Footprints

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on February 20, 2008

A Real Forrest Gump

“I'm pretty tired... I think I'll go home now.” – Forrest Gump

Last June I wrote a column titled “The Obscure Celebrity” documenting the running career of Glen R. Turner and his connection to Zionsville (his mother and sister are both Zionsville residents). Glen is a runner who has competed in several multi-day events. He is about to embark upon the most challenging adventure of his long running career. He plans to run from Oceanside, CA to Savannah, GA. Glen will be unsupported for the duration of his trip, meaning that he will carry all of his own supplies in his custom made running cart (he will restock supplies in towns along the way).  The cart even has a place for him to sleep at night out on the road. As an unsupported runner, Glen will be responsible for transporting all of his gear without a support vehicle traveling with him. He will travel 2500 miles through eight states along the southern portion of the United States.  Glen’s goal is to break the current world record for the fastest unsupported single journey runner crossing of the United States, (in average miles/day) which is currently held by Alan Tardy (3400 miles in 76 days = 45 miles/day). Glen would like to average 46 miles/day for 55 days during his crossing.

There are several sponsors helping Glen with the cost of his attempt. One of them is the “Spot, Personal Satellite Messenger”. Glen will carry this device with him which, when coupled with Google Maps on a personal computer, will allow anyone surfing the internet to see exactly where Glen is at any time.

In addition to his goal of the fastest crossing, Glen will be challenging student and community teams from across the country in a cumulative, weighted “virtual race” online.  Students from 3^rd grade to college and community members are encouraged to sign up a team and record their running distances on the team log pages.  Results will be calculated and posted weekly to see how teams match up with each other and Glen’s progress. Glen began his run on last Sunday, February 17. I will be running with a group of 3^rd and 4^th grade runners at Eagle Elementary School during their recess beginning this week. We will add the mileage of all those running at Eagle in hopes of keeping up with Glen until he finishes (he hopes to finish by April 11). If you are the parent of a 3^rd or 4^th grade student who does not attend Eagle Elementary School but would like to participate on our team you may reach me at budd@runz.com.

Those third and fourth grade runners who train during recess will be given an opportunity to qualify for the Zionsville Anti-Mini which will take place on Saturday, May 3. Qualifications will be held at Eagle Elementary School at 11:00 AM just prior to the Earth Day celebration which will be held on Sunday, April 20 from noon until 3:00 PM. All students who qualify (finishing 2 ½ miles) will receive free admission to the Anti-Mini.

The inclusion of the 3^rd and 4^th grade runners in Glen’s quest to run across the country will allow Glen to be successful whether he makes his goal or not. The fact that Glen is inspiring these young people to be active ultimately will allow him to achieve something of great importance.

If you are interested in his venture, you can see more information at Glen’s website at www.grtrunning.com. I am planning to join Glen as he passes north of Dallas on March 18 and hope to run along side him for a day. I can’t wait to see the cart in action. Hopefully, Glen will have slowed down enough for me to run with him by that date. Putting in a day running on the Texas roads will kind of fulfill for me that little itch I have of doing something like this myself. It is a real win-win situation. I will get to pretend that I am running across the country (for a day) without actually spending several months on the road. I’m sure my wife Maureen will agree.

Budd Glassberg is a 23 year resident of Zionsville who works and volunteers in the community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.