Dr. Kate's Run/Walk of Route 66 to Raise Awareness!

[Nicora_G]

Hello!
We have been following Dr. Kate Condon of England as she runs and walks America's Route 66, from Chicago to LA, to raise awareness of Psoriasis. In her first e-mail to us she explained that her 10-week walk represents the 10-weeks it often takes to achieve significant clearing after starting on a new systemic treatment plan.

Dr. Condon has been on the road since May 4th and is nearly half way done with her awareness walk. Below, I will post the updates she has sent, and continues to send, as well as some pictures that she has included.

I hope that you enjoy Dr. Condon's story of her journey. In her own words, "I wish you and all psoriasis sufferers good health and happiness."

Nicora Gardner
Health Education Coordinator
ngardner@psoriasis.org

[Nicora_G]

Dr. Condon's daughter, Jess, sent this first account of her mom's awareness walk/run on May 6th, two days into the trip:

Dear everybody,
This is jess, Kate's youngest (and best...) daughter. I have been delegated the job to fill you all in on mums progress cos unsurprisingly i doubt she has much time to sit about and write emails.

I spoke to mum on the phone just now and thought id let you all know a few details of her first few days.

Chicago was apparently an absolutely stunning city with incredible skyscrapers and some beautiful buildings. Mum and the boys got a lovely photo of a beautiful sunrise behind the skyline (i'll send the photo on when they send it to me)

Some of you may know (and for those who dont..) mum does not exactly have the most fantastic sense of direction. Therefore i was not overly surprised to find out she did manage to get herself lost in chicago for a few hours!

The RV that they are using for the next 10 weeks is a Lap of Luxury!! Double beds for all, shower, fridge, freezer, tv..... i thought she said this was going to be hard work?? But it is very reassuring for us at home to know that at the end of a long, hard and painful day she can relax a bit (until the next day begins....)

I have been told that Route 66 (which incedentally is known as "the mother road", as you can imagine my siblings and i find this very very appropriate!) is filled with truckers and bikers, as are the diners that mum frequents.
One diner has provided us with a fabulous anecdote!! Mum went in just to quickly use the loo, she then went to buy a diet coke, due to their kindness at letting her use their bathroom. After chatting they gave her the drink for free! It seemed the waitress and diners were aware of the disease Psoriasis (in case anyone does not know, this is the disease which my mum has chosen to run in aid of). After a fun, lengthy chat with her, mum became a bit of a legend (unsurprising to any of us who know her!) and they refused to let her leave the diner without her signing their book...
I am officially the daughter of a celebrity!!

[Nicora_G]

Jess sent this update on May 13th:

Dear everybody, thanks so much for your emails wishing mum well. she really appreciates them.

Mum has been doing extremely well and has done 8 days so far, keeping up with her daily mileage plan so we're very proud of her.

The following is part of an email from mum:

"At last a few minutes with Wi-fi and some time whilst Kev serves up another Cordon Bleu meal! I am really well looked after. Dom is as ever head down with the GPS machine working out miles, directions and alerts as to where I might get lost!

Chicago was crazy and desperate and hilarious and totally knackering with Dom driving and negotiating the streets while Kev rode his bike alongside me. We eventually looked back to a great sunrise and before we knew it we were way out of city and into suburbs. They saw but I missed the prison at Joliet (AKA The Blues Brothers one)!

We slept (p.s. omitted to tell you getting lost 3 times in Chicago, par for the course!) at Mr. 'B's bar and grill car park or rather I didn't much, same old sleeping problem at beginning of runs, never mind.

Oh! dear it's a big mush between then and recently as I haven't kept notes. Suffice it to say that I love The Union Pacific Railroad as it has traveled alongside me for the past few days as a constant companion with deer bounding across it soon after dawn, large deer with long tails which fold upwards and a white underside. Then the train drivers honk their 'doppler effect' American film horns and wave to me!!

We stopped at lovely Lake Springfield with great sunset and a racoon. Not a Simpson in sight just ol' Abe Lincoln and the boys were very privileged to be taken round the State Capitol building by the security guards as it had closed when they arrived. They even saw a secret room.

