GILROY—Curtis Hargrove is a man on a mission. The Canadian native is on a 1,518-mile run from British Columbia to Los Angeles—the equivalent of 58 individual marathons—to keep a promise he made to a very special young woman.
Hargrove began his 49-day journey Aug. 30. More than halfway toward his final destination, he made a pit stop in Gilroy Oct. 7.
Hargrove carries with him a blanket handcrafted by Angel Magnussen, a 19-year-old Canadian who doesn’t let much of anything stop her, including autism and Down syndrome. It’s one of many Magnussen has made as part of her nonprofit Hugginz by Angel, which aims to wrap sick and dying children in the comfort of a warm, personalized blanket.
Hargrove promised Magnussen he would make the trip to ensure that a blanket she created for TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres actually ends up in her hands. Magnussen made a blanket especially for DeGeneres, mailed it to her in February with a letter attached but had not received a reply. Magnussen has written to DeGeneres, host of the Ellen Show, many other times over the last three years but has not heard back from her, Hargrove said.
So, Hargrove stepped in. The 26-year-old’s current journey is one of many long distance runs he has completed for charity since he was a teenager. A 5,000-mile run across Canada’s provinces for the Terry Fox Foundation in 2012 made international headlines.
“I told her, ‘If you make another blanket, I will personally deliver it to Ellen’s studio by running it down there so I know it makes it into her hands,’” Hargrove said during an interview with the Dispatch during his stop in Gilroy.
“She’s a huge role model for kids today, even adults. These are the kinds of people you want recognized,” he said, adding that by age 19 she’s raised more than $330,000 for charity.
Magnussen and Hargrove are not seeking a feature on the Ellen Show. The goal of the journey is to invite DeGeneres to visit Magnussen’s blanket studio and collaborate to help her help sick kids together, without publicity, according to Hargrove.
“She just wants to make a blanket with Ellen and brighten up the day for a sick child,” he said.
In March 2014, a Gilroy family asked Ellen Show producers for an exemption to allow their daughter, who at the time was in the middle of a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis, to sit in on the taping of an episode. Caley Camarillo was 12 years old when she made the request, two years too young to participate. While classmates wrote letters to the show’s producers pleading her case, Camarillo was never well enough to go and passed away in June 2014.
Throughout their journey, Hargrove and his photographer/videographer Allen Felker have heard similar stories.
“There’s a crew you’ve got to get through to get to the producer. And there are so many people asking for the same thing,” Felker said.
However, Hargrove said he has faith he’ll end up meeting with DeGeneres and her team at the end of the journey.
“My mission is to deliver that letter and blanket in Ellen’s hands and make sure she gets it herself,” he said. “If that’s what it takes, I will camp outside of her studio. We are not stopping until she gets it.”
He added, “I have a feeling once we get there, something will already be lined up. That’s how much faith I have.”
Hargrove and Magnussen first met in 2012, during Hargrove’s 5,000-mile run across Canada. At that time, the two were both raising money for separate charities—but it was the spirit of helping ailing children that united them.
They’ve been inseparable since, in many respects. Hargrove was Magnussen’s prom date over the summer.
Magnussen, like Hargrove, believes in the power of prayer. After selecting details for each blanket, from the type of fabric to its colors, she takes time to direct all her positive energy—with her eyes closed—into the blanket for its future recipient.
“When she says she fills them with love, she really does. She’ll sit there for 10 minutes hugging that blanket. She’s in her zone,” Hargrove said. “That really shows the passion and the energy she has in helping these sick kids.”
To date, Hargrove has run more than 240 marathons. He hopes his story, and Magnussen’s, will help people believe that “with a lot of heart and determination, you can accomplish anything.”
When asked what it’s like to run 58 marathons in 49 days, Hargrove acknowledges it’s more mental than physical. Having headphones bumping music helps, he said, “but my pain is nothing compared to what these kids and their families go through everyday.”
Follow Hargrove as he makes his way to Ellen Show studios in Burbank, where he expects to be by Oct. 18, at www.hugginzhighway.com. Follow him on social media at twitter.com/chargrove15 and facebook.com/chargrove15.
Follow Curtis Hargrove as he makes his way to Ellen Show studios in Burbank, where he expects to be by Oct. 18, at www.hugginzhighway.com. Follow him on social media at twitter.com/chargrove15 and facebook.com/chargrove15.
