Man’s West Coast to East Coast 3,200 Mile Journey Tracked with GPS
25 Jun 2015A Concord resident, 55 year old Alan Barlow, is planning on running across the United States, starting at the West Coast and working his way over to the East Coast.
He dips a plastic bottle in the Pacific Ocean of Heceta Beach in Oregon and sets out for his run. He travels alone and pushes a 75 pound stroller filled with supplies.
Each night, he will be relying on motels, campsites, and kind strangers opening up their backyards for him to pitch a tent. He plans to walk some stretches and as needed, take days off. Barlow has been running for years.
It was in 2007 that his cross-country run idea hit him. At the time, he was working on a 3-year assignment in Munich for a German-based lighting company.
He began researching online and learned that less than 10 people who were over the age 55 have been able to complete a solo run across the United States. He shared his idea with his family. His wife was not receptive about the idea.
The stroller arrived in 2012. After retiring in January, he began ramping up his training. So his family and friends can go online to track his progress during the times he does not have cell phone service, he brought a GPS tracking device.
His wife, Diane Barlow, says that because of his dedication and seeming to want it so badly, she has turned around on the idea.
“I know that he has really planned well, and he doesn’t take unnecessary risk.” she says. “If there’s anybody that could possibly do something like this, I believe it could be him.”
Why is He Doing This?
The Barlows family has been helping to stock shelves on the Centre Street St. Paul’s Church food pantry for years. Each Sunday night, they stock up the shelves for the following Monday morning.
Barlow claims it’s through the strangers’ kindness that the food pantry patrons rely on to make ends meet.
Therefore, he wanted to make his run something much bigger than himself. He plans on raising $15,000 along his journey for the St. Paul’s Church.
He has already raised over 10 percent of his goal in just one week of his run. Barlow has no sponsors and is self-funding his run; all donations are sent directly to the food pantry.
In 3,200 miles and 5 months, Barlow plans on ending his run in New Hampshire at Rye Beach. He will then take the bottle of water he collected from the Pacific Ocean, unscrew the top and pour it into the Atlantic Ocean.
Check out Alan Barlow’s coast to coast journey on his blog!
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