Day 69 of the run across the USA 2025

The overnight stop was most uneventful compared to previous weeks. The temperature dropped low enough at one point to warrant use of the thin quilt. 

I had hoped for an 0530 start. The team were up and about in plenty of time with porridge made. Everything I was doing was in slow motion. Put on kit, eat porridge, brush teeth and so on. Sooo sloooow. It was still a pretty early start though and before 0600. 

The previous 5 days of 34.7, 31, 32.8, 30 and 35.2 miles together with an average of 6 hours sleep is something I really felt as I set off towards the town of Lamar, Colorado. 

I had to use the walking poles for stability. My feet were in pain for 20 minutes until the painkillers kicked in. Those first few miles were so slow. 

The temperature was already uncomfortable when I got to Lamar. I met the team at the 4.5 mile point at the entrance to the Walmart car park. They had been in there to get supplies. Mainly water I think as we are going through a lot in these high temperatures. 

I asked if I could get (a second) breakfast somewhere. The easiest option was McDonald’s. Once there I had my first McGriddle since 2011. It was a staple during the run across the USA back then. 

I got back out onto Highway 50 afterwards and made my way through Lamar. There were a few things to see. I took a few photos but didn’t hang about. 

There was a hardly noticeable climb as I headed north for a short while before turning due west. That gradual increase in elevation has been ever present for a number of weeks now. 

As soon as I hit the 12 mile point, the familiar smell of a cattle feed yard hit me. It was horrendous. I then saw Five Rivers Cattle Feeding - Colorado Beef to my left. There were what looked like thousands of cattle eating one of their final meals. I’ve no idea how the system works so that may not be too accurate.  

I met the team a little further down the way for a water top up. They’d parked away from the smell of the feed yard, thankfully for them. While my backpack was getting filled we got talking to a local guy checking the crop. Of course, he got a leaflet. 

As the temperature soared towards 36 Celsius (according to my watch) I struggled up the rolling hills. It was tough going but I made it to the RV at the 18.3 mile point. 

Once inside the RV, I climbed on the bed. I hardly had the energy to remove my cap, glasses and face covering (buff). I was given some ice in a bottle to cool down. I was loath to have a tactical snooze as it was red hot in the RV. Both Deb and Thomas were ok with the temperature when asked so that was good. After 15 minutes, I took the decision to ask to be driven back to Lamar and take refuge in McDonalds with air con and a cold drink. My plan was then to get back out at 6pm. It would still be warm but there would be a reduction in temperature for the rest of the day. I reckoned I could still save the day in a late session and get the mileage to at least 30. 

I got back out onto Highway 50 just after 6pm. I felt much better than earlier in the day. The first few miles of the session were the quickest of the day. 

I saw a record number of crickets at the roadside. There must have been thousands upon thousands of them. It’s always at this time of night that the flies are at their worst too. I could not have done this evening session without a long sleeve base layer and tracksuit bottoms. Not to mention the complete head covering. 

The sun set at 2010. Many oncoming cars didn’t have any lights on. As per the previous 13,000 miles or so of running on roads, I didn’t take my eyes off them. 

As the sun plunged beneath the horizon I was reliant on the almost full moon to give a bit of light. The cloud spoilt that sadly. 

I took my earphones out for safety reasons. After a few minutes I heard an old familiar noise that had plagued me while running across Romania 2018. It was the high pitched noise of a mosquito. 

Those pesky varmints weren’t the real issue. By mile 26, I was pretty hungry. 

I met the RV at mile 26.1. Deb and Thomas were having mosquito problems of their own in the RV. One of which was when Thomas climbed up to bed. He heard the sound of a mosquito. He grabbed the fly swatter only to realise that the noise had come from Deb’s phone. Oh how we laughed! Well Thomas didn’t. I didn’t feel so bad about the fish prank yesterday. I didn’t capture the moment but let’s use AI to help us out. This will result in Thomas’s phone “blowing up” with messages from his friends and family. I believe there is quite a following of this blog in his native Belgium. 

I decided to leave it there for the day. I had a quick bite to eat. I decided against a shower too. 

The plan tomorrow is to get out at 0500. That’s 37 minutes before sunrise. It promises to be a scorcher and those cooler hours are so valuable. We are desperate for the mountains and the cooler overnight temperatures. I’m doing everything I can to get to Walsenburg by Friday evening. 

