Sam's Walk | samneace

Sam's 500-Mile Walk

On September 22nd, 2009, Sam left Hazard, Kentucky on a 500 mile walk to Chicago, Illinois, only 18 months after completing chemotherapy. Sam walked to raise money for the American Cancer Society and hand deliver copies of his writings to Oprah Winfrey at Harpo Studios. Below are media reports about Sam’s walk.

NBC-5 Chicago

Cancer Survivor Walks From Kentucky to Chicago to Give Oprah a Book Oprah hasn't said whether she'll greet him By ANDREW GREINERUpdated 2:19 PM CDT, Tue, Oct 13, 2009

Like millions of other people today, Sam Neace will walk through the Chicago Loop. But chances are that Neace is the only person who walked 500 miles to get here.

Today marks the end of Neace’s journey from Hazard, Kentucky to Chicago, Illinois to raise money for Relay for Life, a cancer charity affiliated with the American Cancer Society.

Neace, who beat the testicular cancer he was diagnosed with in January 2008, wants to finish his 500-mile journey on a high note.

The survivor would like to hand deliver his published book of short stories, "Neace's Piece's" and the manuscript to his novel, "Bad Boy" to Oprah Winfrey at Harpo Studios.

If he timed it right with his 25 mile per day pace, he’ll show at Harpo studios between 4pm-5pm on Tuesday, October 13th.

Neace talked to NBCChicago on a cell phone about two hours from his terminus, "somewhere on route 41." He’s not sure if Oprah will be there to greet him.

“Whether or not Oprah knows, I have no idea,” Neace said. The fine folks at Harpo studios said they hadn't heard about his walk and that they're not in the habit of meeting viewers who aren't on the official agenda.

In the end, it doesn’t matter. The important part is all the money Neace has been able to raise for Relay for life, which he estimates in the thousands.

“The walk was rough,” Neace said. “I walked through rain storms and over mountains and whatever you can imagine. It’s been in some ways the most inspirational experience of my life. But also my most challenging.”

The Hazard Herald

A Killer Walk for The Killer Neace

Cris Ritchie: Editor

HAZARD – Walking through a volley of good lucks and best wishes on Tuesday morning, Sam Neace began the first leg of a 500 mile walk that he hopes will end at the front door of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios in Chicago.

Neace, a resident of Lower Second Creek in Perry County and a graduate of Perry County Central High School, is also a published author and DJ known as the Killer Neace for WKCB radio in Hindman. And it’s his literary aspirations that led to him taking that first step in front of his alma mater in Hazard this week.

Neace, who released his book of short stories entitled Neace’s Pieces last year, plans to hand deliver his unpublished novel called Bad Boy to Winfrey in Chicago in hopes that she will at the very least read it. Although there is no indication that Winfrey is aware of what Neace is doing just yet, his walk should garner some media attention.

“She’s really big into literature, you know she has the book club and all that,” he said earlier this month, noting that if Winfrey were to like the book she could potentially help him in getting it published. “Plus she likes to help people,” he added.

Neace, along with his wife Rebekah, daughters Mollie and Callie, and brother Doug, began his journey in front of Perry County Central High School with hundreds of students cheering him along the way.

Neace’s journey will take an estimated three weeks to complete with an average of 25 miles per day. His first day ended in Jackson, and during the moments leading up to the first step, Neace said he was focusing on completing that first day.

“I’ve decided I’m ready to go,” Neace said moments before taking his first step. “It’s just one day at a time right now. I’m not thinking about Chicago, just Jackson today.”

While his trip will serve as a literary venture, Neace is also hoping his walk will be an opportunity to raise money for a cause he knows personally: cancer research.

A cancer survivor, Neace told the Herald that he took his last chemotherapy treatment about a year and a half ago and his cancer is in remission. And while he realizes that his walk will most likely garner media attention across the state if not the country, Neace also knows that his walk will be a good opportunity to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Donations can be made to the ACS’s Relay for Life in the name of Sam Neace’s walk.

But in the meantime, Neace is continuing his trek this week and the following weeks. The Hazard Herald will continue to monitor Neace’s journey and provide updates each week.

