathon Saturday - a 50-mile race in Philadelphia. In doing so, Talcott planned to raise money and awareness for the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk, where's he volunteered for months. However, due to the spread of the coronavirus, the race has been postponed.
"Seeing how the kids have approached their problems has really inspired me when it comes to how I go about facing any issue that has come my way," Aidan explained of his experience spending time at CHKD.
So he's solved his issue.
Talcott will still run his race Saturday - he'll just do it on William & Mary's campus. He will complete a half-mile loop 100 times. It will equal 50 miles and total thousands of dollars for kids at CHKD - where many cannot see their finish line.
"Even though Saturday is going to be eight to 10 hours of running, and that's going to be tough and painful, it's still one day and then I'm done," Talcott noted.
When he volunteers at CHKD in Norfolk, Aiden's trip from the campus of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg to the children's hospital is a 50-mile trip. 50 miles: the exact distance he will be running Saturday.
"Sometimes I hear it when I say I'm coming from Williamsburg, 'Oh, you came all the way from Williamsburg?' At least on the drive back, I always get that feeling that it was so worth it."
Saturday, Talcott will cover that distance with his feet not his car, but still the drive - his drive - is certainly one worth keeping in mind.
Click here to visit Aidan's fundraising site.
