1 runner, 1 mission, 1 NJ county, over 2,200 miles: ‘I guess I love it'

Jack Witzig is turning his grief into a goal -- and a mission -- one mile at a time.

Witzig is running every mile of roads and trails in Camden County, New Jersey.

"I guess I love it," an unsure Witzig told NBC10.

Not always an avid runner, the Merchantville resident started the block-by-block journey on foot with his hometown about seven years ago. He wanted to honor his father Don Witzig -- a longtime cross country coach at Cherry Hill High School East and also track coach at Cherrokee High School -- who lost a battle with lewy body dementia in 2016.

"It was always a kind of way of connecting with him," Witzig said.

For Witzig, Merchantville turned into Maple Shade then Haddon Heights and so much more as his hobby became much more.

"It was kind of a lofty goal," Witzig said.

Eventually the miles became a mission.

"I started to really pile on the miles," Witzig said. "It's a great county."

"It’s 2,237."

Miles in Camden County that is.

Along the way he got hissed at by geese along the Cooper River, but that didn't slow him down.

Jack -- and his running shoes -- have already hit more than half of the his goal. Jack crosses off names of towns on a running shirt as he completes each "one street at a time."

For every mile Witzig runs, he donates to the Lewy Body Dementia Association. The association works toward "raising awareness and promoting scientific advances" for the diseases, which the National Institute on Aging says "is a disease associated with abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain."

"These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemicals in the brain whose changes, in turn, can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior, and mood," the NIA says.

He might be running for the memory of his dad and hopes of a healthier future for others, but that's not on top of mind with each passing street.

"I’m not thinking about much at all, and just letting the miles go past," Witzig said.

And trying to do your dad proud?

"I hope so."

Track Jack's journey and donate to the cause on his CamCoRunner page.