GVRAT Medals Display Board

What does laz have to say about his transcon (lazcon) and the medals display board?

so this project has been eating at me for over a year.
i have made myself a total pain in the ass
because i have this dream in my head;
the dream that i can make something very like a transcon
available to people who cant get that dream out of their head....
.
the map without the medals was the first thing i made difficult.
it is a geographic map of north america.
.
i didnt want a road map.
sure, the cities and state lines are landmarks a journey runner passes.
but what the feet feel is the land underneath.
what they eyes see is the places you go.
the continent is a patchwork of unique places
created each in their own unique way.
most of them no one even knows exist
except the people who live there.
or the journey runner who crosses them on foot.
there are mountains.
so many mountains.
each formed in a different way
each a different experience to cross.
rivers.
so many rivers.
and each one,
you have to find a way to cross on foot.
arches, bowls, uplifts, lowlands, plains....
.
each with its own story, each with its own feel, each with its own look.
i had to find a map that showed those myriad features
so the virtual transcon runner
could follow them on the map
and see where their journey was taking them.
.
i wanted a route that gave a taste of everything.
all the major regions going across:
the coastal plain, the piedmont, 
the many, varied ranges of mountains that make up the appalachians.
the central lowlands,
the ozark uplift
the low plains
the high plains
more ranges of mountains we loosely call the rockies as a collective.
the other worldly colorado plateau
(strangely enough not in colorado!)
the awe inspiring great basin,
and (finally) the last few mountain ranges you have to cross to reach the pacific.
.
we broke it into regions.
so people going along on this trip with me could slice off one piece of the continental pie at a time.
then,
when that was complete,
mount the corresponding piece on the map
showing the red line of their journey
slowly inching across.
.
the next part was the fun part.
actually doing the journey on my own two feet.
i started out with the intention to spend an hour each night before bed
recounting the adventures of the day....
.
i made a few miscalculations.
the one hour turned out to be two.
and my aging legs could no longer do 30 miles a day.
i was hard pressed to keep it over 20.
and i could not finish the journey in a single summer.
.
but sometimes bad luck is good luck.
a waypoint every 20 miles is probably just about right for those accompanying me from home.
pictures,
stories about what i see, people i meet,
what the passing patches of the quilt of north america are like.
i have 1700 miles of them already committed to "paper"
and yes, i am being a nagging pain in the ass
to get them put up to arrive in people's email
as they reach every waypoint distance.
and i have plans to extend the story to utah 
(and the beginning of the colorado plateau)
by the end of the summer.
.
and the last picture?
that is from naresh.
we worked hard to make something worthy of the journey
something to commemorate an effort of that magnitude.
naresh had to add a final picture
of what it would look like on your wall with all of the medals....
.
for me, it is the memories that will count.
maybe memories of a vicarious journey,
but one that surely everyone wants to take.
.
how could anyone not commemorate their journey with this incredble map?

The GVRAT Medals Display Board brings an exciting race distance to In The Woods, Tennessee on February 8, 2025. Don't miss this beautiful event!