On February 26th my wife Heather and I will start our 158-mile trek across the longest continuous section of Historic Route 66 in Arizona, an effort we’ve dubbed:
Route 66 AZ To End ALZ, for Mace
We’ll start near Ash Fork, AZ and finish at Topock66 on the Colorado River. Mark Macy (Mace), who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2018 at just 64 years old, and his beautiful wife Pam will join us from Colorado to walk some of the miles and provide motivational support. Dr. Bob Haugh will join us from Kentucky to provide crew support and his always affable nature.
We hope to finish on March 3rd, which means that we hope to do:
6 marathons in 6 days on Historic Route 66
We’ll need lots of luck . . . or at least Heather thinks so. While I’ve done over 130 races averaging over 125 miles each over the decades (I’m 70 years old now!), Heather is not an athlete and has never attempted a multi-day trek like this one. But don’t be fooled; she’s very strong. She completed a 50-mile run with limited training, climbed Kilimanjaro, and manages chronic pain and other health issues every day.
Fortunately, the eclectic sites along the route will be things to look forward to, including:
- Delgadillos’ Route 66 gift shop in Seligman, where local barber Angel started the movement to save this iconic highway by obtaining the “Historic” designation;
- the Historic Route 66 Hotel; and
- the Roadkill Cafe.
On to amazing places like:
- the Grand Canyon Caverns;
- Peach Springs, capital of the Hualapai Reservation; and
- Valentine, home of the Keepers of the Wild Nature Park and Animal Sanctuary.
Then visits to:
- the Hackberry General Store with loads of Route 66 memorabilia;
- Antares, home of Giganticus Headicus (dropped on-site by aliens?);
- Kingman Visitors Center and Route 66 Museum, historic district, and much more;
- the restored Mobile gas station and museum in Cool Springs, an inspiration for the animated movie Cars;
- Oatman to feed “wild” burros and stay out of the way of gun fights in the street in the old mining town.
Finally ending:
- at Topack66 Colorado river on the Arizona/California border;
- below the Old Trails Arch Bridge, featured in the movie The Grapes of Wrath.
Thanks to the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, Kingman Office of Tourism, and the businesses along the route for their support of our fundraising efforts.
While trekking this iconic route will be fun and interesting – we’ll share stories and photos along the way that we’re sure you’ll enjoy – the fundraising is what it’s really about and is what will keep us going!
With your support and generosity, we hope to raise $15,800 for the Alzheimer’s Association as a part of “Team Macy Endure.” Will you donate today? All donations, no matter the dollar amount, are needed and appreciated to support the fight to end Alzheimer’s. Suggested donations:
- $100 to sponsor one mile
- $66 in honor of Route 66
- $6 because every dollar counts in the fight To End ALZ
- Any dollar amount you can afford and are inspired to donate
Thank you for your support!
Starting Saturday morning you can follow our progress via GPS tracker at:
share.garmin.com/MUlrich
You can also follow along as we post on our social media sites:
MarshallUlrich
HeatherVoseUlrich
@marshall.ulrich
