Why an “Elliptigo”? What is an Elliptigo?

I have a long running history with 35,500 running miles, or 1 1/2 x around the earth :), and 40 races of marathon length or longer, so the original plan was to run across the country. A torn meniscus and resulting surgery last year, and Covid, prevented this event from occurring in 2020. The knee never healed well enough to run again after 10 months of attempted rehab. Having seen an Elliptigo in my home town, I inquired and got to try one learning that the compromised knee handled the motion well. The Elliptigo, a stand up “running bike” using elliptical tracks to simulate the running gait absent the pounding, was designed by injured runners in CA in 2010. It became the substitute mode of crossing the US for me in late March, 2021. I will be entering the crossing still injured and handicapped, but that is reflective of the compromised state that those entering recovery are in: they do not get to enter their crossing from addiction to sobriety at full strength either, indeed with much more resistance than a simple knee injury. The visibility and novelty of the Elliptigo should draw more attention for the SUD problem as well. This may be only the 2nd crossing of the US on an Elliptigo from what I have been able to learn from the manufacturer, though a number of other long treks have been completed proving the concept!