I highlighted several of this year's journey runners in the
July 10 entry. The one with
whom I could identify most closely was 26-year-old Jen Pharr
Davis, who was seeking to set a new women's speed hike record on
the Appalachian Trail. She not only set a new record and
exceeded her own expectations, she also
did it with humility, quiet determination, and virtually no
self-promotion.
I admire a gal like that!
In this entry I'll update a few of the long trail and
transcontinental journey runs, hikes, and walks that I mentioned
two months ago. One of the athletes has successfully completed
her goal, one has finished the first of two separate phases, and
several are still out there "nibbling at the elephant."
I'll also tell you about one more AT runner that I didn't know about
until this week -- he's starting in Maine in a few days.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL THRU-RUNS & HIKES
1. JENNIFER (JEN) PHARR DAVIS
On August 16 Jen successfully completed the 2,175-mile trail
after speed hiking (and probably doing some running) for 57
days, 8 hours, and 35 minutes, for an average of almost
38 miles a day. The previous female record was 87
days. Her own pre-hike estimate was 60-80 days, but half way
through she saw she could do it faster -- and by gosh, she did!
Jen's new husband, Brew, crewed for her so all she had to carry
was a day pack with the food, fluid, and gear she'd need each
day. At the end of each day Brew carried in whatever gear was
needed to spend the night on the trail unless they were staying
in a motel or someone's home. She was accompanied on the trail
several days in New Jersey, North Carolina, and Georgia by David
Horton (not sure if anyone else hiked/ran with her or not) and
also received some support from her father and from Warren Doyle, who has hiked the
AT more times than anyone else.
Even though Jen was sponsored by Diamond Brand Outdoors (shoes,
socks, energy bars, etc.) and had a trail
blog on the Blue Ridge Outdoors
web site, she pretty much flew under the radar the whole hike. I
enjoyed the blog entries she and Brew wrote every few days but
wished I had information about trailheads and distances so I
could "follow" her on my maps and meet her when she was in the
Roanoke area. Our home was far enough out of the way that she
and Brew were unable to take us up on our offer of "room and
board," but they thanked us for the offer. I know from my own AT
run/hike how difficult it was to determine where I would be and
when, let alone make contacts with folks along the way, so I
completely understand.
Jen in the rugged Presidential Range of the White
Mountains in July; photo from web site blog above.
I haven't seen the Trail data since she finished, either, but
Warren has mentioned it frequently on the Backcountry.com
web site during Karl Meltzer's AT speed attempt as he compares
Karl's progress with Jen's (more about that below). I hope Jen will include
that information when she publishes articles about her hike
and/or writes her book (her intention, according to the
newspaper
article cited in the opening quote).
Jen did a great job of honoring the life of Meredith Murphy and
other people who have been murdered while hiking the AT. She
displayed an enormous amount of courage and determination in
covering major mileage every day on the Trail, mostly alone, for almost two
months. Her longest day and biggest mileage was with David Horton on her
next-to-last day on the Trail, a whopping 64.8 miles!!
That's more than a 100K on her 57th day, folks. (She finished on
the 58th day, as you can see by the total time above.)
AT thru-hikers and runners need lots of
calories!!
From Jen's blog on
web site above.
David Horton commented in a post to one of the internet ultra lists
that he thinks Jen's achievement is the greatest ultra
performance that he has seen by a woman. He's been around for a
long while and has seen many notable achievements, so that's
very high praise. Only four men have
ever done the AT faster
than Jen: David Horton, Scott Grierson (who was two days slower than
Horton in 1991), Pete Palmer, and Andrew Thompson.
Even Karl Meltzer may not be able to beat her time.
We'll know in a few days.
Jen has definitely raised the bar for any other women who want
to challenge the AT record! Congratulations, Jen, on your
awesome accomplishment.
2. KARL MELTZER
Karl began his
quest to beat Andrew Thompson's AT record on
August 5, hoping to finish a southbound run/hike in 47 days.
That's not going to happen. Karl pretty much knew it after all
the trouble he had with weather (lots of rain) in Maine and New
Hampshire. He developed trench foot and strained one or more
tendons in his leg(s) when he compensated for his sore feet
while continuing to put in lots of miles in northern New
England, the most challenging part of the AT. He
wasn't able to average as many miles as he wanted the first two
weeks and lost more time on Andrew's record when he wisely took
several days off (or with low mileage) to heal his injuries. Although frustrated,
he and his sponsor, Backcountry.com, made the decision to
continue on.