3 chats with the police and all very friendly.The 3rd was interesting as I was almost arrested! It happened that my early run came to a short bit of Interstate (motorway) and no way round it and the boys asleep so I climbed over a fence and made my way across a bog the the edge carefully avoiding the brother of the 4 foot snake, dead, that I had seen earlier (you see loads of little 30cm dead ones along the way, NO live ones yet!). I then ran as fast as I could which was about 3 1/2 miles per hour! I was saying 'good, no cops yet' and then just about 200 m from the exit one pulled up with his lights flashing etc. He asked what I was doing and said I'm not allowed to go on interstates as a pedestrian and then drove me off and round the corner to the R66 proper and told his 'control' about the L.A. on foot who said ''she's doing what!!''

Got lost last night AGAIN and it was tough at the end of 6 hard days with quite a lot of miles and today was going to be easier with only 31 but a major storm and winds and rain made it all rather hard work with very slow progress. Any way only about 10 miles to go but lunch and little rest calls."

So there you have it, mum is progressing very well with tough days and great days. She also was on the Chain of Rocks bridge over the Mississippi which she said was incredible.
The American mothers day was on Sunday, and she said she felt very privileged to be running on "the mother road" on that day.

[Nicora_G]

Jess sent in the third update on May 27th:

Dear everybody,

I am so sorry that it has been such a while since mum's last update, here is her email:

"Hi Y’all,
Sorry for infrequent communication but its difficult getting internet access in the middle of nowhere parked on the side of a road and too hot and tired to stop in the middle of the day in a city. Anyway made it to Oklahoma City today despite it being 93 degree! I’m going to have to get used to it and put on sunscreen at least 5-7x a day. I look like a sweaty ghost!!

Animals. The birds are amazing and I don’t know what any of them are. Beautiful BRIGHT little blue ones and yellow ones and red ones, so pretty. There are medium scruffy birds of prey (?) buzzards all over the place and elegant pure white herons. Even the brown birds are interesting. I love armadillos but haven’t seen a live one yet! Them and turtles and terrapins are hedgehog equivalents and are squished on the road all over the place. The armadillos look like sweet fatty reptiles who need to be motorized to survive! Still no live snakes seen and I’m happy about that, loads of roadkill. I’m not going to mention the ‘tick’ episodes, thankfully not on me. I mustn’t forget Sally, a really friendly dog who just wouldn’t leave me and kept running in the road. We had to ring her vet’s number to sort out where she came from and return her.

Places. So many and they are a bit muddled. The Chain of Rocks Bridge over The Great Mississippi is probably my best moment tho I loved little down at heel Galena in Kansas and kept expecting to see Dorothy and pals come around the corner. I tried clicking my trainers heels together and saying ‘there’s no place like home’ but I’m still here…There are loads of little Route 66 specials like the Largest Rocking chair in the world. Bulls coming out of roves etc. The Union Pacific railroad accompanying me in the early hours of the morning is so comforting with the drivers waving at me and blowing their horns. There’s loads more and I’ll try to clarify it in my brain for another day.

People. Ryan, a graduating welder and a drummer. The beer drinking Montana cowboy with his (beer drinking) horse tied up at the launderette. The son of ‘Blue Whale’ man. Larry Goodman a very kind guy. The police have been fine. The Route 66 drugs policeman was a bit severe to start with checking our I.D. and searching the van but when he saw loads of pairs of smelly trainers and not much else he was ok...Lots of kindly people in garages buying a coke and letting me use their restroom..

Dom and Kev have been very patient in looking after me and the route and feed me really well. They have to do my smelly washing (!) and do lots of maintenance of the van (called Gladys) changing water etc. I think was all a lot more than they bargained for but they have got to see capitol building in Springfield, Illinois by the security guards! And also Jesse James' Hideout and many more things including guns and knives and shooting a bow which resulted in Dom getting an ‘arm whipping‘ yet another of his many injuries, skateboarding ones mostly...

It’s been a roller coaster for me saved by my family who have been brilliant from thousands of miles away keeping up my spirits and helping each other…

It’s actually Memorial Day in the U.S.and though I’ve thought of people who’ve given their lives for their country I think I’ve mostly just been remembering things, lots of people and things, the people who I’m here to represent who put up with such a lot and don’t complain...they know who they are and I say their names out loud. I’ve thought of the poor people in the earthquake a lot and stop feeling sorry for myself.

