A long-distance runner passing through southern Michigan is in the midst of an ambitious journey that will ultimately take him across all 50 states on foot — a feat accomplished by only two other people.
Noah Coughlan, 42, is undertaking his fifth run in the past 15 years, a journey he calls “Run for America: A Tribute to the American People.” His most recent journey began Oct. 18, 2025, and will conclude July 4 in Hawaii, coinciding with the U.S. Semiquincentennial.
Coughlan departed Hillsdale, on Feb. 13, where he stayed overnight, then ran to Coldwater. On Saturday, Feb. 14, he heads to Sturgis.
In Coldwater, Coughlan planned to meet military personnel who came from Ft. Custer in Battle Creek at Veterans’ Memorial in Four Corners Park.
Once finished, Coughlan will have run across every individual state, becoming the third person known to do so entirely on foot. He previously completed runs through 36 states, with 14 remaining in October 2025.
His current route will take him through the contiguous states before traveling with a support crew to Alaska, where he plans to run approximately 1,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Anchorage. From there, he’ll fly to Hawaii to complete the final state.
“This run is to honor our very existence as the American people,” Coughlan said.
The flag he carries has special significance. It was flown on an aeromedical evacuation mission by the U.S. Air Force’s 70th Air Refueling Squadron aboard a KC-46 Pegasus in October 2025. At the conclusion of the run in Hawaii, members of the U.S. Marine Corps will ceremonially fold the flag, as they’ve done at the end of his previous trips.
Throughout the eight-and-a-half-month journey, Coughlan is asking Americans one simple question: What does the flag mean to them? He’s documenting the responses on film, interviewing people from all walks of life.
“We have a lot more in common than we do apart… we’re still one people, and that is the beauty of it,” he said.
Coughlan, a filmmaker, is producing a documentary from the footage. His motivation is personal as much as patriotic.
“It’s an adventure,” he said. “I don’t have a mortgage or major attachments right now, and my body can still do this. This is how I contribute.”
Learn more at runforusa.com.
Contact Don Reid, dReid@USATodayCo.Com. Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Noah Coughlan passes through Coldwater on journey across all 50 states
Reporting by Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
