Day 61 of the run across the USA 2025

Day 61 started at 0300 with Deb scurrying to shut the RV door and windows. They’d been left open to allow the nice breeze through. The issue was that we were now in the middle of a storm! It was some breeze! Oh how we laughed! 

At 0600 the storm had stopped. I looked outside of the RV. The sky still looked angry to me. 

I started running at 0627 a few miles west of Sylvia, Kansas. The rain started within minutes. There were also flashes of lightning in the vicinity. I was far from happy! The RV came to pick me up. We sat it out for an over an hour before the sky cleared a bit. 

When I got back out, the temperature was as cool as I'd been in for a long time. 

I made sure that I said good morning to the local cows. They jogged alongside. It was good to have some company. 

Today’s ranch sign offering was pretty decent. 

Possibly as a result of the recent rain, I noticed hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny frogs. It was a challenge to keep side stepping to avoid them.

At mile 9, I reached the town of Stafford where I was supposed to meet the team for food. I was going so well that I decided to push on for an extra few miles. 

After a couple of quick bonus miles, I had a really nice wrap at mile 11. While the team had been waiting for me in Stafford they’d met some really nice people at the City of Stafford office. My bonus miles had cost me the same opportunity. We’d all been gifted some nice Stafford t-shirts. All was not lost however. I decided to forgo my tactical snooze and we drove back so I could meet them. 

We met a really polite young lad outside the city office. His name was Ian. He was “dead canny” as we say in Newcastle. Deb gave him a Run Geordie Run T-shirt. 

I met Deana Eisenhour and her staff in the city office. We had a brief chat and it was a real morale booster to hear their good wishes. More kindness shown in Kansas. 

We drove back to the point where I’d finished running and I got back out into the now scorching Kansas sunshine. 

Apart from the long straight Highway 50, there were some more cows to talk to and a few oversize loads to give plenty of room too. 

I had another bite to eat at mile 18. Thomas and Deb are certainly feeding me well on this tour. 

Before going back out, I applied some sun block. I didn’t realise it would be so bright on my face. Deb was in hysterics and thought I looked like a Smurf! (^DA - the injected humour worked a treat then! Another colour still to come...)

I was accompanied by Thomas for the next 7.5 miles. I’m not sure what the passing traffic made of us!  

As the sun lowered in the sky, the Smurf-like sunblock was working a treat. 

I made it to Macksville, Kansas at mile 29. I handed my backpack, cap and sunglasses to Deb. It was time for some pace I felt. 

I started building the pace up. The slightly cooler conditions were in my favour. Miles 30, 31 and 32 passed by in the blink of an eye. 

I had plenty left in the tank but I decided to end on 32 miles for the day. We drove back to Macksville where Deb and Thomas had found somewhere to stay overnight. 

The now usual routine of Cherry Active, massage, shower, massage, feet elevation left little time to write the blog. Although I made time and its lights out at 2315. 

I should mention that I burst through the 1500 mile point today. I’m more than half way across Kansas. In fact, it’s only around 160 miles to Colorado. 

I’m aiming to be back out running at 0630 tomorrow! 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Vengabus - Vengaboys. A bit of cheesy pop music to start this evening’s pace revolution. 

The charity fund for St Benedict's is now edging closer to £23,000. If you think my efforts are worth a donation, please visit my JustGiving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

*all data reconciled 

Day 60 of the run across the USA 2025

I woke up at 0455 thinking I was at sea. It was just Thomas and Deb starting the day in the RV. I was scheduled for an 0530 start from Hutchinson to help get some miles in during the cooler part of the day. I managed to get 5.5 hours of sleep. This generally means that I’ll be in for a tough slow day. For me, sleep is the most important contributor to my recovery. 

It was one of the warmer starts to a day despite the early start. I made my way up the off ramp and was soon back on Highway 50. 

I met the RV at mile 8 for breakfast. Thomas was making some kind of burrito. It had all kinds in it. It was delicious. 

I got back out onto Highway 50 and the temperature had cranked up a notch. It wasn’t long before it was in the mid 30s Celsius. 