If you go to the Run Geordie Run Facebook page then there’s a video that explains the challenges of the next few days. It’s 21:55 here in Colorado. I’ve got a good 6.5 hour window to sleep in. Mosquitoes and/or Deb’s sound effects permitting, this could be the most sleep I’ve had for a while. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Bodyguard - Beyoncé 

Continued thanks for the donations for St Benedict's Hospice. If you think my efforts are worthy of a donation as I head into day 70 of the my journey across the USA, please visit my JustGiving page:

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

Day 68 of the run across the USA 2025

There’s no such thing as a decent nights sleep on this tour. The evening of day 67 was no exception. Another tremendous storm hit the overnight stop outside an old post office in Coolidge just after 11pm. This continued through the night at times that I was too weary to remember. It was like being in really bad turbulence at 37,000ft at times in the RV. It was great. Poor Deb got an absolute soaking when she had to close the main door. Thomas just slept through the whole thing. Neither of them heard the train at goodness knows what time. I’m going to miss storms and trains when this is all over. 

As I got ready I inspected my feet. My left one had taken on new damage. There was a spectacular flap of skin right across my mid foot. “That’s going to cause some issues soon” I thought. 

Taking advantage of the new time zone (mountain time) the team had me fed and driven to the start line by 0545. That was very good considering I’d managed just a little over 5 hours sleep. 

The tunes were in full flow during those early miles. I felt like I was in a really good place. Self talk and looking forward to a new state helped massively. As did the tunes featuring Johnny Cash and the like.  

Quite a lot of cyclists, all wearing the same kit, went past me as I made my way towards Coolidge. 

There wasn’t much to see in Coolidge. This mural did make me smirk however. 

Sadly, I passed a deer that had been knocked over at the 7.5 mile point. It was a beautiful creature. I paid my respects with my now customary “Sorry Bow Wow” and a nod of the head. Such a shame but that’s life I suppose. I later found out that Deb and Thomas had driven past it before me. They saw it and thought I might have a bit of a breakdown (as per 2 days ago with Brownie). Deb tried to talk Thomas into dragging the poor animal off the west bound hard shoulder. Jokingly I think. They need not have worried.  

After a little over 8 miles, I made it to the end of my time in Kansas. I’d been in this state since the end of the day of June 19th. It was approximately 440 miles from Drexel in the east to the Colorado state line in the west. That’s quite an epic. 

There was just time for a quick photo then off I went again. 

I’ve seen huge flocks of birds on a couple of occasions today. They hang out around bridges that run over a creek. It’s brilliant to be in amongst them. 

I got to Holly, Colorado at mile 12 and saw further evidence that I was in state number 10 on this tour.  

I met the team in Holly just after they’d finished in the laundromat. Thomas made me one of his amazing wraps. I had hoped to take a picture of him serving it but he was having a bad hair day. His words not mine. You’ll have to make do with a picture of the wrap. 

As I left Holly I spotted a ranch entrance. I haven’t seen a decent one for days. 

I met the team at mile 20.5 for some cold tuna/pasta. It went down much better than yesterday’s hot effort. I had a 20 minute tactical snooze. It consisted of 10 minutes of snooze and 10 minutes of checking how much snooze time I had left. 

I got back out and spotted an unusual sight at the side of the road. 

A little further on I spotted something at the side of the road. It was a plastic Nemo fish. I immediately messaged the team and told them “I’ve caught a fish”. 

I said that it will go well with wedges and medicinal peas (remember them?!). 

I asked Thomas “Can I do a facebook live of me handing you the fish? You close your eyes and I drop it in your open hands?”. An absolute “no” was his reply. Because of that response and also his bad hair day we’ll just have to rely on AI to show us “what I could have won”. 

Meanwhile, Deb and Thomas had managed to get a free waste dump and water refill at End Of The Line RV park in Granada, Colorado. That meant that they could have a shower. To say they use the water in the RV sparingly is an understatement. Mind you, if I knew they were going to be so good at finding water then I’d have longer showers myself. 

I met the team at the 27 mile point. It was just for a water refill. I went over to the RV to give Thomas the “fish”. It was in my clenched fist. The look of horror on his face was a picture. He was in the passenger seat and when he saw me approaching, he locked the doors. Hilarious. I slowly revealed the plastic Nemo fish to him and his eyes just rolled. I fell about in hysterics. Oh how I laughed. 

At mile 29.5 I needed a bit of a reset. My left foot was hurting badly. I got in the RV, took my shoes off and elevated my feet for 10 minutes. 

The small break worked a treat. That, together with the incentive of avoiding some nasty weather kept me going. I was in all kinds of pain in both feet. I just had to push forward however. 

And push forward I did. At mile 34, I received a message from Deb asking if I wanted a burger for tea. “Hell yeah” was my reply. As a result, mile 35 was the second quickest of the day. 

I finished the day on 35.2 miles. It was a new tour best. From a fitness point of view, it was very straightforward. Mentally, it was quite a challenge from mile 20-30. My poor feet really felt it. There’s a load of new damage. Several blisters. Flaps of skin ready to come off. All of the usual good stuff. 

We ended up having a tremendous burger and fries. It was at a place called BJs in Lamar, Colorado. We didn’t know how to order initially. Then we were told to use the telephone on our table. It was like deal or no deal with Thomas acting as Noel Edmonds to phone our order in. 

I had to get Thomas to help me get back to the RV after we left the burger place. Goodness only knows how my feet are going to recover in time for tomorrow’s effort. 

TUNE OF THE DAY (1): The Gambler - Kenny Rogers (2) Hurt - Johnny Cash (3) Devil's right hand - Johnny Cash 

Continued thanks for the donations for St Benedict's Hospice. If you think my efforts are worthy of a donation as I travel across the USA, please visit my JustGiving page:

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

Day 67 of the run across the USA 2025

“Can we park the RV in a direction so the breeze is coming through my window?” is a question I ask the team every night. Well let me tell you, Deb’s precise parking doesn’t disappoint. Last night (Saturday) saw the most violent storm to date in the small hours of the morning. The RV was rattling and shaking and I did wonder if we were going to end up in the land of Oz at one point. The image below was taken slightly earlier as the storm approached. The lightning lit up the pitch black sky. 

After only 5.5 hours sleep, I woke up with a headache. This meant a 45 minute delay to the day while I drank water and waited for the paracetamol to work. 

We drove to the start point, to the west of Lakin, and I got the day started at 06:59. The morning called for tracksuit bottoms and a base layer top. That was to combat the flies. That amount of clothing is uncomfortable in the heat. It’s worth it though. 

There were dark clouds ahead at the start. The road was straight but very up and down during those early miles. 

I met the team at the 7.5 mile point. Thomas cooked a “breakfast wrap”. It was delicious and arguably the best one he’s done. 

I got back out onto Highway 50 also known as the 400. As per usual the heat had cranked up a notch. The flies and mozzies were out in force too. 

At mile 10 I crossed into a new time zone. It was a case of goodbye central time and hello to mountain time. I was unsure how to use this to our advantage. My first thought had been to stick to central time to make use of the extra daylight at the end of the day. It’s too complicated however. Mountain Time it is.  

I passed an odd looking bull a little further down the road. Together with his companions, they simply stared at me. I get that a lot! 

That sentiment was echoed on NUFC.com. The constant coverage on the site has been brilliant. 

I met the team for a water refill at 18 miles. Deb asked if I wanted to eat at that point. I said that would push on. 

We arranged to meet in Syracuse which was 3.25 miles down the highway. I went past a couple of feed yards. The smell was horrendous. 

I met the RV at the 21.25 mile point. Thomas had cooked some pasta. It’s not my favourite but very good for getting the carbs in before the final session of the day. We spoke later in the day about this meal. I’ve asked for cold pasta with tuna and mayo in future. 

When I got back out, I noticed a painting on a wall in Syracuse. The dog in the picture reminded me of Brownie. 

When I spoke to Donna earlier in the day, she said that I should not dwell on yesterday’s events with Brownie. I did do for today’s morning session but no longer after our discussion. The focus shifted on getting to the end point and getting home to Órlaith. 

I got to the 24 mile point and my right foot was in a considerable amount of pain. Instead of ending the day there and then (as has been the case in the past) I got into the RV and took my socks and shoes off. I climbed onto the bed and got my feet elevated. 

One hour later and I was back out, determined to hit 30 miles. I managed to do exactly that just as the sun was about to set. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd 

I’ll leave Kansas early tomorrow. There is just time for one final overnight storm. I suspect it’ll be a case of “you want a breeze! You’ve got a breeze”. 

Brilliantly the charity fund for St Benedict's Hospice has now broken the £23,00 barrier. Thank you to those that donated today (and of course to those of you in the last 66 days too). If you haven't yet donated, please visit my JustGiving page - all donations no matter how big or small do make a massive difference. 

