Trials and Triumphs of Life on the Road. Those who strive to run across the country in a fast time need a great deal of good luck and some special preparations to toughen the body. They must be prepared to deal with a lot of intermittent pain and to survive deep fatigue symptoms that affect everyone differently and await all who run for very long periods of time. There is no way to know about the demoralizing physical and emotionally destabilizing feelings until a sustained effort produces them. The runner finds out then if he or she has the will to endure a lot of suffering and the stomach to get the job done.