![]() “There have been countless human interactions on the trip, and they’ve all been positive,” Cantrell says. The hashtags #lazcon and #lazcon2018 are overflowing with heartfelt posts and selfies featuring members of the running community who seized the opportunity to walk with Cantrell for a day or an hour. “The amazing part of this whole thing is the network of people who have come together and aided him to get this done,” says Sandra, who's coordinated support for Cantrell remotely from their home in Tennessee.ĭozens if not hundreds of people, some of whom have flown across the country to reach him, have crewed for him, walked with him, or just offered him a bottle of water along the way. But it’s the people who have been the most incredible, both he and Sandra agree. A website set up by a friend provides information on his progress, location, and support crew, and publishes must-read daily posts from Cantrell himself, meandering, poetry-esque, punctuation-less recaps of how he’s feeling or what he’s seen that day.Ĭantrell has experienced some amazing things on his journey: He’s walked part of the Boston Marathon course, endured heavy storms in Nebraska, seen stunningly beautiful mountains in Idaho, and marveled at irrigation systems in Oregon. Somewhere around a dozen running publications and local media outlets have interviewed him. In response to why now, of all years, all Sandra says is, “Now is better than never.” And though Cantrell is widely reported as 64 years old, all Sandra will say to confirm his age is, “Let’s just say we can get AARP discounts.”īut for a man whose signature race, the Barkley, is famously shrouded in mystery and chock-full of unique traditions, Cantrell has been open, accessible and friendly to all on this adventure. He can’t imagine not wanting to do it, he replies. One of the first questions from local journalists, a continuous chain of whom have covered his progress as he’s passed through their territory, is what motivated him to make the trek in the first place. He relies on his support crew to ensure he carries nothing but his walking stick and his “magic phone.” He’s fond of milkshakes, and prefers ones from local stores to those from a chain.Īnd while nothing but friendly, both Cantrell and his wife, Sandra, love being enigmatic about some topics. He doesn’t take sight-seeing detours, even for the most enticing of opportunities. to 7 p.m., then heads to bed as quickly as possible after dinner to get his mandatory seven hours of sleep. True to his legendarily idiosyncratic personality, Cantrell has some rules while on the road. Related: Ready to run across America- or maybe not quite as far? The Big Book of Running for Beginners will take you through everything you need to know to get started, step by step. He does admit that those who come after him should tackle a trans-continental trek sooner rather than later, though: “Don’t wait until you’re old, it’s too hard on an old body,” he says. Before he set out this year, his doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to make it, but of course Cantrell ignored that. Ideally, Cantrell would’ve run across America decades ago, when he was more physically capable. “I maybe should’ve gotten a little better with the phone before I started,” he says. But the man behind arguably the most difficult race in the world has been about a week behind schedule for most of the trek, largely because of a few unsuccessful shortcuts and some technological glitches with his iPhone. Cantrell, an ultrarunner himself back when the sport was in its infancy in the 1970s, meticulously pre-planned a route that had him reaching the Pacific Ocean in 119 days.
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