While the Outer Banks is a popular summer vacation destination for many families in Virginia, recent graduates of Clover Hill High School and members of the cross country & track team Allan Kirchhoff and Colin Mason have opted to take a less traditional route to the sandy beaches of Carolina. At least they will not be slowed down by traffic.
Kirchhoff and Mason will be running all the way to the Outer Banks as their journey started this morning on Monday, July 27th and will expect to last through Sunday, August 2nd as they attempt totrek roughly 30 miles each day this week towards the Outer Banks.
What started off as a crazy idea among two high school seniors has come to life as well as helping to support a great cause to raise funds for wounded American veterans. MileStat.com will be attempting to daily updates from the duo as they make their long run to Nags Head, North Carolina.
If you would like to support their run and this noble cause, you can send donations to 14326 Huntgate Woods Rd, Midlothian, VA 23112. Make checks payable to Wounded Warriors Project.
Sunday, August 2nd
Update from Allan (10:14 PM): We finished.
Update from John (1:13 PM): The guys are about 5 hours from finishing the Run. My parents are on the way to Nags Head to pick them up, so we can expect them to be back in Chesterfield sometime this evening.
Saturday, August 1st
Update from John (11:36 PM): The guys have officially reached NC and are ~30 miles from Nags Head. They report that the sandy beaches are actually making the running easier and a little faster. They hope to complete the Run sometime tomorrow, as scheduled. No word yet on when we can expect them back in Chesterfield.
Update from Colin (9:35 AM): Starting off Day 6! We have about 15 miles until we enter North Carolina and from there another 40 or so down to Nags Head... We're running through unpopulated parks for the most part today so as Allan said, updating is iffy tonight. We hope to end up in Corolla, NC tonight which would put us about 20-25 miles north of Nags Head for the next day.
Friday, July 31st
Update from Allan (11:08 PM): Day 5 - 120 miles! We finally reached VA Beach today and plan to continue to run to Nags Head, which is about 55 miles south. Videos and pics should be up soon, we would have put them up a while ago, but finding a computer for a long enough time is difficult. Tomorrow we'll be somewhere... probably unpopulated and won't be able to update.
Update from John (9:27 PM): The Road Warriors have successfully reached the ocean thanks to a 22 mile effort today. They are now officially only 55 miles from Nags Head and will be doing a lot of running on the beach starting tomorrow.
Thursday, July 30th
Update from John (10:08 PM): The Road Warriors decided to take a day off and run only 7 miles. Colin's feet are doing much better now that he's biking but his butt is now getting sore. Allan's knees, IT band, and right Achillies tendon are bothering him but he's been icing them to prevent further injury. They're hoping to reach the beach by tomorrow and might not complete the run until early next week.
Update from Allan (9:34 AM): And Colin's foot is holding up well now that he's biking.
Update from Allan (9:22 AM): Day 4 - Yesterday I ran 32 miles through the city of Suffolk. We're only 37 miles from VA beach, but dead tired. Ran through two thunderstorms yesterday and had our second run in with the police. People keep calling in to report about two kids with a baby running along the highway. Good times.
Wednesday, July 29th
Update from John (10:21 PM): Allan and colin have completed Stage 3. They are reporting that they are very tired (especially Allan) but are trying to finish up the Run. Colin reports that the bike helped his feet some and Allan was apparently struggling a little bit to keep up and not feeling too good.
Update from John (1:09 PM): Allan and Colin started Stage 3 (32 miles) this morning with Colin on a bike and Allan on foot. They're both pretty busted up and I tried to get them to come home before they get even worse. However, they refused and are continuing on despite my concern. Allan said he "feels good" and thinks he can finish the Run but we'll see how he feels after today.
Tuesday, July 28th
Update from John (12:52 PM): Run to NC Update: Allan and Colin have started Stage 2 (30 miles). Hanting, Ethan, and I dropped of some food and supplies for them this morning. They're pretty exhausted and are now using the jogging stroller to carry most (if not all) of their supplies because the backpacks made it super-difficult to run. Hopefully they won't encounter any bad weather today.
Monday, July 27th
Update from John (7:50 AM): Run to NC Update: Allan and Colin have started the Run and are supposed to complete 37 miles today