Kelly Nesvold, right, runs south on Highway 218 toward Austin early Saturday morning along with his wife Danielle Nesvold, from left, Todd Dube and Corinne Neitzell as they near the completion of a 50-mile test run of his upcoming 100-mile run for his 100M4HUNGER hunger awareness run.
Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

As Kelly Nesvold neared Cornerstone Church Saturday morning, he couldn’t help but quote the movie “Forrest Gump.”

“I think I’ll go home now,” Nesvold said, quoting the movie’s titular character after the famous running scene.

Starting around 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nesvold ran and walked from Faribault to Cornerstone Church in Austin — the last 50 miles of his planned 100-mile run/walk that’s just more than a month away. It was Nesvold’s toughest challenge yet as he trains to run from the State Capitol to Austin raise $25,000 for 100,000 meals, which will go to needy children through the charity Convoy of Hope.

Kelly Nesvold flashes a smile during a break in the parking lot of The Corners Bar & Grill early Saturday morning.

“I would say it went pretty flawless though, all things considered,” Nesvold said.

Despite rainy weather, Nesvold left the test-run feeling confident he can complete his 100-mile run/walk on Oct. 11 and 12, a project he’s calling 100M4HUNGER.

“I think we’ll do it if we’re smart,” Nesvold said Saturday. “I feel good. I feel real good. I’m excited.”

The weather didn’t cooperate, as Nesvold and his pacers ran in a downpour much of the way.

“It was interesting. Your feet get soaked. We ran in a downpour for, I would say, 2 hours. That was tough.”

But the run served as a learning tool. He walked part of the way Friday and Saturday to rest, and Nesvold wishes he would have done that earlier in the trek.

“We should have walked a lot more early on,” Nesvold said. “We started at a faster pace than we should have gone.”

During the 100-mile trip, Nesvold plans to walk about 40 percent of the way to stay rested.

While the run marked half of the 100-mile goal, Nesvold is fast approaching his goal to raise $25,000 to buy the 100,000 meals for children.

Kelly Nesvold and his team pose for a picture after completing their 50-mile test run early Saturday morning at Cornerstone Church. From left they are: Aaron Broberg, Eric Feuchtenberger, Tony Thoma, Nesvold, Danielle Nesvold, Todd Dube and Corinne Neitzell. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Nesvold has raised $21,180, according to his website, 100m4hunger.com, but he noted there’s money at Cornerstone Church that’s yet to be counted. Now, Nesvold is confident they’ll pass the goal, but he doesn’t want to stop raising funds.

“All signs point to us surpassing that,” he said.

Nesvold has been pleased with the community support. His fundraising campaign kicked into gear during Freedom Fest when he and his supporters sold T-shirts in Bandshell Park. Thus far, T-shirt sales have raised more than $1,100.

Since then, Nesvold has held tip night at Pizza Ranch and a recent voucher event at Hy-Vee.

Hormel Foods Corp. is filming Kelly as he trains and may use the footage as a type of documentary to promote the REV wrap line. Hormel also donated $10,000 to Nesvold’s cause.

Recently, 100M4HUNGER received an anonymous donation of $5,000.

“I can’t even begin to think of where it came from,” Nesvold said.

The money will go directly to Convoy of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit that does disaster relief, inner city work and children’s hunger initiatives, which feed more than 145,000 children in 11 countries.

Along with the support from the community, Nesvold has received a lot of support from his family. His wife, Danielle, has been behind him the entire way, as have their three children: Sam, 14; Julie, 9; and Gina, 2. Sam and Julie have helped with many fundraisers, and Nesvold commended Sam for helping out by mowing the lawn, watching his sisters and more — often when he’s not even asked.

Nesvold has been training for several months, and he admitted it’s starting take a toll.

“It’s starting to take its toll in the sense that to do anything this extensive for so long, I’ve [had] a little point of burnout,” he said.

However, Nesvold is confident he’s catching his second wind.

“I’m kind of catching my second wind and I’m hoping it will carry me through the run,” he said.

Where the money goes?

Money raised through 100M4HUNGER will go to Convoy of Hope, a faith-based nonprofit that does disaster relief, inner city work and children’s hunger initiatives, which feed more than 145,000 children in 11 countries. Read more at www.convoyofhope.org.

By the numbers

$25,000: Kelly Nesvold’s fundraising goal to rain 100,000 meals for children.

 $21,180: Money raised as of Sunday through 100M4HUNGER.

Jason Schoonover and Eric Johnson contributed to this story