Kicking across Carolina final blog

Today was the final leg in our epic journey across the state, and we did our best to wrap up our trip in style. There was a banner, cupcakes, and even heightened police presence (but in hindsight, that may have been on account of the Memorial Day beach traffic…). Today was the culmination of three weeks of sore feet and sleep deprivation, and it started in the small town of Newport, NC.

We dribbled a few miles and conducted an interview with News 14 Carolina, one of our most important interviews yet! Needless to say, we were excited to finish these last few miles, and we flew through the remainder of our trip at a blazing speed of three miles per hour. We were treated to a free lunch at Smithfield’s Chicken & BBQ, courtesy of David Moore, which we quickly realized was not conducive to someone who still had several miles to walk… However, we appreciate the free meal very much, and didn’t mind walking on a full stomach.

As we neared our destination, we were joined by some ardent supporters who walked with us for the last mile or so. After careful counting and calculation (courtesy of myself and Sasha with no help from Dylan whatsoever) we finished the day with 108 moments of recognition/waves/honks/near accidents because of us etc. breaking all of our previous records.

We finished our dribble at the public access beach off of eleventh street in Morehead City, and needless to say, it was an amazing feeling to cross the finish line and jump into the ocean. As we celebrated with our families and friends we were hit with a slew of varying emotions. There was obviously happiness  and relief at having finished our physical task, but I still felt unsatisfied. We set out on this trip to spread awareness for a cause we found worthy, and thankfully we were received by a largely supportive audience. However we now find ourselves faced with the question  of “what next?”. How can we continue to spread our message in the weeks, months, and years to come? How can we illustrate to people that even though we have finished our journey across the state, we’ve only just started our campaign for peaceful coexistence? Will we dribble across the region or across the nation or even around the globe, or will we simply become like a championship-winning team and “Go to Disneyworld”? These are the questions running through our minds now, and while we might not have answers for them now, I feel confident in saying that Kicking Across Carolina is only getting started.

I want to take this time to thank anyone and everyone who has helped and supported us thus far. From the Jones Family pampering us at the onset of our trip to Eurosport for outfitting us and helping us spread our message, to the nameless strangers who honked at us and encouraged us along the way, to Papa and the Simel family who have been our cheerleaders/chauffeurs/photographers/life-savers/worrying parents. Last and certainly not least, we want to thank you, whoever is reading this, for following our journey and continuously supporting us. Without you, our trek would be unknown and much less motivated. You have kept our feet moving for the past three weeks, and for that you have our undying thanks. Since Kicking Across Carolina is most definitely not “over”, this is Ahmad Saad not saying goodbye, but rather see you soon.

Total distance traveled today: 14.2 miles

Total time spent traveling: 6 hr 45 mins

Total distance traveled: 450.06 miles