Day 60 - High temperatures

The temperature is now down to 94 degrees Fahrenheit and it's now 8pm. Once the sun starts to dip below the horizon, within the hour, I'll be able to start running again. Unfortunately, sleeping during the day hasn't been an option as we had to drop Stephen off at his bus stop as he left the Support Team. This involved a 200 mile round journey in the RV. Shelli drove there and I drove back. It's the first time I've driven in 2 months. I'm happy to report that I didn't drive on the left had side of the road!

Things are going to get even more difficult tomorrow with 104 degrees Fahrenheit forecast. The local radio station was full of warnings this afternoon for people to take the necessary precautions. In my case, this is going to involve running for as long as I can into the night on very little sleep. I have no choice on the matter and I'm still hopeful of running out of Kansas on Saturday or Sunday.

Thank you to my sponsors - Brooks

Thank you to my running shoe supplier and sponsor Brooks. I'm into day 60 of the run across the USA with no injuries. Long may this continue with the help of my Brooks Glycerin 8 and Brooks Cascadia 6 running shoes. Also worthy of mention are the Brooks Equilibrium base layers that I wear which provide comfort when I need it most. 

If you're in the Newcastle area why not try a pair of Brooks at Northern Runner, 52 Low Friar Street, Newcastle. It's just down from The Gate complex. Don't forget to tell them that I sent you. To find out more about Brooks running shoes and clothing please click here.

Ice and easy does it!

I was recently contacted by the Moffitt family, owners of Vallum Farm near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. They wanted to know what my favourite flavour of ice cream was. That's an easy one. It's Mint Choc Chip! They later went on to explain that they would like to help out with the fundraising for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation. 

What they are going to do is very simple and hopefully very effective for the 2 charities. "From 4th July to the day Mark finishes the run across the USA on 8th August we will donate all profits from the sale of Mint Choc Chip ice cream to the 2 charities". Brilliant! 

So then folks! I hear it's a bit warm up in the North East of England at present. Please get yourself to Vallum Farm near Hadrian's Wall. Once there, please go straight to the Ice Cream counter and order yourself a mint choc chip ice cream. For directions and further information on Vallum Farm please click here. Enjoy your ice cream and thanks again to Vallum Farm!

Day 60 - Photo of the day

Bails of hay in Kansas at first light

Day 59 - Scorchio!

I must start this blog post with a thank you to Mr Paul and Miss Karen (pictured below). They are the owners of the RV park where we stayed in Mankato, Kansas. As soon as they learned about the run across the USA and the 2 charities that I'm raising funds for they returned the site fee that I paid and also let the Support Team use the laundry facilities for free. Yet more amazing generosity from the American public.

Due to catching up with my blog and other media duties I didn't get started until 10 am. It was absolutely red hot by this time. I was fully aware that the heat was just a small taste of things to come with temperatures of over 100 degrees F due on Wednesday and Thursday.  

I met the support team at the first drinks stop and told the that we would be taking a long break. I explained that the new tactic to help beat the heat would be to run between 0600 and 1200 then 1800 and 0000. The excellent routine that had seen me clock up a record week of miles would be put to one side for the time being. 

After some food and a tactical snooze, things were underway again. The tactical snooze wasn't the best as the RV was red hot. You just can't win sometimes!

There was a lot of passing farm traffic later in the day. There seemed to be lots of harvesting activity in the nearby fields too. This was the first time in hundreds of miles that I'd seen anything like that in the fields. It was a novelty to watch as I ran by!

The last 2 hours were done in total darkness. Shelli joined me for a few miles near the end and by 2300 and 23 miles of running I stopped to get some sleep. The sun would be up in 7 hours and I needed to get a head start before the heat of the day made things very challenging!

Day 59 - Photo of the day

Farm traffic using "my lane"

Day 59 - A long tactical snooze

I decided to take a long tactical snooze after running 9 miles this morning. The evening weather forecast is quite decent for once. Therefore, for the next 3 days I'll be running in 0600 - 1200 and 1800 - 0000 shifts. This is to make better use of the cooler times of the day and to allow us to drop Chef Stephen off at the bus station tomorrow during the day. 

