It's no Bix road race, but an escorted sprint up Brady Street hill drew cheers Wednesday morning. Students and staff at Palmer College cheered for a handful of local runners who decided to run with Reza.

Reza Baluchi is an elite runner from Iran who is on his second trip across the U.S. and, an attempt at setting a new world record. He says he's running to help children around the world, by raising money for UNICEF and setting an example.

"I try to say everybody have a goal," Baluchi said with a thick accent. "Strong mind just me, Reza can do, know everybody can do training and everybody can do anything you want."

Baluchi started his run in California about a month ago, and plans to end it in Washington D.C. in 46 days. He also plans to run in the Chicago Marathon--something he calls a rest, since he's averaging 81 miles per day. You can follow his journey through his website, runwithreza.org.