Has anybody else heard about this guy?
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Don Muchow hopes to be the first ultra runner to tackle a transcontinental trek stretching from coast to coast and mouse to mouse when he runs 2,830 miles from Disneyland to Disney World.
Muchow will start his Run Across America in Newport Beach on Saturday, Feb. 1 in hopes of finishing 98 days later in Melbourne, Fla. —the fastest ever run by a Type 1 diabetic.
After dipping his toe in the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, his first stop will be 14 miles up Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim at the esplanade between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. If all goes according to plan, Muchow will arrive at Disney World 94 days later before making his final stop in Melbourne, Florida on May 8.
Muchow knows exactly what he’s going to do when he finally makes it to Disney World.
“Eat, get a massage and go ride It’s a Small World,” said Muchow, 58, a marketing director from Plano, Texas.
The cross-country run will take Muchow through nine states and from sea level to a towering 5,200-foot elevation to sea level again. He’ll run through Corona on Sunday, Feb. 2, Palm Springs on Monday, Feb. 3 and Coachella on Tuesday, Feb. 4. After passing through the Mojave Desert, he’ll spend 17 days crossing Arizona, hitting Phoenix and Tucson along the way. New Mexico will be a mere four-day blip before he spends most of March tackling Texas. He’ll start in El Paso on March 3 and won’t reach Dallas until March 24. April will take him through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Once he steps foot in Florida it’ll still take him nine days to get to Disney World. After a day of fun at the Magic Kingdom, Muchow will hit the road once again for another 74 miles before he reaches Melbourne and dips his foot in the Atlantic Ocean.
Along the way, Muchow is looking forward to running past plenty of Roadside America landmarks — from a surreal abandoned downtown in Texas to the famed Crossroads of the Blues in Mississippi to roadside pecan stands in Alabama.
“I’m really in love with what I call Backroad America,” Muchow said. “There’s so many things to see along the route.”
Muchow will run within 6 miles of his home in Plano, Texas, but he won’t spend the night there.
“It’s sort of superstition,” Muchow said. “There’s a little part of me that feels like if I see my own bed I’ll lie down in it and never get up again.”
He’ll pass through his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi where he’ll attend his high school reunion, according to Plano Magazine.
Muchow can’t be certain someone hasn’t run from Disneyland to Disney World before. He checked with runDisney and the Fastest Known Time website, but neither was aware of a cross-country Mouse to Mouse run. He’ll document his start day and time at Disneyland with a photo and GPS reading and do the same when he gets to Disney World. He’s hopeful his Disneyland-to-Disney World feat will qualify for a Guinness World Record.
Muchow spent the day before his Run Across America scouting out the area around Disneyland. He’d hoped to squeeze in a trip to Disneyland before the cross-country trek, but pre-race preparations ate into his spare time. He’s set aside time to visit Disney World.
“If things go well, I’ll get into the Magic Kingdom in good condition and may have some time to walk around the park a little bit,” Muchow said during a telephone interview.
He’s a big fan of the parks on both coasts, but has spent more time at Disney World.
“We usually arrive by car,” Muchow said. “I’ve never run to it before.”
The first thing Muchow plans to do when he arrives at Disney World: Get a massage at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
“That’s my favorite ride,” Muchow said with a chuckle. “We’re planning an unnecessary rest day when we get Disney World so that I can do that and then run the last couple of days to the coast.”
Don Muchow runs through Texas. (Photo courtesy of Don Muchow)
Most days Muchow will run more than a 26.2-mile marathon, averaging 30 to 40 miles daily. He’ll run from dawn to dusk, 12 to 15 hours a day across lonely blacktops and on gravel shoulders. His longest day will be on Feb. 28 when he plans to rip off 44 miles in New Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border on his way into El Paso. His shortest day will be a mere 19 miles as he makes his final approach to the Magic Kingdom. He’ll pause every 300 miles or so — about once every 12 days — to rest, recover and restock the support van driven by his wife, Leslie Nolen.
Nolen is the crew chief and true hero of the Run Across America, Muchow said.
“Basically all I do is the running,” Muchow said. “She does everything else.”
The support van is filled with clothing and supplies for the 98-day cross-country trip. There are six military-style jerrycans for clean water and two 5-gallon coolers for a Gatorade-like electrolyte drink. An electric cooler holds a four-month supply of insulin for Muchow’s diabetes. A portable pantry is filled with wipes, paper towels, disposable cutlery and toilet paper. Two large bins hold shelf-stable food. There’s a rooftop tent for roadside sleeping and a porta-toilet when the route turns remote.
Muchow’s running gear is all geared toward one goal: Keeping him healthy and free from illness or injury. He travels with long-sleeve running shirts, running tights, hydration vest, headlamp, arm warmers and coolers, anti-blister socks, foot lubricant, lightweight running hat, glare-resistant eyewear, cooling neckerchiefs, GPS watch and a waist pack for his glucose meter, lancing device and other diabetic needs.
He wears a lightweight, comfortable running shoe designed for multi-hundred mile runs on asphalt and gravel. He took 8 pairs of running shoes on his 8-day run across Iowa in 2018, but only used one pair.
Muchow’s goal for all his mega-runs: Empower people with Type 1 diabetes to walk, run or ride. He hopes his Run Across America will be the fastest ever by a T1D — or Type 1 diabetic.
Muchow has been an insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetic since he was first diagnosed in 1972. Diabetes affects the body’s ability to turn glucose into energy and puts diabetics at risk of dangerously fluctuating blood sugar levels. Physical activity can affect blood sugar levels.
Muchow uses his ultra-running experiences to inspire the T1D community and explain how he juggles exercise, insulin and food intake to avoid dangerous blood sugar swings.
Muchow started running in his mid-40s when he was 50 pounds overweight and his diabetes was causing him health problems. He started with short runs and worked his way up to 5Ks. Today he’s participated in more than 30 triathlons and run 339 miles across Iowa and 850 miles across Texas.
Ultra running can be a lonely existence. Muchow’s Run Across America will be a mostly solo effort — with only Nolen by his side in the support van. He’ll run all day, every day — unless weather or injury slows him down or it’s a rest day. There are no race officials, police barricades, aid stations, medical tents or Porta Potties lining the route.
A live tracker will show his progress heading east. Supporters are welcome to cheer him on or even join him for a mile, 5 miles or a day. He runs slower than most runners. You can’t run 2,830 miles at a marathon pace. Sometimes he walks. He averages a mile every 15 minutes or so.
He occasionally stops to chat with a well wisher along the route. But don’t take it personally when he keeps moving on. Running behind on the day’s miles cuts into his time to eat and sleep.
How does Muchow wrap his head around running across America? He thinks about it as a series of 5Ks. And approaches each leg of the journey one race at a time.
“This is roughly 5,000K,” Muchow said. “It would be a thousand 5Ks. It sounds like a lot, but when you really boil it down, anyone can run a 5K. When you get to the end of the 5K you walk for a bit, you get some cold water or some Gatorade, you shake your head a little bit and kind of get back in the game and run another three miles. If you focus on it like that, it’s easy to get it done.”
What will Muchow do when he finally dips his foot in the Atlantic Ocean and completes his Run Across America? Get a good night’s sleep.
“What I have found is that you almost have to get a good night sleep before you can wake up and realize what just happened,” Muchow said. “It’s almost like it happened to somebody else. Some other guy was crossing the finish line and you’re there cheering him on. You wake up the next morning and realize, ‘No wait, that was me.’ It’s kind of surreal. It’s almost like a few days have to pass before it sinks in that I actually did it.”