Another run across America underway - is it legit? Boots currently on the ground

yes, for sure I feel something of a passion for this, and yes, of course it's infuriating to see no hopers get the glory for merely "claiming" to be great.

But happy to pipe down and enjoy the show for sure.

Meanwhile, it's all happening. The drama of multidaying is inimitable. Paul's having trouble with the heat so they've hooked him and sent him to bed for 3 hours... at 1730 he rises, and is up for an all night bender. Drama.

It means that a tranche of Day 4 is up on Strava and shockingly he is now travelling slower than Goodge; which of course we take with a huge pinch of salt because day 4 was when I started to get extremely agitated. Check this out:

Day 4

PK 73.3 6:18 140
RB 51:8 8:00 118
WG 52.1 7:09 115
PJ 48.8 7:11 133

As ever that WG pulse is just a whole bag of wrong [but a lot lower is to come], and somehow PJ is now having to bow to Will by 2 seconds a K, and pump out 18 more beats a minute for the privilege.

Of course I capiche that PJs day is nowhere near complete, and that he may have some 25 more miles to add, but that in turn will have a grim knock on effect for Day 5.

Fun!

Few dumb questions from an unacquainted outside observer, perhaps Will can shed some light:

1. Will being up on the continental plain have any impact on pace? Or is this undertaking down to musculoskeletal durability only and not aerobic output

2. Why is PJ going LA>NYC instead of starting in San Fran? What I can see online indicates that the "record" is between the City Halls of SF and NYC. Perhaps he following in WG's footsteps, but will he be able to claim the transcon record if he succeeds? And if starting anywhere on the Pacific is fair game, why not finish in Jacksonville for 400+ miles less as the crow flies?

3. Why isn't he sleeping in the afternoon every day, and running in the coolest 15hr window (6pm-9am?). Strikes me that heat is the biggest factor if your legs are up to it.

4. Re: the doubts about WG's data, doesn't the cadence stats show that he was running even if HR is problematic? Or is cadence pretty easy to spoof/why wouldn't he spoof HR data if he is fudging cadence too?

Cheers

Hi, yes nice simple answers:

1 everything matters, musuloskeletal durability about one of many things... weather, lungs, breathing, mental strength, topography, heart, kidneys, knees, stomach, nose, throat etc etc. You name it, it matters.

2 in a nutshell, far more is available on west coast than east which is pretty much always nyc. Yes, Florida slashes by loads, of course it does. I think distance must be 2850 at least. Technically a Transcon is ocean to ocean and I simply can't understand why folks don't go the extra 5 miles in NYC. It seems so obvious the crash into the waves on the other side.

3 As you write, a huge revamp in his schedule... let's see if that helps.

4 there are at least 10 different ways to fudge/cheat and the UK editor of Runners World has just been busted for a couple. Admits it was down to her ego, and she does a lot of runfluencing. Strava is very easy to upload from excel, so you can basically say any old thing. The likes of WG and RB are bright enough to have carried this ruse for as long as they did, but now are surrounded by questions and controversy and can never try anything like this again. Many have said his cadence is odd but he could be watch muling or just putting in cadence from any old run. The HR looks just about believable to the naked eye, which is how they got away with it for so long, and some people say it is possible to run at 105 in this. It's absolutely not. But their number one defence is that "HR data is bullsh*t". But it's absolutely fine, works 99% of the time [as this challenge is clearly showing, and it works for WG and RB in all their other running, when they're not doing publicity multiday fundraisers].

So what with some saying the HR is possible and others that the HR is just Garmin and Coros being hopeless, I have had my hands full.

I would like to point out that it's not hot. Perfect weather for running, so no heat to avoid.

Yep, temps really aren't too bad at all. Only inexperienced, unprepared runners have this much of a problem with 70, and of course it's only 70-75 for a few hours in the day. The heat he's feeling, this phrase of "cooking" is quite psychosomatic.

The gambit of doing a 20 hour day which he has here is a huge gamble and has already backfired. The problem with not stopping for a good rest is that any semblance of a good pace goes out the window, and credit to Paul he had a lot of good pace on days 1 and 2. But the 9.30 miles then have been replaced by 12s now, which give so much time back to the course.

Since tearing up the schedule and printing a new one, they've covered 32 miles in some 10.5 hours. An awful return but it's because he's been on the go since 0330, and it's now 0300 the next day.

Although they're going to try to paint day 4 as 80-90 miles, the gas bill for day 5 will be cruel and unusual.

