A 29-year-old Air Force veteran juggling his way across the entire country on foot passed through the Enon region on day 136 of his journey, a stretch covering more than 2,800 miles from a Santa Monica pier to the heart of Times Square. Neriah Guerin hit the area on October 14, having not taken a single day off since he started walking back on June 1.
Guerin’s march through Clark County was documented by the Springfield News-Sun, which reported he plans to reach Times Square by November 21. Guerin, who calls his campaign the Mettle Ball Run, launched the trip from the Santa Monica Pier on June 1, a name that plays on cross-country endurance races like Cannonball Run and Steel Ball Run while nodding to his own physical test, according to the International Jugglers’ Association. Just before entering Clark County and Enon, Guerin stopped for the night at the Hope Hotel & Richard C. Holbrooke Conference Center near Fairborn and Dayton, which provided his lodging and publicly highlighted his push to get people outside, according to the hotel.
Juggling as a Way of Life, Not a Stunt
The International Jugglers’ Association says Guerin learned to juggle in 2020, began juggling in earnest in 2023, and had 14 years of experience in prop manipulation-based arts, in which objects become extensions of the body. He learned flag and rifle spinning in high school color guard before serving in the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, where he became a five-time World Drill Champion in rifle exhibition and performed with the military drill team at Madison Square Garden and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the International Jugglers’ Association notes. He took up juggling in 2020, and told the Springfield News-Sun that every job he’s held has felt like a stepping stone toward the kind of art project he’s now attempting.
His previous performance work, he said, prepared him for the physical and mental demands of walking roughly 15 miles a day while juggling without rest. Guerin said nobody has completed this exact journey before and that he hopes to set a record for it, though he has framed the trek as a personal quest rather than an officially adjudicated attempt.
A Message About Screens Versus Sidewalks
Guerin hopes to inspire people to enjoy the outdoors more and wants to use his social media platforms, including his TikTok account under the username mettleballrun, to encourage people to go outside and play more often, per the same report. He said people need outdoor physical experiences in social settings in an increasingly digital age…