The 61-year-old Catalan who will run 93 marathons in 150 days on the Route 66 in the United States

BarcelonaEnric Casacuberta jokes imagining what he might find in a few months when he reaches the state of Illinois, in the United States. “I imagine myself a bit like Forrest Gump, running in front of a crowd,” he says, laughing. He's not wrong. An American NGO awaits this 61-year-old official from the Moià Town Hall with open arms, as if he were a rock star, to accompany him and take photos with him, he explains. “The truth is that this has gotten very big. I don't quite understand how it all happened so fast.” And how did he get here? A few months ago, Enric announced his project, "Route 66 x ELA". The idea was to run the nearly 4,000 km of the famous American highway, Route 66, to raise funds for research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). “I am a lover of this Route 66. I've been several times, the last in 2023. I've done it by car, I've done it by motorcycle... I've done it whole and in sections. It fascinates me. You cross eight very different states of the United States. You see a bit of the history, the culture... and I had the idea of doing it running. I contacted Victor Muntané, who has written a book about Route 66, and I asked him if he thought it was feasible, since Route 66 as it was initially no longer exists. Many sections have been swallowed by the highway, where you can't run. And Victor told me that it was feasible. And that was it, he encouraged me. And I roped in a friend, Jordi Castellet, to start building the structure. You need a support team, you need sponsors... we have created a website to raise funds... and created a website to raise funds... and

“The idea is to start running from Chicago on August 29 and arrive on January 25 at the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. It will be about 150 days. The original route is 3,940 kilometers, which is 2,448 miles, but I will do more, because there are many sections where you have to take a small detour. I have calculated that it will be like running 93 marathons in 150 days”, he says. Once he took the step forward, Enric realized that he could still do better. It wasn't a personal challenge. He could help. After seeing how a friend with whom he had performed the Pastorets died from ALS, he decided he would raise funds for the Fundació Miquel Valls. “I was also struck by Juan Carlos Unzué's fight, his speech in Congress. I have decided that I want to help and everything we raise will go to them”, he explains.Doing it in 2026 was special, as a lot of events have been organized to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of this route. And in the program of official events, which include talks, bicycle rides, or concerts, Enric's solo race has been included. And through social media and being admitted as an official initiative for the 100th anniversary of Route 66, many Americans have discovered the project.Once he started explaining the idea, a lot of good people stepped forward to help. The Centre Cenit of Girona and the coach Jordi Extremera, who work with elite cyclists and athletes, help him with training, monitoring, analysis... "The Moià podiatry clinic takes great care of me, as feet are key in this race... Many people help and move me, truly, like the Federació Catalana d’Atletisme and the Joma brand, which has lent me the shoes, the Diputació de Barcelona, the Ajuntament de Moià", he explains. In the United States, Núria Archer Petitbò and Steve Jesseph prepare everything. When the day comes, his brother and friends will take turns so that there is always someone driving a van nearby so he can sleep and rest when needed.What Enric didn't expect is that an association seeking to raise funds for ALS research in the United States would contact him to help him during the first few days in Illinois. “He told me they would be waiting for me at the end of the Illinois stages. And they kept making it bigger. They have created an initiative where you can sign up to finish the stages with me. They have made t-shirts, medals, and a lot of noise. He says that some days I will have fifty people or more waiting there to run with me, to greet me and take photos together. You know how Americans are, they always think big. And he tells me he thinks they can raise thousands of dollars, that it will be a success... they say they want to raise a lot of money. Think that a few years ago they did that viral challenge where you had to pour a bucket of water over your head to raise funds for ALS research and millions were donated. I'll settle for less. Everything I collect will go to the Fundació Miquel Valls, which supports patients, and what they collect in the United States will go to their foundation, which dedicates it to scientific research. They also want politicians to come. They say that if we're asking, they'll ask the governor of California, the one they say will be Trump's great rival, to receive me in Santa Monica”.Enric's idea is to start running from Moià towards Barcelona, where he will visit the American consulate and the Palau de la Generalitat, and then head to the airport. This way he can say, in a way, that he has run from Moianès to Santa Mónica. And he can say, if only for once, that Route 66 began in Moià, at his home, where he conceived the adventure of his life. An adventure in which he will spend many days alone, but with the support of many people.