Endurance runner stops in Rifle
Runner Aprylle Gilbert has been on the rode for quite a while. The San Jose, California area resident departed from Santa Cruz April 26 on a coast-to-coast run intended to satisfy her love of distance running while raising money for disadvantaged youth.
She stopped in Rifle this past Sunday for a brief break from her journey following U.S. Route 6. During her roughly two months on the road, Gilbert said she has been to some interesting places, which has led her to start keeping a list of places she wants to come back and visit in the future. Rifle, she stated, is on that list.
“It’s beautiful,” Gilbert said of the mountains and the Colorado River. “I’ve gotten some great pictures. I want to go river rafting”
Unfortunately, she did not have much time to stick around and explore the area. She is adhering to a strict schedule because, as Gilbert said, she does not want to be doing this the rest of her life.
Originally, she had hoped to run 30 to 50 miles a day, but once she started getting into higher elevations she found it difficult to get to 30 miles in a day.
“I realized I picked the most difficult route possible,” she said.
While Gilbert said she decided to attempt the cross-country journey simply because she loves endurance running, she does have another motive. With help from the U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association, Gilbert is raising money for the Washington United Youth Center, a program that provides support and programming for disadvantaged children in San Jose. As a teenage runaway who went on to raise two daughters, Gilbert has experienced many challenges in life, according to her crowdrise.com page. So far, she has raised just under $3,000.
Gilbert hopes to arrive at the end of her journey in Provincetown, Massachusetts by the end of August.
