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Meet the man who ran 26.2 miles around the arch this weekend

Bill Sycalik quit his job in order to run a self-supported marathon in all 60 of the national parks in the U.S.

St. Louis — ST. LOUIS — Bill Sycalik quit his New York City job in corporate America to pursue a new found passion — running with nature.

He moved to Denver and decided to not only pick up trail running but set a goal — run a marathon in every U.S. national park.

Sycalik started his journey less than two years ago and has already completed 51 26.2-milers. He added the St. Louis arch to his list this spring after Congress changed it from a national memorial to a national park.

After this weekend's journey, Sycalik only has eight more national parks to go to complete his list, all of them in Alaska.

“Being out in nature and seeing just these unspoiled natural places and why they need to be protected and sort of being energized by nature. That’s what really gets me wanting to do this all the time," said Sycalik."

“It’s important to get out and support your national parks," he said.

"Whether that’s a national park, one of the 60, or one of the national park units, a historic site, a monument, there’s a reason these things have been set aside, and they’re spectacular to see, but the only way we will continue to have them protected is if people get out and visit them."

Watch Sycalik run with other St. Louis runners in the video above as he conquered the St. Louis Gateway Arch this past Saturday.

You can follow him for the rest of his journey via Facebook here or on his website.

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