Florida teenager passes through Perkins County on mission to set running world record

Briar-Rose Honeywill, a 15-year-old from Kissimmee, Florida, is working on setting a new record as the youngest person to run across America from San Francisco City Hall to New York City Hall, passing through Perkins County along the way. 

Honeywill started running as cross training for figure skating when she was just six years old.

“It was just once around the block at that point, but slowly and carefully I built that up to the point where I was easily able to run longer distances, which I enjoyed a lot more than just short runs,” she said.

She told her parents that if she is going to be doing all that running, she wants to get some “bling” to recognize her hard work.

At eight years old, she entered a local half-marathon race and won the “under 14” age division.

“From that point on I was hooked,” Honeywill said. “I absolutely loved it.”

Since then she has ran ten marathons, 15 half-marathons, three 15K races and two 5K’s.

When Covid first started to make its way through the United States, Honeywill could not go skating or compete in any races because everything had shut down. She decided she wanted to do something during this time that she normally would not be able to do.

“After taking a training run up to Disney, I thought maybe I could run across the country from Disney World to Disneyland,” she said. 

She looked into it and found the run would not count for any records, so she contacted the people that already have the record for running across America.

It was then she learned the official route is from San Francisco City Hall to New York City Hall, though in order to be considered a true “coast to coaster” she is adding a little distance either direction and traveling from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

She and her family began to make preparations, which Honeywill noted took a long time and they had several obstacles to overcome along the way, but eventually they got to the point where they were ready to set a new record.

Fortunately, Honeywill has already been attending an online school so she can work around her skating and running schedules, so she is free to spend her days running across the country without affecting schooling.

Honeywill’s path across the country will cover over 3,000 miles, but she will not know the exact mileage until the end of the trip. She estimates she has covered around 1,600 miles as of Tuesday morning, putting her over the half-way point.

She started her journey in California Sunday, June 20 and she hopes to finish the run by the end of September. The original plan was to finish in 80 days, but issues with weather and her support vehicle caused Honeywill to be unable to run for several days.

Before the delays, Honeywill wanted to cover an average of 40 miles each day.

“Due to weather and the fact that I have climbed a lot of elevation in all the states up to Nebraska, it has been difficult to maintain that,” she said, adding that now she is in the plains region of the country she is hoping to get back on track.

The west coast was a difficult area for Honeywill to traverse due to the mountains and the heat wave that hit the area during her run.

“When we were running through Yosemite, we had over 110 degree heat during the day and then one night it got down to below 50 degrees!” she said.

Last Wednesday evening, Aug. 19, Honeywill passed through Grant on the highway before resting overnight in Madrid. They left Madrid around mid-day Thursday and continued on through Elsie, Grainton and Wallace.

So far, Honeywill said Yosemite has been her favorite location to see, not only for the area’s natural beauty, but also because of how incredible she found the view of the night sky there.

“I have never seen so many stars before,” she said. “It is also the first time I was able to see the Milky Way.”

Honeywill said the support they have received along the way has been “so nice,” with people honking and waving at them as they pass by. Some have even stopped to give donations toward expenses and charity.

“We still have quite a way to go, and a lot of costs still to incur, especially gas, so we appreciate all the help we can get,” she said.

Honeywill can be followed on her journey on Instagram under the username @the.running.rose or on Facebook as The Running Rose.

Fundraising

Honeywill has dedicated her cross-country run to Achilles International charity in an effort to raise money and awareness for all the work they do for people with disabilities. She hopes to raise $30,000 for the organization.

“My mom used to race with them when I was younger, so I have seen first hand at many running races how they have made it possible for people with disabilities to regain hope, strength and inspiration,” she said. 

“That inspiration is what is driving me to complete the coast to coast challenge and help them continue supporting athletes with disabilities.”

Achilles International is a global organization operating in 25 countries including the United States. They work to transform the lives of people with disabilities through athletic programs and social connection.

Since their founding in 1983, they have empowered over 150,000 athletes of all ages and ability levels to participate in endurance events around the glove.

While Achilles International’s programs focus on running, their main objective is to bring hope, inspiration and the joys of achievement to all.

More information about the organization, as well as links to make a donation, can be found through The Running Rose social media pages.

To make a donation to Honeywill’s cross-country expenses or contribute to Achilles International, visit her Instagram or Facebook pages, or send the donation through Venmo, @therunningrose, or Paypal therunningrose@outlook.com.