Total miles pushed: 52
7 to 8 AM – We packed and checked out of the Baymont hotel. We left some flowers and a thank you card from us and the Health and Fitness Tour of America for the Baymont staff. They treated us with great hospitality and impeccable service.
9 AM – I resumed my push from West Memphis to Lehi, AR on highway 70 approximately 6 miles. From Lehi to Shearerville, AR it was 7 miles. At Shearerville we got on highway 79 South. I pushed on for 10 miles to Chatfield, AR. Andy was along riding the bike and taking pictures.
Break 11AM to Noon after pushing 23 miles. I had Gatorade and water and ate a little chicken and a baked potato.
12 Noon – I pushed on 6 miles to Hughes, AR and another 8 to Brickeyes, AR. From Brickeyes it was another 5 miles to Soudan, AR. This was a tough 19 miles because the wind was blowing pretty hard into my face. We decided to take a break before we finished our 8 mile push in Marianna where we met with the Mayor and the newspaper.
3 PM I resumed pushing the last 8 miles toward Marianna with the slight hills and intense wind in the face, it slowed my pushing down at times below 10mph. We arrived into Marianna just before 4 PM. Once in Marianna we met officer Kevin Evans who escorted us approximately 2 miles through the city limits of Marianna to Mayor Taylor’s office. I met with Mayor Taylor, and City Clerk Kendon Gray between 4 and 4:30 PM. I presented the Mayor with a plaque in recognition of his commitment to lasting health and fitness initiatives for all citizens of his community and his support of our efforts for the Kevin Saunders Health and Fitness Tour of America.
Several young girls from the community came by and brought their camera to take a picture with me since they had seen me on TV the day before in Memphis. Andy also took a picture of me with the young kids who were enthused about getting active in the Marianna area. It’s so very important that kids be active! With video games and two hundred channels on television many kids today spend all their time sitting down and get very little exercise. Childhood obesity is a real problem. Type 2 diabetes is being seen more and more in children where once it was mostly an adult condition. Fast food and no activity is leading too many children down a road to ill health. I’m glad these young girls are excited about staying in shape and I hope their enthusiasm spreads to their friends. The Revolutions tour is all about getting America fit one person, one community at a time. The more people I meet, the more I believe it can happen!
We had some laughs with the Mayor. He said he wanted arms like mine. I told him that if he worked out enough he could get some, and I asked him to join me on the tour. He said he’d think about it.
I also mentioned to Mayor Taylor that one of our tour sponsors: Imshapingup.com was providing free memberships to the city government so that they can log on and have access to easy to understand information about health and fitness. Staying educated about health and fitness is an important step towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Media present in Mariana: The Courier-Index: reporter Edie Sanford and General Manager Melinda Huff. They took pictures and were also doing a story about our Big Push across America and our purpose to inspire and motivate all Americans to get fit by providing resources and tools for cities like Marianna to create lasting health and fitness initiatives by providing clear and easily understandable information about fitness, nutrition, and many other aspects of good health and fitness for all citizens.
Note: I had another flat tire today, and my 2nd pair of gloves is almost worn out. Sometimes the equipment gives out but I never will!
5 PM – We loaded up the truck and trailer at the Mayor’s office and decided to drive on to Stuttgart, AR where we will spend the night.
6 PM – We arrived at our hotel and unloaded.
8 PM – We caught up the log and downloaded our pictures for the day so we could send them in to The Visibility Company so they could make the most recent updates to the website. However, we could not get a strong enough connection to the internet via our wireless internet card to send any of the updates to The Visibility Company.
11 PM – Went to bed.
Total miles pushed: 57
5:00 a.m. CST – I woke up and got things ready to go. We received a donation from Ron Sanderson, a guest at the hotel, that morning during breakfast. Again, I just want to thank everyone who has contributed to this Tour. With their support and enthusiasm, I know the Tour will be a success and that together, we will be able to win the war against obesity.
6:00 a.m. CST – We got packed and ready to go. We left some thank you cards and spoke with people before we left.
10:00 a.m. CST – This morning I was presented a Proclamation from Mayor Peterson. As a way to thank the mayor’s office for their support and commitment to the Kevin Saunders’ Health and Fitness Tour of America, I presented Mayor Peterson with a plaque. I gave an impromptu motivational presentation to let everyone know the purpose for this Tour and that I would continue spreading my message of motivation and inspiration during my journey. I challenged the city to get in shape before I returned. I offered to provide tools and resources to help with the efforts that are currently ongoing in the Indianapolis area to make everyone healthier. My new book, “Revolutions” is a great motivational tool full of tips and information about the tour. My other books, “Blueprint for Success” and “There’s Always a Way” are available as well at 
In addition to being a Paralympic wheelchair athlete and author I work as a motivational coach and inspirational speaker. In that role I’ve been invited to speak to the University of Southern Florida Bulls today. Bulls head coach Jim Leavitt and I worked together at Kansas State where he was the co-defensive coordinator while I was the team’s motivational coach. At that time under Coach Bill Snyder’s leadership Kansas State Football experienced what was later referred to as the greatest turnaround in college sports history. Here in Florida Coach Leavitt has created his own amazing story taking this team from non-existence to Division 1-A status in just five short years. Coach Leavitt is truly a man that lives the philosophy of never give up and there’s always a way.
