Running across the United states?

Question

I have had this idea for a long time, and this is something I need to know about. How does the idea of me running across the United States sound (SF-NY)? Here's the catch: I'm o 17 years old.

I'm very fit and row for a rowing team 6 days a week. I am also an experienced runner.

These are some questions I need answered:

-What supplies would I need?

-What kind of an impact will it have on my body, assuming that I train beforehand, wear pads in my shoes, etc...?

-Very important: What kind of publicity will I receive? How big of a deal will it be? This will help with the trip's expenses.

-Who will support me?

This would be my plan. Repeat this every day:

-Wake up at 6am to eat.

-Starting at 7am; run for an hour, rest for an hour, last running rotation at 9pm.

-Eat dinner from 9-10pm.

-Sleep from 10pm to 6am.

-Repeat for an estimated 50 days (at an 8:20 mile pace).

I would cover about 60 miles a day. I could also possibly walk on my breaks.

What do you think? Please elaborate. Thanks

Answer 1

i believe forrest gump did this...he would know more about it than i

Answer 2

wow that's great n something new.make sure u can do it.good luck.

Answer 3

I'd wait on this one.

I interviewed someone who did it as a fundraiser. It's not that uncommon. In the 1920's there was a race across the country.

Plus, I'm not sure you are physically ready for that sort of test.

The guy I interviewed rented out an RV for the trip, and had a couple of guys go along. You'd need lots of sneakers, tons of planning, etc.

Answer 4

Wow, thats quite something!  Are you going to fundraise for a cause as well?

Here is an inspirational young man named Terry Fox who lost his leg due to cancer, ran a marathon a day and to run across Canada to fundraise for cancer.  (He didn't quite make it, cancer got the best of him.)

http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/home/...

Well it would take alot of preparation (many months of preparation)  You will need sponsors for supplies for food, first aid and a support team (in a vehicle to supply all your needs, food, first aid, sleep, etc.)  It would be easier to get support if your running for a cause. You would need some media support as well to be able to do this.   Doing an ultramarathon a day is extreme...would be so hard on your body.  

I couldn't honestly tell you how to prepare for this but its best to contact someone who has done this...

Good Luck, I will be watching out for you...on TV that is (Canada)

Answer 5

Supplies?  petroleum jelly, nylon socks, lots of shoes, sodium and potassium pills, waist pouch, and water bottles to begin.

It will have a tremendous impact; probably more than you are currently expecting.  Have you ever run an ultramarathon before, or even a marathon?  Try going to your nearest 100 mile race (depending on where you live) and talk with some of the runners.  You could kill yourself or lose function of some of your organs if you don't keep proper nutrients in your system.  That's not to speak of the issues of too much/little water and muscle fatigue.  This is largely a mental challenge that you may want to prepare for by trying out at least a 100 mile run.  Anything less will not introduce you to the difficulties of sustained running over multiple days.

You will not average anything close to 8:20 miles past your first day or so, and that is if you are in excellent shape.  I am assuming you have not done extended runs (>50 miles) before and are new to serious distance running.  You don't wake up each day with a fresh pair of legs.  After a 60 mile day you wake up the next day with issues.  This only gets worse very fast if you have not slowly built up to this level.

Go to http://www.run100s.com/ for plenty of info about ultramarathons in general and how to prepare for them.  Check out the Sri Chinmoy races in Queens, NY to read about a 3100 mile race that is similar in difficulty to what you are proposing.  They have a time limit of 51 days and the winners come in around 46 days.

You will only get the publicity you seek out.  If you tell nobody and do the run it is likely that nobody will know about it.  If you solicit publicity you will get some but it will not be much.  Did you hear about the guy that attempted to run around the world 2 years ago?  He got all the publicity he could find and barely anybody has heard about him.

The only people that would probably support this would be shoe companies or nutrition bar/gel companies.  I wouldn't expect it but you can try.  There are people that have done this before.  The most recent attempt I know about was Dean Karnazes but he quit less than halfway into it.

So in summary, I am not saying you can not do it, but there are several challenges that you may not be aware of if you have not done long runs before.  Research them and try a few out before going for something this big.  Good luck.