The Spring Observer: Spring man to attempt world record run across Texas to raise money, awareness for human trafficking
The Spring Observer: Spring man to attempt world record run across Texas to raise money, awareness for human trafficking
September 24, 2014 8:40AM – BY BRIDGET BALCH – For the average person, the idea of running a single marathon seems like an incredible feat. But for one Spring man with the goal of drawing attention to the fight against child sex trafficking, one marathon wasn’t nearly enough.
Jason Arcemont, 35, will run the equivalent of more than 30 marathons in 30 consecutive days in an endeavor he is calling the Texas Freedom Run.
He will embark on the 850-mile trek across the state of Texas, from El Paso to Orange, starting Oct. 1 to raise awareness of child sex slavery and to collect money for Love 146, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to combating human trafficking.
Arcemont was moved to take action after hearing a presentation by Love 146 at his church last year about the horrors of child sex trafficking — and especially of its prevalence in Houston.
“With four kids of our own, it was just kind of like, ok, we want to do something,” Arcemont said. “I’ve always been a big idea kind of guy … I thought maybe I ought to do something bigger.”
Not much later, Arcemont was sitting in church once again and the idea for the Texas Freedom Run struck him. He started training the next day.
Arcemont has been an avid runner for the past five years, competing in a variety of races, including the Ironman Triathlon and the 50-mile Ultramarathon, but this venture will be his most challenging run yet.
Although he will not be the first to run this kind of multi-day marathon, he plans to break the world record for running across the state of Texas, from border to border, in the shortest amount of time.
Over the past year, Arcemont has followed a strict daily regimen.
As a family man and a business owner, fitting in the required 20 plus hours of training each week takes discipline.
He wakes up at 5 a.m. for his first 13-mile run of the day, and then goes to work from 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m. After work, he runs another 13 miles before dinner. Then he spends time with his family until going to bed at 9:30 p.m. All this while maintaining a healthy calorie intake of about 5,000 per day.
For Arcemont, however, the sacrifice is well worth it if his actions will contribute to helping the children who are in captivity.
With Houston being the top trafficking city for the $9.5 billion human trafficking industry in the U.S., according to texasfreedomrun.com, Arcemont knows the issue is closer to home than most people realize.
“Texas is a big player in the problem,” said Arcemont’s wife, Amber Arcemont. “This is our home and we don’t want to accept this.”
“We’re going to be running right through their line of business,” Jason said, referring to the Interstate 10 corridor.
So far, the Texas Freedom Run has raised about $20,000 for Love 146 to help with their efforts in education, prevention and rehabilitation of survivors.
Along the run, Jason will stop and speak with church and school groups, as well as track and cross country teams to help educate the Texas community about the issue.
A photographer will follow Jason throughout the run and produce a photo book that will be sold to benefit Love 146.
In addition to raising funds, the Arcemonts are encouraging people to sign and mail pre-written letters urging the governor to take greater steps to fight human trafficking in Texas. The letter can be downloaded from the Texas Freedom Run website.
Jason plans to run an average of 15 miles in the morning, rest during the day and run another 15 miles in the evening until he reaches the other side of Texas on Oct. 30.
“It’s nothing compared to the hell that these children are waking up to every day,” Jason said. “So if all I have to do is run 30 miles for 30 days, I just feel like that’s the least I can do to give them some hope and show them that somebody cares.”
For more information or to donate, visit texasfreedomrun.com or love146.org.
ABOUT TEXAS FREEDOM RUN:
Texas Freedom Run is a charitable project in partnership with Love146, an international human rights organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation by caring for survivors, providing prevention education to children, training professionals working with exploited youth and empowering an international movement of abolition. More Info:www.TexasFreedomRun.com.
