Lincoln ultramarathon runner Pete Kostelnick is running from San Francisco to New York City, and his journey could end early this week with him breaking a Guinness World Record.
DAY 41 UPDATE: Kostelnick ended Saturday evening near Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, and he is now less than 175 miles from the finish. Kostelnick could finish as early as Monday afternoon, and if he does would crush the previous record by at least three days. On Friday, he battled another day of mountains and a storm in Pennsylvania, but finished 72 miles in about 13 hours for a total of 2,834 miles. You can track his progress on his website (www.petesfeetaa.com).
ON THE ROUTE: According to Guinness World Record rules, Kostelnick could mark the spot on the road where he ends each day, and then go off the route to eat or sleep. But Kostelnick told his crew he wanted to stay close to the course, so he has slept in an RV right where he ends running each evening. Most days, the RV has found a spot to park just off the road. There have only been a few times where the daily mileage has ended where the crew could park at a campground or RV park.
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TRACKING A RECORD: Both during the planning stage and during the race, Kostelnick and his crew are taking great care to make sure they’ll be able to verify the record if he’s able to break it. Kostelnick wears two watches with GPS. The crew also takes photos and video each day, and has runners who join him and others along the route fill out a witness form. They also keep receipts that show the supplies they purchased across the country, and buy newspapers to show where they’ve been. He also logs how many miles he ran each day, and how long his rest breaks were. When he’s finished, he’ll submit a package to Guinness World Records to verify the record.
— Brent C. Wagner