Greetings from sunny Wrightsville Beach, where my daily workout now consists of swimming against huge waves and walking for one hour against a fierce current and daunting undertow.

Last week, after walking 600 miles, losing 25 pounds, wearing out 18 pairs of sneakers and traversing 13 counties without leash laws, Kathy Higgins and I finally arrived in Wilmington for the spirited ending to the Million Step March.

As humbled and winded as we were, it was a day we will never forget. The day started in the parking lot of Food Lion (one of our sponsors), about five miles away from Riverfront Park in downtown Wilmington. There we were met by Bob Greczyn and John Roos, Blue Cross' CEO and chief sales and marketing officer, respectively. These two innovators and visionaries realized the value in the walking campaigns I had done in the past and asked me to join forces with them to create the Million Step March here in North Carolina. They laid it on the line on this one, walked the walk and talked the talk to show their commitment to getting people healthy in this state.

We were also met by four police escorts from Wilmington, various community leaders, as well as BCBSNC employees who had worked tirelessly on the campaign from Day One. The best part was that Kathy and I were also joined by various walkers from the BCBSNC employee walking contest. Each had entered an essay contest and won a chance to spend a week on the road with us.

Kathy and I really enjoyed getting to know these people throughout the campaign, and they inspired us in ways they probably will never know. Most had never even met each other (each had their own individual week on the road) and it was fun to have almost all of our walkers together on the road for the first time. Talk about a reunion! We were also joined by people like David Jones from Snow Hill. David was inspired by the campaign and joined us out of the blue on the road one day. He became a fixture at our campaign events the rest of the way.

The group left Food Lion around 4 p.m. and laughed, shared stories and took pictures as we made our way to downtown Wilmington. It was a spirited, festive ceremonial walk toward the finish line, to say the least. Before Kathy and I knew it we rounded the corner of Market and Water Streets near the Riverfront Park. We could hear the crowd and the campaign's theme song, "A Bell Will Ring." Hundreds of people lined the streets at that point, waving blue pom-poms, yelling, and cheering us on. It was an amazing sight!

With a short distance to go to the finish line, Kathy and I picked up on the energy of the crowd and began high-fiving the crowd lining the street. It was then that I made eye contact with my 23-month-old son, Desi James. He and my wife Julie were there among the crowd. Clearly caught up in the enthusiasm the baby was going crazy along with everyone else (I assume he was the only one yelling Da-Da!) It was a moment I'll never forget. I couldn't help but clutch him out of the crowd and walk with him right through the finish line ribbon. Of all the finish lines I've crashed through these past four years – including the Boston Marathon and the Million Calorie March – this one was my favorite.

Once on stage it seemed appropriate to reflect on the question that Kathy and I were asked at each and every stop along the way: WHY? As in, "Why would you walk across the entire state of North Carolina?"

I told the crowd that we need creative, innovative campaigns like the Million Step March that capture people's imaginations and get them on a healthy path. I also explained that inspiration, when it comes from unlikely people – Kathy did this entire walk pregnant with twins, and I used to weigh 400 pounds – can motivate people who have long lost hope in ever regaining their health again. And finally we did it because challenging yourself and staying in the fight are an important part of an unfinished struggle.

Thank you to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for giving me the chance to recreate one of my greatest achievements for your state and for your people. I'm a lucky guy. I get to take a big negative in my life and turn it into a positive, and I'm forever grateful for that.

Also, a big thanks to the Million Step March project team. You gave me your energy, resources, creativity, dedication and your hard work for six months and in turn I gave you everything I had on the Million Step March.

To the people of North Carolina: Continue to focus on your health and stay in the fight. Take advantage of the great programs I know BCBSNC will continue to offer in the years to come.

