'Worley Warrior' still running

COEUR d’ALENE — Few took notice of Frank Bybee as he ran along U.S. 95 on Saturday.

A few honks, a few waves, a few attaboys, was about all the attention he got.

Although he was covering 45 miles, starting at sunrise at the south end of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation and finishing in the dark by Fighting Creek, not many were interested.

“Nobody knew what I was up to,” he said. “Nobody really seemed to take me seriously.”

The man known as “The Worley Warrior” was disappointed that his effort over about 13 hours to raise awareness of drug and alcohol abuse passed by with little notice.

It didn’t help that his promotion was primarily via social media.

“There has been some tragedy and I wanted to encourage people to pray and stay sober,” he wrote to The Press. “It was pretty heartbreaking to me nobody seemed to care what I was doing.”

But the Coeur d’Alene Tribe member is not done running. Not even close.

“I’m glad I did it,”he said.

He wants to stretch his boundaries next month.

On Feb. 6, he’s planning to run 51 miles, across Kootenai County, starting on U.S. 95 near Worley and eventually reaching Highway 41 and finishing north of Spirit Lake at the Kootenai/Bonner County line.

He said some will be joining him and others are welcome to do the same.

“We’ll be cruising along,” he said confidently.

Bybee is used to overcoming challenges.

He is the author of “The Worley Warrior.” It’s the story of his life, overcoming substance and alcohol abuse, boxing, battling and completing Ironmans, full and half.

Aug. 26 marked two decades of sobriety and Bybee wanted to celebrate by running 3,500 miles from the Peace Arch State Park in Washington state to Key West, Fla.

He didn’t get far, however, forced to stop after four days, due to blisters brought on by the mistake of wearing new shoes.

When he ran Saturday, with his daughter as his support driver, he said his focus was on the local community. Despite some moments of doubt and hours of pain — “From the casino, I really started hurting” — he pushed on.

He said he believes drugs and alcohol are a problem for many and he wants to create avenues of assistance through publicity.

"People don't know, but I do," he said.

Bybee said he wants to use his experiences dealing with drugs, alcohol and gambling, toward the benefit of others.

He said a friend of his daughter’s, a frequent visitor to his home, recently died in a drunken driving accident.

He doesn’t know if his 45-mile run made any difference for those addictions. But he does know, he wants to try.

“It’s something I can do,” he said.