Cross Country: A 3,700-Mile Run to Explore Unseen America

"Professional runner Rickey Gates documents his epic experience of running 3,700 miles across the entire continental United States with just a small backpack and an anthropologist's curiosity to discover the divided America in which we live. Rickey shares first-person essays and roughly 200 photographs of the fascinating (and ordinary) characters he met and the breathtaking (and ugly) things he saw and endured, delivering a patchwork portrait of America rarely even seen. Rickey's heartfelt story capturesthe spirit of our country. While Rickey is delivering unparalleled insight into the extreme athletic and mental challenge of this transcontinental run, running is not the focus of the book-it is the means by which Rickey is telling his story. The more personal aspects of his experiences running are contained in the introduction and then woven into the interactions he documents in the book. And while the characters he met represent a politically divided nation, this is not a heavy-handed book about politics, but rather a closer look at a handful of remarkable/ordinary people we would otherwise never meet"--
In 2017, professional runner Rickey Gates ran 3,700 miles across the continental United States with just a small backpack and an anthropologist's curiosity to discover the divided America in which we live. In the book Cross Country, Gates documents this epic experience from South Carolina to San Francisco, sharing first-person essays, interviews, and over 200 photographs of the ordinary and extraordinary people and places he saw along the way.While Gates delivers unparalleled insight into the extreme athletic and mental challenge of this transcontinental run, running is not the core focus of Cross Country&;it is a story of the remarkable people across the United States who we would otherwise never meet.&; A photographic travelogue that follows along Rickey Gates's run across the country, and the individuals who live in it&; Filled with portraits, landscapes, and collages of towns and communities that most people have never seen&; From South Carolina to San Francisco, the five-month-long run covers 3,700 miles of hiking trails, rivers, and roads. Gates slept in the rain, carried meager possessions on his back, ran through the night, endured mental and physical challenges, and survived on a staple of gas station hot dogs and Pop Tarts. Delivering a patchwork portrait of America, Gates's captivating story captures the spirit of our country&;that grit, determination, and compassion are qualities that can unite us all.&; Perfect gift for runners, hikers, and lovers of the outdoors, as well as fans of travelogues, photography, and photo-journalism&; A great pick for those who loved Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton, The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck, and A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson.&; A unique perspective of the United States