I Ran for Everybody

Every day Jeff puts on an artificial leg. The leg is plastic. With the plastic leg Jeff can ski, ride a bicycle, swim, and play soccer. He can also run.

In the photograph Jeff is running with some young men. They have plastic legs, too. They are wearing special T-shirts. The T-shirts say, "Run, Jeff, Run. Jeff Keith's Run Across America."

When he was 22 years old, Jeff Keith ran across the United States, from the East Coast to the West Coast. He started running in Boston. Seven months later, he stopped running in Los Angeles. He ran 3,200 miles¹; that's about 16 miles² each day. Jeff wore out 36 pairs of running shoes and five plastic legs.

Jeff stopped in cities on the way to Los Angeles. In every city people gave Jeff money. The money was not for Jeff. It was for the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society used the money to learn about cancer.

On the way to Los Angeles Jeff talked to people about cancer. He also talked about being disabled. Jeff is disabled, but he can do many things: he skis, swims, plays soccer, and runs. He finished college and is studying to be a lawyer. Jeff says, "People can do anything they want to do. I want people to know that. I ran not only for disabled people. I ran for everybody."

¹ 5,150 kilometers

² 26 kilometers