MT. VERNON – Scott Sehon, 26, may celebrate his Aug. 1 birthday on the run. He and his running buddy Dave Bronfenbrenner, 25, can’t complain. Almost every night on their cross-country run they have received the gift of lodging from strangers following their coast-to-coast trek via the Internet.

On July 9, the pair bunked up with local hosts Dick and Evelyn Stowers. Dick Stowers said their son contacted them after seeing the runners’ Web site, www.runtheusa.com. The Web site read: “7/9/2003 – Dave & Scott will arrive in Mount Vernon, OR. Mile #2922.4 – Know a place for them to stay?” The Stowers family had the answer.

Next stop would be Dayville, with the same impromptu lodging arrangements (Bronfenbrenner said he had heard about a church there that would provide a place to sleep).

Bronfenbrenner and Sehon set out from Sea Bright, N.J., on Feb. 24, with no reservations or support vehicle to assist them on their 3,200-mile trip across the United States. In a July 9 interview from the Stowers home, Bronfenbrenner said,”It’s definitely been a lot different than what we expected. It’s become less about the run, and more about the people we’ve met.”

The duo only spent 11 nights outdoors, he said, and generally the weather accommodated them.

“We’ve had our very cold days and our rainy days, but overall the weather has been a positive thing,” he said.

“The people we’ve stayed with have been so wonderful to us,” he said.

The pair of graduates from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn., stayed with athletes, parents of athletes and a variety of other kind-hearted hosts.

“Each stay is a little different,” Bronfenbrenner said.

“As far as Oregon goes, the last couple of days have had the most beautiful scenery we’ve seen,” he said.

No more interstates. The pair followed scenic and lightly traveled Highway 26 through Grant County.

The duo, with their packs and modified baby stroller to carry basic supplies, planned to arrive in Florence on Aug. 2. That would place them 10 days ahead of schedule, allowing them some free time along the route.

Both young men have competed in marathons, including a grueling run at the Grand Canyon, according to their Web site. At one point on this trek, both gained a few pounds. Amazingly, despite their 20-mile-a-day running regime, they did not lose weight, but held onto their normally slender builds.

Bronfenbrenner wrote on the Web site that his inspiration for the run was “the need to get away from real life.” Sehon agreed that the dream of escape appealed to him.

“Why not run across the country – why not go?” he wrote. “After asking myself that question once, I never stopped. At times it rang in my conscious like a gong. At other times, life got in the way and the idea fell silent, but it never went away entirely.”

After saving money and paying off college loans, the duo set up their Web site and hit the road. Now, in the waning days of the run, the best present that the pair can receive is a night’s lodging from a generous stranger.