Diary entry from American Airlines Captain Alan Pollenz, NC State Coordinator:

Virginia to Raleigh

Our scheduled handoff time from the Virginia runners was 10:30 pm. I left my house with fellow runner John Payne at 7:30, stopped to pick up our drivers, several Vietnam Veterans, who would remain with us throughout the entire state, and headed north for the border. On the way to the handoff spot, I received a call from Lisa Cox, an American Airlines flight attendant who was a native of Norlina, our first transition point 7 miles south of the border. She asked if she could join us for the initial 7 miles from the border to Norlina. We had taken the position that anyone who wanted to run would be allowed to run, so we told Lisa to meet us at the handoff point.

The Virginia runners arrived at the designated handoff location, a small gas station on US 1 just off I-85 right on schedule. After completing the turnover, Lisa and I began the trek south at 11:07 pm, October 16th, 37 minutes behind schedule, running at a very comfortable pace. The Warren County Sheriff provided escorts for us through the county. The night was cool, clear and windy, with temperatures in the mid to upper 30's and winds of 10-20 mph. Fortunately, there were many heavily wooded areas along the road to provide windbreaks. We commented on many things, including the events of September 11th, the meaning of the flag, the wonders of the cool clear night and the stars above, and the lack of traffic passing us. Imagine my surprise when after 3 or 4 miles John Payne took my place alongside Lisa and I then saw the line of cars behind the sheriff.

We were greeted by a small contingent of locals when we reached Norlina, where John and Lisa handed the flag off to Ann Marie Mulhearn and Rick Lopez. They ran an 8 mile stretch of 2 lane road between Norlina and Middleburg, arriving in Middleburg at 1:44 am on October 17th. The first 2 segments had made up 11 minutes, and we were looking forward to being back on schedule before reaching Raleigh.

In Middleburg, Marine Reservists Pat Timothy and Jim Elseth joined Rick Lopez, who picked up the pace to hang with the Marines. They turned 4 fast miles and made up 12 minutes.

In Henderson, our route had us take the bypass around the town. While we would have preferred to run through town, road conditions and the early morning hour dictated that we transition to the 4 lane divided highway with a nice shoulder. Robert Hobdy, a retired Army Special Forces soldier, took the flag for the 11 mile section of road to Kitrell. He was joined for the final 4 mile stretch by Don Weinstein. They ran over rolling terrain and fought the winds and the chill to arrive in Kitrell at 4:28 am.

Ron Horton and Don Davis, two seasoned distance runners, passed the flag back and forth for the next hour and 20 minutes between Kitrell and Franklinton. Running at what they described as a comfortable pace, they managed to get us within 6 minutes of the scheduled arrival time in Franklinton. On these late night and early morning segments, I would exit the command RV and offer water and Gatorade to the runners, and I would like to say that this was definitely NOT a comfortable pace.

Franklinton offered the first signs of what some might describe as "civilization". Until this point, we had been treated to an occasional closed gas station or small group of stores in town. Franklinton actually had a shopping center, several gas stations, and an open restaurant. We transitioned to the next group of runners at mile 39 in a parking lot just south of the US 1/NC 56 intersection. We had several groups beginning at this point, and from here until the wee hours of the next morning, we would have quite a few runners out on the course. Erin Doak led a group of 15 runners from SAS Institute, Casey Heaver had a group of 6 or 7 women, and Tom (Doc) Savage and Joe Fortuna had the pleasure of rounding out the group. It took me a few minutes to give everyone the "pep talk", as if they really needed it, and then we took off south once again. These runners ran either 9 or 12 miles, depending on the group.

27 members of the Duke University Women's Lacrosse Team, as well as Keely Churchill, Courtney Banko, Kira Martin, and Anne Bradley joined them 4 ½ miles into their run. All told, we had 53 runners on the road at this time! Everyone was really having a good time, and the flag made its way around the group several times. We arrived in Wake Forest, the town, not the university, just 7 minutes behind the timeline. Pretty impressive for a group this large over a 9 mile stretch.

