UPDATE: Katie crossed the 1,000-mile mark in late June and reached her hometown of Glen Ellyn, Ill. Follow her Boston to San Diego trek via her Web site.

Carleton College alum Katie Visco ’07 is attempting to become the youngest woman to run across America. Only about 170 people are on record as having completed the trek across the country and only ten have been women. Visco dreamt about running across America for many years, but she wanted a reason to do the run. She found her reason working as a volunteer at City Year in Boston.

City Year is a program that is set up to help young people succeed in life despite the odds that many kids have working against them. Visco met many young people through City Year who didn’t believe in themselves and didn’t think they could ever achieve their dreams.

This lead Visco to decide that she should use her dream of running across America to inspire others to follow their own dreams no matter what those dreams may be.

Visco left Boston on March 29th on her way to San Diego. Find out more about Katie Visco’s journey by visiting her website.