Photos courtesy of Rob Greer
FARIBAULT, Minn. – Once per year, Rove Pest Control COO Rob Greer escapes from the daily grind by removing everything but what he can pack on his back to “find surprises — the land, the elements, the people and all the small towns along the way have for me.,” he said. “It’s always a challenge. There are always amazing connections. It is a great way to reset perspective and remind myself that I can do hard things.”
This year the challenge was a 300-mile run across Minnesota, a journey that began in Devil’s Gulch, S.D., and finished on Saturday, in Freedom Island, Wis.
Greer has been chronicling his journey online at www.rovepestcontrol.com/run. For Greer, this undertaking has been as much (or more) about meeting people as it is overcoming physical challenges.
“I make a point to stop at every small town along the way whether it’s to try out the local ice cream shack or have a conversation with somebody in their yard,” he said.
Greer said he has learned a lot about others — and himself — through these undertakings. “There are great people everywhere I go who have interesting stories and are super eager to help someone striving,” he said. “If I lost everything tomorrow, I’d be OK. I would still have the connections to people that I love and people whom I haven’t met yet but will be there along the path. Sometimes things go wrong. It is up to me to solve the problem presented.”