craigdailypress.com

For nearly 11 weeks, Gretchen Mack and daughter Kelly Orndoff have been walking the highways and county roads of America raising money for wounded Marines.

Departing from Twentynine Palms Marine Base in California, the mother and sister of fallen Marine Chance Phelps have already covered a thousand miles.

"It's going good," Mack said from her brother-in-laws home in Meeker. "We're getting closer every day."

Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, a former Moffat County High School student, was killed in action in Iraq in 2004.

His mother began organizing the trek titled Run4Chance early in 2007 as a way to raise money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, an organization giving aid to wounded marines returning from Iraq.

The team has been walking about 25 miles per day, with Mack taking 12.5 miles, and Orndoff walking the remainder.

"We don't push it really hard. One of us drives while the other walks," Mack said. "The first two weeks were tough on the body, but you get used to it."

The weather has been good to the pair, with temperatures through the Mojave Desert staying at 87 degrees early in the journey.

Light rains encountered by the two have not been enough to stop the walk or dampen the spirits of the walkers.

"It's the perfect time of year to walk," Mack said. "We plan on getting to our goal."

Mack and Orndoff plan on meeting with interested Craig residents as they enter town Saturday on Colorado Highway 13 from Meeker.

"We should be at the turnoff to the power plant at 12 o'clock," she said. "Then at the Loaf-N-Jug between 1 and 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. We want to give people a chance to come out and visit."

The walkers will next venture to Craig City Park, arriving at about 5 or 6 p.m.

A fundraising spaghetti dinner will take place at the American Legion Post from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with the team leaving for Maybell on Wednesday morning.

"People are welcome to come walk with us as we get near Maybell," Mack said. "We will be camping at the Maybell Park before heading up to Browns Park."

Being in Dubois, Wyo., by Memorial Day is the goal set by the walkers.

They plan on participating in the Memorial Day ceremony at the cemetery, where Chance is buried in Dubois.

The governor of Wyoming has expressed interest in meeting the pair as they enter his state, and at the memorial service in Dubois, Mack said.

"We're expecting a lot of people at the finish line," she said. "Including some Marines from Twentynine Palms."

People interested in donating to the cause behind the walkers trek for injured marines are invited to visit various Web sites including, run4chance.com, the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund or the Chance Phelps Foundation.