- March 26, 2025
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Nels Matson never met Navy SEAL Chris Campbell. He died along with 14 fellow SEALS and 13 others when his Chinook helicopter was shot down over Afghanistan in August 2011.
Inspired by Campbell's story, and a hand-written note in his will wishing to have 100,000 people donate to the Wounded Warrior Project in his name, Matson embarked on a mission few have accomplished — to run across the United States with a two-fold goal to fulfill Campbell’s wish and to make the run in record time.
Although he fell short of the record — Matson’s time of covering 3,063 miles in 46 days, 17 hours and 26 minutes is the third fastest on record — he succeeded in expanding the number of donors from 30,000 to 130,000 by the end of 2024, recently surpassing 140,000 and still counting.
Matson, a Sarasota accountant, received a citation awarded by the Sarasota City Commission at its March 3 meeting, recognizing his run that started Sept. 8, 2024, in San Francisco and concluded Oct. 24 at New York City Hall.
Although he never knew Campbell, Matson worked with his sister, Cindy Campbell, at a downtown accounting firm beginning in 2018. They became friends and through conversation, learned of a mutual connection with another of the SEALs who died in the same incident. That led to Cindy recommending a book, “Among Heroes” by Brandon Webb, that detailed Chris Campbell’s life and heroics.
“Cindy was actually interviewed for the book and she talks about Chris' mission and the note that he left in his will that he wanted 100,000 people to donate to Wounded Warrior Project,” Matson said. “That's where I learned about Chris and it started getting the wheels turning.”
It was December 2020 when Matson told Cindy about his idea and asked if she was amenable for him to run across the country to help meet Campbell's goal while also attempting to break the world record set by Pete Kostelnick in 2016 at 42 days, 6 hours, and 30 minutes.
Kostelnick was 29 years old.
“I have the third-fastest time, but I am the fastest old guy, the fastest over 40,” said the 42-year-old Matson.
Discovering his affinity for running as a wrestler — “You run a lot as a wrestler,” he said — Matson competed collegiately at Iowa State University. Now a frequent competitor in ultra endurance events, he was born with a heart defect, undergoing open heart surgery as a young boy. That experience serves as inspiration to participate in endurance runs to raise money for other similarly affected children.
In 2013, for example, he ran from Bradenton to the Cambodian Embassy in Washington, D.C., a distance of 1,200 miles, to raise money for children in Cambodia to undergo heart surgeries. In training for his run across America, he peaked at 200-mile weeks. Eight months before his run, he participated in a six-day, 440-mile race in Arizona, running approximately at the 12- to 13-minute per mile pace needed to set a record for traversing the country on foot.
Throughout his training, the story of Chris Campbell was never far from his mind.
“The book gave me this insight about Chris and how he was described by his friends this very contagiously positive person,” Matson said. “He was put through a lot of crazy things, but he had this bounce-back, positive attitude. Whatever was thrown at him, he would take it and get stronger. That's what also inspired me to ask how far along they were in this mission of 100,000 donors that Chris had put out there.”
Matson partnered with Wounded Warriors Project for Project Campbell, the charity helping to secure publicity for the run. He was interviewed, literally on the run, by reporters trotting alongside him. His route took him through his hometown of Ames, Iowa, where he was greeted by well-wishers while passing through. It was well before he reached the Midwest — even before he began climbing the Rocky Mountains — that he knew he was going to finish his run.
It was only a matter of when.
“After Nevada, I knew I was going to complete it,” Matson said. "Trying not to take it all in at once was a struggle. That's what I had to also overcome. It applies to big projects at work or anything else. You see this huge project out there, and in reality you’ve just got to break it down hour by hour and get through it.”
First crossing the Rockies early in the run and then the Poconos in the latter stage, the high altitude air near the start and finish was light on oxygen for someone whose training is primarily at sea level.
“That was a little difficult for the Florida man,” he said.
To cover nearly two marathons per day, Matson averaged 16 hours per day on his feet. While alone in his thoughts, he wasn’t in his journey. His wife, Denise Zolla Pizzo-Matson, was never far ahead or behind in the RV that served as living quarters at night, when he averaged six hours of sleep. A massage therapist, she also helped ease his muscular aches and pains.
“She helped me get up every morning,” Matson said. “I definitely needed a massage. It took me about 40 minutes to get out of bed most mornings.”
There was also a support crew alternating along the way, seeing to his hydration and nutritional needs, sometimes serving as emergency navigators when coming across an unexpected detour. He routed his trip similar to that of the record-setting Kostelnick, but some things had changed since 2016.
“We had a few bridges that were out and had to make some reroutes,” Matson said. “In some places, the roads had changed. They were now private roads that were fenced off. My crew was quick on their feet and they made fast adjustments and nobody panicked.”
Nor was there panic with a minor injury limited Matson to only a six-mile day while crossing Ohio. During the first 10 days, he experienced deep body aches and pains that eventually subsided. Any early moments of doubt, he said, were erased by recalling what Campbell endured during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training.
“Really, when you put it into perspective, it was pretty small compared to what others have to deal with," he said.
With the finish line at New York City Hall in sight, Matson increased his running time from 16 hours per day to 18 hours.
Following a greeting from New York Mayor Eric Adams, he marked the grueling six-plus-week ordeal by pouring water he had collected from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic.
It's still too soon, Matson said, to consider whether he’d ever attempt to run across the country again. Still somewhat in recovery, his daily training runs are shorter for now. He is considering a run that would involve others in celebration of Campbell’s birthday this year, which is Sept. 16.
Meanwhile, new donors continue to contribute to Wounded Warrior Project in Campbell's name, thanks largely to the attention brought to it by Matson's run.
"It's pretty amazing from one man's wish written down on a note," Matson said.
