"100 - 100" Welcome to Thonerdom!

What's the point?

Anyone who never dips below 100 per week is obviously not training to race, so what's the point?

the same point that people make when they run every day for 35 years, or run a marathon a month, or run a marathon in every state, or run a marathon every day for 26 days. some people make goals like this, others actually try to run faster.

i believe in at least some of these cases the "runners" who do this have given up any hope in actually progressing in the sport, so they have to come up with something else to keep their interest.

Your answer, My Answer, is a good answer!

First of all to the first poster, there was no point....just simply asking had anyone ever done that feat. Kind of like asking has anyone ever climbed Mt. Everest.....just a simple question.

And yes, My Answer, most all people, including runners, get bored of what they are doing or have accomplished all they can in some area.....so they resort to another challenge in order to keep going. Everyone will reach a point where they can not get any faster, and that is O.K. Some (a lot) will simply quit and never run again...some will seek new challenges.

certainly, and i admire those who continue to run despite knowing that days of pr's are well behind them. i fear these days ahead, though they're far away. i hope i have the guts to keep going.

that said, i wonder how many "runners" who have a decent shot at improving their times don't get sidetracked by these other "goals."

some would question whether or not running faster is a better goal than, say, running a marathon on all continents. after all, time is an arbitrary measurement, i'm sure they'd say. while an argument could ensue infinitely on this pseudo-philosophical problem, i refuse to get into it in the future if indeed it comes up.

i think it all depends upon the person and there interests. personally i equally admire someone who is/was a "great" runner and hangs up the shoes to persue other interests, as I do the not as talented runner who puts everything aside to see how good they can be. i don't consider myself a great runner by any means, but i know in my 25 year young heart that if i put everything into my running, i could drop my 5k + 10k pr's. right now however, i'm one of those people who is thinking of chasing a non PR related running goal. a buddy and i are in the works of planning a coast to coast run. do 20 - 25mpd = 4 to 5 months. want to carry just 12 to 14 pound packs, and have the goal of not paying a single $ for lodging. we're probably a bit naive about how willing we think people will be to let strangers sleep on their front porch, but it's gonna be fun as hell to find out. with any luck i can achieve a my goal and get a huge base of mileage in the process. as long as my legs are broken or back isn't crooked after 5 months of carrying extra weight, i may be in better shape than when i started.

now that takes some serious gonads! Lots of people (figuratively speaking) have run coast to coast....but most usually have an RV van beside them with food, clothing, beds, and anyhting else they need. Just you and a back pack- WOW! Maybe you could set up a web site so we can track you. I guess you would have to visit some local schools, libraries, etc. to use their computers! Good luck and let us know when you start.

I thought "100-100" was a hundred mile week with a hundred beers drank in that week.

we definitely plan to use the message board(s) as a resource for leads on places to stay along the way. probably will set up our own site. biggest thing right now is getting an article about our run published before we leave so that we have legitimization of what we are doing when we go knocking on people's doors. an article about us in a reputable publication would probably calm the nerves of people who are nervous about us being axe wielding murderers.

intended route - nj, pa, oh, in, il, mo, nb, wy, id, or

departure - march 1st

Yeah Thoner, I did something like that except higher, and

I backed off to a 100 to race. I didn't get results until

I cut the mileage in half and trained faster. I guess you

could call it a long cycle.

What route will you be taking? If you publicized this on this and other running web sites, you may be suprised at how many offers you get to stay from us cyberspace runners.

Ooooops, sehon40, you posted the answer before I finished posting the question. Thanks.

Thoner,

From January 1990 to June of 1993 I was seriously into running ultra distance. I only ran two ultras, but was training for and got the qualifier for the Western States 100 and was going to run it when I got injured - kind of turned me off to running super far distances, and I've not done more than just marathons at the most since.

Anyway, during that stretch, I didn't hit 100 every single week, but I was at 100 and up to 140 MPW for three weeks on and then back down to 70 for one week and then back up for three long weeks - did that for the time frame mentioned above.

Sehon,

Your trek sounds like fun. (A twisted runner's kind of fun). I don't know much about the route you're taking, but I would guess that there are some stretches where you won't come across any food or water for days (if you're doing 20-25 a day). Will you be able to carry enough water for these stretches? If you spend about 3 or 4 hours running each day, what do you plan to do the rest of the day? Any 2 a day or 3 a days?

the planned route has us encountering "some" civilization at least every 20 miles, except for a couple of 30 - 40 mile stretches. we're starting east in march so that we'll be in more heavily populated areas when the weather is cold, and be out west in less populated areas when things are warming-up. that way it won't be as much of a hassle to be outdoors when the weather is warmer. we plan to do food on a one or two day basis. i've saved a good chunk of $, so i'm planning on liberal use of my ATM card. the bag i'm gonna use has a 100oz reservoir, which when filled will weigh a fair amount....but for stretches of 15 miles where i know we'll hit water stops, the reservoir can be empty. i plan to spend my free-time studying for the GMATS and socializing with local farmers' daughters.

GMATS, yeh right! Like the farmers daughters though! What all will you be carrying in your back pack besides water and ATM card? Extra clothes? A space blanket?

What about shoes? I'm guessing that you'd go through 4-6 pairs of shoes on a 3000 trek like that. Will you just purchase shoes along the way? What about personal showering? YMCAs?

in addition to the t-shirt, shorts, shoes, and socks we'd wear.....

1 x sporthills

1 x extra tee

1 x long sleeve

2 x socks

hat

gloves

tooth brush

tooth paste

mulit-vitamin

bug repellant

sunblock

leatherman tool

length of rope

2.5 lb compressed sleeping bag

bivy sack (space blanket)

gross of condoms

cell phone

pen + paper

driver's lisence

sunglasses

small flashlight

lighter

small first aid kit

frisbee

zip lock bags

spork

mosquito net

map

already have an "in" with a major shoe company that will hopefully pick up our shoe and equipment costs. iff not, we'll just buy as we go.

i don't shower much anyways, so that's not an issue. much of the premise of this run will be to discover the good will of the american people. we hope that with some legitimization of what we're doing, people will open their doors to us for a night at a time. it may be naive and presumptuous, but i have faith it'll work out. i already keep a pretty meticulous journal of my boring life, so i plan to do a lot of writing about the experience. if we do in fact discover america's good-will, perhaps a story or book idea will result.