The Decision!

Simply stated, I have decided to run across the country in the summer of 2011.

I make this decision of my own free will, of clear mind and all of that.  Frankly, I have been toying with the idea for a while.  In a recent moment of keen clarity or perhaps after too much holiday punch I finally made the decision.

This blog is one of my back out prevention items.  I figure if I ever get the idea to say "Screw it!, what a dumb idea!" the fact that I put the decision out for everyone I know to read and see that I will be shamed into completing the goal!

A logical question most of you would ask would be "Why in the hell would you want to do that?"

My lame answer is because I think it would be a cool accomplishment: One that would be a real test of myself. One that would be fun to plan, talk about and execute. One that I can look back on from my rocking chair (probably when I am 60....with titanium knees and hips) and say, back in "ought eleven", I ran across the U.S....hopefully, to the BORED ears and rolling eyes (there he goes again they will say) of grandkids.

Some folks may be thinking...ahh, Ed is 45 or so...must be a mid life crisis thing. Nope.  Never even crossed my mind. However, I do think that if I am 60 and try this, the outcome has a higher chance of not being as good as if I try to do it in my forties. So, in one sense, I do hear the ticking of a clock.

To the best of my research, there have been only 200 or so people since the age of keeping track that have accomplished this.  200 other slightly bent people strapped on tennis shoes (except for the one guy who did it bare foot) and ran across the US. I think it would be awesome to say I did something that in the entire history of the planet only 200 other people have accomplished.

My wife, who will read this after I let her know in the next couple of days, will first probably be dialing some crazy person hotline....but will settle down in her usual way to figure out how to help me accomplish this feat. She is great at planning and will give it 100% support...and yelling at me for being such a selfish jerk simultaneously.

Many of the people who have done this have done so to call attention to charitable causes. I have not decided if I am going to go that route. If I do throw my efforts behind a cause, I want to do that full throttle and am not sure I feel comfortable with that at the moment.

What I do know is that this is going to be a cool experiment. I am going to assemble the best of the best team of advisors on this that I can. Including people who have done the run previously, people who have attempted it and failed, a doctor or two, a trainer, a few equipment companies who may want to use me as a guinea pig for new technologies and maybe a few other folks as I think of them. My hope is that I get to meet some awesome people and get some free great advice that I can use.

This blog will detail my training, my experience in planning and ultimately my actual run.

I hope you read this and find it interesting, inspiring and entertaining!