Message:
“There is no way to comprehend how we will feel on that first day, as we stand with our feet in the Atlantic staring west. There is no way to know what the drudgery of covering 20 miles a day, everyday, for 5 months will feel like. But I'll tell you what, of all the pain, repetition, or bad luck that COULD happen, I am totally and completely ready for it.” The above passage includes the last thoughts of mine before beginning the run across the country. This is the first time I have read the words since posting them on the site almost one year ago. Wow, looking back on that first day, with our feet in the Atlantic staring west…. To be perfectly honest, the thought at the front of my mind was, “It’s really cold, I can’t believe I just ran through 2 feet of snow in my bare feet and am now standing in the 50oF Atlantic Ocean.” After the initial shock, we headed down the road and, for the first time, the weight of leaving for the trip was gone. From then on it would be left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, until we hit the beach in Oregon. As we headed down the first stretch of road all I could think was, “Okay, so were running, now what?” As the day continued we found ourselves continuously talking about what it would feel like to role up onto the beach in Oregon and soak up the whole experience. I can’t tell you how many times this discussion came up on the trip and how motivating it was in times of need. I also talked about the dangers that ‘COULD’ happen on the trip. I honestly don’t think that there was a single bad thing that happened on the trip. Yes, there were some set backs and unforeseen problems but nothing that caused us any major trouble. Anything undesirable that happened was taken in stride. We knew that if we just kept running we would be that much closer to the finish. Neither of us spent any significant time in a bad mood. Sure there were the miserably cold days, missing friends and family, but I would not have been happy doing anything else. As the miles clicked by and winter turned into spring, the trip became a way of life. Get up in the morning, run for 20 miles or so, meet some wonderful new people and go to sleep. I guess when I talk about it that way it sounds rather mundane but it really did not and does not feel that way. Everyday held new sites, new people, and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. The response on the web site was that much more inspiring so there was never any reason to doubt ourselves. If there was one misconception I had before the trip began it was the response of the people across the country. From the housing offers, readers on the website, and friendly smiles and waves of people driving by, I never imagined that we would receive the support we did. Before we left I was optimistically thinking that we would spend 30% of the nights indoors. To know now that we had housing offers for over 90% of the nights seems almost unrealistic. We had originally planned for a few hundred hits on the website a month. We ended up having an entire expected months worth of hits in just the first 3 days. And, not only did people smile and wave as they drove by, but several times they pulled over to talk to us and even give us a couple bucks to help us on our journey. There is no way to explain the feeling I have when I think about all of this. It seems impossible. All I can say is Thank You, Thank You to everyone. I haven’t talked very much about the final day to the beach and the thoughts that ran through my mind. I guess it’s because it wasn’t the most important part of the trip. Scott and I always new we would reach the coast and when the day finally came it kind of felt like we had accomplished the inevitable. It’s not until I look back to everything from the conception of the idea, the planning, the act of leaving, the miles on our bodies, and the people who supported us, that the true enormity of the accomplishment comes to mind. From a big picture view, we had just spent the last five months doing the exact same thing day after day to arrive somewhere that would have taken a few hours on a plane. The feeling in the end was the same we had had from the beginning. It wasn’t about the destination, it was about the journey. I don’t care how cliché that sounds, it’s the truth.

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