Toenails Lost, Spirit Intact: New Milford Man Readies for Alaska Run

Back in January, we introduced you to Devon McLaughlin, a New Milford native with a serious thirst for adventure and pain. Devon told us he plans to run 860 miles from the top of Alaska to the bottom—because apparently, Connecticut is too safe and comfortable.

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Well, Devon’s still at it, and he recently dropped me a line with some updates. He just finished a 62-mile race (because why not warm up with something slightly insane?) and walked away with a 12th place finish—and a few, fewer toenails. That is not just a cute thing I'm saying, dude lost nails off his personal market piggies.

Let them toes know!

Devon actually ran the race against some pretty tough competition. He told me that Jen Hoffman—the Harvard quantum physics professor who holds the women’s record for running across the U.S.—came in 5th. “I got a D in algebra and finished 12th,” Devon joked. “Same. Same.”

What's next? If all goes to plan, Devon will line up on Sunday, August 3rd, in Prudhoe Bay—also known as Deadhorse, Alaska—the northernmost point in North America reachable by car (normal sentence). From there, he’ll head south on foot, aiming to hit Anchorage 18 days later. That’s nearly 50 miles a day, with a couple of buffer days “in case s--- hits the fan,” he says.

He’ll be running along the Dalton Highway (Ice Road Truckers fame), a mostly gravel stretch with no exits and almost no cell service. From there, he’ll pass Fairbanks, follow the Parks Highway past Denali, and wind his way down to Anchorage.

Devon’s built his own mobile home for the trip—an over-cab camper he and some friends put together this winter in the shop at Tucker & Sons in Brookfield, where he works. He’s strapping it to his Silverado and driving it up from Connecticut himself.

He’s still working on fundraising for the MS Society, a cause close to his heart, and trying to lock in some local sponsors. “If you know any business owners or anyone who might want to get involved, that’d be awesome,” he told me.

You can follow Devon’s journey at @devontmclaughlin or dormantrunning.com. To support the mission or throw a few bucks toward his GoFundMe, head to gofundme.com/alaskarun.

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Way to go Dev, we're rooting for you!