“My New Running Buddy”
Aprylle Gilbert with Elisa Large
Elisa ran with me in McCook for 7 miles and again in Holdrege for 13 miles.
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Aprylle in Bartley, Nebraska making more history and helped by friends.
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PHOTOS Courtesy of McCook Gazzette
By: Lorri Sughroue / McCook Gazette
Coast to coast for the kids San Francisco Bay area singer/songwriter Aprylle Gilbert is overcome with emotion this morning on Route 6 in Culbertson, Nebraska, when Marv Metzer of McCook hands her a $100 donation for the charity she’s running for, Washington United Youth Center in San Jose, an after-school program for at-risk kids. “I’m not a rich man, but I felt bad that she’s not getting the donations she expected,” Metzer said, who at 87, still runs half marathons and joined Gilbert this morning on her run. Going through three pairs of Mizuno running shoes so far,
Gilbert started May 11 in Long Beach, California, and tries to get in 30 miles a day, hoping to cover the 3,652 miles to Massachusetts by August along Highway 6. It’s been harder than she though it would be, Gilbert said, but quitting is not an option. “i just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I refuse to give up. I have to fight for every mile,” she admitted. She also refuses to cut corners. “I’d rather tough it out when I’m tired, run what I can, than lose 30 miles and have to make it up somehow,” she said, who has planned this run for the past two years. “I just want to get it done.” The worst part may be behind her, after running through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the desert in Nevada.”Running under 4,000 feet is much better.” U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association is helping to sponsor Gilbert, with Bill Baumbach of Indianola, Nebraska, picking up dinner for her and her driver Thursday night. The hospitality of Nebraskans has been overwhelming, she said. Gilbert plans to be in Cambridge sometime today and to continue east, with the middle part of her journey estimated to be in Axtell, Nebraska. To keep track of her progress, go to Aprylle Dawn on Facebook or www.route6tour.com