Raleigh

Leaving Wake Forest, Sgt. Dan Sage and his group of Marine and Navy personnel from Cherry Point, accompanied by Sue Mellott, Brenna Crowson, Heather Kempinger, Gail Del Greco, Jason Davis, Mike Baron, and Bill Hargrove, quickly crossed the Raleigh city line, although they were still 14 miles from downtown Raleigh and the state capital. Various groups split the 14 miles to the capital, and as we got closer to downtown, the reception from the crowds, drivers, TV helicopters and others grew larger. Entire businesses took a break and cheered us on. Friends, family, and well-wishers lined the streets.

Sue Mellott commented: "Running the Flag down U.S.1 at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning was a fantastic experience for me. I felt so honored to be a part of this! It was great watching the police escort car and hearing the U.S. Marines from Cherry Point coming down the road to where we were to pick up our leg of the race. The Marines were discussing how their leg was over and we convinced them to please go the next 6 miles with us. Running with the U.S. Marines was also an honor. Those men were great! What a great pace. The sound of the trucks and cars showing their patriotism with cheers and horns only added to the excitement. It was an honor to carry both the U.S. Flag and the U.S. Marine Flag. It was the very least I could do to honor the victims and their families of Sept. 11th. God Bless America. Thanks for the opportunity."

After my initial run, I had limited my participation to getting out and running a few miles with each group. I enjoyed meeting all the runners, shaking hands, swapping stories, and offering encouragement. However, I really wanted to run to the capital, so I hooked up with the group of about a dozen runners that carried the flag the final 4 miles to the capital. Our scheduled arrival at the Capital was 10:30 am, and we were 11 minutes late. However, we had allocated 30 minutes for the media, so we were still able to leave the Capital on schedule.

At the Capital, Todd Wissing and Mike Burr gave excellent presentations and fielded questions from the media, and then the flag was turned over to the United States Marine Corps Raleigh Units, led by Ssgt. Mike Pecha. Ssgt. Pecha led a group of about 30 Marines and a few civilians, myself included, in a cadence run along Hillsborough Street to Meredith College. This was one of the highlights of my day, as it brought back memories of the Marine drill instructors at Pensacola.

The Army Golden Knights Parachute Team decided to drop in on the Front Lawn of Meredith College, and they arrived right on schedule at 11:50. After a few more speeches and a ceremonial passing of the flag from Ssgt. Pecha to Raleigh Mayor Paul Coble, and then from Mayor Coble to The Golden Knights, the Golden Knights left on a 9 mile jog through the streets of Raleigh, Holly Springs and Cary. Along the way, they mingled with the crowd, shaking hands and extending the goodwill of our armed forces in a manner that befits our fighting men and women.

Raleigh to Sanford

Cary is very close to the Raleigh Durham Airport, so it goes without saying that quite a few airline employees showed up for this segment. We had nearly 20 runners, comprised primarily of American and United employees start segments ranging between 3 and 21 miles. There were individuals and groups beginning and ending overlapping segments of various lengths between Cary (mile 77) and Sanford (mile 105). There was the Saturday Morning Running Club from Apex, which I noticed consisted of about 10 women and Mike Baron. Mike is a fellow pilot, and the next time I'm in his jumpseat I have to find out how he managed to join a club like that! Coach Jonathan Watson and the New Wave Swim Team, a USA Swimming team from North Raleigh, joined us with about 25 swimmers to run a 5 mile stretch of road. Michelle Gereghty, a Canadian schoolteacher currently residing in North Carolina, ran a 7 mile leg to show her support for the United States. My assistant state coordinator, Neil Kennedy, got in a few miles, as did many other runners whose names I simply do not know.