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

Day 66 of the run across the USA 2025

The Walmart parking lot was a very decent overnight spot. I fell asleep to the sound of July 4th fireworks.  

Day 66 got underway just after 0600 on the outskirts of Garden City, Kansas. It was overcast and cool at the start but it didn’t last. 

I made it to Holcomb and passed a swimming pool. If only! There were a few rabbits roaming around including this domestic looking one. 

At mile 9 I found myself surrounded by hundreds of flies. I dumped my walking poles and sent a message to the team regarding their location. I then picked up the pace considerably. It worked. The flies couldn’t keep up. 

I met the team at the 14 mile point. They were at an RV park called Deerfield Beach campground. I had a quick wrap and was on my way again. 

As I left the park, owners Dianne and Tim arrived in their car. I told them about my journey and they offered free use of the facilities. They went on to see Thomas and Deb. It was such a bonus to be able to dump waste and refill the water. 

It was just after the 14.5 mile point where I made a navigation choice which was going to add 4 miles to the route. Obviously, I didn’t know that at the time. 

I ended up on a stoney road. Not only that but it turned into an under maintained road. Further analysis by the team plus Thomas asking a passing car, revealed that that way involved crossing the Arkansas river. The alternative was to continue on the stoney road and then do a large U shaped route. I was on stones for 5 miles. 

I had to call the team back to get my tracksuit bottoms. I was being eaten alive by flies. On the plus side, the miles until they got to me were some of the quickest of the day. 

I reached the road and could see a storm approaching. There was a rumble of thunder almost immediately. I wasn’t concerned and pushed on.   

I went past what I think was a farm. I looked around and a dog approached me. It joined me on the road. Its tongue was hanging out and it looked parched. I gave it some of my water. I think it was just after a bit of attention and affection. I started to stroke its head just like I would to Órlaith back home. To have that connection with a dog again felt very special. I half jokingly said “are you coming to California with me?”. 

It didn’t return to its home. It was just me and her (as I half guessed) on the road for now. 

I kept asking her to “go home”. It continued to follow me. 

The thunder was rumbling by now and it started to rain. The dog was on the road with me and I had to gesture to numerous cars to slow down. Being the big softie that I am, I found the situation distressing. At the same time, I was enjoying the company of man’s best friend. That was short lived as we were now on a busy road to Lakin. She simply led the way, almost as if she knew my route. 

The tears were streaming down my face as I kept telling her “you need to go home”. That’s a phrase that I could have been telling myself under the circumstances. 

As luck would have it, I flagged down a passing police car. I told the lovely police officer, Sheila, about my journey and the current predicament with the dog. Officer Sheila was absolutely lovely. She radioed for assistance because the dog could not go in the police car. 

We talked some more and officer Sheila responded to the dogs request for a belly rub. 

“I wonder what her name is?” I asked. Officer Sheila named her “Brownie” right there and then. When I was happy that Brownie was in good hands, I continued on the road to Lakin. 

I sobbed buckets. Despite the briefest of encounters I will miss Brownie. It’s got a lot to do with the fact I’m missing Órlaith back home. Also, those eyes staring up at me, just wanting some love and affection. That’s an image that will stay in my mind for a long time. 

I saw the team in Lakin at the 26 mile point talking to the lovely police officer and her wife. They reassured me that Brownie had been taken back to her farm. 

As the sun dipped in the sky, I headed due west from Lakin and climbed a few more hundred feet in the process. 

There were plenty more tears during those last 7 miles. There was also a moment of laughter when I realised that my costly navigation error had led me to have a brief encounter with a lovely dog. I’ve ran almost 5000 miles across the USA (2011 and now). This was the best experience I’d had with a dog. I’ve spent many a time running away from them. 

I’ve got to admit, today has made me feel homesick for the first time. In 2016 and 2018 while running across Europe, it hit me really bad. Knowing that I’d be in the USA for a decent spell, I’ve worked on it over recent years. It helps that I speak to Donna every day too. We’ve had it under control really well on this tour. 

Today’s 33 mile effort was really pleasing. Thomas, Deb and I have found a good formula and schedule. As I said on day 63’s blog “I simply must find a way to dig even deeper”. Trust me. I am. And there’s more of that to come. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: I will always love you- Dolly Parton 

If you think my efforts over the last 66 days are worthy of a donation, please visit my JustGiving page: 

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