This Woman Set Out to Run Across California

A friend documented the journey on film.

Ali Butler Glenesk wanted to be the fastest woman to run across California. That’s a 262-mile trek from Lake Tahoe to Stinson Beach, and the equivalent of 10 marathons. Her friends, Maryam Khan and Noam Argov, decided to join her on the adventure, and Argov, a National Geographic Explorer, documented the effort in a film called Running Across America.

“The pursuit pushed Butler Glenesk to ignore her own doubts about her strength. ‘When I look back on my life, the things I am most proud of are the moments when I didn’t listen to the voice in my head that said you aren’t good enough or you can’t do it,’ she said.

“Each day, she ran about 26 miles, with Khan and Argov alternating between driving the car and running. The first day was challenging, Butler Glenesk explained, but she hit her stride on the second day while running through an area of the High Sierra.”

“There was magic in the middle days, because when you start your third marathon in a row and you have legs … you are like my body is amazing. This is crazy,” she described.

Did she make journey?

Read more and watch clips from the film here.