I've been wanting to run close to midnight for the last week but the storms that start when the sun goes down have prevented that. With 1640 miles in the bag and a record breaking last 7 days it's time to try and push on to 2000 miles asap.

I've seen some grate donations made to St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation over the last few days. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. Thanks also to nufc.com for their excellent continued daily publicity. Thanks also to The Journal, The Evening Chronicle, the BBC and Real Radio for their ongoing coverage too.

Day 58 - Photo of the day

"Jim" fixing the RV

Day 58 - Breakdown

I was 5 miles into the run today when news reached me that the RV wouldn't start. I'd already run through Smith Center and wasn't prepared to turn back. Instead, I knew that I had enough water to see me through a few hours and carried on regardless. I was secretly very pleased that the RV had broken down as a) we have roadside assistance for these things and b) it was a chance to try and get as many miles done before the RV was fixed and ready to meet me again. In other words, I was racing against the RV. This gave me a lot of focus and I was able to get mind and body working in unison. When this happens I run much faster and the miles fly by.

I put news of the RV breakdown on Twitter and one of my followers rang the local police who appeared to bring me a few bottles of water. I like to share my experiences on Twitter. Perhaps I should have kept this one quiet. It's me and my Support Team's call as to wether to involve the local authorities.

A few miles down the road I met a cyclist called Tom who was going cross country. He handed me a wooden crucifix and we swapped information on our progress etc. As has been the case in the past, it was great to meet a kindred spirit.

A few miles further down the road I reached a marker indicating that I was very close to the Geographic Centre of the USA. Sadly, there was not enough time to visit the exact location as I had an RV to race.

I was really striding out between miles 15 and 19 and even though the sun was beating down I felt really good. I eventually met the by now mended RV at the 19 mile point. I had hoped to get to around 22 miles before I saw it but hunger had set in. After lunch and a very short tactical snooze I was on my way again.

4 miles later and the rest of that tactical snooze was needed. I had lost all of the momentum that saw me get to the 19 mile point with a bit of quality and the intense heat of the day meant that each mile was incredibly tough. There's a lesson to be learned there!

Once again, as soon the sun set I found a bit of pace. I made it to Mankato after 33.5 miles of running. That is yet another good haul of miles in very difficult conditions. Despite the soaring temperatures, I've now found a bit of consistency with 227.35 miles ran over the last 7 days. It's important that I maintain this standard and when the Big Guns (Mark Fleming, Dave Fairlamb and Steve Harrison) arrive next week I'll be using them to push me on to get a few extra miles in here and there.

Thanks to those kind folks who helped to get the fund for St Benedict's Hospice over the £20,000 mark. The fund for The Children's Foundation is only slightly behind and I hope that the overall total will pass £40,000 very soon.

If you would like to sponsor my run then donations can be made in a number of ways. www.justgiving.com have introduced a brilliant new free donation method. Did you know that you can now donate to the 2 charities using your mobile phone?

To donate an amount to St Benedict's Hospice, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR98 to 70070:

To donate an amount to The Children's Foundation, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR99 to 70070:

Donations can also be made direct to St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation using the following links to justgiving.com.

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun1

(St Benedict's Hospice)

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun2 

(The Children's Foundation)

Finally, a donation can be made via cheque payable to 'The Children's Foundation' or 'St Benedict's Hospice' and sent to the following addresses:

FAO Libby Nolan
The Children's Foundation,
PO Box 2YB,
Sir James Spence Institute,
Victoria Wing,
Royal Victoria Infirmary,
Queen Victoria Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
NE99 2YB.

FAO Sylvia Stoneham
St Benedict's Hospice.
Monkwearmouth Hospital,
Newcastle Road,
Sunderland,
SR5 1NB.

Thanks in advance for any donations. I will get round to thanking everyone personally, via email, when I return to the UK in August.

Day 57 - Another hot day

It was a very humid and overcast start to the day. I didn't mind the humidity at all and the cloud cover was most welcome. I knew that as soon as that cloud shifted the day would become incredibly difficult with temperatures in the mid 30's forecast.

I met the team in Phillipsburg where we had a quick sandwich. By the time I was on my way again the clouds were beginning to break up and the sun started to burn through. It was shaping up to be another scorching day right enough!

