Day 4

Today hurt. It was a windd day. Double the "d" for a double dose of wind. I started at 5:55 am so I could be done early because we had a tv filming an hour away at 1 so I had to be done. The roads were straight, I ran into the wind. I started to feel good and I was rolling along. Faster than the other days by far.

The final obstacle for the day was the highway. Looking at the map it looked like I would need to take the I-10 highway for about 11 miles. Luckily I found a trail going right next to the highway and the railroad tracks. So I took that. I was rolling along and saw wind generators and mountains, AND a casino. It was tempting, but decided to keep moving.

-- Patrick

Location:Adams Ave,Murrieta,United States

Day 3

Today I started where I left off of course but the family I stayed with told me about a bike trail that goes right where I was headed so I decided to take that. It turned out out to be any longer or shorter so it worked out. Right at the end of the trail I ran into this sign which let me know I was headed in the right direction.



Thought it was pretty cool. Anyway, hunger hit me like a freight train today so I ate a whole Papa Johns supreme pizza on the run. Oh it hit the spot and really gave me the boost I was looking for.

My run today ended in the canyons and that's where I'll do most of my running tomorrow.

After the run, the AF exec Cathy, who is great and has picked me up both days, showed me around the city and we ate at In and Out. I ate that double double less than an hour and a half after I downed the pizza...I wonder if this will be a trend throughout the run.

Well, it's almost time for dinner, so I'd better wake up from my nap. I really could get used to this. Run, eat, nap, eat, sleep, run...of course in no order at all and some of those at the same time....

-- Patrick

Day one and two in a nut shell

Day one: woke up. Game time. We drove down to Bella Terra mall and met up with my parents and my uncle and aunt.

Side story, I actually started the day before because I wanted to touch the water so Katie, my grandfather, and his wife and myself drove down to huntington beach and my parents were there!! They completely took me by surprise and flew out for the start!

Anyway, we gathered at Bella Terra mall and I met so many people. Everyone was so nice and so appreciative. The mayor came out as well as people from
The arthritis foundation and a guy named Gus came just to run with me.



This is a picture of the stroller and myself.
Anyway! The marching band for the Orange County high school even came out, as well as CBS channel 7. Big crowd, good time. A few words were said and it was way more emotional than I expected. Especially after 11 year old Makayla spoke. She has spoken in front of congress by the way.

Off we went at about 9:15 ish and Gus, Badwater solo finisher, my uncle Bob, marathon runner joined me. Also these two little girls, Summer and Autumn, who were 10 and 11 ran for a bit and lasted way longer than I expected.

I didn't feel well. Pretty much from the start. I felt sluggish, tired, and generally not myself. Great start... It was quite frustrating but I decided to just keep truckin along and hopefully I would start to shape up. This was not te case.

After 4 miles we met up with my mom dad and Katie and my friend from high school, Keaton was there! He ran with us for the rest of the day along with his friend Matt who is a speed demon at the 3000 as well as 5k.

Gus kept us all entertained with stories from Badwater as well as local history, sightseeing comments and was very kind to every biker he saw by offering well wishes for the new year and bike tips such as "Wear a helmet!!" it was great running with him.

Afterwards we all headed to the Galli's for a big pasta party. It tasted so good. Unfortunately, I was still not feeling much like myself. There was a large crowd and everyone who came was incredibly nice and offered me help and asked what they could do.

At the end of the party Katie and I said our goodbyes because she needed to catch the red eye from San Diego. Not stoked on her leaving, but I was glad she was there.

I stayed at the Galli's last night and they were incredibly kind.

This morning Kim Galli, Tom and myself started the run from Brea were I ended the day before to Pedley.

Running through the cayons was absolutely beautiful. It was so different from the east coast that I am used to running. After Tom and Kim stopped I was on my own with my directions. Unfortunately, due to lame direction taking on my part. I got semi lost and ran out of water from both my hand bottle and camelback. Luckily I found a 7-11 not too long after I ran out and was able to replenish the h2o supply.

After some crafty road work, I found where I was and was able to press eastward. I ended the day some 5:20 after I started and ran the majority of it. Was it exactly 26.3 that I had planned?hopefully not, otherwise I've got bigger issues with my running than I thought. But then again, who cares. I finished today and it's time to look toward tomorrow. I stay with the McCleods for the next 3 nights and they are a great family.

This is what I ran next to today.


