New Jersey Man Walks 29,826 Miles Around the World With His Dog

Hi, I'm Rick Barron, your host, and welcome to That's Life, I Swear

On May 21, 2022, Tom Turcich, [Tom Tur-Ser-ch] from New Jersey, became the tenth person on record to walk around the world. So, he's the tenth person to achieve this accomplishment, so what? The 'so what' part is he wasn't alone. His companion, shall we say, was different. He took his four-legged companion, his dog, Savannah, with him.

Let's jump into this.

At the beginning of 2022, I began a regiment to get serious about getting myself back in shape. I started walking and jogging, along with weight lifting. I'm averaging anywhere from 2-3 miles a day. 

I had no lofty goals of setting world records, but I came across someone with that thought in mind.

Tom Turcich, Courtesy of: IMDb

His name is Tom Turcich. One day he decided to take walking to a whole new level. That level was to walk around the world. Talk about taking a stroll around the block.

Very few people attempt to walk around the entire world, and even fewer manage to complete the journey.

As I called out at the beginning of this podcast, Tom completed that walk around the block in May of 2022. While he was the tenth person to have achieved such a remarkable feat, he wasn't alone. He had a companion, a four-legged companion, his dog, Savannah. So, Savannah couldn't claim she was the tenth person to complete the trek around the world but could say she was the first dog ever to do so.

How many dogs do you know can lay claim to that?

As Tom planned his trip, he estimated maybe five years tops is what it would take to finish. The trip took seven years. How many miles did he travel? For my friends who use the metric system, it was 48,000-kilometers, and those who don't, it was 29,826 miles. 

What do 29,826 miles look like on paper? Think about walking from San Francisco to New York City ten times back and forth. Another way to see this is walking back and forth from Paris, France, to Shanghai, China, five and a half times. 

Tom's journey. Courtesy of: Tom Turcich

Are you huffing and buffing yet?

So, what seed of inspiration gave Tom the idea he wanted to take on this Forrest Gump goal? 

Very quickly, for those who never saw the movie Forrest Gump, please do; it's a great movie. There's a scene in the movie where Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks, decided he needed travel and adventure in his life and began looking into all the different ways he could.

Ok, back to the other Tom. What prompted Tom to walk around the world generated from losing a dear friend in 2006. Sadly, his long-time friend, Ann Marie, died in a jet ski accident at the very young age of 16. He was 17.

When Tom thought of Ann Marie, and the abrupt ending to her life at such a young age, it was a realization that one's life can be erased quickly. One doesn't know when their ticket will be punched.

He thought about how life is a gift and that with what time one has, he started a self-evaluation on where he was in life and what he wanted to accomplish. And then it came to him; he would walk around the world. He loved adventure, and what better way to achieve his dream.

Hiker, Steven Newman. Courtesy of: The Athens Messenger

Tom did his research on those who had accomplished the goal he wanted to achieve. He read about Steven Newman, who Guinness World Records lists as the first person to walk around the world, and Karl Bushby, a British ex-paratrooper, walking adventurer, and author, currently attempting to be the first person to walk an unbroken path around the world completely.

Hiker, Karl Bushby. Courtesy of: Outside Online

While doing his research Tom learn the requirements to set a walk around the world. Guinness World Records sets the rules for a circumnavigation on foot as traveling 18,000 miles (around 30,000 kilometers) and crossing four continents -- a goal surpassed by Turcich by doing 48,000 kilometers. But we'll get into that later.

Tom did anywhere from two, three, day hikes to prepare for his long journey. 

As for his experience taking very long hikes, he once did a 10-day hike along with occasional weekend hikes. In short, Tom was a rookie but soon to become an expert.

Tom started to raise funds to cover the cost of the trip. Making a trip around the world was going to cost some money.

While attending college, Tom worked during the summer to raise money. As part of cutting corners, he also moved back with his parents after graduation. All in all, Tom mustered up enough funds to cover about two years for the trip.

It didn't take long for word to get around town about Tom's pending goal. Much to his astonishment, the owner of a local company, Philadelphia Sign, learned about his plans and told Tom he would help sponsor his trip. Another annotates, the owner of the Philadelphia Sign, knew Anne Marie and her family.

Fundraising for Tom's trip. Courtesy of: AL.com

After much planning, raising funds, and figuring out his trip, it was about nine years before Tom was ready to go and introduce himself to the world. Over the time of preparation, he figured it would require approximately five to six years to complete this monumental journey.

When the day arrived on April 2, 2015, Tom, now 26 years of age, had a cup of coffee, grabbed his gear, and walked out the front door. He left New Jersey to begin his long adventure, not knowing what to expect. Would he finish, would the trip be a great adventure as he hoped or an utter nightmare? 

Who knew? Tom threw caution into the wind and was on his way.

His gear consisted of hiking equipment, a sleeping bag, a laptop, a DSLR camera, and a plastic crate, which he used to store his food in a three-wheel baby stroller. 

As Tom was walking, he remembered he had two goals in mind for the trip. So, he drew out his route to visit every continent and avoid all bureaucratic trouble.

All said, the trip would take a little over seven years, but to be fair, Tom experienced two unforeseen delays. The first was when he caught a bacterial infection requiring several months of rehab, and then the big one, the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the first stage of Tom's walk, he covered going from New Jersey to Panama.

