[Jim] Ellis also connected with actor Michael Emerson, from shows “Lost” and “Person of Interest.” Emerson was having a cup of coffee in Grinnell when Ellis noticed him.

“I’m sitting in this random coffee shop and Micheal Emerson walks in,” said Ellis. “I recognize him as the guy from ‘Lost’ and say there’s no way he just walks in to a coffee shop in Grinnell, Iowa.”

Ellis approached and asked if the man was, indeed, Michale Emerson. He was.

“He has family in the Grinnell area and he was speaking at Grinnell College. It was bizarre,” said Ellis.

A larger version of this photo is available here.

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June 05, 2012 12:00 am
by TIM GALLAGHER

BELLEVUE, Iowa — As he runs across Iowa, Sioux Cityan Jim Ellis begs and borrows a bit.

Families host him for free. Last week? Slept each night in a Volkswagen van on a farm three miles from Bellevue, a Mississippi River community.

“For any journey across Iowa, it’s only appropriate to spend one week in a VW,” said Ellis, now at near the halfway point of his 12-month Awake My Sole run across the state.

Since he quit his job and ran east out of Sioux City on Jan. 9, Ellis has run nearly 600 miles. He has spoken 161 times to groups representing people and interests that run the gamut. His mission is to encourage his listeners to follow their constructive passions and better live by using their God-given abilities.

Ellis’ passions involve running and adventure.

He was joined recently by Dirk Whitebreast while running from Pella to Grinnell. Whitebreast is with the Native American community at Tama, Iowa. He runs to raise awareness about suicide in Native communities. Whitebreast once ran 10 marathons in a single month.

Running man’s sites

See Jim Ellis’ “Awake My Sole” site atwww.facebook.com/awakemysoul orwww.awakemysole.blogspot.com

The Sioux City runner is now on his third pair of shoes since starting the 1,500-mile run.

“His sister died when she was young, committed suicide,” said Ellis. “He was an alcoholic. He quit drinking and began running. He tracked me down and ran part of my run with me. We connected.”
Ellis also connected with actor Michael Emerson, from shows “Lost” and “Person of Interest.” Emerson was having a cup of coffee in Grinnell when Ellis noticed him.

The oddest question or observation? “In Iowa City, a second-grade student raised his hand and said he knew how I was. I was Tom Petty,” Ellis said.

Yes, the second-grader confused this 27-year-old Iowa runner with a 61-year-old legendary rocker.

“I’m sitting in this random coffee shop and Micheal Emerson walks in,” said Ellis. “I recognize him as the guy from ‘Lost’ and say there’s no way he just walks in to a coffee shop in Grinnell, Iowa.”

Ellis approached and asked if the man was, indeed, Michale Emerson. He was.

“He has family in the Grinnell area and he was speaking at Grinnell College. It was bizarre,” said Ellis.

Bizarre describes the toughest running day Ellis has had on this circuit. It came when he left Grinnell at 5:45 a.m. on a Monday intending to run 54.9 miles to Iowa City. He quit that day at 8 p.m., 14 miles short of his destination.

“There were problems with body chafing and effects of salty sweat,” he said. “It was unbearable so I pulled out early.”

Early? Early, I asked. He ran from 5:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. and ended early? By my math, that’s in excess of 14 hours of running.

“With the sun going down, I quit,” Ellis said.

While disappointing, it made the following Monday run that much more rewarding. The Northwestern College graduate pushed the 150-pound cart holding his possessions 54.5 miles in a run from Iowa City to Davenport. The run took 14 hours.

I’m not sure the Volkswagen could have done better.

Source: Sioux City Journal.com