As of today (September 18, Day 45), Karl has covered 1700 miles and
has only 475 more to go. He hopes to be done in ten or twelve
more days. Today he's running through the very scenic
Grayson Highlands / Mt. Rogers area in southern Virginia and
should cross into Tennessee tomorrow. He has a beautiful sunny
day today. I hope he gets to "play with the ponies," one of the
highlights of an AT trek.
[Note: I took the seven photos in this segment about Karl on
September 13. There are many, many more pictures along the AT
taken by other people on the Where's Karl? web site.]
It took over a minute for Karl to get
across busy Hwy. 220 in Daleville on a weekend morning.
Some AT road crossings aren't any fun,
but at least you can see the cars coming at you here.
Some folks who have been commenting on the
Where's Karl? web site feel the need to denigrate and
taunt Karl because he's behind schedule. Most (like me) are
supportive and believe that what Karl's doing is even more
impressive than quitting when he saw he wasn't going to meet his
time goal. He could have cut his losses and tried again next year, like
many top runners do in races that aren't going so well. But he
chose to finish what he started, regardless of the time it
takes. He knows it took Andrew Thompson two or three attempts to
finish in record time. Such a feat doesn't always happen on the
first try.
Karl and crew are using this as a valuable learning experience
for his next attempt to break the record. This is his
first time on all or most of the AT. It's very different from the trails he's
used to running out West. If he has some or all of the same crew
members next year, they'll also be much more familiar with both
Karl and the roads/trailheads. Yes, he could run into nasty
weather again next time that might sabotage his effort, or
develop other injuries, but I'm
sure he's learned a lot about proper foot care in a multi-week
event
and a whole heap of other good information that will serve him
well next time.
On the other hand, I can't blame him if he decides once is
enough on the Appalachian Trail because it's so hard to RUN much
of it! You can read a lot more about Karl on his own web site at
this
link
and read his thoughts about the AT trek before he
began.
It's been fun for me to follow Karl's progress on the Where's
Karl? web site because there are usually several updates each
day and a mileage, elevation, and time tally at the end of each day. Even
though the Spot GPS often doesn't work because of the heavy leaf
canopy, I can still see where he is on the Google map often
enough to have a good feel for his location. That's what I
missed the most during Jennifer Pharr Davis' trek -- factual
information about location and distances.
Sometimes Karl's crew has trouble with internet access in the
mountains and isolated back roads. They are also very busy all day
long. Four or five Backcountry.com employees have rotated one-
or two-week shifts crewing for Karl. When they overlap for a day
or two, or if Karl's dad or wife or someone else like ultra
runner John DeWalt is there to crew, they can sometimes run with
him. All were chosen by the company in part because of their
trail running ability. They all seem to be good cooks, too!
Backcountry.com crew members Sarah McConkle
and Greg Goodson working on the
web
site
in the RV at the Daleville, VA trailhead
while waiting for Karl to come in for lunch.
The crew members also help Karl determine how far to run each
day, drive and
maintain the RV, purchase food and supplies, prepare the meals,
do laundry, crew as often as the route allows and Karl needs
them, help keep Karl going in any way they can (patching feet,
caring for his dog Binger, keeping him supplied with ice cream,
humoring him, etc.), find doctors and medical supplies as
needed, try to keep the whole world updated several times a day,
and on and on and on.
Considering all the various tasks, it's a wonder anyone has
covered the Trail in three months or less with fewer crew
members. Just ask Jonathan Basham, Brew Davis, or Diana Shivers
how difficult it is to crew solo. With all the time it took me
to finish the AT (148 days), I think Jim was more fatigued at
the end than I was!
Sometimes Karl runs/hikes alone, sometimes he has company. Billy
Simpson, an ultra runner Karl knows from Hardrock and other
ultras, has been accompanying him on the trail for part of the
way. Billy hiked the Trail last year so his familiarity has been
helpful. David Horton also came out to run with him for several
days when he was in central Virginia, and other runners farther
north accompanied him briefly. I'm sorry I'm not fast enough to
keep up with him, or I would have asked to run a segment when he
was near Roanoke recently.
Karl (yellow shirt) shows his appreciation to Greg Goodson
before they part.
Karl was heading on down the Trail and Greg
was flying back home
after his crewing stint. That's Billy
Simpson in the foreground.