I spotted the sign below while running through Phillipsburg. I immediately emailed it to my fellow Men of Steel Mark Fleming and Steve Harrison. That's the name of their bike riding team that I've joined for the last few years. It's also on that team where I broke my ankle! Incidentally, it's 13 months since I had the ankle operated on! I now have 2 metal pins in there and, of course, I got it sponsored. Regular readers will recall that it's the Paddy Power Bionic Ankle. I'm pleased to report that it's continuing to perform very well over here in the USA.

I met the RV at the 19 mile point and I was overheating (again!). Several ice blocks placed in strategic places soon helped to cool me down and I was on my way again. Due to several unexpected and rare turns in the road I was convinced at one point that I was heading due north. I knew for a fact that this section of the road was heading due east. My internal compass was all out of kilter. I tried several mind games to try and convince myself that I was running in the right direction. Eventually, I was convinced that I was heading due east. i.e. towards New York and not Canada as I had originally thought!  

As has been the case recently, as soon as the sun began to go down I became a different runner. I was able to really stride out over the final 6 miles and I waved the team on to get a bonus mile done at the end. 

On another really hot day I was very pleased to get 33.35 miles done. This put me within 2 miles of Smith Center, Kansas. This in turn had given me a good chance of finishing tomorrow's run in Mankato where we have a chance of sleeping in an RV park and not at the side of the road for once! Side of the road! You're lucky……..

Day 58 - Underway

There were some ferocious storms over night last night and I didn't have the best night's sleep. It looks like it's going to be another scorcher here in Kansas but not as hot as yesterday. 30 degrees Celsius is forecast with the chance of some thunderstorms.

Before I started the run across the USA I learned of the passing of the mother of a colleague of mine. Today's miles through sunny Kansas are dedicated to the memory of Kamala Datta.

Day 57 - Complete

Yet again time has caught me up and I must get some sleep. I'll continue to catch up with the blog tomorrow. I managed 33.35 miles today on another scorching day. The forecast for the next 5 days will see temperatures increase to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). It's going to continue to be really tough but I seem to be getting through the miles very well.

Day 57 - Photo of the day

Sun down in Smith County, Kansas

Day 56 - Another scorching hot day!

I started running in the pitch black very early in the morning at 0530. The plan was to get as many miles done before the predicted hot day made things difficult. I managed 8 miles to Norton and was very, very tired. I sent a quick text to my mentor David Fairlamb and he was straight on the phone to me. The text simply said "Shattered!". Dave and I talked through a few things on the phone and, as per usual, the conversation ended with me being more optimistic than at the start.

I had a few large coffees and McGriddles with the support team at McDonalds  in Norton. I felt a bit better when I started running again. By this time, though, the sun was starting to really heat the place up.

Further down Highway 36, I took some more phone calls from some good friends of Run Geordie Run;  Peter McCowie, Nigel Cooke, Olympic and Commonwealth swimmer Chris Cook and my trainer Mark Fleming. Dave Fairlamb had obviously rallied the troops into giving me a call and I'm pleased to say that it had the desired effect. The next few miles flew by and I had a really good spring in my step.

I made it to the lunchtime break at the 22 mile point and I was absolutely shattered! The temperature had been in the mid 30s (celsius) and I was cooked! The main aim at this break was to reduce my temperature and drink plenty of fluids. I had ice packs stuffed in various places and several wet towels on my head and back. It was so hot that the towels didn't stay wet for long. The support team were also suffering a bit. There was no escape from the heat!

I set off again and felt very light headed. There was no choice but to battle through the heat. A tactical snooze certainly wasn't on the cards as the temperature in the RV was even hotter than outside. I met the support team in the RV every few miles for a fresh supply of water. I actually drank about 12 litres all day. 

I saw the RV at the 32 mile point and decided to do a bonus 1.5 miles to get a total of 33.5 miles done. I could have done a few more miles but I thought enough was enough. The 37.75 mile day I had last week was actually too much. It had an adverse effect on the following day's running. I think 34 or 35 is the limit in these very hot conditions.

