We finished today at 2:30 in Philly.
~Jack
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Days 6 and 7 - The Middle of the State
As you might guess from our lack of updates, nothing too exciting happened these past few days, unless you really like corn fields. We saw a lot of corn. Here's a quick recap of the middle of the state:
Day 6
To answer the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind: no, we did not tour the concrete factory. We all woke up late and decided that it would be better to start running by 10am, so we drove to our starting point for the day. By noon, we had reached the peak of the last mountain in our journey. Everything from that point forward was either flat or gently rolling.
I felt really good that afternoon, so I decided to run an extra 5 miles. We ended the day in Plainfield, and we spent the night at my friend Steve's apartment in Carlisle. Big thanks to Steve for letting us crash there on short notice.
Day 7
Day 7 took us through Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg. Jack said in the last post that we got lost, but here's what really happened:
Before Jack started running, I told him "when you get to Simpson Street in Mechanicsburg, turn right". Then as Tim and I were driving, we didn't see the sign for Simpson Street, so we didn't turn. Jack made the turn, and after running for awhile and not seeing the Jeep, he decided to find out where we were. The CVS and another local shop wouldn't let him use their phones, but a local pizza shop let him call us. Tim and I had been stopped on Main Street, about 3 blocks away, wondering if Jack had hurt himself and started walking.
After reuniting with Jack, we had lunch at Chili's and continued on to Harrisburg. While Tim was running through downtown Harrisburg, Jack and I were supposed to make a left to stay on the route. The intersection had 3 lefts, and we picked the wrong one, so we ended up on I-83. We made a big loop around the city and ended up meeting up with Tim just before he finished his 5 miles.
We ended the day just east of Middletown, and we drove to Tim's house for the night.
Day 6
To answer the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind: no, we did not tour the concrete factory. We all woke up late and decided that it would be better to start running by 10am, so we drove to our starting point for the day. By noon, we had reached the peak of the last mountain in our journey. Everything from that point forward was either flat or gently rolling.
I felt really good that afternoon, so I decided to run an extra 5 miles. We ended the day in Plainfield, and we spent the night at my friend Steve's apartment in Carlisle. Big thanks to Steve for letting us crash there on short notice.
Day 7
Day 7 took us through Mechanicsburg and Harrisburg. Jack said in the last post that we got lost, but here's what really happened:
Before Jack started running, I told him "when you get to Simpson Street in Mechanicsburg, turn right". Then as Tim and I were driving, we didn't see the sign for Simpson Street, so we didn't turn. Jack made the turn, and after running for awhile and not seeing the Jeep, he decided to find out where we were. The CVS and another local shop wouldn't let him use their phones, but a local pizza shop let him call us. Tim and I had been stopped on Main Street, about 3 blocks away, wondering if Jack had hurt himself and started walking.
After reuniting with Jack, we had lunch at Chili's and continued on to Harrisburg. While Tim was running through downtown Harrisburg, Jack and I were supposed to make a left to stay on the route. The intersection had 3 lefts, and we picked the wrong one, so we ended up on I-83. We made a big loop around the city and ended up meeting up with Tim just before he finished his 5 miles.
We ended the day just east of Middletown, and we drove to Tim's house for the night.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Lost
I got lost today in mechanicsburg...
When Tim was running in harrisburg... Me and Brian got lost driving.
We're staying in lancaster tonight...
We are still alive.
~Jack
When Tim was running in harrisburg... Me and Brian got lost driving.
We're staying in lancaster tonight...
We are still alive.
~Jack
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Day 5 - Halfway There
Well, day 5 is complete and we're all still alive and well. The big news of the day is that we reached the halfway point in our run - 165 miles - at the end of the day. We're currently 7 miles ahead of schedule, and we're through most of the mountains, so it looks like we might be able to finish our run on Sunday instead of Monday.
Today started well when we got a phone call from our friend Colin, who is currently in South Korea. About 5 years ago, he and Jack came up with this crazy idea to run across the state, so it was good to talk to him. Since he's on the other side of the world and couldn't join us on our run, he decided to run 15 miles around Seoul, South Korea to join in our running adventure.
The running today was fairly uneventful, but the weather was hot and there wasn't much shade. By the end of the day, the thermometer in the Jeep was reading 94 degrees. We ran through Breezewood this morning, which was probably the busiest roadway that we've been on so far. The signs that said "Aggressive driver high crash area" weren't very comforting as I ran along the shoulder with cars and semis flying by at 60 mph. The afternoon took us through Buchanan State Forest and a bunch of tiny towns in central PA.
