"People were great," McCaskey said. "Many people offered me a ride. This one couple was going in the opposite direction. They turned around and said, 'We'll go wherever you want to.' A lot of truck drivers would catch up to me at the next gas station or convenience store."

"Never," he said. "I was pretty prepared. I work out six days a week and started training specifically for this on Jan. 1. I think the people around Halas Hall have seen me putting in a lot of miles in all sorts of weather and I had trained on all sorts of terrain. So I was ready. I had days in Champaign and days in Bourbonnais built in for rest, relaxation and recovery, and I didn't really need them."