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Running News Daily is edited by Bob Anderson in Los Altos California USA and team in Thika Kenya, La Piedad Mexico, Bend Oregon, Chandler Arizona and Monforte da Beira Portugal.  Send your news items to bob@mybestruns.com Advertising opportunities available.  Train the Kenyan Way at KATA Kenya. (Kenyan Athletics Training Academy) in Thika Kenya.  KATA Portugal at Anderson Manor Retreat in central portugal.   Learn more about Bob Anderson, MBR publisher and KATA director/owner, take a look at A Long Run the movie covering Bob's 50 race challenge.  

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Boston Marathon director remembers his 3,452 mile run across America in 1978

Forty years ago, June 11, 1978, I (photo lower left) started off on my 80-day, 3,452 mile run from Medford, OR to Medford, MA.  For the first month, I averaged about 43 miles a day and then upped it to over 50 miles a day as I miscalculated the distance using AAA maps and a ruler!  Geez, now I am lucky if I can do just one of those days!  Every breath seems like a cliff hanger!  Guess I should just be happy I’m still waking up every morning.  I always thought it would have been more exciting for all of us to be born, go to age 50, then turn around and go back to age zero again – then you get to do every year of your life over again…a second chance at every age instead of just getting older and older!!  My crew for my 80-day adventure of Danny Carey, Jeff Donahue, Tom Kinder and Kent Hawley were life savers.  At the end of every day, I wrote a postcard and mailed it back to some friends at the Boston YMCA.  Each card had the date, day on the road, weather and temperature, miles I ran and location I finished for the day, along with a brief message.   No computers, no cell phones, no emails, no texting, no GPS, back in those days.   One post card read,  “Started about 1:10pm from Medford, Oregon.  The Mayor and a few guys from the area track club ran with me for a while.  Only expected to do 20 miles today – very, very hilly and mountainous!  Over 5,000 ft. in elevation.  Stayed at a campsite for the night.  80 degrees and sunny,”  I wrote.   Ran 30-miles that day and finished in Tub Springs, Rt. 66, Oregon, my shortest day because I started in the afternoon.   I only had 3,422 more miles to go!  What was I thinking??   I was 23-years-old and very naïve.  That’s what probably got me through all this. (06/12/2018) Views: 2,298 ⚡AMP
by Dave McGillivray
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