Our accommodations for the evening are graciously being provided by Dustin Yoder's family in Belleville, PA. Dustin is another Waynesburg alumni that offered his house to us when he found out that we didn't have anywhere to stay in the middle of the state. The drive to get here took awhile, but the dinner that they provided was more than worth the trip. We even got apple pie for dessert!
As a side note: I found out today that the Yoder family owns a concrete business here in Belleville (http://www.bigvalleycrete.com), so I got to talk about concrete today, which made me happy. I'm trying to convince Jack and Tim to wake up early so that we can take a tour of the plant tomorrow before we run. We'll see if that actually happens...
That's all for tonight. Stay tuned for more updates!
Brian
Today started well when we got a phone call from our friend Colin, who is currently in South Korea. About 5 years ago, he and Jack came up with this crazy idea to run across the state, so it was good to talk to him. Since he's on the other side of the world and couldn't join us on our run, he decided to run 15 miles around Seoul, South Korea to join in our running adventure.
The running today was fairly uneventful, but the weather was hot and there wasn't much shade. By the end of the day, the thermometer in the Jeep was reading 94 degrees. We ran through Breezewood this morning, which was probably the busiest roadway that we've been on so far. The signs that said "Aggressive driver high crash area" weren't very comforting as I ran along the shoulder with cars and semis flying by at 60 mph. The afternoon took us through Buchanan State Forest and a bunch of tiny towns in central PA.
Our accommodations for the evening are graciously being provided by Dustin Yoder's family in Belleville, PA. Dustin is another Waynesburg alumni that offered his house to us when he found out that we didn't have anywhere to stay in the middle of the state. The drive to get here took awhile, but the dinner that they provided was more than worth the trip. We even got apple pie for dessert!
As a side note: I found out today that the Yoder family owns a concrete business here in Belleville (http://www.bigvalleycrete.com), so I got to talk about concrete today, which made me happy. I'm trying to convince Jack and Tim to wake up early so that we can take a tour of the plant tomorrow before we run. We'll see if that actually happens...
That's all for tonight. Stay tuned for more updates!
Brian
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day 3 and Day 4
Time to update where we're at for the closing of Day 4!
DAY 3
We started Day 3 in and around Greensburg. Our strategy had us running 5 miles each by ourselves - breaking for lunch - and then repeating the cycle. The two drivers start after the runner has left. We stop at around 2.5 miles for a water break for the runner. Then we drive onward to 5 miles out and wait until the switch is made.
We were able to break for lunch earlier on this day than any other day! We stopped after 15 miles at a convenient pull-off right before the town of Ligonier. While we were stopped, Heather Flower and her mother stopped by to visit on their way back from church. Her dad is a United Methodist pastor and mentioned our run at his services! We would be staying with the Flowers later that night.
After a lovely lunch of peanut butter and jelly, fruit and other snacks, we continued on our way. During our second half of this day, we hit a monster hill in Laughlintown. We knew this hill would be coming because of the elevation chart (pictured on our website). All three of us ran portions of this approximately 9% grade hill. While we were stopped at one of the crests of the hill, the Mr. and Mrs. Matt Brandstetter pulled ahead of us on a motorcycle for a surprise visit! They provided us with some supplies and some money for our cause! The Brandstetters even joined in on some of the running. :) We were able to visit with them for a little while afterwards. Thanks to them for the donation and the company! Once getting at the top of the Mt. Laurel, we took pictures and continued on our way.
Upon reaching 30 miles for the day (at Haines Road, no less!), I decided to run a few extra miles so we'd be ahead of schedule. This included another hill, but we were glad to have it out of the way for the next day. Our course then took us to the Flower residence for the evening. Heather went out of her way to make us lasagna, salad, and bread - as well as brownies for dessert!!! It was her first attempt at lasagna, and it was fantastic. She also provided us with a poster with our cause information so we could begin posting at places we stop along the way.
While we were there, we discovered that there are firefighters running from NY and LA to the Flight 93 memorial site to raise money for charity as well. What are the odds we would have the same idea at the same time!? It explained the honking we had experienced along the way. Even though people probably mistook us for firemen, it was still nice to have support as we ran! The Flowers gave us an additional donation, and were all up to see us off in the morning. Thanks to them for hosting! After a restful night's sleep, it was on to the next day.
