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terrain March/April 2022
CASINOS AND WINERIES AS MOTIVATION The 24HfH routes and experiences are as varied as the competitors. Only a few people have lasted the full 24 hours. Most do a 10- or 12-hour gig, pushing themselves to finish a route they planned out in detail, including locations of gas stations and convenience stores to replenish food and water supplies. Most have support teams to track them and show up with coffee, granola bars, and words of encouragement. Those are the serious competitors. Then you have the less- serious types who are looking for some fun and camaraderie along the way. One group planned its route based on pub stops. Another guy started from his home near Tower Grove and made it across the Mississippi River, where he enjoyed the rest of the day watching NCAA basketball at the Casino Queen. He covered 9 miles (7 ATCF). Leah and Josh Wilson won the prize in October for the longest distance ATCF, tandem category. They hit the road from their south St. Louis home at 2 a.m., making as straight a line as possible to their end goal: a winery in DeSoto, 39 miles away. That afternoon, cold and soaking wet from a driving rain, the pair called it quits. They were 5 miles from the winery, but the last stretch of road had no shoulder, and it was raining so hard they were afraid drivers couldn't see them. Another challenge was a shoulder-less bridge over the Meramec River. They sprinted across, thankful that no cars were around at 5 a.m. The couple said that to
TOP:
Don Hovey, Beth Schneider McEwen, Angela O'Hanlon, and Glenn Hooker cross the Missouri River heading west from St. Louis' The Hill neighborhood. (ANGELA O'HANLON)
LEFT:
Josh and Leah Wilson toast to their 24HfH accomplishment..
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