Day 56 - Complete

33.5 miles done today in very hot conditions. I'm now catching up on some sleep so a major blog update will be done tomorrow. It's an early start again tomorrow to get as many miles in before the main heat of the day strikes. And it promises to be some heat!

Day 56 - Photo of the day

"Think not about the finish line, nor the glory, nor the accolades. Think only about taking the next step to those ends." - Mark Allison, Highway 36, Kansas.

Day 55 - Scorchio!

It was another boiling hot start to the day here in Kansas. It was also a late start for the 2nd day in a row. I didn't start running until 9:30. 

I made my way down the now familiar Highway 36 yet again. It was field after field after field. For the most part, I now ignore the scenery and simply focus on the horizon. This helps to focus my mind and simply concentrate on running. 

There is no getting away from the size and scale of the agriculture present here in northern Kansas. To me, this seems to be America's larder. There appear to be entire communities setup for farming. One example I passed today was the "city" of Norcatur.

9 miles into the day saw me reach 1,514 miles. This is the approximate halfway point of the run across the USA. It has taken me 55.2 days to reach this halfway point. It will take me another 44.8 days to reach the finish line. When I announced news of the halfway point on Twitter, my phone went mad with many messages of support and congratulations. I enjoyed reading all the messages when I met the support team at the 11 mile point.

My own way of celebrating reaching halfway was to take a tactical snooze. When I started running again at 3 pm, the temperature had soared to at least 32 degrees. At the 19 miles point, I called the support team as I was all out of water. The heat bounced up from Highway 36 and there was no hiding place from a temperature I've not run in for a few weeks.

I stopped for tea and to check the weather forecast at the 22.5 mile point. It soon became obvious that the week's temperatures were going to get a lot higher. A change of strategy was required to combat this. The current problem is that I'm not getting enough sleep over night. This is leading to late starts this, in turn, means that I'm running the mentally tough miles during the hottest part of the day. I was faced with two choices. Firstly, I could continue on the current path and try to shift the start time to an earlier point in the day; a little more each day. The other option was to break the cycle of late starts/late finishes right here and right now. After talking with the team, I decided on the latter option. Yet again, we would see another change of strategy to cope with the latest set of weather conditions. Last week, violent thunderstorms had forced a rethink. This week and for the foreseeable future, it is temperatures in the 100's ( or high 30's in Celsius).

The next critical step on this run is an early start tomorrow. If I succeed with that, then I stand a good chance of shifting my running window to a more favorable part of the day. Unfortunately, all of this has come about in a week where there was a time zone change. It was only the loss of one hour but, as was the case as I entered Mountain Time last month, the effect on my body clock was considerable.

The important thing to bear in mind is that I am now over halfway. In my mind, the run takes on a new shape and dynamic entirely. Counting down to the finish line, instead of the halfway point means that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's a very long tunnel and it's a very faint light but it's alight nonetheless.

Thank you to everybody who made a donation today. The charity fund burst through the £39,000 barrier. That's over 62,000 US dollars for my American readers.

Special thanks go to "Paul K". for a £500 donation. Thanks to all the other sponsors who left a message with their donation. Reading them is one of the final things I do each day and serves as a reminder as to how worthwhile this run is and how many people are inspired by it.

Please click here for details of how to make a donation. 

Day 55 - Photo of the day

The Kansas sun beating down, mid afternoon.

Day 54 - A really tough day

I had to have an extra hour in bed this morning such was my tiredness from yesterday's 37.75 mile effort. I had stayed up late to update the blog too so I didn't start running until just after 0730. When I originally awoke at 0600 it was definitely the most tired I've felt on this tour.

You can normally tell how hot it's going to be for the rest of the day during the first few minutes of a run and today was no exception in Atwood, Kansas. For the 3rd day in a row the sun was beating down, providing a glorious warm heat. I've become well acclimatised to the heat. Struggling to run in the Mojave Desert seems like such a long time ago to me now!

What was obvious from the off this morning was that it was going to be a struggle. The foothills that I'd demolished yesterday were eating me up for breakfast and I struggled up 6 or 7 climbs until I met the RV at the 11 mile point. In recent days I've been meeting the RV for lunch with between 17 and 23 miles in the bag. Having  only managed 11 miles before lunch was very poor in comparison.

