Transcontinental Runs :: Running Athletics Papers

Transcontinental Runs One of the most distinct features of humans exists in the fact that we are innately motivated to achieve certain goals. We are in essence a species of curiosity, always testing how much stress we can take both mentally and physically. There have been many people over the years that tested their mental and physical states, but few can say they put their very existence to the limit like James Shapiro and Bhaktimarga Swami. Shapiro, an American runner and author, completed a virtually solo run across the United States in 1980, covering 3,026 miles in eighty days of trials and tribulations.(Shapiro preface) Swami, a Hare Krishna monk in Canada, is well on his way to completing his trek across his native land.(Internet 96) It was the age of 33 in 1980 when Shapiro started to run from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.(Shapiro preface) While the distance of over three thousand miles seems near impossible, Shapiro had plenty of experience in ultra-running prior to his trip. He began running in his early youth, participating on his schools’ track teams. He enjoyed little success in these early races but was confident that one day he would find a long distance where he could excel. In 1975, after witnessing the Boston Marathon, Shapiro decided that he would run a marathon himself. Five years and thousands of miles later Shapiro had run several marathons and even ultramarathons up to fifty miles long. But the thought of the solo venture across America was not a glimmer in Shapiro's eye until he met two runners who had run the length of England across America. He then made it a point to train twenty miles a day for eight weeks up until his departure in July of 1980.(Shapiro preface) If he finish ed he would join a select group of twelve living runners that have mastered comparable runs.(Shapiro preface) After catching a one way flight to California from his native state of New York, Shapiro settled on Dillon Beach as his starting point for its beauty and openness.(Shapiro preface) Shapiro was going to have to get used to this sense of openness, for except for parts of Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming where a car accompanied him for hydration purposes, he would be traveling the open lands of America alone. "It was scary to sense how alone I was going to be and how much I would have to live with myself, and be comfortable doing so.