There are 21 California Missions, stretching from Sonoma—just north of San Francisco—to San Diego. The Missions were strategically built at a distance of one day's travel on horseback (or three days on foot) between each. In a time before freeways, traffic, road rage, and global warming, vital information and supplies flowed to each mission via hoof or foot.


The strongest and fittest would often journey great distances to attend important ceremonies and events.  They would use these Missions as outposts to rest and rejuvenate along the way. 

Yet, even with this network of sanctuaries in place, the going was rough.  Fatigue and exhaustion were commonplace as wearied foot-travelers tried to cover vast stretches of landscape getting from one point to the next in three days time.   Dehydration was a concern, as was chronic muscle soreness.  Still, many strong souls made the trek.

Reliving the Journey

On May 19th, 2008 endurance athlete Dean Karnazes will embark on a mission of his own.  Starting at Mission San Francisco Solano, the northern terminus of the California Mission system, Karnazes will travel by foot—much as the earlier travelers did—to each of the twenty-one Missions, working his way south toward San Diego.  He will attempt to cover the roughly 700-mile journey in two weeks, averaging 50 miles a day, by utilizing the Missions as refueling and rest centers along the way.

Karnazes will be traveling to attend some important modern day events, the film premiere of his 50 Marathon, 50 State, 50 Day movie and then run the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, on June 1st, to celebrate the conclusion of this historic reenactment. 

Mission Possible

Open to All
Other runners are welcomed to join Dean along the way for as short or as long as they so desire.  Dean’s progress will be tracked via GPS and his precise whereabouts (to within three feet) will be viewable on the internet.

School Participation
Schools will be provided with a lesson plan that focuses on history and science.  Students will learn more about the role of the Missions in the development of California, and also about how—with modern physical training techniques and improved equipment —it is possible for an individual to cover six-times the distance of the bygone foot explorers each day.  Karnazes will be traveling to two Missions a day, instead of one, and will only be staying a short duration of time, while the earlier travelers sometimes spent a week traveling between two Missions, and then many weeks in recovery before pressing onward.

Schools, teachers and administrators will also be invited to meet and talk with Dean at Missions along the way.

Daily Festivals
Two Missions a day will be visited during the daily runs, one for a lunch stop and the other for an evening stop.  Food and beverages will be available at each of these locations, along with other activities (such as live music, commentary, readings, etc…).

Daily Blog
A blog of the daily activity will be posted nightly.  This will included quantitative data and physiological statistics (i.e., miles covered, fluid consumption, heart rate, calories burned, etc…) as well as a narrative description of what happened during the day.

Charity
The event will be a benefit for the California Mission Society to help restore and preserve the Califronia Missions, many of which are in a state of disrepair and neglect.

The Ongoing Legacy Program

After the completion of the first year Mission run, the event will change dramatically.  In these subsequent years, the event will become a 21-Stage run with nightly stops at each of the Missions.  Participants could register to run one, several, or all twenty-one of the legs.  There would be a competitive division, similar to the Tour de California bike ride, in which the lowest cumulative time determined the winner.  There will also be individual winners for each of the day’s runs, independent of the multi-stage racers.  Of course, most of the participants would be more recreationally oriented, rather than racing for a prize.

Nightly Finish Festivals

At the conclusion of each day’s event, a finish festival will be setup within the Mission.  This would include sponsor tents, sampling & merchandising opportunities, food, music, presentations and talks by a variety of people, and complete sleeping quarters for those who pay an additional fee for overnight accommodations.

Racing would resume the next morning to the next Mission.  This procession would move southward in a similar fashion each day and night until the final stage in San Diego (which may or may not coincide with the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon, TBD).

Outside Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities will abound, and outside sponsors will be sought with the intention of developing the “On a Mission” property into a healthy and profitable ongoing concern

Join Dean at the premier of his movie, 50 Marathon, 50 State, 50 Day by purchasing tickets at www.journeyfilm.com.