Long distance runner Katie Visco just completed a 2,200 mile, 119-day run across the Australian Outback.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
A marathon is a little over 26 miles. Imagine running more than a marathon every single day for four months.
KATIE VISCO: I officially ran across Australia – 2,210 miles back roads, dirt roads, through the deserts with bicycle support.
NOEL KING, HOST:
That is Katie Visco. Her day job is delivering homemade soup on her bicycle. But this summer, she decided to run down the middle of Australia.
MARTIN: Katie ran between 28 and 38 miles every day while her husband, Henley, biked alongside her with their supplies. A lot of the terrain is desert, right? They dealt with heat, exhaustion and high desert winds.
VISCO: I could feel the wind emotionally because it’s so strong, in your face, right at you, and you can’t do anything about it. It’s literally like running through the most viscous sludge.
KING: The going got rough – like, really rough. In the sandiest stretch of desert, Henley had to push a supply bike for a few days. It weighed 350 pounds.
VISCO: And so with all of his might, he pushed, dragged, pulled this bike through two days of deep sand. There was a couple of moments where he sobbed. A huge lesson from the trip is that if I’m in pain – like, I have to run another 30 miles today and my foot hurts – whatever it is, it is brief.
MARTIN: Dragging yourself across the desert may not sound like fun, but Katie says she’s kind of sad it’s over.
VISCO: This run across Australia was ultimately a mission of self-discovery and self-love. I wanted to become somebody more than I thought I could be.
KING: So what is next for these two? Katie and her husband say they aren’t sure yet, but they are already daydreaming about it.
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