Sanford provided what was for me the most moving moment of the entire event. Shortly before dusk, my good friend and ultramarathon runner, American Airlines pilot Dave Drach had just begun a leg with a group that included Kent Reinecke, Richard Reese, USAF JAG officers Captain Coakley and Captain Wirtanen, and a few others. As I stood on the side of the road talking with Dave's wife Nancy, also an extremely talented runner (she is a member of the United States Women's 50k Team), we noticed that there were about 200 people lining an overpass and that each person on the overpass held a lighted candle. As the runners approached the overpass, 2 US flags, courtesy of Lee-Moore Oil Company, were unfurled from the top rail of the overpass and they nearly reached the ground. Wow!

As this group continued through Sanford, they asked bystanders if they wanted to touch the flag. Kent Reinecke remarked that he was "moved to see how many people wanted to participate Just to be even a small part of the overall expression of national unity. Kids would run up and touch the flag or carry it for a few feet. Parents would run along side with little children in their arms, too small to run, so that they could touch it too. People all along the route yelled things like 'God Bless America', 'USA is #1', and 'America is the greatest'. What a great experience for me."

Sanford to Rockingham

Once the flag left Sanford, the only towns of any size until Rockingham are Southern Pines and Aberdeen. This 50 mile stretch of mostly 2 lane road was covered overnight by a small cadre of hardcore distance runners. Nancy Drach and Sandy Wheelis led a group of 5 runners out of Lemon Springs to Cameron. Nancy had said she would slow the pace down so a mere mortal (me) could run with them, however, once everyone got into it, they quickly dropped me. I was late arranging a downline pickup for Robert Russo, who was scheduled to start at Cameron, so Nancy's group continued to run until Robert joined them, and then the whole group continued on to Vass, where they were relieved by Julie Duffy, Wayne Prince, and Army medic Aurthor Veress. Robert Russo continued along with these three and they ran the flag for 10 miles until they reached the Sagebrush Steak House in Aberdeen.

Dave Chong, who was scheduled to run a 10 mile stretch from Pine Bluff to Rockingham, called to say he had arrived early at the meeting place and would be asleep in his car. As I had been awake for 41 hours, I thought Dave's idea was a great one, so I drove to where he was, parked next to his car, and went to sleep. About an hour later, the runners arrived at the Sagebrush, and Andy Wilkison , Bill McVerry, NC State Trooper Sgt Alan Melvin, and Mike Holden, took the flag for a 10 mile stretch to Pine Bluff. I climbed into the RV along with Dave Chong, and I managed another 2 hours of sleep. Somewhere along the way, Andy handed the flag off to Dave, but continued to run. The next thing I knew, we were in Moore County at Hoffman's Post Office. It was 2:20 am, a group of runners was finishing up a 14 mile leg, and 9 year old Adam Fogleman had carried the flag the last 4.5 miles of this leg. Hoffman's Post Office (mile 149) is such a small place it is not even noted in any of my pre- or post-run notes.

Bill Miller led the last segment into Rockingham, and Mangum Track Club members Don Covington and Doug Dawkins joined him. Another group of MTC members led by Mark Long, Lee Watson, Doug Dawkins, Tom Gabell, Frank Sherrill, and Richard Lassiter joined up 2 miles north of the Rockingham city limits. The group was growing as we approached the city.

A few very memorable things happened on the road between Sanford and Rockingham. We had runners that I had not planned for join us for various segments. The Vass Volunteer Fire Department joined us for a portion of the run and gave us a Fire Department escort. Assistant Chief Tony Trolio, who has an artificial hip and knee problems, carried the flag the first 100 yards or so. Firemen in full gear then carried the flag in shifts for several miles. We had citizens from every walk of life literally come off the sidewalk and run with us for anywhere from 10 yards to several miles. And the overnight runners set a blistering pace, keeping us about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. The only things keeping us from getting further ahead were that we were getting to the staging areas before our scheduled runners and that Rockingham had planned a large turnout for us at a predetermined time, and we didn't want to miss that.

