[Robbie Erickson] I ran when I was a young boy and now I'm finally to the point where these childhood goals I had, I'm doing them now, like to run across Iowa.

I thought about that when I was a little boy.

And now I'm just kind of see if I can finish the story of it all and hopefully inspire some people along the way to do the same.

♪♪ You've got to pick that cadence up here.

[Nebbe] Robbie Erickson is a volunteer track and cross-country coach at Collins-Maxwell, a 1A school district in Story County.

Coach Jerry Meinerts knows it would mean a lot to the athletes and the community if their teams could host meets on their home track.

[Jerry Meinerts] I think it was three years ago we finished our new track here in town.

Being a small rural area, we didn't have the funds to add on a timing system.

If you go to a meet these days that doesn't have fully automatic timing, that time doesn't count.

And if you want to have a successful meet, you need a good timing system.

[Cypress Erickson] So, I know what having that timing system would mean for especially my senior year to be able to have a home meet would just be really, really cool.

Look at you go!

Hey, get deep there.

[Robbie Erickson] Me and Jerry spend a lot of time together, have a lot of good talks and stuff and he brought up this timing system a few times, many times and how beneficial it would be.

But just like, how are we going to get it, man?

We can try to have some bake sales, have a pickleball tournament, maybe get it in three or four or five years.

And then it just clicked.

[Jerry Meinerts] And he was like, coach, I think we're going to get you that timing system because I'm going to run across Iowa.

And I was like, well, if anybody can do it, Robbie could do it.

[Nebbe] Robbie's goal was not just to run across Iowa, but to break the record for the fastest known time of three days, 22 hours and 49 minutes.

In support, the Collins-Maxwell Athletic Boosters launched an online fundraiser for the timing system and the community rallied behind the cause.

[Jayden Peters] He runs a lot, obviously, and runs really far distances.

But this is a whole other stretch and a whole new thing he's opening up.

And I was like, wow, that's a crazy feat.

I didn't know anybody has ever done that before.

And I just think that's amazing that he's not doing this for himself at all, he's doing this for the school.

[Jerry Meinerts] We always talk to the kids about we've got to get out of our comfort zone.

And he's like coach, I'm going to show them what it's like to get out of your comfort zone.

♪♪ [Nebbe] Preparing for a run of this magnitude requires a lot of physical training.

But ultra-running is as much about strategy and resilience as it is about fitness.

To succeed, you need a mix of smart training, strong mental preparation and meticulous planning.

[Robbie Erickson] You always want to be prepared for whatever you could end up facing.

So, the first thing I always have is some kind of windbreaker.

Car keys are always stashed away safely.

Extra cell phone battery charger with me, some baby food, emergency blankets.

Cell phone right there.

Toilet paper.

A little extra money.

Enough water for the day.

And you're good to go.

♪♪ [Robbie Erickson] So, I started thinking of how I could come up with a plan that was natural for me.

My objective is five miles every hour and a half.

If we stick with that, I will finish in three days and 12 hours and it breaks it all down into a very manageable approach because it really is just a bunch of long, it's a bunch of five and six mile runs.

♪♪ ♪♪ All right!

There's some good climbs, that's for sure.

Getting out of Omaha was kind of wild.

It was a lot of ice and a lot of traffic, just beautiful though, absolutely beautiful out there so far.

I love it.

I ain't stopping now.

That'd be foolish.

I love you guys!

Love you!

[Robbie Erickson] I'm not even worried about it, you know.

Ultimately, my goal is just to make it across the state.

That's all I wanted to do when I was little.

That's all I want to do now.

We have the plan to break the record.

I have the motivation to break the record.

But if things go south and we have to take time solving issues or I need time, it's okay.

I'm not worried about it.

Once you eliminate fear, there's nothing scary about solitude.

I've been a single, full-time single dad for my daughter's whole life.

So, I'm a product of solitude in many ways.

♪♪ 92.

Yeah, the whole, pretty much the whole way.

This is probably the safest route.

You can take any route you want across the state of Iowa for the FKT attempt.

It doesn't have to be a specified route.

[Nebbe] Robbie runs day and night catching only a few hours of sleep before pressing on.

He is supported by a crew of family and friends along the way.

Go, Robbie, go!

♪♪ [Rob Erickson] We just come out in the morning and started following him and usually follow him right up until dark and then we go home and we take care of things at home that we need to take care of.

[Penny Erickson] Our role is to follow the time, to take Cypress with us when needed and to wash his toe socks.

♪♪ [Cypress Erickson] I am trying to make sure he has everything that he needs and make sure that I'm being the most helpful I can.

Sometimes that's not saying anything.

Sometimes that's talking his ear off.

I'm just trying to figure out what I can do that it going to help make everything a little easier for him.

It just fills my heart so much to see him go out and be able to do stuff like this.

It's like my absolute favorite thing in the world to come and watch him and support him.

I love it.

[Rob Erickson] I think it's great that everyone is coming out and supporting him.

It really motivates him to do what he needed to do from the start.

♪♪ [Robbie Erickson] Every time that you go from solitude to the company of someone else, it lifts your soul.

[Nebbe] Late in the run, current and previous record holders, Taylor Ross and Paul Noble, came out to support him in surpassing the records they had set.

[Robbie Erickson] Taylor came out a couple of times and Paul Noble, the current record holder decided on a whim, he's going to come out and run with us through the remainder of the night.

And it just became such a magical, special moment to share with these guys.

And I'll be out there doing the same thing with them the next time someone comes through.

[Nebbe] Most ultra-runners agree, the last miles are brutal.

But, they're also what make the finish so rewarding.

[Robbie Erickson] When I was 26 miles out, I asked Kaitlyn Shoemaker, who was my head crew at the time, I said what kind of pace do I have to hold to beat Paul's record?

And so, she very wisely decided to lie to me and say that I had to run faster than I did to accomplish the goal.

And she said, can you do it?

And I said -- my head was on the dashboard at this point, I was sitting next to her in the car just trying to warm up a little bit because it was getting real chilly and windy, really cold and windy, like the wind was biting -- and I looked at her and I just said, I don't think I can, but I'm going to try.

♪♪ [Nebbe] In the end, Robbie crossed the Mississippi River and completed the 276-mile run in 3 days, 21 hours and 22 minutes.

[Robbie Erickson] My goal was to raise $35,000 for the school here and then beat Paul Noble's record as well.

And I accomplished both.

Just don't quit.

It's just never a good day to quit.

Always focus on the solutions, not the problems.

As long as you can do that, I feel like there's no mountain too high, I truly do.

♪♪