Day Four

SAN ANTONIO, N.M. – My apologies for posting so late, as last night was kind of hectic because of a last minute route change, driver detail, and me trying to get organized for today’s pick up of Trish and advisor Peter; and drop off of advisor Steve. We’re ahead of schedule, so the pickup is a little more tricky.

My RV had more technical challenges yesterday. We noticed that when people took showers, the gray water was not being held in the tank, and was pouring out of the valve assembly. This stopped our showering plan for the day. We stopped at a gas station, got some tools and Moose tightened up the valve. Hopefully it was just loose nuts, and not a bad gasket, or this RV is going to get even stinkier. Jesse “Lamar” Williamson, who is a driver in the other RV and I have been going on “Febreeze” detail. We kind of scout out problem pairs of shoes and other clothes and give them a spray semi regularly. It’s been helping.

We hit the N.M. border right on time, according to my modified schedule, having us going at an average speed of 9.25 mph. We then hit Socorro, N.M. within 10 minutes of our predicted time, which was a good indicator of a solid pace.

Curtis “Moose” Howard had 2 funny stories today. One was that he came face to face with a bull in a field that he was exploring on the side of the road. Thankfully, he backed up and was able to stay away from an altercation with the beast. Sunday morning around 2am (I’m blogging really late), I woke him up to run his segment. In his sleep, he said, “RV 1, this is RV 2, all runners are ready to run.” I guess we’ve become really focused on the relay!

Just west of Pie Town, NM, a woman asked us if we would like to stop by her restaurant called “The Pie-oneer” in Pie Town for some free pie. Who would turn down such an offer? We stopped into this really great small-town café and ate a wide variety of pie. The town sits atop the continental divide, and sees athletes participating in many trans-continental events, and we are no exception.

Tonight, in Socorro, NM, we had a route amendment that put us on the interstate for 6 miles more than intended. Our original route that we had planned out put us on farm roads, including over a wooden-deck bridge. After my RV, which was scouting our the route in advance crossed this bridge, we decided that we’d stick to the interstate, we communicated the change in route to the vehicles, and everyone performed very well, without a hitch or loss of time or wasted distance. When our RVs were pulled to the side of the interstate, a New Mexico State Trooper pulled along side and asked us what was up. We told him our story, and our routing plan. He said that he had no problem with runners on the interstate, as long as there was a vehicle that was guarding the runner from behind. I was very surprised that a trooper encouraged us to stay on the interstate.

I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post again, as we’re going to lose cellular service pretty soon.

Ryan "Sanford" Pancoast entering New Mexico on an early morning 11/20/04. 

Todd Spivak and Eric "Medic!!" discussing the leaky water valve on the RV. 11/20/04 

John "Bert" Tomac telling a story, resulting in Kevin "Redd" Smith, causing him squeal uncontrollably while Lamar could barely keep himself standing. 11/20/04 

Derek "Bojo" Bojanowski handing off the baton to Chris "Leon" Schauerman on a New Mexico morning. 11/20/04 

Eric "Kermit" Enwright being a road hog, in New Mexico. 11/20/04 

Roommates enjoying a morning run. Chad "Sheik" Byler and the injured Jesse "Lamar" Williamson crossing from Arizona into New Mexico 11/20/04 

John "Bert" Tomac reaching what will hopefully be the highest altitude of the trip, 8114 feet in New Mexico. 11/20/04 

Bob "Bobbo" McCoy crossing the continental divide in Pie Town, New Mexico 11/20/04 

Chad "Sheik" Byler reaching an altitude of 8095 feet. 11/20/04 

Chad "Shiek" Byler driving the RV across New Mexico. 11/20/04 

John "Bert" Tomac eating a can of Chef Boyardee, a hearty lunch indeed. 11/20/04 

A tattered and and beaten RIT flag continues to be a trooper for the team, marking their vehicles. 11/20/04 

Chris "Mitch" Kudla handing the baton off to Eric "Kermit" Enwright in Arizona 11/20/04 

The team, refreshed by "sort of" a night's rest, enthusiastically cheering on their comrades, Jon "Abe" Booth and Kevin "Redd" Smith 

Chad "Sheik" Byler dancing a jig while the RVs have a small break away from the runners. 