Day 4
Brian started out our day today running his 5 mile stretch. During this stretch, we passed 100 miles of our journey! As I took over the running, we were passed by Jess Miller, also a Waynesburg alum, who drove by and cheered from the vehicle! Jack's turn led us to the highest elevation of our entire trip, Bald Knob - Allegheny Mountain. We paused to get video of all of us running at the the highest portion of our run. After Jack was finished, it was time to stop for lunch.
We looked for a few different places to stop on the GPS and Google Maps. There was nothing within 12 miles according to these maps, so we started driving towards Bedford. On our way, we found a restaurant called the Fireside Inn in Schellsburg that was only a few miles from our stopping point. We decided to eat there since it was close. Despite the sign saying they didn't serve food until 4pm, we found that there must have been an exception for Labor Day. We were seated and soon ordered our food. In the meantime, a gentleman got up and came over to our table. He noticed Jack had on a Waynesburg College t-shirt, so he asked if Jack went to Waynesburg. We proceeded to tell him that we all had been students and were currently running across the state for charity. He told us that he was also an alum AND a trustee at Waynesburg University! We talked with him for a while and got our picture taken. He was thrilled to connect with a few Waynesburg alum and graciously picked up our tab at the restaurant! Special thanks to Walt Saling ('61) and his wife!!
When we went back out to the car, Jack had a voicemail from the NBC affiliate in Johnstown, PA. Our friend, and fellow Waynesburg cross country alum, Ryan Devlin, had sent our information to a few radio and news stations in the area. We called him back and gave him additional information about where we were and where we were going to be. He asked for recent pictures and information, but we were unable to upload anything due to a lack of internet along the way. Either way, it was nice to know that we may be getting additional press coverage for our run!
The day rounded out with each of us doing an extra 2 miles to meet our quota for the day. We finished around 6:15 and drove to our location for the evening - a Holiday Inn Express in Breezewood, PA. After ordering Dominoes for dinner (side note: 3 large pizzas would have cost nearly $60, but 3 mediums were only $20 - can anyone make sense out of that?), we are spending the rest of the evening relaxing, icing, and watching television.
Below are the mileage totals for each of us up to this point!
Brian = 48.85 miles
Jack = 58.85 miles
Tim = 63.80 miles
Endurance Assurance = 134.60 miles
Thanks for all the support being sent our way - it really means a lot! Keep spreading the word, and keep an eye out for us in the news. :)
DAY 3
We started Day 3 in and around Greensburg. Our strategy had us running 5 miles each by ourselves - breaking for lunch - and then repeating the cycle. The two drivers start after the runner has left. We stop at around 2.5 miles for a water break for the runner. Then we drive onward to 5 miles out and wait until the switch is made.
We were able to break for lunch earlier on this day than any other day! We stopped after 15 miles at a convenient pull-off right before the town of Ligonier. While we were stopped, Heather Flower and her mother stopped by to visit on their way back from church. Her dad is a United Methodist pastor and mentioned our run at his services! We would be staying with the Flowers later that night.
After a lovely lunch of peanut butter and jelly, fruit and other snacks, we continued on our way. During our second half of this day, we hit a monster hill in Laughlintown. We knew this hill would be coming because of the elevation chart (pictured on our website). All three of us ran portions of this approximately 9% grade hill. While we were stopped at one of the crests of the hill, the Mr. and Mrs. Matt Brandstetter pulled ahead of us on a motorcycle for a surprise visit! They provided us with some supplies and some money for our cause! The Brandstetters even joined in on some of the running. :) We were able to visit with them for a little while afterwards. Thanks to them for the donation and the company! Once getting at the top of the Mt. Laurel, we took pictures and continued on our way.
Upon reaching 30 miles for the day (at Haines Road, no less!), I decided to run a few extra miles so we'd be ahead of schedule. This included another hill, but we were glad to have it out of the way for the next day. Our course then took us to the Flower residence for the evening. Heather went out of her way to make us lasagna, salad, and bread - as well as brownies for dessert!!! It was her first attempt at lasagna, and it was fantastic. She also provided us with a poster with our cause information so we could begin posting at places we stop along the way.