Mostly I think of my family and love them more than they will ever know.

Bedtime now………"

So there you have it, we are speaking to mum every evening and she is enjoying herself a lot, but I think we should all pray that the heat calms down a bit!

[Nicora_G]

Jess sent in this e-mail yesterday, on June 2:

Hey there everybody!
This is the latest from mum:

"Hi again, Must grab the wi-fi when we can get it!

The night I last wrote we had the most amazing storm in OK City as we were parked up at a 24 hour Walmart. The van was blowing around and felt as if it was about to take off! We listened to the weather station at 2 a.m. waiting to see if it was recommended that every one goes to their storm shelters but it calmed a bit and all was well except the power was out for our area.

5a.m. I was off in the pre-dawn light and after a mile tripped over a twig and fell sideways. It would have looked very funny. I carried on out in to the countryside seeing loads of red squirrels and now spotting many horses and the occasional prickly cactus with yellow flowers so we must be getting wild westish!

Also we're on the road to Amarillo 'cos it says so on the road signs about 160miles.

My arm became swollen and bruised even by my standards and moving it around a little sore. Next morning arriving in Weatherford I happened to pass their beautiful brand new hospital and called in.They were all so friendly and helpful from the receptionist who met me and all the nurses and the lovely radiographer, who is on Enbrel for her bad psoriasis (''at $500 a shot''). The doc was delightful whizzing round on a wheely chair as he was in a non weight-bearing plaster for a fractured tibial plateau after his 8 year old son ran in to him! Anyway I have 2 un-displaced fractures of my left radial head (i.e. piddly small). They kindly offered me a bulky fiberglass and foam sling but that would have hurt my neck etc. and been awkward so they said I could tuck it in my tee shirt as long as I don't twist my wrist/arm or press on it.They were lovely .The whole thing reminded me of good ol' Bognor (apart from the brand new bit!).

The boys have been very kind to me, continuing to feed and water me and try to point me in the right direction but I still manage to get a bit lost and it's always my fault. Tho' I take a map with me every day and I am improving a tiny bit. Dom's sent some photos so hopefully Jess can attach them and you can get a glimpse of us and a few places we've been.

Last night we stopped in a REAL campsite not just on the side of the road or in a church car park and we had a swim which was FAB. However this morning I am cream crackered and having a major lie-in and will just do fairly rubbish mileage today but I am ahead so hopefully all will be well.

Speak again soon, Kate"

[Nicora_G]

Jess sent this update on Monday, June 16th:

This is the latest email from mum. She's doing so fantastically and is very, very happy now that Aisling and Andy (my sister and her boyfriend) have joined her out there!
Hope this finds you all very well
Love jess
xxx

Route 66
Just thought I’d tell you a bit about the Mother Road partly really to explain our trip (thanks to Jerry McClanahan).
It was pieced together from an existing network of trails and unnamed roads and was officially born on 11th November, 1926 (4 days after my dad was born!) In the 1960’s the inexorable invasion of the Interstates has altered much of it. In other words, it does not exist as a single long road but there may be 2 or 3 wiggly bits or some which is just Interstate (motorway). I am taking pretty much the shortest route and of course cannot run on the motorway bits apart from when I did 3 miles running in Illinois early in the morning so as not to wake the boys. I of course was picked up by a nice policeman but not arrested. So I’m not doing anymore motorway on foot!

I was making up missed ‘Interstate miles’ by running to and fro between mile markers that Dom set me, but it’s pretty tedious so to save my brain and body I am not going to make up these miles but will forge on on all walkable Route 66. This will mean that I only complete about 2100 miles rather than the original 2400 miles that I had calculated so I hope no one feels too cheated….

THE TEAM

The Team in the U.S so far has been Dom and Kev who are brilliant friends of my family and they have had a most extraordinary and exhausting time to get us to Albuquerque, which had the most fantastic entry via the Sandia Mountains and it’s a great city but with I suspect a few drug problems.

