Editor's note: As part of his preparation to attempt to break the cross-continental speed record, Alex Roy built incredibly detailed maps and models of his route. He described the effort exclusively for Wired.
They said it couldn't be done — let alone attempted — yet for every obstacle naysayers put forth for more than two decades, a new technology emerged, making an assault on the 32:07 US Transcontinental record not only possible, but feasible.
One specific application — a platform at the confluence of mapping, content creation, aggregation, and animation — made possible the research and planning, plus the analysis of data that had previously been difficult to collate and display in a clear or entertaining fashion. Google Earth.
Before our run, exporting routes created in Garmin's MapSource application into Google Earth allowed us to "walk" cross-country and visually scan the interstate system in great detail for road type and condition, traffic choke points, and gas stations. Post-run, exporting our Garmin GPS track recordings into Google Earth allowed for instantaneous visual analysis of our performance.
Most important, the ability to embed still, video and/or audio content within such data — and to animate it — opens the door for new and exciting implementations even more astounding than those we created in the months following the end of our quest.
I think you'll enjoy what we've done, and I look forward to releasing updated versions.
Record Run (October 2006) This deceptively simple KMZ file — created for post-run validation — contains numerous still/audio/video files embedded within the placemarks along our route, each comprising a data point from which our time, speed, and location were corroborated and verified against two or more other points.
Download "Record Run" Google Earth KMZ
Download Google Earth for Free
The 30th Hour (October 2006) This KMZ file contains the final track recordings exported from multiple Garmin MapSource GPS units, and allows for analysis of our speeds across Los Angeles to the finish line at Santa Monica Pier, mile-by-mile, with extraordinary (and occasionally shocking) accuracy.
Into the Breach (April 2006) This KMZ file contains the track recordings exported from multiple Garmin MapSource GPS units, and allows for analysis of our speeds cross-country, mile-by-mile, with extraordinary accuracy.
Rendezvous in New York (2001) Like jazz, if you don't know Claude Lelouch's C'était un Rendez-vous — shot in Paris in 1976 — then you'll never understand why I sought to re-create his feat by lapping Manhattan in 25 minutes or less. I said "attempt." This is the densest of our KMZ files, and the absence of comprehensive video and/or GPS meant reconstructing the route from notes and memory, and entering each data point manually. Yes, the hard way.
Related 
The Pedal to the Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory
