Two running influencers have launched a campaign to relay an American flag from the Pacific Ocean to the National Mall in celebration of the U.S. semiquincentennial.

Tuesday night, one of those influencers, Joe Nail, a member of the Army National Guard and a Stanford graduate student, told the Daily Caller from a local pizza shop in Tonopah, Nevada, why they had been inspired to organize the relay.

“There are so many things in our country where people want to divide us, but America is still an exceptional place, and we still believe that Americans can do amazing things when they’re willing to work together,” Nail said. “We said, ‘You know what, we’re going to go full send’ … to show, again, that America can come together to do big things.”

Nail pitched the idea to his partner, Wyatt Moss, after the two met while running marathons in all 50 states, who decided they should try to get Americans around the country involved, instead of having the flag passed through a small team. (RELATED: American Nathan Martin Wins By Just 00.01 Seconds In What Has To Be Most Dramatic LA Marathon Ever)

And thus the Relay For America campaign began Sunday, on Flag Day, and what started as a team of two has grown to 17 full-time crew members working out the logistics, along with a whole team of runners coming out to meet them for their turn carrying the flag closer to the nation’s capital.

Beyond the hospitality — and help Americans on the ground are supplying them — Nail told the Caller that he and his team have been investing their own capital into the project, including the creation of a live tracker to share their progress and the purchase of Starlink so they can maintain a connection in the country’s most remote areas.

“To the extent that you know people at Starlink … I feel like Elon and Co. — I feel like he would love it,” Nail half-jokingly told the Caller, adding that a donation page was being prepared for the site.

Nail said the generosity Americans have shown the team along the route has reinforced the project’s underlying message.

Nail said the run is intended to be a nonpartisan celebration of America, but told the Caller that he and Moss’ Christian faith has played a large role in their lives and has allowed him to see a living demonstration of Christ’s teaching to love their neighbors through the kindness of Americans offering them showers, donating gas money and buying them pizza.

That spirit of participation, Nail said, is not limited to those carrying the flag.

“Not everyone is going to want to run through the desert in 95-degree weather to carry an American flag,” Nail said, describing their day running through Nevada, “but everyone can walk or run a mile in honor of somebody who’s served our country.”

(Photo credit Matt Pedicano)

They have also been working with local communities, including being honored on the field during a San Francisco Giants game and being featured at a Golden State Warriors game. They have also been coordinating with the Great American State Fair and the White House’s Freedom 250 initiative to organize a ceremonial finish line inside the security perimeter of the National Mall around 11:30 a.m. on July 4. (RELATED: Famous Actor Revives ‘Breaking Bad’ Role To Celebrate America 250)

Their only problem: They are too far ahead of schedule.

With more than 16 percent of the route completed, they are more than 60 hours ahead of schedule, averaging 9.12 miles per hour.

Nail said this has to do with the quality of the runners who have joined so far, but said that it has created room for many patriotic non-runners to join the more than 1,200 people who have already signed up.

“There tends to be this sort of narrative about America that we’re in decline or that there are all these big problems. And are there problems? For sure. Every country has problems. But it’s still an exceptional place, and I think we’re trying to showcase the best of America — to inspire people and bring people together. … The entire experience we’ve had of people stepping up and volunteering is one of people living out the love of neighbor.”

An example of this came from another member of the crew, Michael Christenson, who told the Caller that due to the lack of local volunteers leaving Yosemite, he and a small crew were slated to run the 10:00 am to 6:00 pm shift on Tuesday during an upper-90-degree day.

However, the team was met by Chris Collins, who had driven out after having tracked them down and had contributed a total of 15 miles in the heat before offering the crew the pizza they had been enjoying during their interview. (RELATED: Interviewer Asks Two Democratic Candidates Who They’re Rooting For In World Cup. Neither Say America)

Although Nail’s goal is to get the flag to Washington on time and ensure the safety of everybody involved, he hopes that as Americans follow the run over the next few weeks, they may be inspired to come up with their own ideas for celebrating an important milestone for the country.