Anyway Dom’s role gradually took shape with being in charge of navigating Route 66 with maps and GPS. He has to spend much time poring over both because of course R66 is not just a single road as I mentioned. Kev is the purveyor of great food starting with my tuna surprise sandwiches he makes me for my pre-dawn start. At about 10am we have maybe scrambled eggs and cereal and tea. Lunch is a most beautiful humoungus salad with so many goodies on it delicately prepared. Supper may be pasta or fish and vegetables and often brownies for pud. I take a pot of nuts and grapes and chocolate along on my travels so as not to get hungry between times. I have a camel-pack with a litre of water and carry extra for the hot times.

They both have to get fresh water and empty the grey and black (poo!) water every day which is tricky sometimes finding places where you can do this. They then need to do their Walmart shopping and Kev in particular is in love with same shop as everything is always in the same place in every branch! After all this they need R and R with visiting the interesting R66 sights along the way, going to skateboarding shops and talking to everyone they meet and being generally great ambassadors for the Psoriasis cause and England in general. People often come up to the van and read our psoriasis posters and ask about the trip etc. It is very heartening the good feelings people give and a nice ol’ lady gave $10 towards the cause!

Anyway in 3 days time Aisling (my 2nd daughter) and her boyfriend Andy will be coming to join us so will be able to give Dom and Kev a bit of help. I think it will be a shock for them with jet lag, getting straight into the trip and the high temperatures which Dom, Kev an’ me have all had some time to acclimatise to...Anyway it will be more adventure for us all, and very squished in the van and hilariously funny I guess!

I’ll let you know...

p.s. the chocolate is e.g.mini Twix’s and I squeeze them out like those Frubes yoghurt drinks...because they’ve melted in the heat.

[Nicora_G]

Whoops, a little out of order. This update is from June 8th:

Oh Dear! No phone signal, no internet, just hot amazing New Mexico vista!
Back to Texas though. Arrived in the Texas Panhandle which is where Curly (from City Slickers) fell in love for the 1st and only time to a redhead in the fields. We parked up at a small roadside alongside the interstate I40 which accompanies us through many States.
Dom took the broom and spent 50 minutes sweeping the drain (a bit like a quarter pipe) between us and the I40. The looks he got from the drivers were a sight to see! He and Kev then proceeded to skateboard down the drain at increasingly high speeds until Dom’s concentration lapsed for a moment and he took a (his 2nd) nasty tumble with blood and grazes on shoulder, hand, knee, and ankle! He was brave and eventually agreed that pads may be a good idea for the next time...We settled for the night and were woken at 1a.m. by a retired policeman smiling broadly saying that it was perfectly ok to park there but people may keep waking us in the night (yeh! Well he did) He carried on repeating all this and smiling sweetly but you very much got the feeling that it wouldn’t have ended happily if we had stayed. He then sat in his car for 20 minutes shining his headlights on us so we tootled off.

Next day was to be the 1st of the 100 degrees+ and we were going through ‘Groom’ in the early afternoon. It boasts the largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere. More than this though it has in a circle around its base the 14 Stations of the Cross. Though quite graphic they were extremely moving and reminded me of people suffering in many ways so badly that surely I could stop feeling sorry for myself and do a few hours walking in the heat of the day. It helped me decide to make the heat my friend and so now 80+ is fine 90+ is ok too. 100+ is hot but manageable with my keep cool kit which I’ll tell you about sometime. (Mind you wait till we get to 118+ degrees in Arizona and I’ll be whimpering like a baby...)

Oh Yes! Saw my 1st live snake in the dawn-light which alarmed me though I didn’t tread on it and backed off as it idled its way across the road not paying any attention to me thank goodness, and had my trusty snake stick with me as we were warned there are a lot of rattlesnakes in Texas. They go on the road at night to cool down and head off in the early morning near dawn.

Saw the largest wind farm ever and heard on the radio that some geezer is suggesting spending $4 billion on wind farms in Texas. I happen to love them...Unfortunately this one was next to the biggest cow poo smell of all time on a Texas farm. We parked a way away (upwind) and went to sleep with the windmills all flashing on and off like a giant Christmas tree decoration.

New Mexico started badly with the windiest afternoon walking directly against gusting 55 mph winds so I was taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. It was disappointing as I was looking forward to this bit.

