They have kids in their teens. And alcohol is a part of everyone's family, if not their own lives. The run was spiritual and practical. In a land with rampant diabetes and an 80 percent unemployment rate, running gives people something to do and way to lead a healthy life, Whiteman said. It also offers a diversion to other problems.
Runners hold a sacred staff they carried as they ran.
During the run, the staff must be kept moving at all times. Along, Whiteman's sister who drove backup vans for the runners. He also grew up hearing his dad, Clifford Russell, talk about running. Clifford Russell was a national champion cross-country runner in 1974 when he was junior in college. Running almost took him off this reservation, to Kansas where he had a scholarship to run cross-country.