-- Patrick

-- Patrick

Western States entry and new article

Recently the Western States 100 lottery took place. I had signed up with the intention of not getting in and so it would count toward my "two-time-loss." If you lose twice, you get in the third year garunteed. Well, I got in this year. At first I was thinking, "Oh no. This was not the plan." Then I got super stoked that I got in! So I sent in my entry. ALSO, my good friend Dave got in, so it's good to know that my adventure to Squaw Valley, CA will not be unaccompanied. If anything, it'll be good to have someone to fly with.

This will be the farthest away I will have ever travelled for a race, and it will most likely be the first race I do after my run across America, assuming I finish that...

In other news, a new article came out today in the Huntington Beach Independant. Check it out.

http://www.hbindependent.com/articles/2009/12/17/features/hbi-marathon121709.txt

Getting Close.....

I finally graduated. It was great, there was a party, and the ceremony wasn't too long, and my mom didn't cry! Good news, good food, no more school. Those of you who know me personally know how truly stoked I am on this.

The day counter on my phone has informed me that there are 18 days left until I depart Huntington Beach. I'm putting the last touches on my gear list, and will be mailing my jogger out to Califonia tomorrow so it gets there in time.

As well as gathering "stuff" for the trip, I've also been doing more interviews with newspapers, and even talked to the St. Francis middle school, where I used to go. All the publicity is really taking off, and people are getting very excited and very willing to help. It's great how helpful people are. A link to the Orange County Register Newspaper came out with the article today at this URL.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mcglade-224091-run-running.html

I'm sure there will be more posts as the day draws nearer.....

Sickness, rain, time, and Matt Grundy

I haven't updated this in awhile. Part is due to the fact that the end of the semester is drawing nearer and nearer and I have become busier than I ever thought possible. Part is due to the fact that I have not felt the need to express any huge running accomplishment. And the rest of the reason is that the date that I start my journey is getting closer and I'm starting to get a little nervous.

So, let's start at the beginning. My last test is in 2 hours and 45 minutes and I graduate Saturday. End of story.

Next on the agenda is lack of news. It has been rainy about 4 out of the 7 days every week for the past month. At first, it didn't bother me, I'd run in the cold and rain saying that I needed to train in every kind of weather because I won't be able to choose the weather for the 4 months I'm out there on the road. I'd come back after 2-4 hours of being soaked to the bone and semi trucks spraying me with hurricane forced winds and water to a hot shower and feel accomplished. It would be 35-50 degrees and pouring rain and I'd go out only to be completely drenched within the first 10 minutes of a 3 hour run and think that it was "toughening me up." The truth is, I'm paying the price now. Being sick can be attributed to the cold wetness and stress from the end of the semester and all I want to do is sleep. I went for a two hour run yesterday even though it was the worst I'd felt but I felt like I needed to get outside. And last night I thought I was dying. Though, I do find it kind of cool to think about the fact that no matter how big, strong, or tough you think you are, there are always going to be microscopic "bugs" that can bring you to your knees and cry uncle.

In other news the results came out for the Trail Runner Trophy Series. Initially they came out and I was in second, but not all my points were there...so I emailed Trail Runner, and we got it all hammered out, and I won! ...Then there was also a discretion in Glen Redpath's points and he actually did win, and I actually came in second. And so it is done. I came in second place in the Trail Runner Trophy Series for 2009, Glen Redpath came in first. Congratulations Glen and all the other racers! I'm stoked on the placing, and if I had to lose to someone, I'm glad it was someone like Glen Redpath. The dude is a maniac!

Another highlight of recent times was a group run on Sunday night. Myself, Dave, Grundy, and a guy named Elliot who I hadn't met before Sunday ran the trails and downtown of Richmond. Elliot is a member of the Seal Team exercise group in Richmond and ran in Vibram 5-fingers. We did the North Bank trail, the path that leads to the 8th street bridge, the 8th street bridge, flood wall, part of the Buttermilk, Riverside drive, and the Nickel bridge. It was the farthest Grundy had run so far and he held up like a champ. Not only that, he kept me entertained the entire time with his jokes. If you own a recording studio, please let him come in and let him record all his jokes, puns, and goofy things on a CD every week so I have something new to listen to on the four month long run. Thanks.

Among the best of his jokes and ideas for the night was the idea to come up with a marathon on Halloween that is run at night called the "Night-mare-athon." If anyone steals that and doesn't give Grundy credit, I will come looking for you.

I start the cross country jaunt exactly 23 days from today. That is not long. BUT things are coming together quite well. People are starting to offer beds to me, which I appreciate greatly, and the word is really spreading. As soon as I get home this weekend I will begin packing and figuring out what I still need.

Well, that was my study break. Enjoy.
Shout out to Grundy. He has a radio show on Friday nights 5-7 wvcw.org
Check it. Check it. Check it out.