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Pat's Virtual Run Across America
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- North America
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Location Date California 1503702000 Arizona 1500073200 New Mexico 1490914800 Texas 
1486166400 Louisiana 1463698800 Mississippi 1457740800 Alabama 1456012800 Florida 1453507200 -
Location Date El Paso 1486166400 Fabens, Tx 1485561600 Fort Hancock
1483142400 Sierra Blanca 1482537600 Van Horn 1481932800 Balmorhea 1479772800 Fort Stockton 1478822400 Sheffield 1477090800 Ozona 1476486000 Sonora 1476054000 Roosevelt 1474758000 Junction 1474066800 Kerrville 1472857200 Boerne 1472252400 San Antonio 1471647600 Seguin 1470438000 Luling 1469833200 Schulenburg 1469228400 Columbus 1468623600 Katy 1467932400 Houston 1467414000 Mont Belvieu 1466204400 Winnie 1464994800 Beaumont 1464390000
Happy New Year from Fort Hancock, TX!
Run Stats:
Day: 365
Miles Completed: 1332.3
Miles to San Diego: 767.7
Miles to El Paso: 53.7
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 50.8
Longest Run Streak: 15 days
Current Run Streak: 15 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Willow Creek CC Podcast, Chicago Greatest Hits
Guest Runners: Molly Donovan
Bible Verse of the Day: "You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." - Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
Run Reflections: Well, I finished my last run for 2016 this morning. It was part of a 15 day running streak which was the longest this year. During this period, I learned a couple of things. First, I learned that it is way more fun to run when you want to rather than when you have to - or feel like you have to, it's not like anyone was chasing me. My legs got pretty sore around day 9 and I really had to force myself to get out and run the next day. Second, I learned that you can run through the sore part and get past it. This reminded me of the 2-a-day wresting practices in college after we got back from Christmas break - man were we sore starting those afternoon practices. I was glad that Molly was home and ran with me on a couple of those middle period days, she provided a lot of encouragement that I could finish the year with this streak. That said, I think I'm going to take a short break before continuing this journey. Overall, I'm very pleased with how this project has gone this year. The distance of 1332 miles has me virtually passing through Fort Hancock, TX in the final blog post for 2016.
Fort Hancock, TX: Sources for this post are from wikipedia and texas escapes web sites. Fort Hancock is situated on the northern Mexico-United States border, across from El Porvenir, Chihuahua, Mexico. It's a few miles west off I-10 on Hwy 20. There is a bridge that connects the two communities and the Fort Hancock Port of Entry is located on the Texas side. I've included pictures of downtown Fort Hancock and the Port of Entry from texas escapes and photographers Barclay Gibson and Jason Penney.
Fort Hancock began as a military establishment named Camp Rice in 1882, along the San Antonio-El Paso Road. It was established by troops of the 10th U.S. Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers" to be nearer to the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was one of the few forts in Texas to be purchased by the U.S. War Department. Texas escapes reports that: "The Handbook of Texas graciously supplies the purchase price of $2,370 - which answers the nagging question: "What's a Fort Worth?"
Camp Rice was renamed Fort Hancock in 1886 after the death of General Winfield Scott Hancock, a hero of the battle of Gettysburg. Federal troops were sent to Fort Hancock in 1918 to contain Mexican "bandits and outlaws" operating along the border. Wikipedia reports that it was suspected that the bandits were being directed by German agents (as WWI did not end until Nov 1918). The remains of the old fort are located in a cotton field about 1.5 miles west of the present-day town. I have included a picture from wikipedia of the actual fort as it looked in 1916. If you look closely, you'll see an interesting reference to the dog that is part of the pic in the bottom right corner.
Two other interesting things to know about Fort Hancock are that officials raised the speed limit to 80 miles per hour in 2006 along their portion of I-10, making it the highest speed limit in the country; and it was mentioned at the end of the 1994 movie - The Shawshank Redemption - as the place where character Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (played by Morgan Freeman) crosses the U.S. Border into Mexico to join his friend, Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins), who earlier escaped from Shawshank Prison and fled to Zihuatanejo, Mexico via Fort Hancock.
Well, there you have it folks, a year of virtual running that has taken me from Panama City almost to El Paso. Along the way, I've learned a lot about a bunch of small towns that I never new existed. Each one seemed to bring another interesting story or surprise that I hope you found interesting and enjoyable too. I look forward to continuing this journey in 2017 and completing the journey to San Diego! One thing I'd like to try to focus on next year is expanding the guest runners list - either virtually or in person. Let me know if you'd like to join me on a run sometime next year.
In closing, I'd like to say thanks again to all of you who have invested the time to share this journey with me. I hope you have a great New Year's weekend and that 2017 will be your best year ever!!
God Bless,
Pat
Run Stats:
Day: 365
Miles Completed: 1332.3
Miles to San Diego: 767.7
Miles to El Paso: 53.7
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 50.8
Longest Run Streak: 15 days
Current Run Streak: 15 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Willow Creek CC Podcast, Chicago Greatest Hits
Guest Runners: Molly Donovan
Bible Verse of the Day: "You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." - Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)
Run Reflections: Well, I finished my last run for 2016 this morning. It was part of a 15 day running streak which was the longest this year. During this period, I learned a couple of things. First, I learned that it is way more fun to run when you want to rather than when you have to - or feel like you have to, it's not like anyone was chasing me. My legs got pretty sore around day 9 and I really had to force myself to get out and run the next day. Second, I learned that you can run through the sore part and get past it. This reminded me of the 2-a-day wresting practices in college after we got back from Christmas break - man were we sore starting those afternoon practices. I was glad that Molly was home and ran with me on a couple of those middle period days, she provided a lot of encouragement that I could finish the year with this streak. That said, I think I'm going to take a short break before continuing this journey. Overall, I'm very pleased with how this project has gone this year. The distance of 1332 miles has me virtually passing through Fort Hancock, TX in the final blog post for 2016.
Fort Hancock, TX: Sources for this post are from wikipedia and texas escapes web sites. Fort Hancock is situated on the northern Mexico-United States border, across from El Porvenir, Chihuahua, Mexico. It's a few miles west off I-10 on Hwy 20. There is a bridge that connects the two communities and the Fort Hancock Port of Entry is located on the Texas side. I've included pictures of downtown Fort Hancock and the Port of Entry from texas escapes and photographers Barclay Gibson and Jason Penney.
Fort Hancock began as a military establishment named Camp Rice in 1882, along the San Antonio-El Paso Road. It was established by troops of the 10th U.S. Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers" to be nearer to the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was one of the few forts in Texas to be purchased by the U.S. War Department. Texas escapes reports that: "The Handbook of Texas graciously supplies the purchase price of $2,370 - which answers the nagging question: "What's a Fort Worth?"
Camp Rice was renamed Fort Hancock in 1886 after the death of General Winfield Scott Hancock, a hero of the battle of Gettysburg. Federal troops were sent to Fort Hancock in 1918 to contain Mexican "bandits and outlaws" operating along the border. Wikipedia reports that it was suspected that the bandits were being directed by German agents (as WWI did not end until Nov 1918). The remains of the old fort are located in a cotton field about 1.5 miles west of the present-day town. I have included a picture from wikipedia of the actual fort as it looked in 1916. If you look closely, you'll see an interesting reference to the dog that is part of the pic in the bottom right corner.
Two other interesting things to know about Fort Hancock are that officials raised the speed limit to 80 miles per hour in 2006 along their portion of I-10, making it the highest speed limit in the country; and it was mentioned at the end of the 1994 movie - The Shawshank Redemption - as the place where character Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (played by Morgan Freeman) crosses the U.S. Border into Mexico to join his friend, Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins), who earlier escaped from Shawshank Prison and fled to Zihuatanejo, Mexico via Fort Hancock.
Well, there you have it folks, a year of virtual running that has taken me from Panama City almost to El Paso. Along the way, I've learned a lot about a bunch of small towns that I never new existed. Each one seemed to bring another interesting story or surprise that I hope you found interesting and enjoyable too. I look forward to continuing this journey in 2017 and completing the journey to San Diego! One thing I'd like to try to focus on next year is expanding the guest runners list - either virtually or in person. Let me know if you'd like to join me on a run sometime next year.
In closing, I'd like to say thanks again to all of you who have invested the time to share this journey with me. I hope you have a great New Year's weekend and that 2017 will be your best year ever!!
God Bless,
Pat
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