Day 116 - Donzo

Well, the journey is finally complete. This blog is going to be from a bunch of people in order to commemorate this incredible trip from coast to coast. Your first place Cameo runner with 152 miles, Rick, is going to begin today's story. I cannot believe that today is the day that NationRun 2008 was completed. The months of planning, endless hours of training, and hundreds of phone calls all came to an exciting close. The past 6 days that I spent on the road with the guys are some that I will remember forever. I was able to experience running through fields, up incredibly steep mountains, the relentless wind, and the incredible generosity of strangers. I am so very proud and honored to have run and lived with these fine gentleman on the road. They truly are warriors, and endured an incredible task. They have truly honored Andy's cousin Philip Diaferio in the best way possible. I know he is as proud of them as we all are. I had a blast, and I will hold these memories close to my heart forever.

We woke up at around 4 am to start the 32.5 mile trip. After quickly packing the joggers and grabbing some breakfast we bought last night, we started the final run of the trip. Everyone was absolutely pumped to get going and to complete the dream that Andy, Matt, and Ken had started on February 1st. The sun had not yet risen, and we all and we were all armed with flashlights and headlamps. Singing along with Ken's iPod to Enrique and some other jams, we made or way to the final destination -the Pacific Ocean.. We were moving pretty well today, with another 1,000 feet in elevation to drop. We went down a lot of hills, and up a few more. I was very excited to move along on the road today, because I had been looking forward to this day as well. You have a picture in your head of what the day will include and what it will look like at the end, and I simply could not wait to see what the day had in store for me and my best friends. I am going to pass this along to Andy, and let him pick up where I left off.

Rick has done well and we probably can't repay him for all the updating of the website and blogging he has done for us. But unfortunately, his opening paragraph is sub par. The sun was not up as we walked down the lonely streets to our final destination. Everyone had an extra burst of energy and there was a certain buzz in the air. It was unlike any feeling we have had thus far. The miles went by pretty fast at first and before we knew it we were weaving in and out of residential neighborhoods to where ever our GPS took us. That handy GPS has been very helpful to us on our cross country adventure and at time it has put us in some sticky situations. Today, was no exception. The Nation did not want to give up without a fight but oddly I think we all kind of expected it and welcomed whatever came our way. Our route took us down a number of roads with street signs that read NO OUTLET or DEAD END. This was a scary thing to see but we all agreed that the GPS would lead us to the mighty Pacific one way or another.

The paved road turned into a dirt road/driveway that ran parallel with route 67 for a few miles before taking a turn for the worst...or best. Suddenly, it ran into someone's property to three barking dogs awaiting us. They would not let us proceed any further and after a few minutes of a western stand off we busted it through the yard and on the other side. The "road" was now nothing more than a trail in the woods with large rocks and steep climbs ahead. There were many sections that were completely washed out due to the grade of the trail and the previous rain that was in the area. We pushed the two joggers up the hill, two guys on each jogger, until finally we reached the top. We were relieved to see a driveway ahead that dumped out on 67 and be back into civilization. It was a long 30 minutes but another memory that none of us will ever forget.

As soon as we reached the road we could tell we were at the top of one of the many mountains that we had to climb today before finishing. Ken was pointing into the distance with a smile on his face that I have never seen before. I wasn't entirely sure what he was so excited about until I looked up. In the distance, 25 miles away, stood the Pacific Ocean. We could see it through the valley below! What a sight to see. We all jumped around in the middle of the road for a few minutes before practically sprinting down the backside of the mountain. The pace definitely picked up now that we could physically see what we have been dreaming about for so long. Four months of running was now in sight.

The next few miles again flew by until we made another detour off the main road. Once again we relied on the GPS to bring us home and once again another adventure to remember. We ran into a dead end/drive way with two or three dirt paths standing before us. It was unclear which path we needed to take but we all decided we would forge on instead of turning about and adding 4 more miles to the day. After only about a half mile on one of the paths we knew something wasn't right. The GPS had us standing in the middle of an open field and I could tell we needed to head west. Unfortunately, there was no clear path that went in that direction. Our only option was to carry both joggers about a half mile through and around brush, thorns, rough rock, and whatever else currently stood in our way.

After about an hour of bushwacking we finally made it back to a paved road. With 22 miles still to travel we started to pick up the pace yet again, especially since most of the run was downhill. We ran up and down a number of hills for the next 12 miles with nothing really to talk about. We were all excited to be so close to reaching our goal and everyone was in one of the best moods I could remember. Ken grabbed two monster western bacon cheeseburgers from Carl Jr which we all passed around as we ran before we met up with Kaitlyn and Mr. Durkin with 10 miles to go.

