Ultramarathoner,
environmental
scientist
and
Baldwin
Wallace
graduate
Keith
"Wildman"
Hanson
'08
has
taken
to
the
streets
to
raise
awareness
for
clean
water
and
river
conservation
efforts
in
South
Carolina.
A
biology
major
whose
focus
included
environmental
science,
Hanson
currently
works
as
a
contract
environmental
scientist
for
the
National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric
Administration
(NOAA),
where
his
focus
is
on
the
conservation
of
freshwater,
estuarine
and
marine
species
and
habitats.
Hitting
the
Streets
Noticing
the
correlation
between
rivers
and
human
health
and
prosperity,
Hanson
launched
the
Running
for
Rivers
presented
by
RES
campaign
with
a
goal
to
run
300
miles
in
three
days
to
raise
money
and
awareness
for
the
national
non-profit
river
conservation
organization
American
Rivers.
The
run
was
set
to
begin
in
Cleveland,
South
Carolina,
near
the
Saluda
River
and
end
in
Folly
Beach
near
the
Stono
River,
taking
Hanson
through
the
metropolitan
areas
of
Greenville,
Columbia
and
Charleston.
Hanson
has
run
his
fair
share
of
races,
including
the
Leadville
Trail
100,
Florida
KEYS
100-
and
50-mile
ultramarathons,
Badwater
Cape
Fear
Ultramarathon,
Harbison
50K
Trail
Race,
Jordan
Lake
12-hour
Challenge
and
the
Kiawah
Island
Golf
Resort
Marathon.
Up
to
the
Challenge
Hanson
planned
to
complete
the
300-mile
run
in
72
hours
or
less,
representing
the
fastest
known
time
for
upstate-to-coastal
crossing
of
South
Carolina.
However,
Hanson
was
only
able
to
run
150
miles
in
53
hours,
reaching
as
far
as
Columbia,
before
making
a
difficult
decision
to
end
the
run.
As
of
Jan.
3,
2018,
Hanson
had
raised
$6,345
for
Running
for
Rivers
presented
by
RES
and
has
plans
to
finish
the
final
150
miles
in
the
fall
of
2018.