8 a.m. CST- Today was great because I was able to meet with many different people. While I was in Portland, I presented Mayor Hozier a plaque from the Kevin Saunders’ Health and Fitness Tour of America. Stephanie Arnold, assistant to Mayor Hozier, was another one of the interesting people I met today. She is on the 2004 Olympic Women’s Archery Team that will be competing in Athens, Greece. We wished her good luck and told her to bring back the Gold. I also spoke with The Portland Commercial Review, Jay County’s daily newspaper. They interviewed me about my history and the mission of the Tour. I explained how I had overcome the tragedy I faced years ago to achieve goals I never thought were possible. I overcame adversity and found the motivation and inspiration to live my dream. My current dream is to help Americans fight obesity by supplying them with the motivation and the knowledge they need to be successful in that fight. My book, “Revolutions”, will cover my methods and plan to achieve that goal. We also talked about my motivational coaching & inspirational speaking career and how I used that platform to get my message across. New Castle, IN. I pushed two morning sessions, 20 miles each, with a little less than an hour break between. I pushed through Farmland, Modoc, and into Hagerstown. Then I had to get in the follow vehicle to get to New Castle in time for my 1:30 p.m. interview.Indianapolis, IN that afternoon, I got back in the van and we quickly drove to Indianapolis.Hagerstown to Indianapolis. But hey, I don’t let it keep me down. I’ll just keep rolling on spreading my message of health and fitness to everyone that will listen.
8 a.m. CST – Dora and I went to the Black Hawk Christian Church. We listened to Pastor Kelly Byrd who spoke on the subject of Father’s Day and about how women need to be strong for their husbands. It is the women who help provide the strength for fathers. It was a good message with all of the demands (physically, mentally, and emotionally) that are on my wife, Dora. The message reminded me to always be thankful for her love and support and to never take it for granted. I enjoy visiting new churches. As a church speaker I get to speak to various congregations and get new spiritual inspiration each time I speak. I was even invited to speak on Robert Schuller’s “Hour of Power”. It was a great honor and provided a lot of inspiration. As a motivational speaker I always enjoy my speaking engagements but when I present as a church speaker it’s even more special. The inspirational faith I see in the parishioners is always uplifting. I hope everyone out there can find their own inspiration and motivation to live better lives and be happy. Just make a promise to improve a little every day and life will get brighter and brighter.
6:00 a.m. CST – My day started in Yoder, IN. The weather was in the high 70′s and it was partly cloudy. When we crossed Hwy 225, my support team called the Bluffton, IN police and newspaper so we could do an interview and get police support as we drove through. It was especially inspirational because the police officer, Greg Steele, had personally biked from Indianapolis to Washington, DC to benefit the fallen police officers of 9/11 so he could relate to what I was currently undertaking. In fact, Officer Steele helped pace me at speeds between 15 to 20 mph through Bluffton. That’s a good speed on a regular bike and I was using my arms in a wheelchair! He led me by the police department and mayor’s office where I met Capt. Tammy Schaffer and Mayor Ted Ellis. I received a police patch from the Bluffton PD and a key to the city from Mayor Ted Ellis. Receiving recognition for the Tour’s mission always gets me pumped with adrenaline. It reminds me of the excitement I felt competing as a champion wheelchair athlete in the Paralympics. Thanks to the adrenaline and the fast draft Officer Steele gave me out of town, I was able to wheel 48 miles today. This gave me an average of over 10 mph. Over four of those hours were spent in my chair, which is a very difficult thing to do. I did notice that after four hours of pushing, my neck and right shoulder started to get sore. I also noticed when I stay in my racer that long pushing, it is necessary to consume plenty of water and Gatorade to replenish my electrolytes and prevent dehydration. However hard it gets I know I have to keep pushing and never give up! It is important though to be prepared. I have to stay prepared with my medical supplies, my hydration, and be physically prepared for challenges as well. In life we need to be prepared for whatever comes at us. As a motivational coach and inspirational speaker I travel a lot and have to overcome adversity that often is unexpected. For me, even a simple airline flight can be trouble. You can’t let adversity keep you down or stop you from achieving your goals. You just have to stay mentally and physically tough to conquer life’s challenges. So dig deep, find a little spiritual inspiration and you’ll be ready for anything.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the blog about my Tour Across America and my new book “Revolutions” – hooking America on fitness with every turn of the wheel. The book chronicles my journey and goes into detail about my methods and plan to help the United States beat its obesity epidemic. It’ll be a real page turner!