Teri Vance: Pair walking to New York City; locals finish Boston Marathon

Both 27 years old, Rebecca Geissler and Tim Garibay decided it was the perfect time in their lives to walk away from all they knew and into the unknown.

“We’re both so early in our careers, we figured if we’re going to do something crazy, now is the time to do it,” Rebecca said. “Let’s do it now and afterwards we can figure out what we want to do with the rest our lives.”

The couple, who has been dating for three years, left from San Francisco on April 10 with the intent to walk to New York City. They estimate it will take four to five months, but their schedule isn’t too exact.

“We just want to see the country at a slow pace,” Tim explained. “It’s really about the freedom to do it. You don’t have to buy a ticket to walk across the country.”

The two passed through Carson City on Thursday on their journey along Highway 50. They had plans to camp in someone’s backyard in Dayton, but they were steeling themselves for some long, lonely miles through the Silver State.

“Walking across Nevada is going to be one of the scariest parts,” Rebecca said. “There’s hundreds of miles with no towns.”

They said they would likely do what they had read others before them have done: Buy a stroller to load with water and push along the most desolate sections.

Rebecca, from Twain Harte, Calif., and Tim, from Griffith, Ind., met in Chicago where they’ve lived for the past six years.

They started planning for their trek with just the dream of traversing the country together. During that time, a family member of Rebecca’s suffered a debilitating spinal injury.

“We’re using her as inspiration,” she said. “And, hopefully, we can be inspirational to her, too.”

Just more than two weeks into it, they said they had little more to complain about than blisters and other maladies.

“So far, so good,” Garibay said. “We’re on our own time. We don’t need an alarm clock. We wake up when the sun comes up.”

Sometimes, they talk. A lot of times, they walk in silence.

“People told us that by the end we’re either going to get married or never speak to each other again,” Rebecca said.

Tim is optimistic.

“So far, I don’t mind her,” she said.

You can follow their progress at walkacrosstheusa.wordpress.com.

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In other feats of physical prowess, several area residents completed the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Mark Struble, 58, of Carson City, ran on a team for Alzheimer’s research and assistance to families dealing with the disease. He finished in 4:22:16.

Other Carson City runners and their finishing times were: Nicole Newby, 38, 3:24:31; Doug A. Carlton, 52, 3:35:59; and Patsy E. Corelli, 58, 4:18:52.

Peter Palmer, 50, of Dayton, finished in 3:38:55.

Teri Vance is a journalist, freelance writer and native Nevadan. Contact her with column ideas at terivance@rocketmail.com.