I like most everything about the Where's Karl? web site except
the snarky comments some people are making. A few letters are
even taunting in nature. Maybe that spurs Karl on. His crew told
me Karl takes time out a couple evenings a week to read the
comments and usually just laughs off the negative ones. He
really enjoys the positive comments and all the folks who've
stopped by the RV at trail heads to encourage him with words and
signs and
goodies to eat.
The main complaints people mention in the web site comments are
about the "spotty" Spot coverage, inadequate updates (give me a
break!!!), the level of commercialism, and the home page banner,
which is "over the top" in more ways than one.
Warren Doyle has been particularly vociferous about the banner,
especially the part that states when "uber ultra-runner Karl" breaks the
record he'll "rule the AT as the guy who conquered it."
That doesn't sit well with a lot of AT hikers. I'm guessing it's
kind of embarrassing for a guy like Karl, too. Jim and I don't
know him well, but we've talked to him at races and he's one of
the nicest guys you could meet. Warren also harps on the fact that the banner
hasn't changed since it's obvious Karl won't be setting a record
this year, pointing out every couple of days how far ahead
Andrew and Jennifer were at that point. Warren's a Konstant
Kritic and I've lost respect for him because of his
mean-spiritedness. Of course, the anti-Warren contingent is
equally vocal, leading to lots of trash talk from both sides.
Sounds just like the current political rhetoric and denigrating
between the two major parties less than two months before the
presidential election!
Two southbound thru-hikers ("Ducky" in red
shirt and her companion in yellow shirt)
stop to talk with Billy (white shirt) and Sarah
at the Daleville trail head.
I've got ambivalent feelings about the hype and the number of
paid people supporting this effort. It's remarkable that David,
Scott, Pete, Andrew, and Jennifer were able to set faster
records with considerably less sponsorship and assistance along
the way. None of them had the comforts of an RV every night, and
most didn't have access to daily e-mail messages of
encouragement. (No, I don't feel bad that I had the advantages
of a camper and daily e-mail messages of encouragement on my AT
trek -- I was 'way too slow to set any records, and considerably
older than any of these folks when they set their records!)
I can vouch for how expensive a journey run can be, even when
done in less than half the time it took me. I can also
understand the lure to Karl of being sponsored so he didn't have
to bear the brunt of the cost. He's between a rock and a hard
place (kinda like every day on the Trail!).
I'm not wild about the statements in the Backcountry.com banner, but I
would never make nasty comments either to Karl or the Backcountry.com
staff about it. I understand the ads and the
hype. Backcountry.com is spending a lot of money on this venture
and they'd probably like to see some increased business from it. I am impressed with
the company; they could have easily pulled their sponsorship
when they knew Karl wasn't going to beat the record. Instead,
they encouraged him to continue on to Georgia and from what the
crew told me, they are willing to sponsor him again next year.
(Of course, a lot can happen in a year.)
I had the opportunity to see Karl and his crew a few days ago
when they were in the Roanoke area. I knew where he
was starting that morning and the mileage he'd be running
before I saw him at the Hwy. 220 / Daleville trail head, but I didn't know
what time he'd be starting or how fast he'd be going.
Consequently, I arrived almost three hours before he did. I
didn't want to miss him!
Greg Goodson (L) and Billy Simpson outside
the crewing RV
One good thing about the, um, colorful blue Where's Karl? RV
is that it is easy to spot! Billy drove it by the parking area a
couple times as the crew was running errands in the area before
they pulled in next to me. I got to spend about an hour talking
with Billy and the two Backcountry.com crew members before Karl
arrived at lunchtime. Sarah McConkle was in her first full day
of crewing. After lunch, she'd be taking Greg Goodson to the airport to fly
back West. There's a photo of them farther up this
page.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Karl's sweet, arthritic 13-year-old dog,
Binger:

Karl looked tired as he sat inside the camper eating lunch
for a few minutes; it was a very humid, hot day
in the low 90s and he'd already run 22 miles from Bearwallow Gap
before I saw him. Hopefully there were more breezes up on the
ridges of Tinker and Catawba Mountains during the 20-mile roadless section Billy ran
with Karl after lunch. That's a very
scenic section of Trail (the views of Carvin's Cove and Catawba
Valley are beautiful from Tinker Cliffs and McAfee Knob) and I
was glad Karl was there on a clear day so he could see the views.
Karl was hot and tired but ate a hearty
lunch, with Binger at his feet.
