Peter Breach is finally running across America

When we last wrote about Flying Irish Running Club founder Peter Breach, he’d just finished running across the state.

He and his wife, Michelle Breach, had hoped to run across the U.S., but the COVID pandemic stymied their plans.

“The state run was a dry run to see if she’d stay married to me when we run across the U.S.,” he said at the time. “We bonded better as a result of the run. Success!”

Following COVID, their plan was for Michelle to walk the U.S. from west to east with Peter crewing and then for him to run from east to west while she crewed.

But while running with their dog, Peter experienced severe hip pain.

“I had a hip replacement in January 2023,” he said.

In September, they finally set out. It was Michelle’s turn to do the legwork while Peter crewed.

“We started in Carlsbad, California,” said Peter. “I discovered I stink at listening and at reading Google Maps.”

Nevertheless, they prevailed, reaching their destination of Jekyll Island, Georgia, in January.

With just 3 miles to go, Michelle’s friend Carleen VanDerostyne, a firefighter and fellow EMT at Newman Lake Fire and Rescue, arrived to walk the last bit of the journey with her.

“I was recruiting people outside the visitor center to cheer Michelle on,” Peter recalled. “Then I dropped dead at her feet.”

He’d suffered a widow-maker heart attack.

“My friend and I did CPR,” said Michelle. “We’d get a heartbeat, only to lose it again.”

The next day, while at the hospital, his heart stopped again and then twice more overnight.

“I remember hearing a nurse say, ‘He did it again!’ ” Peter said.

His memories of the rest of his ordeal are still fuzzy. At 59, he said he never experienced chest pains or any other symptom of an imminent heart attack. Doctors determined he needed a stent. While he was in the ambulance on the way to a larger hospital, Michelle finished those last 3 miles.

The Breaches are not quitters.

That’s why when The Spokesman-Review caught up with them last week, they were in Beaver Crossing, Nebraska, a little less than halfway through Peter’s 3,075-mile run across the U.S.

Less than three months after his near-fatal heart attacks, Peter received medical clearance to start his run.

In April, they launched their trip in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He ran 15 miles on that first day.

“There wasn’t really any question that he’d do his run,” Michelle said. “I actually feel better about his heart now that we know what the problem was.”

Within a month of his surgery, Peter was running/walking 6 miles per day.

“Dr. Thew (cardiologist) said I’m an unlucky, lucky person and gave me the go-ahead to run, as long as I keep my heart rate low,” said Peter. “I’m eating healthier and paying attention to my body. The frequency of my running now exceeds my sleeping and slouching!”

Michelle drives their camper van ahead of his daily routes.

“He runs four or five hours before I meet him to give him support,” she said. “Then I connect with him every hour or two.”

Meanwhile, she and their dog, Kip, are enjoying small-town America and are serving as ambassadors for Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response.

The couple is using the run as a way to raise money for the nonprofit.

Since 1999, Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response has provided comfort to individuals affected by crises and disasters in all 50 states and Canada through animal-assisted support. The volunteers and their animal companions travel to towns devastated by tornadoes, offer comfort in areas where mass shootings have occurred and provide a calming presence for people in need.

Locally, the organization provided support in the aftermath of the Freeman school shooting and during area wildfires.

“The money raised will go to volunteers to help defray the costs incurred during deployments,” said Michelle.

They’re updating Peter’s run across America on Facebook.

On day 49, he posted, “Nineteen weeks after dropping dead, one year and 4 months since I received a new hip – it’s a great day of 28 miles!”

Peter runs six days a week, and even on his rest day, he walks.

“Any day with low traffic volume is great,” he said. “And coming through the mountains of West Virginia was pretty awesome.”

Less great is running through torrential downpours like the ones he experienced in Illinois.

“I left my rain gear in the van. I saw a fully enclosed Amish wagon go by. That looked like luxury!”

Not all drivers are courteous to runners, and Peter has his own way of dealing with that.

“I spend hours thinking of dirty lyrics to songs about them.”

The finish line awaits in Newport Beach, Oregon.

“Originally, we planned to end on Labor Day weekend, but I’m moving ahead of schedule, so our target date is Aug. 23,” he said. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is how fortunate I am. I still get to run and do something I love with the love of my life.”

Follow the journey on Facebook at Hope Walk Across America-Kip.

For more information about Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, visit www.hopeaacr.org.