CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One North Carolina man set out on the biggest journey of his life, running 750 miles for autism awareness from April to May. Spectrum News 1 interviewed him when he was training, and we caught up with him again to ask how his body is doing after the run.

Richard Sexton ran for 30 days straight, averaging about one marathon a day

He started at the end of April and finished May 26

He raised about $45,000 for the Autism Champion Network

Crowds filled the streets in Surfside Beach, S.C. to welcome Richard Sexton as he finished the last leg of his 750-mile run across the Carolinas. It’s a race he has been training for the last eight months.

“Honestly it was really hard,” Sexton said. “It was harder than I thought.”

After an ultra run like that it hurts to move every muscle. He says his core, legs and shoulders still feel the pain. His shoulders are sore because he carried a 25-pound weight on his back to symbolize the extra weight families with autism bare.

“I have these weird dreams, like I am still running, and I wake up and I’m like, 'no it is done and over with,'” Sexton said.

His feet aren’t in good shape either. He barely has any toenails left.

“I bandaged them up every morning, and it was horrible to look at,” Sexton said.

Richard Sexton resting his legs after a day of running.

During the race there were some scary moments. On the third to last day, he semi-passed out on the side of the road. So it begs the question, why put your body through so much pain and hardship?

Sexton found his answer as he looked through pictures on his phone. He showed us one boy who he met in Bessemer City who was autistic.

 “Families would get moved to tears by what we were doing,” Sexton said. “An autistic person can’t put the ball down. I had that choice, and I chose not to. That is why it was so important, symbolically.”

Sexton said this isn’t the end of his journey for autism. He is planning a relay race for others to join him on his next mission.

 “I think that will be really impactful, especially with teams competing against each other,” Sexton said.

Sexton raised more than $45,000 for Champion Autism Network. The organization educates businesses on how to interact with customers and families who have autism. The nonprofit's founder says their funding was down last year due to COVID-19.

“I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening,” Champion Autism Network Founder Becky Large said. “It was really special and overwhelming.”