Even knowing him since high school, and what he was capable of back then, I still have a hard time believing he did it. Steve Knowlton ran all the way across the country, averaging about 35 miles every day. Damn. Even physically superb, the mental fortitude required for this kind of (crazy?) feat is simply something not many of us have. He is far from the first to make the trip, and not the last, but he did battling alcoholism and Crohn's disease, and solo, pushing all of his gear along in a jogging stroller. Steve is nevertheless a gifted runner, and one day decided to go on this little jog, from one ocean to the other. The e-book is roughly halfway done and with some luck will be released in spring of next year. Meantime, keep an eye on the Portfolio page for advance excerpts.
P.S. - I ran a 5k today. 3.1 miles. In a row. Coast to coast, here I come.
Here's a teaser from the prologue:
On a Key Largo beach in November’s chill, a tall, lanky man strips to his shorts and walks into the turbid waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a celebratory plunge at the finish of a journey that saved his life, and baptism for a future free of his demons. Body and soul cleansed, the man retreats to the beach, leaving saltwater footprints on the sand, turning back to look far to the west, across swells undulating in an endless rotation of ups and downs. The sea’s changing identity mirrors what he has endured in his own life, but he sees in the waves that there is always an up, a time to be above, with a clear view of what lies ahead. And in the orange glow of a Florida sunset, he whispers a prayer of thanks.
One hundred days earlier, Steve Knowlton sleeps in fits and starts in a hard plastic chair in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It is July 29th, 2010, and tomorrow he will run from here to the other side of the country, covering 30, 40, even 50 miles every day. He will rest when necessary, in whatever shelter will have him, be it the boughs of a spruce tree, tent in a roadside ditch, or more civilized hostel or hotel. He will transport a modest collection of gear, pushing it along in front of him in a three-wheeled jogging stroller. His 3,717-mile route is set, on paper, but there will be diversions, roadblocks to his goal, crises to overcome. There will be mountains, extreme heat, wind, rain, and cold. He will meet dozens of people from as many cultures in communities from high alpine to backwater bayou. He runs with Crohn’s disease, attacking him since high school, and alcoholism, fighting with him since college. He runs to beat those adversaries, runs for forgiveness, runs for rebirth.