Running the route with a twist

Each summer, a few athletes try to run old Route 66 to raise money for charity or to simply challenge themselves.

Two stories came over Friday of runners trying to trudge down all 2,400 miles of the Mother Road. Both featured unusual twists.

First, there’s Internet mogul Tellman Knudson, who is training for a run from New York City to Santa Monica, Calif., much of it on Route 66. Impressively, Knudson is running more than 3,400 miles despite being born with a bone deformity. And he’s running across the country barefoot, to boot (no pun intended). He’s raising money for the Virgin Unite nonprofit.

Knudson will begin his quest Sept. 9. His Web site during the run will be at runtellmanrun.com.

The second case is of Emory Duick of Des Plaines, Ill., who is running “only” from Chicago to Santa Monica, reports the Joplin Globe.

The kicker is that Duick is 71 years old.

“I’m a little slow right now, but I’m still durable,” he said, adding that he averages between 12 and 14 miles a day. He remains active, he said, so he can get the most out of life, no matter what age he is.

He started in June, and hopes to finish by December.

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