Covington man to walk across America for Children's Hospital
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Interview courtesy of Polly Hamilton Greene of the St. Tammany Farmer publication.
On May 5, Clay made it to Oklahoma. He walked 510 miles in 22 days! After spending some time at home, he will drive to meet his brother in Denver, Co. and spend a week acclimating himself to the altitude. He will then start his journey again with Portland as his final destination.
Clay Laine of Covington, La. expects it will take him four months to cover 2,750 miles when he walks from his Northshore home to Portland, Oregon to raise money for Children's Hospital. Departing Saturday, March 14 at 7 a.m., Clay will travel alone - there will be no support team behind him. He'll have his feet to carry him, a backpack, a light tent and a cell phone.
The idea occurred to Clay after a phone conversation he had with his son, Jason, who now lives in Portland. Jason described the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and Clay jokingly responded, “Yeah, maybe I’ll walk over one day.”
No longer a joke, the 57-year-old semi-retired roofer has been training for several months for his journey. He hopes to cover about 20 miles a day and make it to Portland by mid July. Laine’s route will take him through Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and eventually Oregon.
Children’s Hospital is benefiting from every pledge made on Laine’s behalf. The total expense of the trip is being underwritten by Laine and his wife. Laine said, “I grew up here and wanted to keep the money local, so if I can help one child extend or improve his life, then it’s worth it.”
To make a pledge, please contact Children's Hospital Development Department at (504) 896-9375. A pledge form may also be downloaded here and mailed to:
Children's Hospital
Attn: Development Department
200 Henry Clay Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118