While walking around the world, Tom spent many a night, about four months, camping and sleeping on his own. He thought about missing his friends and experiencing loneliness, thinking of the many miles still yet to go. Tom thought having a dog would help him sleep better and be an alarm system if anything was amiss.

While in Austin, Texas, Tom adopted Savannah at a dog rescue center. 

Savannah as a pup. Courtesy of: Tom Turcich

What started as a necessity soon turned to respect and a deep love for Savannah. 

Darien Gap. Courtesy of: Council on Foreign Affairs

Soon after Tom and Savannah reached Panama, they boarded a plane that took them over Darien Gap, a tough stretch of jungle that spans Panama and Columbia. Fortunately, Tom and the dog took the intelligent move and flew over that area rather than walk it, as the area is not kind.

The second year of Tom and Savannah's journey covered a lot of ground. He crossed from Bogota, Colombia, to Montevideo and Uruguay during that time. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Tom and Savannah jumped on a boat and headed to Antarctica. 

After a stroll around the South Pole, Tom needed to return home to get the required paperwork for his next stop, Europe. 

Once Tom and Savannah were in Europe, they started hiking over Ireland and Scotland. 

As is with life, all plans are subject to alteration. While in Scotland, Tom took ill. It was at this point in the journey he felt entirely spent. He returned to the United States to rest his body and Savannah.

During this time, Tom wondered if he could complete this journey. Finally, he admitted that he came very close to throwing in the towel. There were moments when he asked what was he thinking he could walk around the world. The more he thought, the more he got disappointed and upset. No, I will not quit. I will finish what I started. Besides, Tom had been planning this trip for almost eight years. No sir, we're moving ahead!

There was no quit in Savannah. Courtesy of: News.com.au

After a good rest and being mentally ready, he and Savannah were back at it and resumed their walk starting in Copenhagen in May of 2018. 

During his trip, Tom made sure to document his long journey on Instagram and his blog The World Walk, so check it out on my website, which you can find on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts. Both of Tom's social media sites have great information about his trip and plenty of Savannah photos.

After Copenhagen, it was on to Germany. While Tom was regaining his confidence to complete his walk around the world, the catalyst that got him going was the walk through what is known as the Camino de Santiago. The route covers areas that took Tom and Savannah through Spain, France, and Portugal. 

That part of the walk rejuvenated Tom. From Europe, he and Savannah, headed over to North Africa, where they crossed through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

They moved through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Turkey.

About halfway through his journey, they traveled to Georgia, a country between Russia and Turkey, in the Caucasus Mountains, and onto Azerbaijan, Talk about being located in the wrong place at the wrong time for Tom and Savannah. No sooner did they arrive in Azerbaijan than the COVID pandemic hit. Tom was forced to remain in the country for the next six months. He had no vote in this decision. 

Caucasus Mountain range. Courtesy of: Freeworldmaps.net

Unfortunately, the strict COVID travel restrictions meant Tom had to abandon plans to visit Australia and Mongolia. 

Which must've felt like forever, Tom was finally able to leave the country and complete walking across Kyrgyzstan, a small country in Central Asia that borders China. From there, he and Savannah flew to Seattle in August 2021 and began making their way home to New Jersey.

Home. Tom couldn't stop saying that word to himself over and over.

Once Tom was back in the United States, he kicked it into high gear. Of all the places he passed through during the voyage, Tom found that Wyoming, the least populated US state, was the most difficult.

"There's nothing out there," he says, recalling how he and Savannah covered an entire weekend walking without seeing so much as a store or even a person. But, eventually, they did come across a gas station.

During the entire trip, Tom was impressed with Savannah's energy. There was no quit in her.

There were moments when his tired body would collapse after they tracked a lot of miles. As for Savannah, she'd come over with a stick and would want to play.

Knowing Tom was almost done with his long journey, he pushed hard to walk as many miles as possible during the day. On average, he and Savannah walked between 18 to 24 miles (around 29 to 38 kilometers) a day.

Seven years was long, and he couldn't wait to be back. Tom wanted to hang out with his friends and family again, and not pack up his tent every morning.

So, what's the takeaway here? What can we learn about Tom and his dog Savannah?

When all was said and done, Tom and Savannah walked across six continents and 38 countries together, spending most nights camping. Take out a map and look at the various places I called out that Tom and Savannah visited. Not too many people, even a dog, can lay claim to that accomplishment.

Tom and Savannah, crossing the line. Courtesy of: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tom and Savannah arrived home in Haddon Township, New Jersey, where they received a huge homecoming celebration attended by many of Tom's friends, family, and Anne Marie's parents. 

I'm sure Anne Marie was looking down on Tom and Savannah with a warm smile.

Tom demonstrated what one could do once one set your mind to it. So many of us think of wanting to do things that test us and think way outside the box, but are afraid to take that first step.

For Tom, he took that first step and more. The trip's catalyst was his friend's passing, which shook him up. He saw that life is very precious and that every day is a gift.

He tested his resolve that the only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible. Unfortunately, you only get one ticket to ride the horse on the carousel we call life. 

Tom and Savannah. Courtesy of: The Guardian

For now, Tom is now focused on writing a memoir about his voyage, while Savannah is adjusting to being in one place all the time and taking long naps. Guess you can say she earned it.

Well, there you go. That's life, I swear.

For further information regarding the material covered in this episode, I invite you to visit my website, that you can find on either Apple Podcasts/iTunes or Google Podcasts, for show notes calling out key pieces of content mentioned and the episode transcript.

As always, I thank you for listening. 

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