BITTEROOT VALLEY — Anyone who drove along Highway 93 on Nov. 11 may have noticed a man running while carrying an American flag.
Travis Esrom, a Hamilton-based veteran, wanted to honor Veterans Day by pushing himself beyond his limits.
"Every day, every week, I just decided I'd stop telling myself I couldn’t," Esrom said.
Esrom served four years in the Navy, where he specialized in repairing submarines.
A few months ago, he decided to change his life.
"Back in August, I had a pretty drastic change in who I wanted to be. And I figured I'd start standing up for something I believed in, and that's absolutely my country," Esrom explained.
Esrom started his running journey one mile at a time. He was motivated by being a better man for his one-year-old daughter and wife.
"You are the most amazing inspiration that anybody could ever ask for," Esrom told his family.
This Veterans Day, he ran farther than he ever had before by completing 27 miles.
He ran from Woodside Cutoff, up through Victor, down to Hamilton, and finished back at Woodside.
"I got no background, no marathons, nothing, but I can, and I will do it. So, here I am," Esrom stated.
He did it carrying an American flag the entire time.
"It's through the sacrifice and through the discipline of every veteran, especially the ones that came before me, that laid the path for me to even have the dreams, the aspirations that I have. And it's why I'm out here running is because there are so many people who sacrifice so much more," Esrom detailed.
When MTN caught up with him midway through, Esrom said he already counted hundreds of honks from Highway 93 drivers.
"Oh, I was just telling one of my running buddies that I lost track at about 240. I think it's something that has pushed the running endeavor further because what you see from people, the interactions, the emotions, and just the true smiles that you get from people has been nothing shy of amazing," Esrom said.
In a social media post following the run, he said honks surpassed 600.
Esrom had two people join him on the run this year and hopes to make it an annual tradition.
He added that for anyone looking to better their lives, it's something that's done day by day.
"That one day gets easier every day, but it's only ever just one day. And in that one day you find the journey, you find what is beautiful about it. And every day that you get to step up, every day that you get to be 1% better, you're going to. And along the way, inadvertently, you're gonna help somebody," Esrom said.