The Sentinel News: Shelbyville, KY

One Step at a Time

By: Lisa King

Like other customers at McDonald's restaurant at Governor's Square on Wednesday, Sam Neace was just passing through.

"I just stopped in to get a bite of breakfast on my way to Chicago," he said, taking a last sip of coffee before hitting the road again.

What makes Neace so different from other travelers?

He's hitting the road on foot.

Known as "Killer Neace" at The Killer B, WKCB -FM in Hindman, this mild-mannered DJ began his trek from Hazard to Chicago on Sept. 22 and says he expects to set foot in Chicago on Oct. 13.

"I expect to walk about 25 miles a day," he said.

"I'm walking, not running like Forest Gump, but I am working on the beard," he said with a grin.

Why is he walking?

"Well," he said, leaning back in his chair and scooping up the last of his breakfast, "two reasons. I am walking to Chicago to raise money for the Relay for Life and to see Oprah."

Neace, a cancer survivor, said in addition to raising money for the American Cancer Society, he is also walking 511 miles to prove something to Oprah Winfrey, whose show is headquartered in the Windy City.

He hopes she will promote an unpublished novel he has written.

"I got the idea of walking to Chicago because I figured that if I walked all the way there, she would see how serious I am about it and at least sit down and read it," he said. "The reason I picked her is because I really get a sense that she enjoys helping people, and she's genuine, and then there's her love of literature. She loves books,"

Neace, who is also the author of Neace's Pieces, said he is confident that if Winfrey reads Bad Boy, she will give the novel her endorsement.

His wife, Rebekah, who brought the couple's two young children, Mollie and Callie, from Hazard to the Shelbyville McDonald's to have breakfast with their dad, summed up the plot of the novel.

"It's basically about a young man who gets a taste of freedom and goes hog wild and then later realizes the error of his ways," she said.

"I couldn't have put it better myself," he said, grinning at his wife. "I was just getting ready to launch into a synopsis of the plot."

When asked if the novel is autobiographical, he laughed, and his wife snickered.

"Not anymore," she said, with a chuckle.

"It's not at all," he said. "My inspiration was the condition of young people in southeastern Kentucky. I looked around at so many of my friends, and it seemed like there was so much addiction and so much misery in their lives just because of the way the world is and the temptation and giving in to it. The book does have an uplifting ending, though."

Though Neace is walking alone, he has been joined by short periods of time by his Relay for Life friends.

Though he mapped out his route ahead of time and tried to plan for every contingency, one unforeseen detail has been a big pain in the neck, or rather, the back.

"I wish I could tell you that while I'm walking I think about all my life events, leading up to a great epiphany," he said. "But all I can think of is the weight of my backpack. It really hurts."

The weather has not been that kind to him either.

"The weather has thrown everything at me except for ice and snow," he said, laughing. "And, oh, man, these hills in Shelby County. I though once I passed through Richmond that I was done with the hills, but I've walked up more hills here than in any other county."

But walking does have some advantages, he said.

"It's a more intimate experience than driving," he said. "In a car, you see the landscape, but walking, you really get the feel of the town, you see the children playing and the people. It is scary sometimes when you walk through a place you've never been before, and you're all alone. But I've been really surprised by how nice everybody has been, Shelbyville included. That's made it a lot whole easier for me."

Neace said his route would take him up U.S. 60 into Louisville, where he planned to spend the night with his cousin. From there, he will cross over into Indiana via the Second Street Bridge.

Neace updates his station's Web site (wkcb.com) every day so listeners can check out his Killer Neace Tracker, which shows his progress.

Does Oprah know he is coming?

"Well, the entire student bodies of Perry County Central High, A.B. Combs and Big Creek are all sending Oprah E-mails, so she probably knows by now," he said.

Neace kissed his wife and kids and adjusted his backpack.

"Good luck to you; glad you stopped in," McDonald's Manager Yvonne Munoz called out, waving to Neace across the crowded restaurant.

And he was off again, at a steady pace down Main Street, wearing a UK stocking cap and a T-Shirt promoting the future of coal in Kentucky.

Walk, Sam, walk.

Map of Sam's Walk

Click the picture below to order the book about Sam's walk titled "Go, Sam, Go".