Then this morning I set off to Tucumcari at 4 am (in a different time zone now!)and saw the most beautiful sunrise over the grey green grasses, dark green bushes and red stone and brown formations, fab! I then saw yet another flock of about 300 swallows (?) flying around the place with their nests are in the underpass of the Interstate looking like hundreds of ancient Egyptian vases stuck on at different angles…amazing. I think I’m spending too much time on my own ‘cos I must be hallucinating. Every time I see a sign saying ‘don’t pass’ (overtake) all I can picture is the Black Knight saying "NONE SHALL PASS’’. Him of ‘’It’s only a flesh wound’’ and ‘’Come back here ……. And I’ll bite your legs off’’. If it’s not that, I keep imagining Steve McQueen + the other 6 riding up over the hills to save a damsel (ol’ bag) in not too much distress.

It came to me that I was thinking again (and again) about why I do very long distance stuff and at least part of it is to work out if I would be brave in a war because of course I’ve never been tested in my lifetime. After many years of never knowing the answer it suddenly became clear to me this morning that NO I wouldn’t be brave ‘cos I need lots of encouragement, kind words and hugs to survive. (I’ve had them constantly and frequently from the family and such patience from Kev and Dom and it’s helped so much). I would do anything to protect my family and hopefully do the job I’m meant to do but not without some tears and wimpishness. Within a few minutes of coming to this conclusion the radio told me what the date is today and it is June 6th D-Day 64th anniversary and it has for many years fascinated me about the facts and the characters and the motivations. I know that if my husband, Hugh chose to do this event he would not wimp or whine but stoically just get on with it. You would want him on your side in a war...he’s very brave.

Anyway the wind is back so let’s see what tomorrow brings.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

[ouchyk]

Thanks Nicora,

I've been reading along...nice journal. don't mind going backwards for a post or two...

Karen

[Nicora_G]

This update came in today:

Hi to everyone with psoriasis,

To all those I know well and to anyone else I don’t know who is having problems with it at the moment, I’d like to say hello to all my good buddies who come and chat to me about it and between us we work out the best plan of action for the next wee while. I don’t think I should name names so as not to worry or offend but You know who you are and I send you my love.

I was daydreaming (as I do when I’m on the road) yesterday and imagining traveling along the stunning scenery between Gallup, New Mexico in to Arizona. I was walking with Aisling and it was the best time but I imagined hordes of psoriasis sufferers walking or riding Harleys or in Cadillacs making a big trek along the route to make a point to the world and also to soak up the great UV which would ease things at least for a while...


June 17th.

Arrived today in Flagstaff, Arizona and as we’re a bit ahead on miles we’re off on a 24 hour jolly (i.e. no running/walking for me for a day, Hooray!) to the Grand Canyon tomorrow after I’ve done 8 more miles early morning in to Williams, Arizona.

Since I last wrote, the team has expanded to include Aisling, my 2nd daughter and Andy, her boyfriend. It has made it really interesting, fun, and extremely cozy in the van! It means that Kev and Dom have relief from some of the tedious jobs (e.g. poo water and food shopping) to give them a bit more time for lethal skateboarding!

The van is cozy because of more bodies and you have to sidle past people to get around but it looks great in here because of the treasures we have collected along the way, such as numerous license plates from all states except Kansas and a few others. I’ve found numerous tools such as spanners and a great workers tape measure and some looking brand new just lying in the middle of nowhere with no person or house for miles around. Also flags and golf balls and bouncy balls, odd signs, toys. It probably sounds rather sad but it’s the highlight of my morning if I come back with great treasure!

[Nicora_G]

Another email from mum, only 2 and a half weeks more! Which to us normal people is still a ridiculously long time to be running, but to mum, not too bad! This is it:

I thought I’d tell you about TJ, Joey, Faith and their great parents Rich and Annette, who we met in Gallup, New Mexico. They were fabulous children and gave all their pocket money to help our cause for awareness of psoriasis. This is all the more generous because none of them has the condition. However after playing fun games with us in the campsite pool I learned that they all (except dad) suffer with a lifelong stomach problem which they deal with happily and quietly. I learned that recently TJ has been diagnosed with Von Willebrand’s disease which gives him a lot of bleeding from his stomach so that he is sometimes anemic and poorly. He was wondering if someone was doing a sponsored event to help find a cure for ‘Von Willy’s’ like we are trying to raise awareness of psoriasis. I said I was sure that there are probably many people making loads of effort to help his problem. I said I would ‘google’ Von Willy’s and find out. So far I have had limited luck with Wifi and not successfully registered with the Association. I will do so on my return to England or when I get to L.A.

