A 14-year-old Celebration girl wants to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest girl to run across America from San Francisco to New York.
Briar-Rose Honeywill is working to raise money for the endeavor and will be donating money to Achilles International and Achilles Freedom Team.
“COVID took everything away (like my races) so I decided to run across America and raise money for charity,” she said. “It’s a charity my mom helped with for people who have disabilities. I love helping people.”
Achilles International covers anyone with disabilities from kids to adults. Achilles Freedom Team helps rehabilitate wounded veterans and motivate them through physical exercise and they eventually compete in races and other sporting events.
Ben Honeywill, her father, said they set up a Go Fund Me account with a goal of $25,000 to help pay for supplies and they will donate the rest to the charity. Briar-Rose is also selling homemade items at the Celebration Farmer’s Market on weekends. She makes ornaments, hair bows, aprons, scrunchies, bibs and masks.
“She’s always been active in sports,” said Ben. “She really wanted a goal to focus on. Her races were taken away. We’ll support her in anything and everything she wants to do.”
Running is nothing new to Briar-Rose. She began training for figure skating and thought, “Why not try races?” She ran her first marathon at 9 years old and loved it.
“I love getting the bling at the end and the physical and mental challenges.”
Hearing the cheers and support of others at the finish line gives her a great feeling. She even waits until the very last runner crosses to be sure they have someone cheering for them.
Her father will be right by her side on the 3,000- mile trek. They are aiming for 80 days, but he said it depends on weather and COVID restrictions in different locations. To get credit for the race, Briar-Rose has to follow an official route. Pete Kostelnick, who followed the same course, currently holds to Guinness record for fastest adult crosser on foot.
To help with the journey, they will have an RV as a support vehicle ahead of them and plan to use a jogging stroller filled with supplies. They hope to start the run by the end of January.
Gaining sponsors has been a lifesaver to help them have the supplies they may need on the trip. Some sponsors include Spidertech, Lululemon, Squirrels Nut Butter, Oiselle, Vibram Five Fingers and Nuun.
“I want to encourage kids, but especially girls to run, and to show people that with the right training children can run long distances,” she said.
While working to reach her goal, she’ll continue with her education through the online Acellus Academy. She is currently in 11th grade with a 4.0 grade point average.
Her father is excited for her.
“This will be an adventure to remember the rest of her life. She’ll see some amazing sites. She is physically and mentally prepped.”
You can follow her adventure on Facebook – The Running Rose and Instagram - @therunningrose.
