Man running from Michigan to Missouri to raise funds for St. Jude

When Cletus Everett Dale Manning hit the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at noon Thursday, he said it was a welcome sight.

"I've been looking for that bridge for 500 miles, son," he said.

The 66-year-old X-ray technologist has spent the bulk of September running from Hartford, Michigan, to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

He's run an average of 25 miles a day, literally wearing holes in his sneakers and wearing a white T-shirt with 36 names inked on the front in magic marker, each one a child battling cancer.

"I started with 14," he said. "But I keep adding them as I can along the way."

Cletus Manning

He's come to know many child cancer patients over the course of his 44 years at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center and said it's important people remember they need help, research and better care.

His goal is to raise $20,000, and he said he's probably close to that.

"We're getting there. We might come in a little short, but that's OK," he said. "I would have run for $200, though, I was so excited to get started."

By avoiding interstate highways, he said his route has allowed him to meet people with whom he otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to talk.

"It's been very rewarding," he said. "It's put me in touch with people you don't normally see."

And, he said, those people often are touched by his mission and help him spread the word.

"People have gone to Facebook and said, 'Hey, we're saying prayers for him,' or 'He had a sandwich at my place,'" he said. "They help let people know that we love [St. Jude and the children they help] and we support them."

"I have a wife and son and daughter, six grandkids. I'm blessed," he said, adding this is his way of trying to give back. "I want to know that they know that St. Jude's needs our help."

"The last day's going to be a light day -- I'm only going to run about 14 miles," he said.

He hopes to conclude his run by visiting Poplar Bluff grade schools and cancer patients and their parents before presenting a donation to St. Jude sometime in October, as soon as the organization can set a date.

For more information or to contribute to Manning's cause, call (573) 718-2843.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

Hartford, Mich.

Poplar Bluff, Mo.