And less than an hour ago, he's conceding the record. Wild. Feel for his crew, honestly, who have at least a week if not more taken out of their normal lives. And he's not even 10% to his fundraising goal at roughly 10% of the way there (in time).

Yep, there's the recalibration. Up to 50 day target now, which is still very bullish, and no joke. So, that's seven people who all have to conjure at least 70 more days of their lives combined that they didn't count on. That's why mad and crazy goals can have a tough blowback. Some serious logistics now and all for what is merely an adventure and no longer a particularly big deal. You don't need 7 people for an adventure of someone "out there having fun in a Hawaiian shirt" - a couple of you in the van can do it easy.

But after the nightmare of last year, this has been so refreshing to see what the wonderful and absorbing sport of multidaying is all about. It has so much drama and intrigue. In the coming days just watch how Goodge absolutely destroys Paul, in all aspects. And all off an HR of 105. Note: Paul has 12 minutes on WG for the marathon, and trains around 7-8 times as hard with 130m weekly loads to WGs 20.

Thanks all, been a fascinating few days. We got our Transcon back! And good for Pete to finally get some lip service from Paul, who never mentionned or paid tribute to him in the 3 month build up, at least as far as I could tell, which was a poor show.

Good to see that they've seen sense and recalibrated to a more realistic 50 day goal. That will still be very tough though.

And we may never know if this was the plan all along. He has gained over 200k Instagram followers, massive national media coverage and sponsorship by bragging about going for a world record. This wouldn't have been achieved to the same extent if he was aiming for 50 day from the outset

Fair

Speaking of Goodge…did he bandit the Paris Half marathon? He ran it and posted pics, but I didn’t see a bib and he’s not in the results.

Good to see they're being more realistic now, wish them the best.

Reminds me of Noah Lyles making claims about beating Bolts records before race meets.

Meanwhile you have a Femke Bol who says 'maybe' to being asked about breaking a record, no noise beforehand, pure class and proceeds to do so.

I know what I prefer to see

I don't mind a little talk and actually enjoy it when it's appropriate. Lyle's is at least on the same planet as Bolt and is the most likely person right now to have a run at one of his records. PJ saying he'll get the transcon record is like me saying I'm gonna have a go at Kiptum's record because I just got my first BQ.

Yep, the irony of the recalibration is that they're saying: we're going to slow down, relax and enjoy it, and only go 60 miles a day.

Well, their own tracking website has the last 4 days at 48 63 73 63, so 60 is going to be no picnic.

To be pedantic, the recal actually has him speeding up.

For a little bit of relative comparisons, this would be like if Kipchoge fell off the pace and announced his lower target goal at mile 2 of his 1:59.59 marathon attempt by Nike.

A little more respect for the challenge and the previous records would have been beneficial here. An attempt like this demands a lot more fitness, a lot more experience and much better planning.

They were bragging on the livestream last night about their "amazing route" they had planned which was jarring given the multiple snafus.

Regardless, a 50 day finish is still a ridiculously impressive goal to aim for, but it still is going to require a herculean effort. I hope he can pull it off, but I fear Flagstaff is going to be a challenge to get to.

Will can you provide a short very brief summary of the PK record run? When did it happen? How do you know that one was real? keep it brief and slang-free o please.

This might help:

runnersworld.com

Here’s How Pete Kostelnick Ran Across the Country in Record Time

He used 200-mile training weeks, serious travel planning, and an awesome crew to run from San Francisco to New York in 42 days.

Link:www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/g...

Happy to! What a pleasurable soliloquy to pen. Let me take the fetid, rancid runtbeast for a stroll and I'm all yours.

They were doomed from day 1 if they can't do the micro route planning.

Have a look at where they are currently stopped, Vidal Junction on SR62/"Aqueduct Rd". 9 miles back, where the railway splits from the road and aqueduct, they could have taken a straight line to Parker through the town of Vidal and make it 25 miles instead of 26.2 from that split. This isn't even guesswork on my part, Google Maps literally routes you that way if you ask for walking directions, indicating that they are public roads.

Likewise, their next ~100 miles from Parker to Yarnell, AZ. Google has it at 105miles on foot via Midway, AZ. But their planned route has them going 118 miles through Salome, AZ.

I think any serious attempt at the transcon record must involve a road trip in which you drive the entire route carefully. Checking if the dirt road shortcuts are RV accessible, checking if those shortcuts are gravel or sand, checking for private property/fences, reservations, etc.