Jon "Abe Booth taking the first hand-off of the early evening northeast of Globe, Arizona. Abe and his teamates have begun to say that they have never been so happy to see a "Right Lane Ends" sign, since it means the end of a uphill section. 11/19/04 

John "Bert" Tomac coming down the backside of one mountain, and bringing the team into yet another. 11/19/04 

Yet another unforgetable view from Highway 60 outside Globe Arizona on the way into the Rocky Mountains. 11/19/04 

Amy "Ahhtaa" O'donnell forcing her way up an ever steepening mountain. 11/19/04 

Flipper opening up across a nice valley before hitting the first 5000ft mountains of the entire trip. By the end of the next mile Flipper had risen over 250ft. By the end of the night, the team had reached its highest altitude at 6624ft. 11/19/04 

Amy "Ahhtaa" O'donnell forcing her way up an ever steepening mountain. 11/19/04 

One hitchhiker that we chose to leave on the side of the road. 11/19/04  

One hitchhiker that we chose to leave on the side of the road. 11/19/04 

Curtis Howard moving up into the hills outside Globe Arizona, running past the city's drive-in movie theater. 11/19/04
 

Maxwell "JJ" Ferguson handing off to Kevin "Lugie" Turko 11/19/04 

Desert just outside of Blythe, Az. 11/19/04 

Cruising in the mini-van chase verhicle at an astounding 9.5 miles per hour. 11/19/04. 

A few things...

You guys certainly are moving fast! I was in Wegmans today and had my RIT Cross Country shirt on and was stopped by a couple of people, asking "aren't you guys doing the Coast to Coast run??" It was certainly nice to see a few strangers knowing about the run.

The photos have been great to see and I wish I could be there. This is a dream that me and the other upper classemen have always talked about since I was a freshman. Enjoy your time and cherish it.

Coast to Coast Runners: Try and collect any local publications of the run along the way. That way Adrienne and I can make a collage of all the photos, articles, journals, etc.

Oh and the photo section on the website has been updated.

-Duracell
RF

The funk of the Rockies

We've crested the Rockies. See my itinerary update for info about our pace. We're about 620 miles into the run.

I think that we're going to highly recommend that showers be taken today and that dirty laundry is isolated. What can I say--we're dirty. I snuck in a shower right before we went to an RV dump, so I'm relatively clean. Most haven't showered since we left California. My RV smells, but it's not quite yet overwhelming. I can't exactly say the same thing for the other RV. Each vehicle now has an ample supply of Febreeze. Thankfully it hasn't rained yet.

Maybe I went a little too personal in this posting. But hey--at least you can't enjoy the smell!

The vehicles have been pretty good. There have been some annoying things with the RV (bad thermostat in the cabin, a door latch that is breaking, etc.). The van was low on oil yesterday. We're being proactive, which would make Coach Warth quite happy. However, I guess cigarette lighters weren't intended on running power inverters 24/7, as 2/3 the 3 vehicles have blown fuses. My RV was first, and now the minivan blew one. We'll fix it tomorrow.

Day Three

We passed through Phoenix early this AM, quite ahead of schedule. I was asleep, but the course had to be amended because of construction and limited number of lanes.

South of Phoenix, we met with RIT alumni Thomas "Nubbins"€ Batey (Mechanical Engineering, 2004). Batey is currently working for Honeywell Systems in Phoenix. The team had a great time spending time with this important member of the RIT running community.

We left the desert and headed into the Rockies, stopping at Dairy Queen along the way for a little mid-November ice cream.

One of the more infamous stories about the 1979 run was the conflict with police concerning runners passing through the Queens Pass tunnel. According to stories, the police warned the runners before they entered the tunnel that they were not allowed into the tunnel. The runners refused to comply, and the group passed through the tunnel, and got a traffic ticket.

We have fared better, at least so far. Amy O'Donnell was stopped by 4 separate police officers when she was on runner-guard duty, and they all learned about the event and offered words of encouragement, and they thought we were crazy for attempting this feat.

I received another absolutely amazing email from Don Campbell, a 1979 coast-to-coaster. His emails have been incredibly inspiring. I'm going to print them up for each vehicle when we reach a Kinkos, or something.

We're within the Rockies. We are currently parked on a mountain-grade switchback, waiting for the next runner exchange. Even with the altitude and the climbs, we're still making great time. Our group was able to spend time together today and helped out a lot with team unity.

Press coverage has been increasing, and the response from press has been positive. A radio station from Liberal, KS interviewed me via telephone today and a radio station in Globe, Az and a newspaper in Globe, Az are running articles about us.

Finally, while on Arizona Rt. 60 in the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, two women watched our handoff and asked us what we were doing. After we told them about our run, they offered us their prayers. About 5 minutes later, they extremely graciously offered us money to get coffee or whatever to get through the night. They were both taken aback by our trip and again offered us their prayers.

Kevin "Lugie" Turko running near Phoenix, Az. 11/19/04 

3:45am handoff in the outskirts of Phoenix, Az. 11/19/04 

Leon running into Phoenix, Az. 11/19/04 

Moose running into Phoenix, Az. 11/19/04 

Handoff from Lugie to Redd in Phoenix 11/19/04 

Hook, Redd, Lugie, Ahta on the side of the road in Phoenix, Az. 11/17/04 

Kevin "Redd" Smith writing his journal and John "Bert" Tomac (Illustration '03) catching some sleep between runs. 11/19/04 

RVs congregating on the side of the road in Arizona 11/19/04 

Meeting up with RIT alumnus Thomas "Nubbins" Batey (ME '04) in Phoenix. 11/19/04 

Ryan "Sanford" Pancoast handing off golden coast to coast baton to Chris "Mitch" Kudla in Arizona 11/19/04 

Striding across Arizona is Chris "Leon" Schauerman 11/19/04. 

