This is why a man is running 644km from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a bear suit
The 33-year-old is
hoping to raise funds and donate it to a worthy cause.
Jesse Larios is looking to make a difference and was inspired to do something out of the ordinary to gain attention and raise funds for a worthy cause. So, he dressed up as Bearsun, a character he created, and started running 644km from Los Angeles to San Francisco while starting a GoFundMe page asking for donations.
"It was an impulsive decision for sure. I didn't plan it out," the 33-year-old explains. Larios embarked on his journey on 12 April 2021 and has raised an impressive R100,000 to date. The runner says that he will hold an online vote to determine where to donate the money.
"I just want to help people out," Larios said on what inspired the journey.
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Larios adds that the journey has been an interesting one so far and that he has been making stops along the way to sleep, eat, and rest. He says that he stops by petrol stations along the way for a meal and to freshen up and admits that he sleeps inside his bear suit wherever he finds himself at the end of the day.
"Everything's been pretty wild, to be honest," Larios said. "It inspires me to do new things. It brings new ideas. It fuels my creativity. It helps out a lot and it feels good too.”
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According to the runner, Bearsun was born back in 2016 when Larios created the character after being inspired by his dog Bear - an Alaskan Malamute.
Larios adds that Bearsun isn't on a mission to change the
world per se, he just saw something he wanted to do, and spontaneously set out
to accomplish it.
Image courtesy: Instagram