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Bobby Christiansen was on a mission.

He left his house at 4 a.m. Sunday and started running. He ran in a giant loop, passing through Bur-Mil Park and parts of the Lake Brandt trail, and finally came home 10 miles later.

Then he took a quick break and did the whole thing over. Nine more times.

After the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run in California was canceled due to wildfires, Christiansen refused to let the opportunity slip away. So he decided to run the distance himself from his house.

Christiansen had been collecting donations all spring for Take the Lead, a nonprofit that helps sick dog trainers and breeders. After the race in California was canceled, he still felt obligated to run the 100 miles he originally collected money for.

In the end, those who would benefit from the donations proved to be a motivating factor.

"Had I not had that going on, it would have been real easy to quit," said Christiansen, from Greensboro. "But that definitely helped push me to the edge. There are people I'll never see or know that have given money, and there are people I'll never see or know that will get this money."

Charlie Engle, a world-class distance runner who ran across the Sahara Desert last year, ran the first 70 miles Sunday with Christiansen. Engle said Christiansen's commitment to the charity impressed him.

"I think that it says a lot about his character that the first thing on his mind was how to take care of his obligation to the people who donated to this charity," Engle said. "He felt responsible to go out and make good on his commitment. He would have crawled the last 20 miles if he had to."

Engle was part of a group of 17 runners who helped Christiansen during his run. Besides running alongside him and urging him to finish, his running buddies also provided him with some people to talk to.

"Running is sort of like going and hanging out at the bar," Christiansen said. "You talk about anything. It's like group therapy."

Christiansen pointed out a number of influences that helped him achieve his goal, from fellow runners to the sponsors to his wife. But perhaps the most unexpected boost he received was from Sunday night's rainstorm.

"It was just funny," said Christiansen, who said the rain helped to cool him down during the final stretch. "What a way to end the thing."

The 100-mile journey took 19 hours and 45 minutes. Pretty impressive, especially considering Christiansen had never run more than 54 miles before Sunday.

"This hundred miles was a very long way," he said. "I didn't know if I could go that far. It's just sort of pushing the limits."

For someone who has been distance-running for the past nine years, this achievement is only the beginning for Christiansen. His immediate plans are to help Engle complete a 135-mile race at Death Valley National Park in two weeks. In Engle's opinion, Christiansen is well on his way.

"He knows he's just as good a runner, if not better than I am," Engle said. "It was just a matter of making up his mind that he wanted to do more. Now he's on his own path."

Contact Joel Brown at 373-7091 or joel.brown @news-record.com