about the Trans-Am

1. How many pairs of shoes did you go through? 8 pairs - Some of them size 13 but most were size 12
2. Where were the prettiest stages? The two days in the Colorado Rockies
3. Where were the ugliest stages? Once we got out of the California cities and into the Mojave. We were basically on old Rt 66 - which is a blacktop road with grass growing in the cracks. Nothing seems to be alive.
4. What was the hardest day? Stage 18 into Green River, UT. The scenery was spectacular but I was hurting so much physically and mentally that I decided to quit. First I prayed that the lightening around me would strike me dead (really!) and then I prayed for a sign. I did start to feel better later on and decided to stick with it.
5. What was the easiest day? Some of the days the last weeks of the race when I was "cruising" with the boys in a pack - IF no one was pushing the pace.
6. What was it like in the desert? The heat was easier to deal with than I had thought because the lack of humidity really does make a difference. At first the scenery is sort of pretty, but it is vast and you see the same stuff forever. Overall, it is sparsely populated, lonely, and boring.
7. What is your greatest satisfaction? Knowing that I am the only person to do the AT and the Trans-Am.
8. Did you lose weight? Overall, no. There was one period where my weight was down but I think it was due to dehydration. Although the weight was the same, I was leaner. My body fat was around 6% before I left and I am sure that number was less after the race.
9. Approximately how many calories did you eat per day? 5000-7000
10. What did you eat when you were running? I would usually take half a Power Bar at 8 miles and them eat candy or cookies every two miles. By 30 miles I might start eating cantaloupe or watermelon. Ice cream was always good too. Toward the end, I would also start eating some chips, pretzels, or cheese curls-anything with salt.
11. What and how much did you drink? On average, I would drink a little over 2 gallons of Conquest per day. Sometimes toward the end of the run I would take plain water with me if it was really hot. And sometimes I would try a little bit of diluted Mountain Dew.
12. What did you eat for breakfast? I always craved waffles but I ate cereal, coffee, and maybe a donut if one was available.
13. What would you do if you had to answer the call of nature along the way? I didn't wait for the next service station!
14. What was your goal going into the race? I wanted to win and set the record so that I could add the Trans-Am to my AT record.
15. When did you change your goal? Within the first week I knew Dusan was faster and stronger than me and that barring any catastrophes, he would be the winner.
16. How do you feel about the results? I am pleased with the 3^rd place overall finish. I did break the previous Trans-Am record and I did my very best. Others were just better than me.
17. Was communication a problem with people from all over the world? Actually, only two of the runners spoke little or no English. Some of the Moonbat people also had a problem with English. But for the most part, communication was not too bad. They just couldn't get my jokes!
18. Where did you sleep? Hotels, scenic overlooks, gyms, armories, rec centers, garages, tents - Actually there were about 30 days of hotels - some good and some bad.
19. What was the worst place to sleep? Day 36 we stayed in a gymnasium. It was stifling hot with a million flies all over the place. I opted to set up my tent outside thinking it would be better. Unfortunately, it was just as horrible! The R&R Hotel also gets some votes for the worst place.
20. What was the best place? State Line, NV. This was a beautiful resort hotel.
21. What was the hardest part of the day? The morning was the worst because you knew you would take a beating but you just did not know how bad it would be.
22. What was the financial cost of the race? Someplace between $9,000 and $10,000
23. Would you encourage others to do this race? No. But if they did want to do it I would make sure they knew how "unfun" this race is. However, if someone really wants it bad enough, even I wouldn't be able to stop them.
24. What was your impression of this race? Without a doubt, it is the longest and toughest footrace in the world. Doing it is like carrying out a jail sentence.
25. Why did you do it? It became one of my dreams in the 80's, thinking it would be a great challenge and adventure. I was wrong. It was a long and tough 64 day race - It was too hard to be an adventure.
26. Would you do it again? NO!
27. When did you run for the first time after the race? I ran Sunday morning in NY with Reid Lanham and Rebekah. We ran for one hour. Then, I ran again on Monday. It was nice to run because I wanted to and not because I had to.
28. What about the organization of the race? The directors did an outstanding job on the things that were essential to the race: i.e. turn sheets, course markings, and starting on time. The areas needing improvement include, better publicity, spreading out the hotels to give runners needed breaks, changing some of the distances, and more attention to everyday logistics.
29. Who was your best friend? Manfred Leismann and I became great friends and I really enjoyed kidding around with my "girlfriend" Eiko Endo. However, the manager of the Moonbat crew, Mr. Otani was one of those rare exceptional people. He was always working, always selfless, always polite, and always a gentleman. I consider it a great privilege to have gotten to know him. He and I still correspond from time to time.
30. What kind of things did you pick up along the road? Whether I picked up things depended on if I was racing or not. When I could, I picked up money, hats, dog leashes, pens, flags, hard hats, buckets, tools, knives, etc. But I probably left at least $8.00 in change laying out there because I did not feel like bending over to pick it up.
31. What was the most special day or days? Without a doubt, mail-drop days. I got many cards and letters of encouragement and lots of food! I liked Eric Clifton's envelopes the best. He is quite the creative artist.
32. What is Moonbat? It is a huge Japanese company specializing in women's apparel, furs, umbrellas, and household items. They do no business in the US.
33. How did you feel when you crossed the finish line? I shed no tears. It was really anti-climatic. But, I was really hungry!
34. What was the most emotional part of the last day? Watching Don and Ray start early at 4:17 am (so we would all get there about the same time) and then when we crossed the George Washington Bridge. I knew then I would make it!
35. What was the most depressing thing of the race? The short stage (32 miles) out of Salina, UT. It was nearly all uphill, I could hardly run because of injuries, and I kept getting passed by other runners.
36. Was the race what you expected? No. It was harder.
37. What injuries did you have? Tendonitis of the right shin and left Achilles, swollen right ankle, sore right knee, left hamstring, right calf, hips, and back. The sunburned lips did not help much either.
38. Why does the race end in NYC? That is where the Bunion Derby ended in 1928 and that is where it began in 1929.
39. What do you think about Forest Gump? I used to like him but now I don't. He makes it look too easy. The running coast-to-coast is trivialized.
40. At the end of the race what did you forward to the most? A normal life!
41. What was the first thing you did when you got home? Check out the tomatoes in the garden.
42. What time in the morning do you get up each day? 3:55am
43. What was the hardest state? Pennsylvania - because of the frequency of the hills and the grade.
44. Were all the days the same? I never knew what day of the week it was except that Saturdays were always short mileage days and Sunday's were always long.
45. What was your schedule for the day? Get up, eat breakfast, run, finish, check the times, head for the shower, find a phone to call Trittipoes with results, have crew get me something to eat while I iced my shins or whatever else hurt, massage if available, sleep for 15-30 minutes, read, eat supper, call Trittipoes with further race details, call home, get organized for next day, sleep.
46. Will you do another huge race like this one? No. Maybe stage races of just 4-5 days but nothing more.

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