Rockingham to South Carolina

Dave Collins is a Rockingham native and United Airlines Captain, and he organized Richmond County for us. Dave led a large contingent of locals and an Army National Guard unit through downtown Rockingham. Several people off the sidewalks joined us, and even Mayor Gene McLaurin ran with us for a few miles. Tommy Tomlinson, the Charlotte Observer reporter, joined us and wrote a column about his experiences on the run. The streets were lined with people, which was surprising considering the early hour. The patriotic turnout gave us the recharge we needed to make it to the state line.

Rockingham has won awards as an "All American City", and they proved it once again when they hosted a "Breakfast Stop" at D&D convenience store on US 1 just south of town

This convenience store (mile 166) was our last "official" transition point, and our final group of flag carriers was a group of 4 moms and their 7th grade daughters from Charlotte. They were accompanied out of town by many of the Rockingham runners, who gradually dropped off the pace as we headed south. Led by Carolanne Shelton, an American Airlines employee, this group ran and biked the last 10 miles of North Carolina over some very hilly terrain. Two others from this group, Cissy Hurteau and Stephanie Herivel, are USAir Express employees. At least 4 of these ladies were always on foot. Kenneth Nelson, who had already put in about 5 miles, decided he had to go all the way to South Carolina and accompanied them! As we neared the border, all 8 ladies got back on the road and ran the last mile to the border. At the border, everyone lit sparklers for the handoff to South Carolina. We arrived at 7:43 am, 17 minutes ahead of our scheduled handoff time, but right on the timeline we had set for ourselves. We handed the flag off to South Carolina, took care of a few remaining details, and then each of us began our individual journey home, better Americans for what we had accomplished.

Closing Thoughts

When I took on the job of State Coordinator, a question came to mind but went unasked: "What do I have to do?"

To answer this question, I was very busy for 9 or 10 days, but my job was made extremely easy by the graciousness of everyone I dealt with. I became a "facilitator" in that my most difficult task was placing all the participants in slots that met the needs of the run while at the same time meeting the needs of the particular individual or group. I planned the course, scouted and set up transition points, recruited a few volunteers and sponsors, coordinated with our national level people, and performed other administrative details. In short, it was about 10 long days, but they were really rewarding because everyone made it very easy for me to do what needed to be done. Thanks.

When I was running the first leg on Tuesday evening, I began to realize that there was something that Flag Across America was giving back to me. I realized that I was part of something much larger than the participants or myself. Flag Across America was about doing something that was "really good" and taking our small place in history.

I want to thank each and every participant, volunteer, spectator, and everyone else involved in Flag Across America for making it a special event for me. I enjoyed meeting each of you, running with you, working with you, shaking your hand, and swapping stories with you. I hope everyone had a good time and made some new friends. I know I did.

What I got out of this was a renewed sense of pride in America and in my fellow Americans. I shed tears at times because I was in awe of the event. Many, many lives were touched - the run is impacting people all across the United States. This is something that we all did together, and it was good. Remember this always.

Thank You

Many people, volunteers, sponsors, and groups deserve thanks. I would like to apologize to all the runners and volunteers whose names I simply do not know. The turnout was far greater than I imagined, and I simply did not have a chance to note everyone's name. However, your contributions to Flag Across America will remain with me forever.

Thank you, in no particular order, to the following:

United States Uniformed Service members everywhere
North Carolina Law Enforcement, Fire Departments, and EMS.
North Carolina Vietnam Veterans
Rolling Thunder
Second Sole Sports
Inside Out Sports
Bruegger’s Bagels
Panera Bread
Costco
Eileen Pollenz
Carl Bimbo
John Deall
Bob Patrikios
Robert Patrikios, Jr.
Bill Dixon
Lee Whitaker
Lisa Mrozek
Adele Mrozek
Jeannie Price
Peggy Harper
Josie Rondone
Jim Thompson
Neil Kennedy
Mike Burr
Frank LaCorte
Todd Wissing
Jim Young
Residents of Hawthorne

And finally,

The Flag Across America Runners