“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” - President John. F. Kennedy

“Everything in moderation, including moderation.” - Oscar Wilde

I turned 60 years old in December, 2017. In March, 2018, I was out walking, and I had the idea to walk my age in miles. Eventually, I realized that my training was unlikely to get me in the condition I needed to be to walk 60 miles, so I scaled back my plan for 2018, and walked 60 kilometers on the Katy Trail in Missouri in September, 2018, from Marthasville to St. Charles. I purposely chose a route that I thought would be a little long, to ensure that I would cover at least 60k. I ended up going a few kilometers past 60, and my GPS watch showed that I went 40 miles.

I still had in my mind that I wanted to walk my age in miles. In early 2019 I got a Rails-to-Trails guidebook for Iowa and Missouri, and the first thing I did was look for a trail that was right around 60 miles, or a little bit longer. I quickly found the listing for the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, a section of the old Wabash Railroad. The Northwest end of the railroad from Council Bluffs, Iowa to just north of the Iowa-Missouri Border in Blanchard, Iowa had been turned into a 62.3-mile Rail-Trail in the late 1980s. In early 2019, I started planning to walk the whole trail.

A bit of back story. I have a long history as a distance runner, going out on long runs by myself when I was 11, running my first marathon when I was 13, and running sub-3:00 marathons in high school. In my 30s, I ran some ultramarathons, including a 5:51:27 50-mile race, and 114 miles in a 24-hour race.

One thing that bothered me a little bit about the ultras that I had run is that I had covered a lot of ground, but not gone anywhere, as they were all on loop courses. For me, there’s something powerful about starting out under one’s own power in one place, and ending up somewhere else.

In 2012 I had an injury that has kept me from being a serious runner, so I’ve turned to speed walking. Up until 2018, it kept me fit, but I hadn’t pushed myself to test my limits the way I did when I was a runner and running races. Point-to-point walks of ultramarathon distances is a way for me to satisfy the urge to test my limits, and also to have the experience of starting in one place, and ending up in another. When I look at the map of my point-to-point walks, it puts in perspective how far I walked.

The walk of the Wabash Trace Nature Trail was a team effort. My partner, Heather Stout, got me to the start and provided aid over the last 22 miles of the walk. Rebecca Castle Laughlin, President of  Southwest Iowa Nature Trails Project, Inc., the organization that maintains the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, rode on a bicycle with me for 16 miles from 3 am until dawn. The trail organization itself repaired a bridge in the Spring of 2020 that had been damaged by fire, and they perform regular maintenance to keep the trail in good shape. In March, 2020, a volunteer with the trail organization, Ron Willeman, drove me back to my car so I could do a training/scouting walk of the first 18 miles one way.

Now, about the walk of the Wabash Trace, completed over Labor Day weekend, 2020. That weekend was chosen because it was a few days after a full moon, so with clear skies I would have some moonlight, along with the light of my headlamp.

Because of a forecast high into the 90s, I moved up my planned starting time from 3 am to 10:30 pm on Friday night. As we were heading down to the start, a Great Horned Owl hooted nearby. We got to the start, I had my GPS watch find a signal, I turned on my head lamp, and off I went, into the dark, by myself.

And it was magical. I heard tree frogs, owls, hawks, and coyotes. There were few human-made sounds except for the sound of my feet on the trail. A large bird flapped in a tree just a few feet behind me. Bats flew near me. When I was in an open area with moonlight, I would switch off my headlamp and walk by the moonlight. It was solitude, but not loneliness. And I was making good time in the cool night air, averaging about 13:45 per mile.

Rebecca met me in the town of Shenandoah, about 18 miles into the walk. I was ready for some company at that point, and she had supplies to replenish my fluids. Just as important, as it turned out, she brought along a couple of granola bars. At one point, maybe 22, 23 miles in, I mentioned that I was concerned about my stomach feeling full, and worrying that it would make it difficult to stay hydrated. She suggested a granola bar, and it quickly solved the stomach issue. She also did helped solve some logistical issues on the fly, and helped me stay relaxed. She stayed with me until daylight, which was right around mile 34. I backed off the pace a little bit in this stretch, partly because of the stomach issue, and partly because of a tight calf.

What I remember about the early daylight stretch is the mirages/hallucinations caused by early-morning light through the trees. (And maybe a good dose of endorphins help.) Quite a few times, what I thought I saw from a distance wasn’t anything like what I saw as I approached. Once, I thought I saw the back end of a car. Then, as I got closer, it looked like a large sign. It turned out it was just the light on the path. Heather met me at trailheads around Mile 40, 48, and 52 to replenish liquids, change shirts, and to check on how I was doing.

I felt strong from miles 40 - 52 or so, and was cautiously confident from 40 miles on that I was going to be able to make it, as I was able to manage the tightness in my calf and the stomach problem dissipated.

The last 10 miles were hard work for me. From miles 52 - 55 I had a climb of  80 ft./mile. Ordinarily, I would barely notice a climb that gradual, but I was definitely noticing it. The temperature had climbed above 80 by that point, and was close to 90 when I finished. Seeing Heather and the finish was a welcome sight!

