1st woman to skateboard across US raises $50K for spinal cord injury research
Brooke Johnson has made history as the first woman to skateboard across the U.S.
The 29-year-old kicked off her journey at the beach in Santa Monica, California, and after 119 days and 3,266 miles, she completed the historic feat in Virginia Beach on Friday.
Johnson set out on the grueling adventure to raise money for Wings for Life, a nonprofit spinal cord research foundation, in honor of her late stepfather Roger, who she said broke his C5 vertebrae, became a quadriplegic and died of the spinal cord injury last year.
From inclement weather to tough terrain and holes in her shoes, Johnson persevered through every obstacle, raising $50,000 while setting the new world record.
Johnson told ABC Norfolk station WVEC that her late stepfather's presence helped motivate her along the way.
"He's, like, supported me through this whole thing -- it's actually crazy," she said.
Prior to his death, Johnson said the pair's hope was to skate across the finish line with Johnson pushing her stepfather in his wheelchair.
"I was like, 'Roger it's a really big country.' And he was like, 'Well, you can do it,'" Johnson said.
Johnson was wearing a heart-shaped necklace with Roger's ashes inside when she crossed the Red Bull finish line on Friday.
"Roger left me purpose, and for that I thank him every single day," she said.
Johnson shared a recap of the journey on her Instagram page Saturday. The video montage was set to an old voicemail left by her stepfather, which she said "was one of those messages that felt like he left it for the present moment."
"If there's one thing you take away from this trip, it's that you can truly do anything you put your mind to," she wrote in the caption.