When I first came here to North Carolina for the Million Step March, the folks at Blue Cross played me the song "A Bell Will Ring" by the band Oasis. They'd chosen it as the campaign theme song since it appeared in some of their commercials. I was not familiar with Oasis' music at the time, but as our campaign went on it seemed to make perfect sense for our mission: To light a fire under millions of people who needed a wake-up call to get healthy again. I'll leave you with a few words from that song:

A little faith/Peace of mind/See what passes through

The sun will shine on you again/A bell will ring inside your head/And all will be brand new.

Keep on marching.

All the best,

Gary

Posted by Gary Marino on June 17, 2008

Kathy Higgins and Gary Marino crossed the finish line in Wilmington last night after an incredible walking journey across the state. After 73 days, 600 miles and more than a million steps each, the Million Step March ended with a celebration in the Port City's Riverfront Park.

Even though the walk is over, the campaign doesn't end. Thousands of North Carolinians have already started to see the benefits of regular physical activity - and we want more people across the state to do the same.

There's more to come in the days and weeks ahead. For now, this AP story in the Wilmington Star-News sums it up nicely.

Posted by Kyle Marshall on June 13, 2008

Hard to believe, but the Million Step March is drawing to a close. The team invites anyone in the Wilmington area to come join them as Kathy and Gary cross the finish line this Thursday, June 12, concluding their 600-mile odyssey across the state.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. in downtown Wilmington at the Riverfront Park on Water Street, between Market and Princess streets. We’ll have live music, a farmer’s market, activities and demos, giveaways and more. See you there!

Posted by Kyle Marshall on June 11, 2008

Soon, the Million Step March will take its final twists and turns toward its inevitable conclusion in Wilmington, N.C. One day very soon, after I’ve hung up my walking sneakers and road warrior hat for yet another campaign, I’ll lie in the sand during a late afternoon on Wrightsville Beach and reflect on the entire 600-mile, 75-day campaign from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

And I’m sure while I’m lying there I’ll think about the people I’ve met and the places I’ve seen over the course of this journey, and I’ll ask myself one very important question: Will the inspiration and education of the Million Step March keep people in this area motivated long after Kathy Higgins and I have written our last blog posts and returned to a more structured, normal existence? I sure hope it will. Keeping the fire and staying in the fight – for your health – is an important part of an unfinished struggle.

You meet America when you do walks like this – you honestly do. What’s more is that you end up having a front row seat to the obesity epidemic in our country. You spend a lot of time walking through farm country, past the cattle industries, through the agricultural heartlands. Eventually, and in time, you find yourself walking down Main Street USA, past the staggering amounts of fast food and barbecue places, the restaurant rows and the grocery stores where most of the processed food ends up.

And finally, you end up at the campaign events like the 50 or so that Kathy and I have been to over these past three months. You meet the people, see the faces and look into the eyes of people struggling with obesity every day – and the 51 associated diseases such as diabetes, stroke, sleep apnea and others.

Finally, and not to get too deep here, it touches your soul. So where did our “land of plenty” take such a wrong turn? Well, that can be debated all day long. But in the end it’s up to us as individuals to take control of our health. It’s our responsibility to stay in the fight, to be vigilant about getting and staying healthy in a world of hectic schedules and toxic food environments. And no one knows better than yours truly.

The fight didn’t end for me when I lost 110 pounds with the help of a nutritionist and therapist. It didn’t end for me when I lost 40 more walking from Florida to Boston a few years ago. It wasn’t finished when I completed the Boston Marathon back in 2005. And it won’t be over when I hit the finish line of the Million Step March in Wilmington in just a few days. You take it day by day. You wake up and try to walk a healthy path every day. Some days you succeed and some days you don’t. But here’s the rub: You’ve got to make an honest effort of it every day. You know the future if you just give up.

The good news is, if someone like me can achieve health, then you can do it too. And remember, as I’ve said a million times at every event we’ve done on this march, it’s about the long-term fix versus the short-term fix. It’s about being around for your kids and grandkids. It’s about living long and productive lives – and about living life the way it was meant to be lived.

I know you can do it North Carolina. I have faith in you.

See you in Wilmington this Thursday!

Posted by Gary Marino on June 10, 2008