Yep, you read that right. This is about running across the state of Texas. I am NOT doing this, but rather my friend (also who happens to be named Rebecca) is going to while I crew her. She had the idea for a while, I think she shared it with me last year or even maybe the year before. We talked about doing this, but hadn't gotten too serious about the timeline until semi-recently. Maybe it was COVID that got us thinking "why not now?" or maybe it was just time for a dynamic duo to go at it again, ha! Her husband thought it would take a year to plan...boy did we prove that idea wrong. ;)
I've crewed her for several ultramarathon races - first was 150 miles across Michigan and second was a 200 mile race down eastern Ohio. After one of these, someone from the gym asked for a race report and the answer was, "She went, she raced and she won!" Simple as that. But this time, I felt it was important to document this journey. I want this to be something we can look back and reflect on and to have friends and family follow along the way. This is not about putting herself out there (because she is the total opposite of that), but it is also about inspiring and challenging others as well.
So back to prep...first had to land on the route. The person we found who did this before (Trans-Texas (TX) | Fastest Known Time) chose the high route from El Paso to Texarkana - kudos to him for completing this! We looked at going from the panhandle to the valley versus the west to east potentially, but landed on west to east because it is a run "across" the state. Also, Rebecca wanted to go straight through the middle of state from the Westernmost part to the Easternmost part, so it was settled. After google mapping it out in a few iterations, we landed on the route and notated where possible rest stops along the way could be with amenities (or when there weren't any). Trying to avoid major highways but also the cow trails or oil truck tracks, especially when there are closed gates, we came up with a solid plan but also vowed to keep it fluid if we needed to change it along the way. We (mainly Rebecca) is up for some off-roading or "trail running" as we like to joke, but we don't want to get separated too long in the middle of no man's land.
The next step was determining what type of vehicle/set up to take. Anyone who knows me can tell you I can't back up a trailer soooo as much as a bumper pull RV sounded good at first, knowing there will not be too many great spots to pull in and stop and the potential need for me to have to navigate the thing in reverse, I was iffy. We decided to go with a transit van - standing/laying/sitting room and since her husband Keith, is SUPER awesome and handy he said no problem in building us a bed, kitchen/counter with storage set up for the van. The planning all came together in about 4-5 weeks honestly - keeping it simple really does work. We are now less than 30 days out and I am just focused on thinking of the little things to pack to stay warm and stay on track while I help Rebecca get down the road.