The point I am making is such generosity from a 10 year old (and his brother and sister) for something which does not affect him so maybe we can all help each other out as everyone has some problem and needs help.

Now..
Valentine, Arizona.
This is a tiddly place where we have parked up on our way to Hackberry (an equally tiddly place!). Tomorrow we should make Kingman and a day or so after that into California (hopefully) HOORAY!!!!!!!!!

This morning’s walk was stunning through the Hualapai Indian Reservation and beyond with beautiful Arizona Rockies all around. Magnificent and a bit hilly...always accompanied by the railroad and it is a big thing for me if I can get the drivers to toot their horns. The Union Pacific Railroad drivers seem much more generous than the BNSF (whatever that stands for) drivers.

Actually this is rather small-fry when you consider our jolly to the Grand Canyon which was indescribably amazing particularly at sunset and sunrise. Only a little less amazing for me was meeting the coolest bikers you ever saw and sitting on their shiny Harley Davidson bikes. Photos will follow shortly...

For Aish and Andy their early morning walk with a detour brought them pretty close to a mountain lion which stared back at them. Aish wanted to make a quiet and slow but hasty retreat. Andy however thought he would get even closer and slowly fiddle about with the focusing on his camera and take not 1 but 4 or 5 shots before the pussycat stood up and then only did he think I was time to leave...nuts!

Oh well ! Another 6 miles to do today and Aisling is coming with me despite the fact it is 104 degrees outside...nuts...and we’ve dressed as twins!

[MikeK]

Doctor runs Route 66 to raise awareness about skin disease

ABBY SEWELL Staff Writer

July 3, 2008 - 11:45AM

BARSTOW — British dermatologist Kate Condon traveled a long dusty road to the High Desert.

She passed through Barstow and headed on to Victorville in the home stretch of her 2,400 mile run along Route 66 to raise awareness about psoriasis, a skin disease that causes scaly red patches to appear on patients’ bodies.

In her 20 years as a dermatologist, Condon has seen some sad cases. The disease is not contagious and is believed to be genetic, Condon said.

Although there are a number of treatments, there is no cure. Psoriasis may not be life-threatening, but it can make life miserable.

“They come in, lots of them they’re in tears,” she said. “They don’t get jobs because it shows, they’re made fun of at school, they can’t go in pools.”

After seeing awareness-raising events centering around cancer and other terminal diseases, she decided to do her own part to educate people about a disease with psychological effects.

“It’s not contagious and it’s not disgusting,” she said.

She pooled her vacation time and set out on the journey, with a small entourage of friends and family following along in a recreational vehicle.

Condon has had the opportunity to make the point to plenty of people along her long trek from Chicago, which began on May 4. Covering about 35 miles a day, Condon arrived in Barstow Wednesday and expects to reach her final destination of Los Angeles on July 8. Two friends from England came along for the ride, along with Condon’s daughter and her boyfriend, following her route in the RV.

She initially thought of running a route through Scotland and England but decided it would be more fun to try out America, Condon said. People pull over every day to ask her why she is jogging along the side of the road, and everyone has been supportive, she said, including the hospital staff in Oklahoma, where she tripped and broke her arm during a storm. It was the only mishap of the trip.

“Everyone’s been friendly, everyone,” she said. “They all say they’ve got it or they know someone who’s got it.”

Although some people have donated along the way, Condon said what matters most is that she spread the word about psoriasis and had fun along the way.

For more information on psoriasis, see http://www.psoriasis.org/home/

Source: http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/rai...awareness.html

[debicamp13]

Dr. Kate YOU are amazing!! thank you so much for keeping in touch with us all and sharing your journey!!!

[MikeK]

Dr. Condon amazing journey (and her efforts on our behalf) is discussed in this article.

Taking summer vacation to the extreme
11:19 AM, July 10, 2008

If it’s summer, it must be the season for amazing athletic endurance feats, otherwise known as running or cycling across country or climbing a mountain to raise money and awareness for a good cause. We caught up with one group still in the early stages of its cross-country trek, and one woman who just completed a run from Chicago to Santa Monica.

