Kansas City, Kan. ? A Kansas City, Kan., man who lost a leg in Iraq is walking and running 513 miles in 26 days to raise awareness of issues facing veterans.

Crowds have begun joining Daniel Gilyeat on his daily travels through the Kansas City area.

Gilyeat is also seeking the Republican nomination in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District.

Alex Poulter is involved in a charity Gilyeat is starting called Operation Payback.

Poulter says Gilyeat began his 513-mile quest on July 3, exactly five years after losing his left leg above the knee in a roadside explosion in Iraq.

Twenty-six days later he walked for the first time. That’s why completing the journey in 26 days is so important.

Gilyeat picked 513 miles because his favorite Bible verse is John 15:13. It says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”