GREENE COUNTY — A man spent the past 100 days running.
His path brought him to Greene County and a mother who has lost so much.
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“It escalated quickly,” Ben Tracy said.
Since August Tracy has been travelling the country with the goal of completing 120 marathons in 120 days.
He’s finished 96 so far.
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“California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and now we’re here,” Tracy said.
His mission started around six years ago after he lost his job.
Now he wants to raise awareness of online safety for children.
When he’s not running, he’s speaking at schools with parents.
“I was hearing these kids’ stories and they were so sad and so heartbreaking and I was like ‘why don’t more people know about this?’,” he said.
About 95 percent of teenagers and 40 percent of children between 8 and 12 use some form of social media, according to the U.S. Health Department of Humane Services.
Social media has been linked with risks to physical health and mental health, including exposure to bullying, online harassment, abuse, discrimination, and child sexual exploitation.
“I want to educate as many people as I can, and save lives as I can,” Robin Jones said.
That’s because Jones could not save her son Zach.
He died in 2017 playing a choking game he learned about online.
“He was very outgoing, loving, caring ... he had such a huge heart,” she said.
Zach’s name is now on the RV Tracy is using to travel the country.
You can follow Tracy’s journey here.
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