Story posted Friday, November 27, 2009
Resident Walker Heading Through Desert On Quest
By DWIGHT ESAU Journal & Topics Reporter
This is the fourth in a series of reports on the Route 66 walking-running journey of Emery Duick of Des Plaines.
On Nov. 18, it was Day 169 of Emery Duick's odyssey of jogging and walking on Route 66.
As he trudged 120 miles east of Kingman, Arizona, that day, the Des Plaines jogging enthusiast said he was approaching a problem on his quest to walk and jog from Chicago to Santa Monica, California.
As usual with Duick, however, it's not a problem that will stop him.
"I cooled off near Flagstaff, Arizona, where the altitude is higher, and made it across the eastern Arizona desert," he said. "I've felt great for the last 2-3 weeks. But now, I've got a challenge ahead of me.
"When I get into California, all of the old Route 66 roadway route is now private property, and I can't go on it. So I'm going to stay near the route and run through the towns. I'll go through the Mojave Desert. It might slow me down some, but I'll adjust okay."
A week earlier, when he was in eastern Arizona, he said he covered about 1,698 miles in more than 5½ months. He left Chicago's lakefront on June 2 and has walked-jogged through parts of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and most of Arizona.
In his last two phone calls to this writer, he said he has had to take two multi-day rests in Texas and New Mexico, but more recently he has been able to keep going fairly steadily, averaging from 9-12 miles per day.
The 71-year-old retiree's route has taken him through Springfield, Illinois; the St. Louis area, southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, Oklahoma City, the Texas panhandle, and across mountainous areas of New Mexico. "New Mexico was the most beautiful state I've been through," he said. "It's fun to run through scenic areas."
He has been stopped several times by local newspapers and TV stations wanting interviews, all of which he has granted. His phone calls to the Journal have usually come while he's on the road, walking.
He is accompanied by his daughter, Lauren, who drives an SUV and makes overnight stop (usually camping) and restaurant arrangements.
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