Read Online Running on Empty by Marshall Ulrich - Free Book Online

reflection of my upbringing, a work ethic, a personal challenge. My love of history gets interwoven, too—the feats of other people in other times—coupled with the alluring possibility that I might be able to go farther, faster, today .
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    In the fall of 2007, I began training for the transcon and reaching out to friends in the running community to ask them to crew for me. Charlie and I had decided to make our record attempt in the spring of 2008 and were also working out the details of the route, securing funding, and seeking sponsorship. A few of my longtime supporters came on board, most notably ENGO/Tamarack Habilitation, the company that makes ENGO blister patches, which provided both products and money for the run; as well as GoLite, Injinji, LEKI, Pacific Outdoor Equipment, Pearl Izumi, Sportslick, and Zensah—all of whom stocked us up with most of my favorite gear.
    Charlie came through in a big way. He signed us a documentary deal (he became one of the producers, too) for the transcontinental run. The production company—NEHST, the same folks who’d bought distribution rights for Running the Sahara— decided to title the film Running America. This was huge, as NEHST helped promote the event with a Running America ’08 website, which they launched in July 2008, and no doubt the documentary did help attract additional big-name corporate sponsorship. NEHST would manage the finances for this twomonth adventure, taking receipt of sponsorship money and establishing a budget for everything from hiring the filmmakers to feeding us to providing us with two RVs (a place to cook, sleep, have medical care, and house off-duty crew), as well as two vans, one for each crew to stock and drive.
    The crews would be paid little and work hard, staying within a mile of their runners on the road. Charlie and I might start out together, but we were sure to get separated, due to varying paces, possible injuries, and any other obstacles each of us might face on our own. So we’d need at least four or five people to staff each crew: one to drive each runner’s RV, which would be stationed for long stops, where we’d need a kitchen and a place to sleep; one to drive each runner’s crew van, which would go a mile ahead of the runner, stop, and prepare to meet him as he passed to deliver whatever he needed (from food and drink to encouragement and changes of clothing), then do it all over again, every mile of the way; plus one or two more for medical support and miscellaneous duties. NEHST would take care of feeding and providing lodging for these folks, and pay their small stipend.
    Among the sponsors Charlie and the producers secured were Super 8, which would provide some funds and hotel rooms for the production crew (and for us and our own crews, if we ever desired); VQ OrthoCare, who’d make a huge financial contribution and supply both equipment and a representative from the company to assist during the run; AXA Equitable, which would give funding and arranged to have its logo “wrapped” on one of the RVs; Vita-Mix and Crocs, both of whom would give us money and products to use on the road; plus Spin Vox, Champs, and SPOT, who’d give us products and services. We had a stellar lineup of sponsors and underwriting.
    But all of that didn’t come together before the spring start date, so it was postponed from March to May, and then again to August. Finally, everything was set up for September 2008, so it turned out that we had about a year to train for this event. Early on, I consulted with Ray, asking him to give me the benefit of his experience with having just run thousands of miles to help me get ready for my own cross-country journey. We talked about how the surface would make running America particularly challenging. We’d be on pavement, and the pounding would surely take its toll. But the biggest physical challenge, and Ray understood this better than most anyone