The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-364 – Steve Spear – Across the USA  (Audio: link) [audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4364.mp3] Link epi4364.mp3 MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - http://www.marathonbq.com/qualify-for-the-boston-marathon-in-14-weeks/ Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening my friends.  Are you out on that early morning trail?  Or maybe the warm sunshine of a lunch-time trot?  Perhaps the star filled purity of a speedwork session at the track at night?  Wherever, whenever, you may be, Hello my friends and welcome to Episode 4-364 of the RunRunLive Podcast.  Today we chat with Steve Spear, not Steve Speirs of the 100 pushups app who we interviewed in episode 108 of the podcast, must’ve been the winter of 2008-2009.   BTW all those old episodes are on my website at RunRunLive.com.  I’m going to go listen to some of them myself and see if there isn’t something interesting that I can curate for the members feed.  It’s bit surreal listening to yourself from the past.  Time truly is a river. Today we are also going to squeeze in the 2017 Boston Marathon race report.  I think.  It’s not the most exciting story ever told but it has become a tradition now.  I think this will be the 9th Boston report that we have shared together.  We started with my 10th Boston back in 2008.  What a long strange trip it’s been. Anyhow – since the race report is long – I’ll just jump right into our interview with Steve Spear who ran across the USA to help get clean water to families in Africa.  You’ll hear me asking about how he did this because unlike Pete Kostelnik Steve ran the cross country route at a reasonable pace of 5 days a week and 35 miles a day.  I could see myself doing that.  I’ll stick the race report in after that and we’ll call it a day.  My Friday’s have become increasingly pressed for time but I’ll persevere! I took Tuesday, Wednesday off last week after the race.  I dug my old steel Fuji out, sprayed some petrochemicals on the chain and gears, pumped up the tires and went for a ride Thursday out to the rail trail.  That felt nice.  I went for a run in the woods in the drizzle and dark with Teresa on Friday for an hour and felt fine.  It was nice to run with her.  Kinda cool getting to talk in a relatively neutral setting. Saturday I met up with the running club to pick up litter on the Groton Road Race course.  Sunday I got to join the club run in the morning and it was good to not have to worry about a long workout.  The marathon gave me a lot of stress this year and I’m happy to have it in my rearview mirror.  Tuesday morning I got up and went for a run in the woods.  It was grey and overcast and easing into a patient drizzle.  I brought Buddy, the old Wonder dog for the first 20- minutes or so then went back out and did another hour.  There is something so peaceful and centering for me to run this loop.  Right outside my front door. Right on the other side of my vegetable garden is the trail head.  Buddy and I cut these trails.  There was nothing here except bulldozer roads and animal tracks when we moved in.  It was slated to be house lots.  Over the years it became conservation land instead.  Now, my house is the last on the cul-de-sac with conservation land on three sides.  The woods have not yet exploded in green.  We are in the April showers phase.  But, you can sense the arboreal tension in the woods.  Like a pensive skeleton waiting, on edge for the new leaves to burst forth.  Hen turkeys, with beautiful sheens of reflecting feathers dart across the trail looking for the perfect place to raise this year’s brood.  Wood ducks bob on the gun-metal grey undulations of the pond.  All are ready.  We see the grey skeleton of winter.  They sense the green wealth of spring.  … Met the club on Saturday to pick up trash on the Groton Road Race course.  We spent a few hours and got 2 full truckloads of litter off the roads.  I suppose the most interesting thing I fou