In a previous blog post we told you about Livestrong Across America, a group of six cyclists who set off from San Diego on July 1, headed for Washington D.C., to benefit Livestrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation that supports cancer research and education. One of the cyclists, Britt Gober (third from left), filled us in on how they were faring — so far so good, despite (brace yourselves for TMI) some chafing and sore derrieres.

"Yesterday we got rained on, hailed on, and had a head wind most of the day," he said. "But it’s all good."

Gober said he also experienced numb hands, a tired neck, chapped lips, and had to endure temperatures around 118 degrees. On the positive side, no riders have crashed, despite averaging 100 miles a day and traversing some steep grades. And any rider having a bad day is supported by his cycling brethren, who make sure he doesn’t ride alone.

Gober thinks he trained well to endure the demands of such an exploit — he cycled at least 50 miles a day in preparation. It’s paid off, even though the first couple of days were marked by extra energy and a desire to get right back on the road after a water break. But, Gober added, "After a couple of days you come to the realization that you’ve got to go for 103 miles, and it’s going to take seven or eight hours, and you know you’re going to be on the bike all day long, so you just keep pedaling, knowing you’re getting closer and closer."

Meanwhile, in Santa Monica on Tuesday, Dr. Kate Condon finished her run from Chicago along Route 66, which she did to raise awareness and funds for the Psoriasis Assn. in the UK and the National Psoriasis Foundation in the U.S. Condon, a British dermatologist at the Bognor War Memorial Hospital in West Sussex, endured a torn hamstring and a hairline fracture on her arm (both from falls) and 100-plus temperatures. When asked if she was in pain from her injuries, she replied, "Yes, but after 20 minutes something else hurts, so you take your mind off of it."

Condon (that's her at left, sitting on the motorcycle) says she was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of strangers she and her support crew met along the way, was taken by the scarcity of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income areas, astonished by the changing U.S. landscape, and struck by the sight of POW/MIA flags she came across. And though she isn’t sure how much money was raised, Condon believes she was able to spread the word about psoriasis and helped lessened some of the stigma attached to the disease.

And if you happen to be toying with the idea of taking on such an adventure, Gober and Condon have some words of advice: Train, and train well. Have a good support team. Muster solid financial resources. Be confident in your pursuit. Ask for advice from those who have gone before. And, if you’re a cyclist, have plenty of anti-chafing cream on hand.

-- Jeannine Stein

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Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/boos...hey-spent.html.

[MikeK]

Sadly, Dr. Kate's amazing journey ended on a sour note.

Kate's back after epic USA run

Running doctor Kate Condon is set to return to work in Bognor Regis today (Thursday, July 17) after her epic run across America.

Dr Condon will be welcomed back to the dermatology department of the town's war memorial hospital by its staff and patients.

"I'm looking forward to getting home, though it has been a fantastic opportunity to be here and all the Americans have beADVERTISEMENT en so kind along our journey," she said.

She conquered the USA on foot in just over two months. She took the final steps of her 2,400 miles at Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles on Tuesday last week.

This ended the incredible run she had started in Chicago on May 5 when she set out on the start of Route 66 which ends in Olympic Boulevard in LA which Kate passed through on her way to the pier.

She was clapped across the finishing line, under a congratulations banner, by a random group of passers-by collected together by her support team.

Kate (52), of Charlton, undertook her journey of a lifetime to raise awareness of psoriasis and funds for research into the causes of the skin condition.

The only sore note of her time in the USA came soon after she had finished.

She was robbed of her cash and cards and had to spend time with the police and banks trying to sort out some emergency funds.

Source: http://www.littlehamptongazette.co.u...USA.4294677.jp.

Thank you Dr. Kate. You sound like an amazing person. I'm sorry that things didn't end on a positive note. (Sigh)

Mike

[ErikBam]

In a previous blog post we told you about Livestrong Across America, a group of six cyclists who set off from San Diego on July 1, headed for Washington D.C., to benefit Livestrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation that supports cancer research and education. One of the cyclists, Britt Gober (third from left), filled us in on how they were faring — so far so good, despite (brace yourselves for TMI) some chafing and sore derrieres.