I’m not sure how this one escaped my notice, but I read about it last night and then caught another post over at the Outside Blog this morning. It seems that ultra-endurance run Karl Meltzer has just completed a 2064-mile (3321km) run along the old Pony Express trail, beginning in Sacramento and ending in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The run was christened the Human Express and was sponsored by Red Bull. Karl got underway on September 15th and took just 40 days to finish the journey, which included him crossing the Rocky Mountains and a portion of the Great Plains. Along the way, Meltzer ran approximately 50 miles (80km) per day, but on the final leg he decided to take it up a notch, run 105 miles (169km) straight, so that he could reach the finish line at last. On one of his days in Utah, he even ran 23 miles, stopped to play nine holes of golf, then ran another 27 miles afterward. For the record, he reportedly shot a 44.
For fans of endurance racing, Meltzer is a well known figure. He has competed in a number of ultramarathons, and back in 2008 we followed along with his Appalachian Assault, during which he ran the length of the 2174 mile (3498km) Appalachian Trail in just under 55 days.
Congrats to Karl on another amazing accomplishment. Just wish I could have followed the run a bit more closely, but better late than never. On a side note, does anyone else’s legs hurt just thinking about this?
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Running the AT? That sounds awesome. My legs are ready!
Good luck for running, god bless all runners.
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pearl izumi