Eric "Kermit" Enwright, on a lonely road early-on in Arizona. 11/18/04 

Kevin "Lugie" Turko receiving the baton from Maxwell "JJ" Ferguson early-on in California. 11/17/04 

Sean "Okie" McVeigh taking in the scenery of the American Southwest. 11/19/04 

Chad "Sheik" Byler emerging from a tunnel in the Rockies. 11/19/04 

Curtis "Moose" Howard, in true RIT-student fashion, constructing a sign out of duct tape that will warn drivers of an oncoming runner sign to put on the back of a vehicle. 

Our inspiration! 11/1979 

Sean "Okie" McVeigh, having the honor of being the first runner to enter a new state and time zone. 11/18/04 

Semi-Private message to Duracell

Duracell,

Please organize the photos section by the date that we've given each photo on the blog.

-Todd

Curtis "Moose" Howard striding through the Arizona canyons in western Arizona. 

Maxwell "JJ" Ferguson in Arizona. Note the golden baton, which is has stayed on the road since the Pacific. The blue baton are the personal batons of each runner, held for balance. 11/18/04 

Chris "Leon" Schauerman in western Arizona, just after crossing the border. 11/18/04 

A tight shot of Lisa looking ahead to the handoff. 11/18/04 

Lisa "Token" Curtin hitting her stride in California 11/18/04. 

Bob "Bobbo" McCoy being chased by a sheepdog. Bobbo subsequently barked back at the dog!! 11/18/04 

First 36 Hours

I'm writing this blog from just past Wickenburg, outside Phoenix about 355 miles from our start. We've made very good time in the first 36 hours.

Our pace has been very brisk. Based on '79s experience, the Rockies will normalize our pace.

We received a tremendous email/blog posting from "D" Campbell, from the 1979 team. http://abe.rh.rit.edu/c2c/blog/2004/11/open-thread-1979-veterans.html#comments

Today we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. We faced one of my nemesis as route planner/navigator, the interstate. I made every possible effort to reasonbly avoid interstates as much as possible, but when you only have one possible road to take, you have to do what you have to do! We try to be as safe as possible, which is our first priority.

One of the avoiding-the-interstate roads that I had planned on taking was recently removed, forcing us onto the interstate for an additional 10 miles. Also, part of the road that we had intended on taking was closed, forcing us to take an ad-hoc route through the desert, which was definitely fun. The drivers and runners definitely enjoyed it!

Some tensions are rising amongst the members of the group, which I think is healthy and natural for such a grueling event like this. Things will normalize in a day or two.

I'll let the runners tell their own stories.

We've been getting into our rhythm of sleep, I think. I for one haven't been accounting for my sleep quantity very well, and I hope that it doesn't catch up to me negatively as the trip draws on.

I've found that I prefer to drive the RV at night, so I can sleep between the 16, 10, or 8 mile drives.

On that note, I have to get to my power-nap.

Injured Jesse "Lamar" Williamson runs with his roommate, just shy of the Arizona border. 11/18/04 

Chris "Mitch" Kudla crossing a canal in California. 11/18/04 

Ryan "Sanford" Pancoast taking up a lot of highway during his run. 11/18/04 

Ryan "Sanford" Pancoast hitting the tar on the uphills of the desert on his morning leg. 11/18/04 

Andrew Varble running across the California desert heading east. 11/18/04 

Advisor Steve Aldersley helping our tallest runner Sean "Okie" McVeigh in the desert. 

Kevin "Redd" Smith strides across the California desert. 11/18/04 

Jon "Abe" Booth is running early in the morning in eastern California in the desert (we're easterners, so maybe it's not actually a desert, but we'll just call this the desert). 11/18/04 

An indistinguishable Chris "Mitch" Kudla runs late at night on the end of our first day. 11/17/04. 

Life on the RV. We made the mistake of getting KFC on the first night. The food sat a little heavy in runners stomachs. 11/17/04 

Lisa "Token" Curtin in a swimsuit shot on the beach at La Jolla 11/17/04.  

Curtis "Moose" Howard sporting an Armani custom-made seaweed boa at La Jolla 11/17/04. 

