Running Home - IA FKT - Post 2: Why

Running Home - IA FKT

Omaha, NE to Muscatine, IA

276.6 Miles < 72 Hours

Post #2: Why

  

Why would anyone want to run 276 miles in a single go? And even if the answer to that question was obvious, why would someone who lives in New Jersey decide to run across Iowa? Every long distance runner has their own “why” for what drives them to the pursuit of covering long distances on foot. Sure there is bound to be a good amount of overlap in individual’s “why”s, but every long distance runner’s “why” has some unique spark or twist to it. Some people will never understand the “why”s of long distance running no matter how many they hear from multiple runners. Some people will intentionally deride the “why”s in a condescending, cynical manner. I’ve explored my “why” in previous blog posts. It’s a multifaceted motivation for me. I like to push myself to see what I am capable of and tackle tasks that may seem daunting to most. I believe that life is bereft without seeking new challenges. That is the short version of my “why” for long distance running, but it doesn’t explain why I chose to run across Iowa.

The simplest explanation as to why I chose Iowa of all states to run across is that Iowa was home to me for the first 26 years of my life. Honestly, the FKT route, "Run Across Iowa (IA)", probably wouldn’t haven’t have even really piqued my interest had I not called Iowa home for the majority of my life so far. Although I have spent more time living in Iowa than New Jersey, I’m certain that I’ve seen more of New Jersey than Iowa. I’ve explored more areas, everything from historical sites to tourist attractions to state parks and forests, in New Jersey than in Iowa. Which is a major motivation for choosing to run across Iowa, to see and experience more of my home state than just the Quad Cities and the immediately surrounding area. While living in Iowa, I didn’t explore much beyond my home town of Davenport and the surrounding Quad Cities. I have driven all the way across Iowa on Interstate 80, but the whole point of crossing a state via an interstate is to do it as quickly as possible with minimal stops. Granted, an FKT attempt has the same goal in mind, but two key differences are the mode of transportation (doing it on foot one step at a time versus at 75 MPH in a vehicle) and the route (interstate versus two lane highway). I hope to see more of Iowa in my 2-3 days running the length of the state on Highway 92 than I did my entire time living there.

In addition to seeing more of Iowa, I also chose to run across my home state simply for personal motivations. I still have friends and family in Iowa that I rarely have an opportunity to see. Usually it’s only around Christmas when I make it home to visit and those visits always feel rushed. Making an additional trip back home to visit my folks and hopefully catch up with some friends I haven’t seen in years was a huge motivating factor for me in deciding to chase this FKT.




Scott Snell
28 July 2022

Running Home - IA FKT - Post 1: Announcement of Intentions

 

Running Home - IA FKT
Omaha, NE to Muscatine, IA
276.6 Miles < 72 Hours

Details are still in the works, but my next BIG goal is to better the current record of the FKT route, "Run Across Iowa (IA)", sometime in the first half of 2023. The current record (3 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes, and 22 seconds) was set by Paul Noble in March of 2022. Paul improved the original record (4d 15h 32min 41s) posted to the FKT website by Taylor Ross in April of 2020 by a substantial margin (over 16 hours). As you have probably guessed by now based on the heading of this page, my goal is to further improve the record for the route and complete it in under 3 days.

The “Run Across Iowa (IA)” FKT route primarily follows route 92 connecting the Missouri River at the border of Omaha, NE to the Mississippi River at Muscatine, IA. The entire route covers a distance of 276.6 miles according to the FKT website.

I am still early in my planning process for this goal and many details (when, who, how, etc.) still need to be sorted out. As one would expect, running 276 miles across an entire state isn’t something that one should just dive into on a whim. I’m simply putting this blog post out now to publicly announce my intention to make this FKT attempt.

More details to come as they develop!






Scott Snell
21 July 2022

2021 Goals

Now that the New Year’s Eve celebrations are over I thought it would be a good time to get my running goals for 2021 in writing and try to add some structure to my plans for this year. My goal setting this year may look mostly like a repeat of last year’s. Which as you will probably guess is due to several goals involving races that were postponed due to race cancellations in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. So my number one goal from last year, to test my limit at a 24 hour race, will carry over and be my number one goal this year at the rescheduled 24 hour event I intended to run last year. And again, I hope to improve my longest distance PR (goal #2) at this event. I actually achieved the distance PR goal last year increasing my longest distance run from 104 miles to 106 miles while setting the Batona Trail out and back FKT. However, I hoped to increase that PR more than just 2 miles last year so I will attempt to better that PR again this year at the rescheduled 24 hour event. Silver lining, I get the opportunity to better my distance PR two years in a row!

Maybe I’m being over cautious, but as of now those are my only running goals that require an actual event. After nearly all of last year’s events were cancelled and the uncertainty of what will happen this year, I don’t want to have to depend on race events to accomplish my running goals.



My only other running goals this year are to attempt another FKT and to progress my project to run every single street (ESS) of Egg Harbor Township. For the ESS project, I don’t expect or plan to finish this year. If I can surpass 75% complete (currently just under 50%) I’ll be happy with that progress. And if you’ve been following as I’ve been working on this goal for the last year, the answer is no, I do not plan to start driving to more convenient starting locations to finish more quickly.

My FKT plans are a bit uncertain and more fluid than my other goals. Which route(s) I attempt depends somewhat on what kind of help I can line up and what races happen. The routes I’m considering in no particular order are A) NJ Appalachian Trail out and back (140 miles), B) Iowa state crossing (277 miles), C) Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath (65 miles), D) Henry Hudson Trail out and back (52 miles), and E) Batona Trail out and back X 2 (212 miles). Which routes I go for all really depends on what race opportunities present themselves this year and what kind of crew help I can muster up. 

In addition, I have one other fitness assessment training goal this year: to take Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s 12 Minute Test of aerobic fitness. I stumbled onto this while thumbing through a bit of a dated (1978) Runner’s World training diary that my supervisor passed on to me. I think I should be able to reach the “Excellent” category for my age group, but I want to test it to make sure.



Lastly, and I wouldn’t say it’s really a goal but more of a plan, I intend to register for a few virtual races as well. I’ll mostly be using these as motivation to push through training runs while working towards my larger running goals. I already registered for my first virtual race, the Detroit Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k on 4/17/2021. If virtual races are your thing and you like chocolate, use code “BRHC20” when you register to receive a free running hat!

Scott Snell

January 6, 2021

Disclaimer: I received an entry the the Detroit Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!