When I finished, I was exhausted and elated. I'd had the goal of walking 60+ miles for over 2 years, and I had accomplished it. The walk took about 15 hours and 20 minutes, so I finished just before 2 in the afternoon.

More information about the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, including a trail map and places to stay, can be found on their website:

www.wabashtrace.org

After I finished walking the Wabash Trace Nature Trail, I had the thought of “I’m never doing this again.” A few days later, I was less sure of that, and within a few weeks I was planning my next long walk, the Wabash Cannonball Trail in Northwest Ohio, a 63-mile trail to walk when I was 63 years old.

I walked the Wabash Cannonball Trail over Memorial Day weekend of 2021. Like my walk of the 62-mile Wabash Trace Nature Trail in Iowa last September, Heather dropped me off to start my walk late Friday evening. At 10:00 in the town of Liberty Center I headed down the trail with a belt pack with juice and energy snacks and my headlamp lighting the way.

As I headed Northeast toward Toledo, the headwinds I expected did not materialize, but I did have light rain that was a bit of a surprise. The first 8 miles is a mostly wooded section of trail, and the surface is a combination of grass and fine rock. I saw a few eyes glowing from the reflection of my headlamp, likely raccoons.

8 miles in, the surface changed to asphalt, the trail was out in the open, the rain stopped, and I could switch off my headlamp for long stretches. This section travels through the suburbs of Toledo, so I didn’t encounter any wildlife.

18 miles from the start, a little after 2:00 am, I made the sharp left turn from the South Fork of the trail onto the North Fork, and my Westward journey toward Montpelier, Ohio. Heather met me a few more miles down the trail to replenish my liquids and to check on how I was doing. The smooth, paved surface helped me maintain a fast pace.

As soon as I turned on to the North Fork of the trail, I was once again in woods, so my headlamp was back on until sunrise. About 25 miles in a large tree had fallen across the trail. I managed to get over it without too much difficulty, and without having my legs cramp up.

Shortly after sunrise, I came to the end of the paved section of the trail, about 34 miles from the start. Around this time, the expected tailwind turned out to be a crosswind that would challenge me the rest of the way, as would the surface mixture of grass and double-track trail.

Heather met me again at about 7:30 am, 42 miles in, for more fuel replenishment and encouragement.

Because I walked the section of trail closest to Toledo at night, I saw very few people on the trail, and all of them were in the last 5 miles or so. About 2 miles from the finish I met Tom Striggow, NORTA trustee/volunteer 

(Northwestern Ohio rails to trails), who took a couple of photos of me. 

Heather provided crucial support, meeting me at various points on the trail to replenish my supplies and give me encouragement, and also helping me via cell phone on a couple of occasions where I needed some help with navigation.

The quotations at the top hint at why I do these long walks. Having a goal in mind that I know will test my abilities reminds me to be consistent in my training. On some of the snowy/icy days in the Winter when it would have been easy to talk the day off from walking, knowing what I was training for provided motivation to go out, even when the conditions were far from ideal.

How do I train for these long walks? During the week, I walk 2 – 2 ½ miles on my lunch break. On the weekends, I go for longer walks, with a baseline of 5-7 miles, and gradually increasing the distance of the weekend walks during the 3 months before the walk, with my longest walk about 2 weeks before my planned long walk. Those longest walks are 15 – 20 miles in length. Two months or so before the long walk, I add a 5-7 mile walk during the week.

On my longer training walks, I walk 1-2 minutes/mile faster that my target pace for the long walk. 

Between the Wabash Trace walk in Iowa in September, 2020 and the Wabash Cannonball walk in Ohio in May, 2021, I maintained a strong training schedule. I continued with weekend walks in the 10-15 mile range in October through December, then reduced the weekend walks to 5 – 8 miles.

Because my training was consistent throughout the Winter, I was able to walk at a faster pace in Ohio than I did for the previous walk in Iowa, despite the trail surface being more challenging and having a crosswind to contend with for most of the last half of the walk. My recovery also went much faster.

I use a belt pack that has two holsters for water bottles, and also has a couple of compartments that zip up. I use the smaller one for my phone, the larger one I kept a spare shirt and a spare light. I used a headlamp as a light source. If I do this again, especially if I’m going to be out most of the night, I would probably have a spare headlamp with me. I’ve used this pack for running, but it works better for walking, as it doesn’t bounce so much. I use it for my longer training walks, so I’ve become accustomed to wearing it. 

For energy, I use Honey Stinger gels and chews, along with fruit juice, cut about 50% with water. I have found that Honey Stinger products along with fruit juices work well for me, they taste good, even after 15 hours on the trail, and they keep my energy level up.

I wear a light cap when I walk. I’ve been wearing a cap when I run or walk for so long that it feels strange when I’m not wearing one. The bill comes in handy to block out the Sun or the occasional set of headlights.