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See Their Journey Chronicled

Elliott and Elisha Kabanuk  

Some might call them crazy, ambitious or compassionate. But whatever you call them, the father-daughter team of Elliott and Elisha Kabanuk plan to run across North Dakota to raise awareness for the Caring for Children Program. The distance is about 360 miles.

This is not the first time the Kabanuks have run together. They’ve completed two half-marathons at the Fargo Marathon, and this year they finished their first full-marathon. “We trained together, we ran together and we finished together,” Elliott says, adding his 34-year-old daughter could have easily finished ahead of him.

“At this stage of my life, it’s important to give back,” says Elliott, who recently turned 65. “I’ve been blessed.”

Elliott describes himself as being on a mission. “Caring for Children is a great cause, helping little ones from working families who need a hand up not a handout,” Elliott says. “Lots of kids need insurance and BCBSND has stepped up to meet a need.” Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota donates 100 percent of the administrative costs as its corporate donation, so all funds donated to Caring for Children go directly to serve enrolled children.

“I know what a lack of insurance does to families,” says Elliott, who has sold life, disability and health insurance. He works for Lutheran Social Services in Fargo as a nationally certified gambling addiction counselor and a job developer with New American Services.

Elisha’s degree in personal training from the University of North Dakota will be helpful throughout their trek. They have received permission to run along Interstate 94, and they hope to average 35 miles a day as a team. The Kabanuks will do the bulk of the running in the morning and then rest during the heat of the afternoon. In the evening, they’ll run a couple more hours. They hope breaking up the running time will help prevent stiffness and soreness.

“Running across the state for a good cause is something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives,” Elisha says. Elisha works in Alternative Education in the West Fargo School District. She also owns her own business, World of Officiating, and officiates for university, college and high school basketball games.

They will start their run August 15 at the Montana border and plan to arrive in Fargo by August 26.

See the Planned Route ›