The True Crazy

1 October 2008

As sun rose, an hopefully-abandoned prairie dog hole and some fresh sage made for a glorious morning. I continued east, where I first ran into Roger, Kathleen and Todd, the support team for Marshall Ulrich.

If you think I'm nuts, Marshall is trying to break the 28 year old record for running across America. According to Roger, he runs from 6 am to 2 am the next morning, maybe taking an hour nap, sleeps for four hours, and then starts running again, averaging 60-70 miles a day. He's running from San Francisco to New York, in the shortest line he can find, eating a few bites every mile, trying to get there in less than 46 days. His team members are all fantastically nice, thanks to Kathleen for passing along some therapeutic gels from one of their sponsors.

I finally ran into Marshall (it took a lot longer than I thought), as we were heading up and down some rolling hills west of Maybell. He's super friendly and down-to-earth as well. He stopped and we chatted for a moment, as a trucker named Ranger One, a kind of highway vigilante, stopped to give us aid. He wore a fluorescent green first aid jersey, wielded a gallon of water, and after declaring to us that it was ambient temperature, insisted on pouring it on us. I hope I don't sound like I'm digging on Ranger One. I appreciate his helpfulness, especially compared to truckers who don't even get over much to pass. It does all bring a smile to my face, though.

The hills became tighter and the slopes grassier, passing antelope herds and elk range on the way into Maybell. I made it into Craig and spent a chilly night playing homeless in the city park. Marshall made it into Craig as well, probably around 2 in the morning, and was off before me the next day.

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