49 days after he started Phil McCarthy completes his Run Across America (3rd fastest)- I ran with him today AMA

Any my apologies in advance for combining the news of his run with the AMA.

Ideally they'd be separate but I'm combining them. I figured the AMA might get people to click on it.

I really don't know much about the ultra scene but found this interesting and hope it prompts Steeltown Runner to chime in.

How many raccoons would it take to kill a grown man? The man is unarmed and cannot outrun them. The raccoons will fight to the death.

For something a bit more relevant, how many raccoons did McCarthy see on his run?

Pretty cool achievement. I've always wanted to do that too. I always wondered about the logistics and route planning. Can you run on highways or is it mostly middle roads? Any trails? How much does it cost?

zodd wrote:

How much does it cost?

Two friends drove rental RV on 2 week coast to coast trip spent about $3,300 if you remove the high end extras like 5 star hotel stays and roadside attractions.

Broke down to about 200 a day for a couple over 16 days.

Hey Stephen,

Thanks for sharing this! So happy for Phil completing his journey and that he's home safe. Awesome pics and just as awesome that you guys were there for his final miles. Hope to see you all, if there are any celebratory beer and burger outings for Phil. Stay well, best to you and yours.

Paul Arroyo

zodd wrote:

Pretty cool achievement. I've always wanted to do that too. I always wondered about the logistics and route planning. Can you run on highways or is it mostly middle roads? Any trails? How much does it cost?

I asked him a little about the route and he made it sound like it wasn't that hard to do with google maps. My thinking is they're not on major highways.

A front-page post about ultra running and no one has called it walking or hiking yet? Am I dreaming?

Very impressive feat, kudos to you wejo for caring enough to join in and make this post. Do we have a total distance he traveled? Strava/SPOT tracker/something link?

Fun fact: the guy on the far right of the second picture is Michael Arnstein, who has run 12:57 for 100 miles on the track (7:46 per mile, top 10 American performance over the distance)

Guys with beards and facial hair running in split shorts?

Ew.

They should shave their facial hair if they're gonna wear split shorts.

Phil McCarthy's run across the US in 49 days and 12 hours (or so) is actually the second fastest.

There is a claim by a guy from the 80ies but there is no evidence that he could have done it in the speed he claimed.

3rd fastest is by Marshall Ulrich in 52.5 days from 2008.

Phil's run with an average of 60+ miles per day is a tremendous afford considering the low key approach he took with just one crew member and a SUV.

The support vehicle was a standard SUV, with one person driving, it's remarkable that Phil could run such a fast time with virtually no support. He said he slept in the back seat of the car, days with no shower. Most days running by 5am and running til 9-10pm. Navigation, laundry, weather, so many variables, with nearly no support = Jedi master without a doubt. Oh yea, he's 50 years old too...and ran the 2nd fastest time ever.

Is that the same Phil McCarthy who was on the bronze medal 24 hour team with Jurek in Brive 2010?

He sure looks different.

http://www.americanultra.org/AUABrive10.htm

What was his average pace? / How many hours of running per day?

Very nice wrote:

A front-page post about ultra running and no one has called it walking or hiking yet? Am I dreaming?

Very impressive feat, kudos to you wejo for caring enough to join in and make this post. Do we have a total distance he traveled? Strava/SPOT tracker/something link?

Fun fact: the guy on the far right of the second picture is Michael Arnstein, who has run 12:57 for 100 miles on the track (7:46 per mile, top 10 American performance over the distance)

Arnstein is the 'fruitarian' eating only raw fruits and some raw veggies. A different breed for sure!...

ytrx wrote:

What was his average pace? / How many hours of running per day?

Average mileage per day was around 60+ miles. Hours of running roughly around 14.

That's 4.28 miles per hour on paper. But realistically you have to run a lot faster because you have some down time during the day for nutrition stops, clothes changes and so on.

It's really hard to comprehend what 60 miles per day for weeks means, if you have never done a multiday race.

stateroftheoblivious wrote:

Is that the same Phil McCarthy who was on the bronze medal 24 hour team with Jurek in Brive 2010?

He sure looks different.

http://www.americanultra.org/AUABrive10.htm

Yes, same guy. I think he won an individual bronze in the 24-Hour. He also set the still-standing U.S. 48-Hour Record of 257 miles in 2011.

Great guy!! Congrats, Phil!!

Markus wrote:

It's really hard to comprehend what 60 miles per day for weeks means, if you have never done a multiday race.

1) So true. I've never run 60 in a day but can fathom it. But I have no idea what it would be like to try day after day.

2) He did it in 49 days. What is the record?

Pete Kostelnick ran 42 days 6 hours and 30 minutes for 3063 miles

Pete had an average of 71.9 miles per day

Phil over 60, lets say 61 miles per day ( we don't have the accurate numbers yet)

That 9.9 mile/day difference is huge. In Marathon terms it's comparing a 2:12 with a 2:05 time. 2:12 is really fast for most of us but it's world's away from a 2:05 even if there is "just" a 7 minute difference. Every mile over 60 miles per day is exponential harder to gain. It's not just one mile more. You trade rest time for a mile.

Pete was running so much faster. He usually covered his 72 mile days in around 13 hours. Phil needed 14 hours for 60+ miles.

One hour more rest and 21 years younger makes all the difference.

Phil's run is a huge success considering his age and his minimal crew operation.

How fast do you think Bekele could run across America(how many days?)? What do you think would be his fastest mile split over the entire period and his maximum distance in a day?

It should also be noted that Pete is in the midst of running over 5,000 miles from Alaska to Florida, currently in Illinois, running completely self-supported (pushing his supplies in a jogging stroller and purchasing what he needs along the way). See

http://petesfeetaa.com/

and

https://www.facebook.com/petesfeetaa/

.

According to Strava last week he put in 416.6 miles (an average of 59.5 miles per day). This run, and especially the self-supported aspect of it, has been truly inspirational to me - this seems even more impressive than his record-running supported run across America. I don't understand how it isn't generating more buzz here ... perhaps as he gets closer to Key West?