I came bearing Klondike ice cream bars for Karl and the crew. He
ate one at lunch with a sandwich and some pizza. Sarah had
already joked that the crew no longer tries to count the
calories Karl consumes every day -- they now count the hours he
spends eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner! He had the
opportunity for both mucho calories and time that evening, when
he and the crew dined at the Home Place all-you-can-eat
restaurant in Catawba, a thru-hiker tradition.
I tried to stay out of the way so Karl's crew could attend to
his needs the 10-12 minutes he was there, but I did talk to him
some. I also talked to Sarah about crewing the next day, when
Karl would be going over Dragon's Tooth. One of the little dirt roads
Greg had chosen as a crewing point wouldn't have accommodated
the RV (the last time I was there I either had to ford a rough
stream or cross a very narrow and rickety wooden bridge marked
"Private"). I was able to show Sarah other trailheads along the
next day's route that should have been suitable for RV crewing.
Karl (gold shirt) hits the trail from
Daleville to Catawba as Billy says goodbye to Greg.
That was Greg's last day on the crew.
I applaud Karl's effort to finish what he started. David Horton
articulated the point well in a comment on the Where's Karl? web site
on September 11: "I think he [Karl] will finish even though
he knows he is not going to get the record. It is a very
difficult thing to continue when you can't achieve the goal you
so much desired. It is a testament to his strength that he is
going on and a testament to the toughness of the AT that he is
unable to complete it as fast as he desired."
Well said, David, and well run, Karl. I hope I have the
opportunity to play Trail Angel on the AT again for Karl in the
future, whether he is heavily sponsored or not.
ADDENDUM 9-30-08 ON KARL'S FINISH:
(information from the September 29 post by Marit Fisher on the
Where's Karl website)
Official Start: Tuesday, August 5, 2008, 7:08 a.m.
Official Finish: Monday, September 29, 2008, 4:20 a.m.
Though the way it's been recorded on this site is deceiving, that's a
total of 54 days 21 hours and 12 minutes. Unofficially, Karl's is the fourth fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian
Trail.
In order, the fastest finishers:
Andrew Thompson: 47 days 13 hours 31 minutes (2005)
Pete Palmer: 48 days 20 hours 11 minutes (1999)
David Horton: 52 days 9 hours 41 minutes (1991)
Karl Meltzer: 54 days 21 hours 12 minutes (2008)
Scott Grierson: 55 days 20 hours 34 minutes (1991)
Jennifer Pharr Davis: 57 days 8 hours 35 minutes
(2008)
AN ASIDE: KUDOS TO DAVID HORTON
Most ultra runners I know are honorable, admirable people. So far, there
isn't much money to be won or earned in the sport so they don't
have to be as cut-throat with the competition as in many other
sports. Many ultra runners will literally give you the
shirt off their backs during a race if you're in trouble. Often
the ones who cross the line first will stay or come back to watch the
last ones cross the line. Most of the fastest runners aren't
braggarts. They respect the efforts of their fellow competitors.
They offer advice if asked and give encouragement to their
peers.
They have class.
If you've read my
tribute to my running "heroes"
you already know how much I respect and admire David Horton.
Here's another example of how classy this guy really is (despite
his jokes and teasing).
David Horton (black shirt) cuts up with
John DeWalt after the 2007 Mountain Masochist 50-miler
before giving him a typical Horton bear
hug. (At age 72, John is the oldest finisher at Hardrock
and probably MMTR, too. John also helped
crew for Karl Meltzer on the AT this summer.)
In that
entry, I explained how David gave up (or delayed) his dream
this summer of trying to set a speed record on the very difficult
Continental Divide Trail. He simply wasn't prepared for the
harsh desert conditions in New Mexico and stopped after his
first horrible day because of the tremendous physical toll it
took on him. The ultra world was pretty surprised. I don't know if he'll
attempt that feat again, but he moved past the deep disappointment and
has found satisfaction in helping other runners achieve their
big goals this summer. (Great example of
adaptation, too.)
David has always been very supportive of ultra runners, from
newbies who choose to do one of his races as their first
ultra-distance runs, to speed demons who can set new long-trail
records. Even though his own AT record, set in 1991, has been
broken twice, he has been very supportive of the men who came
after him to lower that record or TRY to lower it, including
Andrew Thompson, below, who holds the current record:
David (center) congratulates Andrew
Thompson (L) and Jonathon Basham (R)
after they finished the 25th edition of
Horton's Mountain Masochist 50-miler last November.
