By: Diana Johnsen
djohnsen@kcautv.com
For Jim Ellis of Sioux City, running has been a life long passion, a passion he is now using to inspire others.
Since January 9th of this year, Jim has been running throughout Iowa all in part of his motivational campaign "Awake My Sole."
He stops in towns asking folks to follow their dreams and to do what makes them happy.
Jim got the idea to become a cross country running motivational speaker from a friend five years ago.
"Someday I could see you running across the U.S. speaking to people and inspiring them," recalled Jim of what his friend told him.
"I remember telling her that's a great idea," he said.
During his journey he has covered nearly 1,500 miles, speaking close to 300 different places.
He started in Sioux City and has run as far as Waterloo.
Over the past year, Jim said his journey has been his full time job.
Every Monday he runs to a new town, he then spends a week there motivating people to follow their dreams.
"You only have so many years on this earth and hopefully you're doing things that you enjoy doing," said Jim.
He will finish his run on December 23rd in Sioux City, making a full run of the state all while touching as many lives as he can.