While we were there, we discovered that there are firefighters running from NY and LA to the Flight 93 memorial site to raise money for charity as well. What are the odds we would have the same idea at the same time!? It explained the honking we had experienced along the way. Even though people probably mistook us for firemen, it was still nice to have support as we ran! The Flowers gave us an additional donation, and were all up to see us off in the morning. Thanks to them for hosting! After a restful night's sleep, it was on to the next day.
Day 4
Brian started out our day today running his 5 mile stretch. During this stretch, we passed 100 miles of our journey! As I took over the running, we were passed by Jess Miller, also a Waynesburg alum, who drove by and cheered from the vehicle! Jack's turn led us to the highest elevation of our entire trip, Bald Knob - Allegheny Mountain. We paused to get video of all of us running at the the highest portion of our run. After Jack was finished, it was time to stop for lunch.
We looked for a few different places to stop on the GPS and Google Maps. There was nothing within 12 miles according to these maps, so we started driving towards Bedford. On our way, we found a restaurant called the Fireside Inn in Schellsburg that was only a few miles from our stopping point. We decided to eat there since it was close. Despite the sign saying they didn't serve food until 4pm, we found that there must have been an exception for Labor Day. We were seated and soon ordered our food. In the meantime, a gentleman got up and came over to our table. He noticed Jack had on a Waynesburg College t-shirt, so he asked if Jack went to Waynesburg. We proceeded to tell him that we all had been students and were currently running across the state for charity. He told us that he was also an alum AND a trustee at Waynesburg University! We talked with him for a while and got our picture taken. He was thrilled to connect with a few Waynesburg alum and graciously picked up our tab at the restaurant! Special thanks to Walt Saling ('61) and his wife!!
When we went back out to the car, Jack had a voicemail from the NBC affiliate in Johnstown, PA. Our friend, and fellow Waynesburg cross country alum, Ryan Devlin, had sent our information to a few radio and news stations in the area. We called him back and gave him additional information about where we were and where we were going to be. He asked for recent pictures and information, but we were unable to upload anything due to a lack of internet along the way. Either way, it was nice to know that we may be getting additional press coverage for our run!
The day rounded out with each of us doing an extra 2 miles to meet our quota for the day. We finished around 6:15 and drove to our location for the evening - a Holiday Inn Express in Breezewood, PA. After ordering Dominoes for dinner (side note: 3 large pizzas would have cost nearly $60, but 3 mediums were only $20 - can anyone make sense out of that?), we are spending the rest of the evening relaxing, icing, and watching television.
Below are the mileage totals for each of us up to this point!
Brian = 48.85 miles
Jack = 58.85 miles
Tim = 63.80 miles
Endurance Assurance = 134.60 miles
Thanks for all the support being sent our way - it really means a lot! Keep spreading the word, and keep an eye out for us in the news. :)
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Day Two Closing in Greensburg
The time has come and we are currently at Brian's co-workers home. We are fortunate enough that there house was simply 15 mins. away from our ending point and we were able to get there without a hitch... Driving there at least went without a hitch. I (Jack) did not have such an uneventful day. First 5 mile set with Tim, through Pittsburgh went well. We were running the same pace as we did day one. Tim took the second 5 mile set solo (Brian was recovering from his horrible day of sickness and pain he accrued yesterday) and was able to finnish faster then any 5 mile set we have done during our run. Calling us just about 150 yards from where he wanted us to be. We had to tell him "turn around, look for My big red hoodie I'm wearing".
I started the 3rd 5 mile set for the day apparently I was cruising along pretty well as well. We both finished faster during our solo runs then we did any sets in pairs on our first day. I think it was 44mins. My second set went... Lets say, not so great. I started out again, at a great pace, Tim and Brian were driving along and came from behind at our meeting place, good thing they did cause I looked at the time and saw 19mins and thoght this cant be the place, but apparently they said I "...crushed the hills." When it came time to enter Jennette I was doing well until that one road... yea I got lost... the end.
BRIAN'S TURN!!!!!
Brian was amazing today. He had the hilliest of everything. Running on Kerr road and entering Greensburg.
Hill... Hill... Hill... Hill... THE END!!!! Nope he has another hill... That's the hospital, not the courthouse brian...
So all in all we felt better today... ALL of us. Tim is really fresh acting still for some reason. My baby toe hurts but I'm good. Brian did not through up and ran real well today. We are still in the progress of collecting video for some video blog and are trying to find a solution to a smoother looking way to put photos on the blog as well... LOTS MORE TO COME!!!