David also happily ran along with Jennifer Pharr Davis as much
as possible as she set a new women's record. And even though I
wasn't going fast when I ran/hiked the AT in 2005 (and even
though David was very busy getting ready to run the PCT, running
and setting a record out there, and recovering from it that
summer), he sent me more encouraging e-mails than anyone else!
Instead of criticizing Karl like Warren Doyle feels so obligated
to do, David was out there helping Karl get on down the
Trail. According to the crew, David first arrived on a particularly bad day for Karl and really
lifted his spirits. David's like that.
I've known him for sixteen years and I can vouch that he's one
of the most positive, happy people around. If he's not out
setting his own record somewhere else next year, you can bet
he'll be helping Karl again on the AT.
3. BEN DAVIS
Jim and I don't think we've ever met ultra runner Ben Davis of
Fairfax, VA. We recently read that he is beginning a southbound
AT trek this weekend to honor victims of Lou Gehrig's
disease, also known as ALS. Jim and I know of a middle-stage
victim of this incurable disease in our running club. ALS strikes without warning, gradually rendering its victims
unable to speak, swallow, move, and breathe. Average life
expectancy after diagnosis is only two to five years.

This
paragraph from the
web site "2175 for ALS" explains
Ben's mission:
"Not a year ago, I was impacted by two different men who were
diagnosed with ALS. Both have since passed away. I was inspired
by the courage they both exuded despite their diagnosis. It
truly makes you wonder how any one of us would handle such news.
Because of their inspiration, this fall I will go on leave from
my job to run from Maine to Georgia along the Appalachian Trail,
2175 miles, on September 21. For 60+ days, each day being
dedicated to a specific ALS hero, we will share their brave and
inspiring stories. Our website will tell the untold, in an
effort to ignite our community to realize how fragile life
really is."
Ben and his crew are hoping to raise $1 million for the families
of ALS. He is seeking both sponsors and donations. His tentative
62-day itinerary is posted on the web site and he'll also be
using a Spot GPS tracker and Google Maps like Karl and his crew
have been using (with mixed success). Ben's main pacer is
Rick Cheever, who we met last winter at Across the Years. Ben
is encouraging others to run with him, come out to see him and
the crew, and send e-mails with stories about people with ALS.
He'll be in our area the weekend of the Mountain Masochist race,
so we'll probably miss seeing him come through.
OTHER JOURNEY RUNNERS
1. DOUG DAWKINS: RUNNING ACROSS THE USA
Doug is an ultra running acquaintance of ours from North
Carolina who is running and walking across the country by
himself with the help of relatives, friends, and strangers he has met along the way
who have
generously helped him by giving him food, transportation, and
lodging. He stays in a variety of places at night, from motels
to people's homes to a tent. His route was determined before he
left home, but where to eat and sleep has been very flexible. His wife spent a few days with him
recently; that really perked him up!
Doug began his journey on July 15 in Ocean Isle, NC and by
today, Day 56, has gone approximately 1,300 miles (11 miles
west of Ft. Scott, KS). That's an average of 23+ miles a day,
including several rest days -- so he's actually going farther
each day when he's running and walking. Usually he's alone but
sometimes running friends and other people accompany him. He
plans to run 3,236 miles to Mission Beach, San Diego and hopes
to finish by Christmas.
This is a picture I took of Doug in August, 2006 on the
Leadville Trail 100 course between Mayqueen and Hagerman Road.
Doug was out on a training run for the race. This section of
trail also happens to be in Segment 11 of the Colorado Trail,
which I was running that summer:

Doug is able to post entries several times a week
about the trek on his
web site
so folks can follow his adventures
and leave comments. It's interesting to read about the people he
meets and the impressions he has of the places where he's been
so far. It's not always easy for him to find vegetarian food;
there have been some interesting stories about getting the
calories he needs. He dedicates each day on the road to someone
he knows, lending a very human touch to his journal. He also has
photos of his journey.
I'm sorry we won't see Doug at Hinson Lake
later this month, but it'll be great to talk with him after he returns
home
2. LISA SMITH-BATCHEN: THE DEATH VALLEY 810
Lisa, an elite ultra runner and
coach, has successfully completed the first part of her two-part
run/bike trek to raise money for AIDs orphans in Africa. She calls it the
"Death Valley 810."
