REST, RUN, RE(PETE)

Iowa native Pete Kostelnick’s quest for a world record runs through Greene County

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor 

sports@beeherald.com

@BrandonJHurley 

 

A september snow storm couldn’t break him down. Not even tendonitis, a climb of 9,000 feet, nasal contestation, a 35 MPH head wind or construction can get in his way. 

As long as he ingests his 13,000 calories per day, keeps his 70-mile pace in tact and welcomes every and any supporter, Pete Kostelnick will be a Guinness World record-holder by the time Halloween hits. 

The Boone native and Iowa State University graduate has embarked on a run unlike any in history. The 29-year old ultra-athlete is in the midst of trek across America, by foot, in hopes of breaking a three decade old world record. If successful, he will become the record-holder for fastest run across America – in just 44 days.  

When his feet left the steps of the San Francisco city hall on his birthday, Sept. 29, his goal was to complete the 3,100 mile journey to New York City on Oct. 25. The current Guinness World Record-holder Frank Giannino, Jr. set the bar at 46 days, eight hours and 36 minutes in 1970. His pace was 66.8 miles per day, one that Kostelnick is already well ahead of.

Through day 30, Kostelnick has maintained a 70.32 miles per day average and knocked out more than 2,100 miles of his journey, keeping him on track to finish the run on schedule.  He opened the journey cranking out 80.8 miles in 13 hours and 56 minutes. on the very first day.  

Kostelnick spent the past weekend and the early stages of this week cruising through his home state of Iowa along Highway 30. He entered Iowa from Nebraska Friday, Oct. 7 and made his way through Carroll late morning Saturday and ended his day in Scranton in the mid-afternoon. He pressed on through the very next day, waking up at his usual time of 3:30 a.m. and making his way to his hometown (Boone) at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 9. He was greeted with a small crowd of sign-dwelling supporters and even a few who joined him for the run. 

GROWING A PASSION

Pete’s running was birthed out of necessity but soon blossomed into an obsession. Kostelnick picked up the routine to lose weight in college but the exercise bug quickly caught on. 

He set a goal to run in the Marine Corp Marathon and achieved it. He then qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2009 and competed in 2010. The giant leaps kept rolling in as Kostelnick ran the Badwater 135 mile Ultra Marathon in 2014. 

If that wasn’t enough, the ISU grad ran 423 miles across Iowa in seven days, captured the 2015 Badwater 135 crown and ran 163 miles in 24 hours. 

Kostelnick graduated from Iowa State University with a pair of degrees in finance and international business. He currently resides in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife Nicole where he works as a financial analyst for National Research Corporation. The Boone High grad has been setting the ultra marathon circuit ablaze over the last handful of years, breaking a course record in the “world’s toughest foot race,” the Badwater 135 this past July. The Badwater event is a 135-mile uphill climb from the lowest point in the country, Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California ending at Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Pete completed the race in a mere 21 hours, 56 minutes and 32 seconds. 

PLANNING, EXECUTION AND FOCUS 

Of course, running across the United States would take an immense amount of preparation for any human, but trekking through mountain ranges, snowstorms, along busy highways in 44 days can take it’s toll. At all times, Kostelnick has near him a doctor, a massage therapist, and his team of advisors. A fully-stocked RV travels along the route with him and even travels ahead to scope out the best place to camp out for the night. Kostelnick has spent every evening so far in the RV – no hotel stays for him. It’s the best possible way to keep him on track and to maintain a precise route and schedule. No time searching for a hotel or going off route. 

The key to completing his journey on schedule, Kostelnick said, is a meticulous plan he never, ever strays from. 

 “(I need to have) a very focused daily routine down to a science,” he said.

Breakfast and supper are the two most vital meals of the day. 

Each morning, Kostelnick rises between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. to chow down on an initial breakfast of oatmeal, a banana, toast and a protein shake. Then it’s off for a 40 mile “jog” before he takes a break for his second breakfast of the morning, which usually consists of eggs, grains, fruits and another protein shake. Each morning break is scheduled to last only 30 minutes. 

Kostelnick’s support staff plans out every possible scenario throughout the journey, they draw up the routes, make sure medical care is on hand and prepare the rejuvenating meals that help him stay strong and committed. They attempt to make the cross-country journey as worry free as possible for Kostelnick. The runner typically finishes each day between 4 and 5 p.m., eats his hearty supper and is in bed by 7 p.m., ready for his next early-morning wake up call. The last meal of the day is the most important, said Cinder Wolff, Kostelnick’s personal chef and massage therapist. 

“Dinner has to be a rebuilding meal,” Wolff said. “This is the meal that allows Pete’s muscles to rebuild while he sleeps. It always has a protein, carb and some veggies. If we have been close to a store then ice cream is Pete’s treat for the night.”

A 70-mile run for 44 straight days requires, and burns, and immense amount of energy, which is why Wolff is in charge of creating a daily 13,000 calorie meal plan. Obviously, a precise plan is vital. 

At the same time, Kostelnick wants to have fun during the cross-country trip, and it was evident by his ear-to-ear smiles as he entered his hometown Sunday.

“(I don’t want to treat) it like a race but rather enjoy each day,” Kostelnick said. 

His PR team continually updates his fans through the Pete’s Feet Across America Facebook page that is often littered with videos, pictures, mileage totals and links for tracking on a daily basis. What makes Kostelnick’s world record attempt unique is all the support that has come from the outside in. Family, friends, colleagues and fans have crawled out of the woodwork to get a glimpse of this record attempt and provide as much aid as possible. Kostelnick’s seen friends make long and early drives from all over the country to meet him during his 3:30 a.m. wake up call. Dozens and dozens of supporters have run hundreds of miles along his side, sharing the special moment with him. 

“It’s been great seeing all the small towns and all the people who have been coming out to run with me,” he said. “(The support) was hit and miss through Utah but Colorado and Nebraska (and Iowa) have been very good with runners and supporters.”

AVERTING DISASTER

The grueling 70-mile days have yet to break his will, but an illness almost got to him on day seven. Kostelnick woke on Sept. 17 after six days of running and 450 miles, a good chunk of which was through the desert of Nevada and Yosemite, with a bad case of nasal contestation and tendonitis, so Kostelnick decided to rest his legs before making the trek through the mountains of Utah and Colorado. It would take just one day to recover, but what waited was his biggest challenge yet. 

Snow came falling from the sky at Fairview Canyon in Utah on day 12 (Sept. 24). When he and his support crew woke up that next morning, they were greeted with three inches of soft, white powder. The elevation changes though, where his biggest foe. In a 17 day span, from day 3 to day 20, Kostelnick ran through Yosemite National Park and three mountain ranges, embarking on 6,000 feet of elevation change.  

“The elevation from California all the way through Colorado and being above 5,000 feet really threw me off,” he said. The highest point he reached was 9,000 feet. 

“It was more difficult to run even at a slow pace,” he said. 

Kostelnick ran through Yosemite and trekked through 6,000 feet of elevation over a 17 day span. His 3,100 miles in 44 days is a pace of nearly three full marathons a day every week for a month and a half. But since that slight misstep on day seven, Kostelnick has been nothing short of miraculous, bumping his daily average up almost every day. 

“I feel really good all around and much better than I was two weeks ago,” he said.

Kostelnick reached the halfway point at Lexington, Nebraska at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 (1,550 miles). He didn’t pass up a chance to stop by his home in Lincoln on Oct. 6, as he made a quick pit stop for lunch before heading toward Iowa. 

He entered Iowa a day later at 10:02 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7. He crossed the relatively flat state of Nebraska in 366.6 miles. His earliest morning departure, so far, was 2:56 mountain time to accommodate the time change Monday, Oct. 3. His longest state-wide trek has been Colorado, which took him 449.1 miles. California took 397 miles, while Nevada was 305.5 miles and Utah was 355.6 miles.

Kostelnick started his 27th day (Saturday, Oct. 8) at 4 a.m in Dunlap and ended in Scranton, 71.2 miles later, around 3:30 p.m. 

On Sunday, Oct. 9, Kostelnick ran 71.9 miles in 13 hours and seven minutes, putting him at 1,963.8 miles. Kostelnick cruised past the 2,000 mile mark on day 29, Monday, Oct. 10. He ran 72 miles and crashed for the night in Cedar Rapids at Kingston Stadium. 

Pete exited Iowa at 5:34 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 and into Illinois. His journey across his home state took him 333.8 miles and a total of five days. He’s well on his to the world record, and New York City, for a party like no other on Oct. 25. 

For updates on where Kostelnick is, visit the tracking link at http://www.petesfeetaa.com/track-pete.

 

 

 

 

 

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