Max Prizant ’18 and Twin Brother Zac Running Across America for COVID Relief
12/26/2020 1:36:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Like many recent college graduates, Max and Zac Prizant were just getting their careers started when COVID-19 changed the world. Max, a 2018 Bucknell graduate and a former pole vaulter on the Bison track and field team, and his twin brother Zac, a Cornell grad, had moved to Las Vegas to begin working in the casino industry, but both lost their jobs last spring due to the pandemic.
Rather than sulk about their misfortune, the Prizant brothers decided to do something to help those who had suffered a similar fate, while at the same time plotting a life adventure that had been on their bucket list. On May 21, Max and Zac found themselves on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, taking their first steps on a 3,000-mile run across America.
They have partnered with the Kansas-based Heart to Heart International, a humanitarian organization that has added a focus on COVID-19 relief over the last year. The Prizants set a goal of raising $10 per mile on their trip across the U.S., for a total of approximately $30,000. They figure they are about halfway there, with fundraising continuing even after their bridge-to-bridge trip winds up at the Brooklyn Bridge in the coming days.
Max said that he and Zac had hoped to do something like this several years down the road, perhaps around the age of 30, but the pandemic created an advanced timeline.
“We figured this unique opportunity would allow us to do it earlier than we ever expected, and we figured we might never get around to it if we didn’t take this chance,” said Max.
“It really wasn’t that difficult figuring out that we wanted to do it for a COVID relief program,” Max said. “We did some research and found out that Heart to Heart International has been doing a lot of disaster response and relief with medical kits. They actually just donated some to our hometown with the proceeds that we’ve raised so far.”
While their trip has been rife with adventure, Max and Zac appeared to be in very good health and a great frame of mind when they passed through Lewisburg on Wednesday, more than 2,700 miles into their journey.
“Being able to come back through Bucknell is really special,” Max said. “It’s great that it was right along our route, but even if it wasn’t, I’m sure I could have talked Zac into making a little detour.”
Max and Zac have been running mostly at night – fewer cars on the roads that way – and they arrived in Lewisburg in the wee hours. After a rest at a local hotel, they took a jog down Moore Avenue and visited Gerhard Fieldhouse, where Max shined as a pole vaulter during his days in the Orange & Blue.
While this stopover was nostalgic, the Prizants have found there share of drama. They have had to explain themselves more than once to local authorities, there was that pack of wild mustangs in Nevada, extreme hot and cold weather, some ne’er-do-wells looking for trouble in Nebraska, and then there was a car fire that destroyed their SUV and the camper trailer that was serving as their portable lodging.
Unlike other similar excursions, Max and Zac are running across America without a support party, which resulted in a significant amount of backtracking. They would park the camper in a (hopefully) secure spot, get in their miles for the day, and then circle back to the car, and drive ahead to the next checkpoint. While unwieldy, they have been very meticulous in counting their steps in order to authentically make it all the way on foot.
The Prizants were able to replace that charred camper, but once they arrived in their hometown of Poland, Ohio, near Youngstown, they ditched the vehicle and are now traveling light. They have plotted out hotel and food stops to get them to New York and are running with just the clothes on their backs, their cell phones and chargers, and some other light sundries. For large chunks of the trip they have essentially averaged a marathon a day – they once did 62 miles in a single day and more 90 miles in a two-day period – so it has been helpful to do this finishing leg without having to worry about the camper.
Max and Zac both say that attending top-notch schools like Bucknell and Cornell have helped them on a trek that is just as taxing mentally as it is physically.
“The biggest thing that going to two great institutions taught us is that you can’t plan everything,” said Max. “You have to be able to adapt on the fly. That’s the main prevailing theme that has allowed us to be so successful on this trip with all the adversity we’ve faced.”
“We also learned how to operate on very little sleep,” Zac chimed in with a laugh.
Those wishing to make a donation can visit their Facebook page or Instagram accounts @mpzant or @zacinthebox. You can also text MAXZAC to 41444 to receive a link to donate straight to Heart to Heart.