At mile 9 I messaged the team to watch out for some weather developing to the west of my position. Within a few minutes a dark black cloud hovered overhead and it started to rain. 

Heavy rain is something my feet need to avoid. As it turned out, there were a few large cold spots of rain and that was it. The dark clouds drifted north and the was the end of that. 

There were a number of tractors and heavy loads on the road today. Thankfully, I had plenty of room in the hard shoulder.  

Ranch signs were few and far between today. This one caught my eye. You can see that storm as it drifted north. 

By mile 11 I felt extremely tired. As was the case in 2011 across the USA, I had a good look up the road. If it was clear I would shut my eyes for a few seconds while still moving forward. 

Thomas joined me for a few miles. It was good to have some company for a change. He had a video call with his Dad. Thomas is from Belgium so it was very interesting to hear them talk in Flemish. The one word I picked up was “M and Mks”. I found that means small M and Ms. That won’t be the correct spelling by the way. It all helped to pass a few miles. 

Lunch was at the 18.5 mile point. This time Thomas had made a chicken wrap with some salad and coleslaw in. Once again, it was delicious. 

The next section on Highway 50 was surrounded with some prairie land and trees and bushes. This kept any breeze at bay and I felt the full ferocity of the 39 Celsius heat. 

I felt terrible in the heat and had to take a break at the 22 mile point. 

Deb had brought some towels that can be put in the freezer. I used the cooling vest that Donna had bought too. Those things combined really helped to bring my temperature down. As I lay on the bed, I fell asleep. It was an impromptu tactical snooze. I didn’t check the time but I woke up 15 minutes later. I felt so much better. I got back out onto Highway 50. 

I noticed a lot of sunflowers at the side of the road. That’s the flower associated with St. Benedict’s Hospice. 

I had further food at mile 27. That was to be my tea and the final meal of the day. 

When I got back out the sun had lowered in the sky. This was been the point of the day where I’ve struggled on this tour. Not today though. Donna had also sent some sun block. I applied that on my cheeks and nose. It made a massive difference. For once, my face didn’t feel like it was on fire. 

About a mile and a half east of Sylvia, Kansas a car pulled over to check if I was ok. I explained what I was doing and why. The lady in the passenger seat promptly handed over 20 dollars. More amazing kindness!! I gave her a leaflet. I thanked them for checking on me. Their names were Marceline and Joe and they had their granddaughter Marcy with them.  

I made it to Sylvia which is where I’d hoped to reach today. I continued past it.

The sun lowered even further by mile 30. I noticed a lot more bugs around. 

I was joined by Thomas at mile 30. After a further 1.2 miles, with the presence of mosquitoes, I messaged Deb to pick us up. I’d managed 31.2 miles which we were all very pleased with given the scorching hot weather. 

It was quite late and there was a lot to do. Drink Cherry Active, ice feet and shower. Deb had a look at my feet and we talked about the parts that were causing the most problems. 

Thomas then massaged my legs and parts of my feet that he was able to access. He did a great job. 

The overnight stop is an abandoned bar near Sylvia. At least I think it is abandoned. 

I can see a massive electrical storm many miles to the south of our position. There isn’t much of a breeze so it may not reach us overnight. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: The Story of my life - Neil Diamond. It’s full of the sentiments that describe the love my Mam and Dad had for each other. 

A good week of donations for St Benedict's Hospice - thank you to everyone that has contributed to date. If you think my efforts are worth a donation, please visit my JustGiving page: 

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Day 59 of the run across the USA 2025

There was no wake up alarm today as it was a support team change over day in Dodge City. 

The overnight stop was the car park outside Deb’s hotel. It was pretty quiet over night but I only managed 5.5 hours of sleep. I didn’t feel too tired when I woke up. When Deb was finished with her room, I was able to use the shower. A shower at the start of the day is a rare thing indeed on this tour. 

Deb, Alan and I had breakfast at IHOP. It was absolutely tremendous and made a change from porridge.  

We then dropped Alan off at Dodge City Airport and waited for Thomas’s flight to arrive. 

Alan has done a long old stint on this tour. His contribution has been immense. It quite simply would not have been possible without his help. 