In Part I,
Lisa ran from Las Vegas (NV) to the start of the Badwater race in
Death Valley (CA) in early July. She arrived the day before the
start of the official race and completed 135 miles on the Badwater
course (described in my
last entry)
within the 48-hour limit to buckle; runners can take up to 60
hours, but don't receive buckles over 48 hours. Then she ran
and hiked to the summit of Mt. Whitney -- for a total of 302
running miles with an elevation gain from 292 feet below sea
level in Death Valley to 14,496 feet above sea level on top of
Whitney.
This is a photo from the
update page of the web site,
showing Lisa (#7) with her crew:

Yes, that's a nun with her! That's Sister Marybeth, who is also
a runner. She accompanied Lisa for some miles from Vegas to
Death Valley and did a great job crewing during the race. She
also climbed to the top of Mt. Whitney.
The second part of Lisa's journey
will be the non-stop 508-mile Furnace Creek bicycle race through
Death Valley in October. Lisa has already raised $400,000 toward
her goal of $500,000 for AIDS orphans. Congratulations, Lisa!!
You're well on your way to completing both your distance and
fund-raising goals.
3. MARSHALL ULRICH & CHARLIE ENGLE: RUNNING ACROSS
THE USA
The
Running America '08 team began
their transcontinental run on September 13 at Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco. They hope to cover the 3,106 miles to New York
City by the end of October. After six long days on the road,
they plan to spend tonight in Fallon, NV.
This run is a major production. If folks think Karl Meltzer's AT
run has too much hype and too many crew members, they should NOT
click on the "cast and crew" tab on this site!! An eight-person
film company is involved, as well as some major sponsors like
Super 8. It's not a charity run. Charlie and Marshall are
running to set a record, make a movie, and spread good will
across America.
Photo of Marshall Ulrich in the Sahara
Desert from his
blog site
Both Marshall and Charlie have their own runner support crews, a
total of nine more people who are apparently along for the
entire trip. Marshall's wife is crew coordinator, runners'
advocate, and communications person. There is a sports medicine
doctor, nutritionist/EMT, massage therapist, and Charlie's crew
chief, who is a sports and fitness trainer. There are also two
drivers and an "environmental director" to "reduce the
expedition's impact on the environment." There must be at
least two RVs involved; by Day 6, Charlie is having
multiple physical problems and is behind Marshall. Motels are
also listed most nights in the itinerary.
I'm not done yet. There is a third well-respected
adventure/journey runner besides Charlie and Marshall who is
also along: Jesse Riley, Marshall's crew chief, has
organized several amateur and professional stage races across
the U.S., Canada, and Australia. He has run many multiday races
and has run solo across the U.S. and Australia. His "bio" on the
"cast and crew" link is very impressive.
They also have another Big Gun who is "on call" during the trek,
Ray Zahab. Ray ran 4,500 miles across the Sahara Desert with
Charlie and coached Marshall for this current transcon event
(Marshall's pastor is also on call.) Love this photo of Charlie
from his web site:
Charlie & friends during his 4,500-mile
Sahara Run; photo taken by Lisa from Charlie's
web site
Wow. That's quite a crew! There are several other links at the
top of the web site's home page where you can learn more about
Charlie and Marshall, see the itinerary, track their progress
via Spot (which should work better on the open roads than on the
AT), sign up to run with them, read the blog entries from each
day (so far, they've been written by Charlie, not a crew
person), and leave comments. I'm hoping for photos, but haven't
seen any yet. Maybe we'll have to wait for the movie!
MORE ADVENTURES TO FOLLOW
I planned to follow more journey runs this summer than I've had
time for (I do have a life of my own!). They are fun to read.
If these journals and blogs aren't enough to keep you busy,
follow this
link to John Wallace, III's web
site, which tracks mostly transcontinental runs across the U.S.
Some are solo, some are with two or more people. Some are
supported, some unsupported. John has links to five runs/walks
that were completed in 2008 and more links for ones still in
progress. He also has a pretty thorough compilation of 210
completed transcon journeys. It's interesting to compare them.
Peter Bakwin started a new
site this year that tracks
speed records for over twenty different trails (Appalachian,
Pacific Crest, Long, John Muir, etc.) and several mountains
around the world (e.g., Colorado's 14ers, Kilamanjaro,
Adirondack 46 Highest). Most journey runners/hikers aren't
interested in, or capable of, setting a new record, but they are
interesting to read about and might be just the inspiration
someone needs to try to beat a record somewhere.
Have fun out there!
Next entry: Hinson Lake 24-hour run at the end of this
month, unless I get inspired to write about something else
before then
Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody, and
Tater (in spirit)
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© 2008 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil