“It’s been done. Eight days ago, I finished running from New York to Washington, DC.” The last words posted on Kelsey Dixon’s blog, The Long Run, on October 22, 2008 are a victory dance. But in their bare, quiet simplicity, there is humility. They read like the satisfied sigh one breathes upon coming to the end of a long, wonderful book.

This past October, Dixon, an associate working in The Rockefeller University Development Office, embarked on a noble endeavor that was months in the making. The idea: a 295 mile “Journey Run” from NYC to Washington, DC. The cause: to raise $10,000 for the nonprofit Central Asia Institute to promote and support community-based education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The way: $10,000 divided by 295. That’s $33.90 per mile, all pledged from family, friends, and supporters who were able to “purchase” these miles. The girl: a twenty three-year-old Omaha, Nebraska-native with big plans. Since the age of nineteen, Dixon has run seven marathons, a couple of 50Ks and a 50 miler. Not too shabby. While a lot of us struggle to find enough time in the day to do our laundry and show up for a job, Dixon, a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Neuroscience and in Philosophy, is shattering records in efficient time management. When she isn’t running or at Rockefeller, she’s working towards earning her M.S. from the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine on nights and weekends. She’s on track to graduate this year.

The idea of The Long Run came to Dixon after reading the bestselling book,Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The book recounts the journey that led Mortenson, Central Asia Institute co-founder, from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2 mountain to successfully establish dozens of schools, and promote girls’ education in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan. The book hit a note with Dixon, who writes on her blog on July 23, 2008: “At one point, Greg Mortenson is quoted, ‘I don’t really care about fighting terror. The biggest issues we need to address today are poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, which breed hatred.’ I think this is really important, and it’s a large part of what attracts me to Greg and his project.”

So now where does The Long Run come in? Dixon admits that the idea of running from NYC to DC grabbed her before the idea of raising money for CAI did. Yet as she thought about taking eight days off from work, convincing her dad to take eight days off from work, and generally investing a lot of time and energy into the endeavor, she realized that she needed it to be about something more to make it worthwhile. This is where CAI entered the picture. There was “something about the power of one determined person keepin’ on keepin’ on,” she says, “and putting his whole heart into something and making something good happen.” In a separate pre-run post, she goes on: “Another thing I like about the way Greg Mortenson operates is that his primary interests lie in getting things done rather than talking about them, so, that in mind, I’m shifting gears. To the run.” This is Dixon in a nutshell.

Over the course of eight days (which followed months of training), with her dad riding along in his car as “crew” and guide, Dixon completed what she set out to do, covering about 38 miles each day. Her blog (thelongrun2008.blogspot.com), which documents the months of training and planning leading up to the run, a few brief thoughts and reports during the run itself, and reflections after all was said and done, is a peephole into Dixon’s psyche. Much of what she has to say echoes the spirit of Greg Mortenson in Three Cups Tea, though she doesn’t always make this connection outright. As she reflects in her final post: “I think there is a tendency within this society to believe in one or the other of …two personalities—either the happy-go-lucky, can-do…dreamer or the down to business…pragmatist. The thing is; I am convinced we need them both. Had I not been an overly optimistic dreamer, I would not have begun this journey. Had I not been a strong and determined problem solver, or had I not been able to call upon the strength of people I love, I would not have finished it.” These are the words of someone who knows how to get things done.

The blog is revealing in other ways as well. Dixon’s upbeat spirit permeates her commentary. “There were parts that hurt a lot, and parts where I wanted to quit,” she writes. “But there were also parts where I felt that I must be the luckiest person in the world, to be outside, crossing the beautiful country on a most beautiful day, on a most beautiful journey.” To be sure, here is a motivational thought to get you through a physically grueling task. But it works for any task really—the idea of looking for what’s positive—maybe even beautiful and inspiring—in so many of the things we do. The idea of thinking about why we’re lucky.

Her sense of humor is apparent, too. She writes: “By the fourth day, my RIGHT quadricep had really started to make it clear that it was not happy about this effort, and in turn, it had acquired a theme song. Every time I heard Daft Punk’s “HarderBetterFasterStronger,” I had this image of my quadricep muscle coming to life as a little cartoon and singing to me. I realize now that sounds really, really strange, almost so strange that I feel like I shouldn’t tell you about it.” (Maybe you shouldn’t have, but I, for one, am glad you did.)

In the end, Dixon raised between $9017.40 for CAI “Because that’s the only way I know to get things done—to do them. To ask yourself constantly if you are doing all that you can do.” These are not simply Dixon’s words; they are Dixon—herself, clear-headed and mindful, laid out on paper.