Thomas arrived on time and we all drove in the RV from Dodge City back to the day 58 end point. 

We reached the start point for the day at 1230. It was 12 miles west of Newton, Kansas. I was out for the first session by 1238. The temperature was hotting up nicely with 32 Celsius showing on my watch. 

The aim for the day was to make it to Hutchinson, Kansas. It was 17 miles away. 

Having had 26 hours of recovery, I felt pretty good at the start. It was good to see those long straight Kansas roads again. 

The first water refill point was at 3 miles. I took a bottle and was joined by Thomas for a few miles. 

A police car slowed down to check on us. I gave him the thumbs up and he drove off. 

At mile 5 I noticed the largest flock of birds so far in this tour. I think they were swallows. They seem to hang out near decent sized sources of water. 

I was back again solo by mile 8. By mile 9, the southerly breeze was blocked by some trees. It was then that the full heat of the day hit me. As per usual, I started to feel a little groggy. 

I messaged the team to ask about taking a break at mile 11 with a view to coming back out much later on. Quite rightly, I was instructed to carry on. That’s all that was needed to keep me putting one foot in front of the other in the ferocious Kansas heat. 

I checked the temperature on my watch at mile 12. It read 38.5 Celsius. 

I could feel the heat rising from the tarmac. It was suffocating. Just then, a car pulled over on the other side of the road. A man got out and ran over to bring 2 bottles of water from the trunk of his car. They were nice and cool. I gave him a leaflet in return. His name was Jay. 

That very kind gesture, along with a brief bit of cloud cover was enough to start a “pace revolution”.  

Deb was just down the road and I handed my backpack to her. It was time to try and pick up the pace. 

The miles started to tick by pretty quickly. It wasn’t getting any cooler either. I made it to mile 16, knowing the hard work had been done, and took my foot off the gas. 

I reached the finish point on Highway 50, south of Hutchinson at 18:26. It was a good 30 minutes earlier than I’d expected. 

While I’d been running those last 5 miles, Deb had dropped Thomas off at a nearby laundromat. Unfortunately we hadn't had any washing done for about 8 days. Apparently my running kit was very smelly. 

Deb picked me up at the end point as soon as I’d finished running. We then drove to the laundromat to meet back up with Thomas. 

I downed my usual Cherry Active recovery drink in the laundromat. Deb had me ice my feet while we waited for Thomas to finish the laundry. 

We got talking to some really friendly locals in the laundromat. I commented to Deb that almost every day here in the USA, there’s some kindness or friendliness shown. I don’t remember it ever being like this in 2011. This particular tour has done a lot to restore my faith in humankind. 

Given that we face a few days of no facilities and that fact that there’s not a lot of good fresh food in the RV, we decided to go to a local steak restaurant. 

I’ve got to say that my 16oz Ribeye with all the fixings was superb! 

Much to our amazement, we found that a lady sitting nearby called Janice had settled our bill. She’d overheard our accents earlier and I told her about my journey and gave her a leaflet. 

The kindess that I referred to earlier in this blog had continued. I looked at Deb and Thomas when the waitress said that the bill had been settled in total disbelief. 

I made sure to thank Janice for her kindness before we left. There was just enough time for a photo (and also one of her dog Carlos). 

We drove to a nearby Walmart. There were supplies to be bought. Before that, Deb inspected my feet for damage. It was then time for a massage on my legs and feet. That did a lot to provide relief. Poor Deb was doing this in the sweltering hot RV. 

I wrote the blog while Thomas and Deb shopped for supplies in Walmart. 

It had been a hugely productive day on many fronts. Getting the laundry done, without impacting my miles was the big win. Oh and Thomas and Deb have made themselves right at home and completely rearranged the contents of the RV. I think that was done by mile 3 actually. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Back with the boys again - Auf Weidersehen Pet 

As ever, continued thanks to those that have visited my JustGiving page and made a donation. 

If you haven't donated and would like to do so, please visit: 

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025. 

The bonus photo of the day is when Thomas shook some bedding in the laundromat. It got caught in the ceiling fan. I half expected him to get caught up with it like some fairground ride. Oh how I laughed!