Hello everyone,
Many of you contacted me concerning my run of the Ice Age Trail and were interested in knowing how you could help. Others wanted me to contact then when I got close to where they are. Then many just wanted to know how to track my run over the 22 day period. Unfortunately the logistics of contacting everyone once the run starts will be impossible for me to coordinate. Each day will be consumed with the run and preparations for the next day ahead. That is not to say that I will not try to contact you, but it will be hard to guarantee anything right now. I do appreciate all of your support however and hope I can make this fun for you to watch or participate in.
If you are interested in running with me or helping to crew me that is super. Right now I have two friends, Tom Bunk and Robert Wehner, who will be sharing crewing duties for the three week period from April 14th through May 5th. If you would like to crew that can still work out and give my full time crew time to run with me or to do other run preparation work (like laundry). If you prefer to run with me that is great too. My plan is to average about 10 minute miles on the road and 14 minute miles on the trail. This pace will include walking breaks between faster running.
If all goes as planned I will finish on the 5th or 6th at Potowatomi State Park by Sturgeon Bay. Another idea I have is to make the 6th my finish day and try to make it a 10 mile day so more people could join me if they are so inclined.
If you come out please attempt to coordinate a way for your car to get from where you start to where you finish. It will be nearly impossible for me and my crew to drive the 50 miles back to the starting area to get your car for you. There is a chance that cars could be hop scotched forward during the day somehow, but I’m not real clear on that either. I should have email each night, but I am not sure how much time I will have to read them all.
It will be important for everyone interested in meeting me to keep an eye on the website to see if I am keeping up with my 50 miles per day plan. The website will also tell you where I will be planning to stop each night. The best way to reach me will be to find me at the starting point in the morning or to call my cell phone during the day and Tom or Robert can help tell you where I am. You could also try to meet me at my planned stopping point for the night.
In essence my daily plan is to begin running about 7:30am each day and end between 5:30 and 7:30pm. Once I get to my finish point I will get in the car and go to the most convenient hotel to recover, eat and sleep. For those that have been kind enough to offer up their house, I am overwhelmed by your generousity, but may not be able to take you up on the offer if I happen to end a long ways from your house when I end. I will try to coordinate with you as I get closer to your location.
To reiterate my plan:
I am planning to run the trail over a 22 day period. I will be starting on the 14th of April in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. I will be running from West to East for approximately 10 hours and 46-56 miles per day. The entire trail system consists of 460 miles of connector roads and 620 miles of trails. My website is www.iceagetrail1000.com.
You can contact me at the following:
608-770-2228 (cell)
Several articles so far for reference are:
WPR, on Larry Meiller’s show at 11am, http://www.wpr.org/ideas/programnotes.cfm?dteDate=3/22/2007
DNR newsletter, by Paul Holten
Mooseletter of Wisconsin Track Club
Silent Sports, Page 8 in current issue
Milwaukee Journal Sentinal on 12th or 13th, written by Tom Held and photos by Joe , there will be some web coverage also
Channel 3000, http://www.channel3000.com/news/11320601/detail.html
Channel 3 in Madison on Sunday (4/15) sometime