Local man walking with a purpose

For the next year, Jeremy Keeble will be on his feet.

The Jackson man plans to set out Oct. 7 on a 5,000-mile, year-long walk to support the American Diabetes Association, hopefully raising awareness about the disease and $100,000 along the way.

In 2004, Keeble quit his job to make the 2,200-mile trek from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.

"I was just at a point in my life where I wanted to do something different," Keeble said. "I picked up a book in a store and read about hiking. I finished that hike six months later and I was hooked."

When he got itchy feet for his next trip, Keeble decided to have a bigger purpose.

"I thought, this time why not do something for somebody else," he said.

Keeble, who has three family members with diabetes, will walk 2,600 miles from Missouri to California, then follow the 2,500-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail to Canada. He'll walk along highways and hike trails, camping out in a tent most nights. "I basically got an atlas out and tried to find where these trails were at, bought guidebooks for the trail and maps of the roads I need to walk," he said.

He started planning the trip in February. He'll carry supplies in a backpack, including the tent, a cooking stove and extra clothing. Once a week, he plans to stay the night in a motel. Keeble plans to keep an online journal of his experience throughout the next year through the ADA Web site.

He'll start his trip the same day as the ADA's annual walk at Cape Girardeau County Park, by walking a few laps there and then setting out on what he calls his walk across America.

"I set a goal of $100,000. It seemed kind of high to a lot of people, but if I can raise enough awareness and get the word out, I'm hoping it ends up being more," said Keeble.

Sharon Capps, associate manager with the ADA branch that oversees Southeast Missouri, said Keeble's walk and his fund-raising goal are unique.

"That's a huge amount of money," she said. "We've had people call before with similar ideas, but never follow through. He's very concerned about the awareness aspect, which is great. A lot of people don't know about this disease."

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128