MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A superhero traveling all around the country has made his way to the Grand Strand, as he raises money for children’s hospitals.

Jamie McDonald, also known as “Adventureman,” is running through the Myrtle Beach area this week, as part of his 6,000-mile journey. McDonald says he had run the equivalent of about 173 marathons when he reached Surfside Beach on Tuesday.

McDonald was five years old when he developed a rare spinal condition called syringomyelia.

“I woke up in the middle of the night,” said McDonald, who’s the founder of the Superhero Foundation. “I looked down and I couldn’t move my legs.”

McDonald recovered about four years later and, as an adult, turned to endurance sports.

“I ended up getting in touch with the hospital that helped me as a kid and then peddled 14,000 miles around the world to give back to the hospital that helped me,” he said.

That bike ride from Thailand to the United Kingdom wasn’t it. McDonald ran across Canada, dressed up as The Flash for parts of it.

“It turns out The Flash is not that cool, so we created a new superhero,” McDonald said.

Now, he’s running around the U.S. as a new hero called Adventureman, which was picked from a social media contest.

“This little boy called Conner drew this exact picture of this costume,” said McDonald. “I’ve only got one Adventureman costume. My own superhero identity, pretty awesome.”

McDonald says he’s not a fast runner, but the roughly 15 injuries he’s picked up along the way are worth the pain.

“Running makes the biggest difference,” he said. “I think it’s relatable. People understand that running a marathon a day is just not easy.”

Adventureman says the toughest part of his journey has been running through Arizona during the hottest part of the year.

“It was hitting 120 (degrees) in the day, so I was running at night for about three months, so I had barely seen sunlight,” he said.

McDonald says he remembers when a woman driving through the desert stopped him while he was running at around 1 a.m.

“She said, ‘Just to let you know, we just spotted a mountain lion on the side of the road,'” said McDonald. “I said, ‘Right. What does that mean exactly?’ She said, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘I don’t know either.’ I managed to keep running.

“I dodged rattlesnakes. They even have tarantulas in the desert. Tarantulas! I’m petrified of spiders, so forget the mountain lion.”

McDonald is very active on social media, especially Twitter. He posts many videos to chronicle his journey across the country. McDonald also talks to his girlfriend, family and even fans while running.

McDonald also pushes a stroller with supplies the whole way. In it, he has a tent, which he sets up at night if he can’t find a hotel or family.

McDonald also said a bike shop in Surfside Beach helped him fix his stroller’s front wheel Wednesday.

“If you’ve watched ‘Castaway,’ where Tom Hanks has his Wilson, this is my Wilson, although his name is Caesar,” McDonald said, pointing to his stroller.

McDonald is raising money for children’s hospitals. The donations go to the hospitals in the areas he passes.

He stops at one in each state like MUSC Hospital in Charleston.

“Of course, when I come in wearing a cape, they kind of like it,” said McDonald.

Adventureman says his mission is to help kids fighting the same battles he did way before putting on the cape.

“There’s only 37 marathons to go and I just want this journey to make a difference,” McDonald said.

Adventureman started his cross-country journey in Cape Alava, Washington, in April. It’s the westernmost point in the contiguous U.S.

He expects to finish the run this spring in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The city north of Boston was named after McDonald’s hometown in the U.K. 

McDonald says he’s raised about $150,000 during his run so far. He has an ultimate goal of $1 million.

Click here to donate to the Superhero Foundation.