With about 5 miles to go we saw one of the most exciting sites we have ever seen. We were headed up a small hill when we heard loud police sirens close to us. All of the sudden a green sports car flew by us, going at least 90 MPH. Then five police cars followed behind him. It was a classic California style police chase! We all cheered very loudly and jumped up and down as they passed. It was a very great scene.

The remaining five miles were filled with great excitement and Ken was especially excited; waving to oncoming cars, smiling at strangers and high-fiving everyone.

The rest of the day/run/trip was all flat and downhill to the beach and as each mile clicked away we all grew more and more excited. Ken kept saying I can't believe it as I told him we only have 4 miles left, 3 miles to go, 2 miles... Kaitlyn, Rick and Dan took off ahead of us with about a mile to go in order to cheer us on at the beach. I feel like the last few miles absolutely flew by and before we knew it we were running towards the crowd of 30-40 people waiting for us and cheering wildly.

A quick side note. As some of our loyal readers might remember, Ken saw how many times in a row he could hit Durkin with rocks. 99% of the time Ken took "The Sure Shot". Yesterday however he decided to take a chance. Ken dropped back about 8 feet for his version of a 3 pointer. He took a risk and it blew up right in his face. His flawless record was shattered when the rock flew right past Durkin's head, it was a heartbreaking moment for some (Ken), and a glorious moment for others (mostly Durkin).

Durkin had yet another unexpected glorious moment today. After 2,800 miles on the road, 8 states and countless cheeseburgers, it was decided he would be let into one of the most elite brotherhoods of all time. Sure only 24 people have done unsupported runs across the country, and the 3 were the world's FIRST Un-Supported Trio, Durkin made it into something even more special. Andy and Ken decided to let Durkin in on the legondary "Team Sports Elbow". Durkin was on the brink of developing a rare but dangerous advanced stress disorder due to the constant torment.

I (Ken) have now taken over the bloggin'. Today has been a day that I will never ever forget. As most of the events of the actual run have probably been covered...I will run through everything that is going through my mind...which is a whole hell of a lot. Today I woke up and I felt like a little child on Christmas morning or something. I wasn't quite sure but other than that there were many emotions going through my head all day. Sometimes I felt sad that it was all coming to an end...and yet other times I felt excited to FINALLY be done with this great adventure. The latter was probably the overwhelming winer inside my mind. All I could think about all day was finally seeing that beach and seeing those waves crash against the sand. All I could think about was finally seeing Claire :) Honestly I have been thinking for the last 4 months what it would be like when I finally saw her again. We talked on the phone literally every single day of the trip, but none of that compared to the moment I ran down those stairs onto the beach and into her arms. I was so excited and happy. I had just finished the greatest thing I have ever accomplished in my life and the greatest person in my life was there to see it happen and to greet me at the finish line. I went straight to Claire when we hit that beach....as Durkin and Andy went for the ocean. After I got some good Claire time, I went right into that salty water!!! It felt so good to be in that water and to look back east and realize that I had just ran over every obstacle our Nation put in our way. I was done at that point and nothing but a smile could emerge from my face. I looked around and saw only family, friends, and huge smiles. It was the happiest and greatest moment of my life. I was so glad everyone came out and experienced it with me. Like I said before, I will never forget this. Thank you all for everything. Support and generosity alone got me across the country. Look out later this week for my final blog of the trip. I have so much I want to say and trust me, I will say it. but for now, thank you and I have a city to explore tonight. NATION!

For those of you who are counting the official guest mileage count; Kaitlyn finished in third place with 37 miles in only two runs behind Dan (86 miles) and Rick (152). Mr Durkin finished just behind John and Reynold with an impressive 26.5 miles. It was great running with him over the last four months and we always looked forward to seeing him waiting for us at the end of the day.

I (Dan) joined the guys three short days ago and experienced a small taste of what the guys have been going through the last four months. Not many words can describe this trip, how they feel or what kind of accomplishment this is. I can only stand in amazement in what they have done. I am so extremely proud of them, as I know all of you are. In thirty years they will look back and tell their grandchildren about what they have done over these four months and they will stand in the same amazement as I do now. They are three awesome young men and their lives will only get better from here.

Keep reading on this remaining week, they guys will be bring you updates on their travels in San Diego and the marathon they will run on Sunday.

Thanks again for everything.

We love you all.