PORTLAND, Maine — A Portland man has set out to run every single street within the city limits. So far, he has run 298 miles and only has a few streets to clean up plus the islands remaining.
Danny Mejia has his sights set on finishing this goal by the end of the year.
But why is this a project he would even take on?
"I think this would be a great way to better get to know my community and the pockets of Portland that I haven't really explored as much," Mejia said.
Mejia is an ultra-marathoner and was inspired by fellow ultra-marathoner, Rickey Gates, who ran every single street in San Francisco four years ago.
Mejia said he would like to finish by the end of the year, but the timing of it doesn't matter as much as actually finishing this challenge.
"It's so satisfying when you like slowly start to like knock-off piece after piece, and then that part of the map finishes, then that part of the map finishes," Mejia said, describing his process.
Not only that, but Mejia said he has learned a lot while working toward this goal. Both practical, like how hard it is to navigate your GPS when your hands are cold, and educational, like how much he's also learned about the people of Portland.
"I feel like we're so much more connected than we give ourselves credit for in a pretty divisive polarized era. I think that we have a lot in common, and we see those little snapshots of people playing with their kids or going on a walk with their dog or whatever it is," Mejia said. "If you ever have a silly stupid project idea, try it."
Once Mejia finishes running every street in Portland, he's going to start training for the Riverlands 100, where participants run 100 miles over the course of two days in Turner this coming May.