~Jack
I started the 3rd 5 mile set for the day apparently I was cruising along pretty well as well. We both finished faster during our solo runs then we did any sets in pairs on our first day. I think it was 44mins. My second set went... Lets say, not so great. I started out again, at a great pace, Tim and Brian were driving along and came from behind at our meeting place, good thing they did cause I looked at the time and saw 19mins and thoght this cant be the place, but apparently they said I "...crushed the hills." When it came time to enter Jennette I was doing well until that one road... yea I got lost... the end.
BRIAN'S TURN!!!!!
Brian was amazing today. He had the hilliest of everything. Running on Kerr road and entering Greensburg.
Hill... Hill... Hill... Hill... THE END!!!! Nope he has another hill... That's the hospital, not the courthouse brian...
So all in all we felt better today... ALL of us. Tim is really fresh acting still for some reason. My baby toe hurts but I'm good. Brian did not through up and ran real well today. We are still in the progress of collecting video for some video blog and are trying to find a solution to a smoother looking way to put photos on the blog as well... LOTS MORE TO COME!!!
~Jack
Friday, September 3, 2010
Day One = Complete
We are now sitting in the confines of the Lucarelli residence having fully completed day one of Endurance Assurance! I'm happy to say that not only are all three of us alive, but we were all able to walk up to his 5th floor apartment from the car. We're getting ready to settle into a delicious pasta meal prepared by Mrs. Lucarelli at 10pm!
When we last left you, we were waiting out a storm at the Robinson Mall. It was so much cooler outside when we left. The rain was a very welcomed break and coolant! We had to run 10 miles to finish out our day on paper. I ran the first section with Brian, and Jack ran the second section with Brian. The first 5 mile set started the complications as we got closer to the city of Pittsburgh. During the second 5 miles, we hit one way streets where the runners could run, but the vehicle had to take a detour. Through it all, we managed to make it to the end unscathed. I ran the last leg by myself as Jack's lungs were burning and Brian was not feeling well. It was about 3.5 miles through a mostly darkened path, but I made it to Jack and Brian come around 9pm! God was definitely with me during parts of that run, so I wasn't running alone. One part in particular was a pretty dark stretch of the trail. I stopped because I didn't want to run through it alone. Just as I was trying to figure out what to do, two people rode by on bicycles with flashing lights. I decided to try and follow them as best I could. They managed to get me through to a well lit area. Once I saw them, I went to the guy as he was loading the bikes into the car and thanked him for lighting the way! I explained what we were doing, thanked him again, and went on my way. Soon enough, I caught up to Jack and Brian, and we headed back home.
Please be thinking and praying for Brian. He has chills and seems to be really under the weather. We will see how much a good night's sleep helps, but as of now, he's pretty banged up.
Thanks again for your comments and support! We don't have any media coverage for our run yet, but we're hoping that someone in the state picks up the story. Continue to spread the word via word of mouth, email and Facebook! Goodnight!!
Tim
When we last left you, we were waiting out a storm at the Robinson Mall. It was so much cooler outside when we left. The rain was a very welcomed break and coolant! We had to run 10 miles to finish out our day on paper. I ran the first section with Brian, and Jack ran the second section with Brian. The first 5 mile set started the complications as we got closer to the city of Pittsburgh. During the second 5 miles, we hit one way streets where the runners could run, but the vehicle had to take a detour. Through it all, we managed to make it to the end unscathed. I ran the last leg by myself as Jack's lungs were burning and Brian was not feeling well. It was about 3.5 miles through a mostly darkened path, but I made it to Jack and Brian come around 9pm! God was definitely with me during parts of that run, so I wasn't running alone. One part in particular was a pretty dark stretch of the trail. I stopped because I didn't want to run through it alone. Just as I was trying to figure out what to do, two people rode by on bicycles with flashing lights. I decided to try and follow them as best I could. They managed to get me through to a well lit area. Once I saw them, I went to the guy as he was loading the bikes into the car and thanked him for lighting the way! I explained what we were doing, thanked him again, and went on my way. Soon enough, I caught up to Jack and Brian, and we headed back home.
Please be thinking and praying for Brian. He has chills and seems to be really under the weather. We will see how much a good night's sleep helps, but as of now, he's pretty banged up.
Thanks again for your comments and support! We don't have any media coverage for our run yet, but we're hoping that someone in the state picks up the story. Continue to spread the word via word of mouth, email and Facebook! Goodnight!!
Tim
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