Chris "Leon" Schauerman handing off the golden baton to Curtis "Moose" Howard. 11/17/04 

Jon "Abe" Booth handing off the golden baton to Kevin "Redd" Smith. 11/17/04 

Nate "Flipper" Lowe handing off the baton to Lisa "Token" Curtin. 11/17/04 

Chris "Leon" Schauerman looking strong in the foothills of California 11/17/04 

Eric "Kermit" Enwright handing to Derek "Bojangles" Bojanowski in the hills of California. 11/17/04 

Chris "Mitch" Kudla handing the baton off to Eric "Kermit" Enwright. 11/17/04 

Ryan "Sanford" Pancoast enjoying the downhills outside of Poway, Ca. 11/17/04 

Kevin "Redd" Smith handing the baton off to Sean "Okie" McVeigh in the suburbs of San Diego, Ca. 11/17/04 

Bert handing off to Redd, in the hills outside of San Diego 11/17/04 

The team feeling good at La Jolla, Ca. 11/17/04 

The team emerging from the beach on Avienda de la Playa at La Jolla, Ca. 11/17/04 

On the beach, La Jolla, Ca. 11/17/04 

Led by Chad "Sheik" Byler, who ran the first (very long) leg. The team runs through the streets of La Jolla, Ca. 

The guys doing a team cheer before starting the run. 11/17/04 

The entire RIT 2004 Coast to Coast team starting at La Jolla. The team enjoyed the water before starting the run. 11/17/04 

The 2004 RIT Coast to Coast team with the Bobbi and the new Tahous chef after the send-off dinner. 

Placing orders at the Tahous send-off dinner 11/15/04 

Bill Munz ('68) speaking with Todd Spivak and Steve Aldersley, RIT Advisor. 

Bill Munz ('68) and his wife Sue enjoying dinner with the team. 

RIT Printing Alumnus Bill Munz meeting the team 11/16/04. Bill Munz is a graduate of the class of 1968. 

Nate "Flipper" Lowe and Jon "Abe" Booth on the beach in San Diego 11/16/04 

Sean "Okie" McVeigh, Chad "Sheik" Byler, Nate "Flipper" Lowe enjoying the Pacific Ocean Sunset 11/16/04.
 

Jon "Abe" Booth enjoying the Pacific Ocean Sunset 11/16/04. 

Arrival in San Diego 11/16/04 - waiting to pick up the vehicles 

San Diego arrival 11/16/04 

Tahous Send-off dinner 11/15/04. The upperclassmen chowing down. 

Tahous Send-off dinner 11/15/04. The team enjoying their Garbage Plates 

Tahous Send-off Dinner. 11/15/04 

Almost settled in

We felt like celebrities pretty quickly this morning. At ROC, a few girls from the MCC Women's Soccer team, on their way to Nationals asked us "are you the group that is running across the country?" It was pretty neat to be picked out of the crowd like that.

Both groups' flights were pleasant and uneventful.

All the vehicles have been obtained. We've got 2 30' RVs, and a Chevy Astrovan. They should provide us plenty of space. I've gotten the hang of driving the RV. Sheik on the other hand has hit a few curbs!

Our motel is only 1 block from the ocean, so we've spent some time down there. I'm sure that a group of us will go swimming tomorrow morning before our run commences.

The early group enjoyed a dinner with an RIT Alumnus tonight. It was a lot of fun to talk about all the recent changes that RIT has seen, and hearing the old stories. In so many ways RIT has changed, such as its campus. But in other ways, thing seem like they have never changed. It was interesting to say the least.

Pre-run dinner, looking west

We had really great turnout for tonight's pre-run dinner at Nick Tahous downtown in the old B&O Railroad Station. Nearly everyone was there, and Eric "Kermit" Enwright became the first freshman in recent memory to down two garbage plates. Senior Bob McCoy also downed two plates. John "Bert" Tomac (Illustration '03) helped out Bobbi and served the drinks. The team was in high spirits and can't wait to get out to the West Coast and start this event.

I'm on the early flight and us early-folks are excited about being able to spend at least a little time relaxing in San Diego. We hopefully will have enough time to go to the beach tomorrow. I don't know which one yet though.

Tuesday night's dinner with the RIT San Diego Alumni Association will also be a lot of fun.

Early group leaves at 4:45 a.m. from RIT to catch our 6:10 flight on jetBlue to JFK, connecting to San Diego.

C2C Website: Scheduled Maintenance

Before our departure tuesday morning, the site will be down for scheduled maintenence. This is to replace hardware, update the server, and to perform final site testing. It will be taken offline from approximately 3am-4am. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

In my absence, Adam "Duracell" Cross will be the interim webmaster until we return December 1st. Please direct any questions to him during this time.

Less than 72 hours until we start running!!

Abe

Coming Together. 3 Days to Start

Just about the entire group met this morning, bright and early to complete our RIT Campus Safety van certifications, and try our hand at driving a large, clumsy vehicle. We met our advisors and Sheik (Chad), Dave and the Moss Man answered some last minute questions.

Having the whole group together was fantastic, and everyone's really excited about the event.