Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Run Across America: Week 3 in Pictures


 This is my Run Across America journey in pictures. I was there for 7 of 21 days. The pictures give you a glimpse of the amazing experience we had, though they can never fully capture the spirit or essence of the phenomenal people who participated. 

Getting sleep where I could- on the way to the RAA crew from the airport. 

Krista and Ashley loading up for the next round of running.

My first experience in the van. 

Do I really need a caption on this one?

Day 2. Sprained ankle and all. 


A chilly morning start. 


The infamous water bottle. The bottle signified the end of a one mile run. We all came to love seeing our water bottles. 


Almost done with our morning. 

I was in the "junk food" lunch group (some of our group made healthy smoothies for lunch).

Pastor John joined us as a special guest star! (He made us guess who he was). 

This run was for Carlos, a cancer survivor who wrote a very motivating blog post. 


There is always time to stop and rub the belly of a friendly pup.

One of my run legs. The sheepdogs on this farm were not so fond of me. Thankfully they were fenced in. 

This barn was a little spooky. I kept walking while I waited for the van to pick me up.


I got to run across time zones!

Our lunch break. People literally drove up to us this day and made donations.
(This one is out of order, but me with my sprained ankle...feeling a bit chilly on night one). 


Lunch break! Nothing like greasy gas station food!

Krista looking out from her bunk. 

Signs that make you think on your run. (My thought was- I hope he is not coming TODAY). 

What happens to Powerbar bites when they sit on a hot dashboard. 


I took these pictures completely by accident, but thought they were pretty cool. 



Saying goodbye to Pastor John and Jason the Knoxville firefighter. 

"Are ya'll European or something?"

Virginia!

The picture doesn't do it justice but this road was a little scary. 



Laura had to run up this, I got to run down. 


So many beautiful creeks and streams that you don't see when you are driving.

Charlie "Senior" navigating. 

An abandoned business on our lunch break

Brian, Anne, and Chris

Kati, Anne, and Laura

Lunch break. 

Krista and LJ.


Team Rev3 girls representing on the Run Across America. 

The Quinn family joined us for the day. 

Krista and LJ working on the road. 



Why we run. 

The infamous deer shorts. 

"Look...Its Bambi!"


Saw these guys on my last run of the night. 

Mexican dinner. 

This picture doesn't do the hill justice...it was steep!

Near Blacksburg, VA



Happy Hour in Lexington, VA (in a Walmart parking lot). 

"Family" dinner

Running in Virginia

My view from the van. 

Getting close!!!! (Though when you are running it is not quite as close as driving). 

Staring at the hill in the distance. 

My ankle (the left side is majorly swollen) on day 20

Laura and the rockstar sunglasses. 

Team Rev3 ladies after lunch on Day 20 at Fosters.

Day 20 in the books, with Ellen to whom the day was dedicated. 

Team Rev3/Ulman with the families from the Fresta Christian School who cooked us an amazing dinner. 


Getting ready to split up in two groups and get running on the W&OD trail. 

Waiting for our last runner. 



Getting ready to bring it home near Georgetown. 

Some of the ladies of Run Across America: Kati, me, Ashley, Krista, Laura, LJ, and Meg. 


My prize at the finish line. 
Some of the amazing RAA folks!
We got a tour of the Pediatric Infusion Center (an outpatient clinic where pediatric patients and young adults get cancer treatment). This sign was there. It applies to the Run Across America, too (minus the "asks questions" part). Lots of humor, awesomeness, sharing, spunk, and hanging in there was required on this trip!


Showers at the Georgetown athletic facilities. 

Celebrating the finish with Lindsay (young adult cancer navigator at Georgetown) and Lauren, who found out that night that she was awarded a scholarship from Ulman. The cool part was that we already knew this, and read her essay in our dedication circle that morning. 



Lauren with the Ulman/Rev 3 crew. 

Heck Yeah!

3 comments:

  1. Well done, Kiersten! You're incredible!

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  2. Love these! Stealing them for FB.

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  3. Awesome photos!! I feel so blessed that I was able to share even just a couple of days with you and the crew. What an amazing experience. So proud of you!

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