I didn't even have anything to eat when I arrived at the RV. A long tactical snooze was the only thing on my mind. I slept for just over 2 hours! When I got back out there for the second 11 mile stretch of the day it was still a struggle. The difference between this session and the morning session, though, was that I tried hard to pick up some speed. The miles did begin to pass much quicker and I was in 2 minds whether or not to take the second break at the 22 mile point. However, it was 6 pm, and I was very hungry!

The next 4 miles to Oberlin were pretty slow but I could start to feel the food kicking in. When I passed through Oberlin I realised that I'd gone through the 1500 mile point. It had turned dark at this point and I was surrounded by loads of fire flies lighting up the surrounding area with their mini firework display. Spectacular!

The last 6 miles were a lot quicker than any done during the daylight. I put my foot down in the dark as it was getting late and I just wanted the day to be brought to a close. Finishing the day with a bit of pace is always good for confidence.

I reached the RV having ran 32.25 miles. That's a haul of miles that I thought wasn't possible this morning. I stuck at it, though, and battled through the tough times. There were plenty of those tough times today and it would have been quite easy to call it a day at numerous points. I'm at the stage of the run where this isn't possible. Putting one foot in front of the other no matter what is the name of the game now. 

The photo below is me approaching the RV with my headtorch on.

I've now ran 103 miles in the last 3 days. I must continue to build on this and get the mileage deficit down to an acceptable level. Tomorrow morning will see me pass through the half way point, in mileage terms, of the run across the USA. That's going to be a brilliant milestone to pass.

As I mentioned yesterday, the big guns start arriving in just over a week. Steve Harrison, Mark Fleming and Dave Fairlamb will be helping me to get that deficit down. I hope they've been training or they may struggle to keep up! :)

And finally! Thanks to those people who made a donation today. If you would like to sponsor my run then donations can be made in a number of ways.

www.justgiving.com have introduced a brilliant new free donation method. Did you know that you can now donate to the 2 charities using your mobile phone?

To donate an amount to St Benedict's Hospice, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR98 to 70070:

To donate an amount to The Children's Foundation, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR99 to 70070:

Donations can also be made direct to St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation using the following links to justgiving.com.

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun1

(St Benedict's Hospice)

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun2 

(The Children's Foundation)

Finally, a donation can be made via cheque payable to 'The Children's Foundation' or 'St Benedict's Hospice' and sent to the following addresses:

FAO Libby Nolan
The Children's Foundation,
PO Box 2YB,
Sir James Spence Institute,
Victoria Wing,
Royal Victoria Infirmary,
Queen Victoria Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
NE99 2YB.

FAO Sylvia Stoneham
St Benedict's Hospice.
Monkwearmouth Hospital,
Newcastle Road,
Sunderland,
SR5 1NB.

Thanks in advance for any donations. I will get round to thanking everyone personally, via email, when I return to the UK in August.

Day 54 - Photo of the day

The "Motel It'll Do" in Atwood Kansas

Day 53 - A record haul of miles

It was a brutal start to day 53 with yesterday's time zone change making the 0630 start feel like the 0530 that it would have been in Kansas. I had to have an impromptu team talk at my first scheduled water stop. This configuration of the team is not performing well for me and things needed to be said. I'll not go into details out of the respect of the team but things need to change. Stephen leaves the team 2 weeks earlier than planned next week and then I'm bringing the big guns in; my mentors Dave Fairlamb and Mark Fleming. They are going to help get me back on track by pushing me a lot more during the second session of the day. The first 20 or so miles are very easy now. Even in the scorching heat of Kansas. It's the mental battle I face in the final sessions of the day that they are going to help me with. Having some company on the run for 5 days with plenty of positive encouragement is not only going to be brilliant but something I haven't really had since Wee Kirsty left.

I've had a few messages on Twitter recently from possible friends and family of my support team. Here is a simple piece of advice for them. If you're offended by anything you read here and on my Twitter feed please don't read them. Oh and certainly don't buy the book. I would strongly advise against that.

People must understand that part of my remit is to share all aspects of this journey with my sponsors and the readers of this blog. Giving the reader a true taste of what it is like to run across the USA is what this blog is all about. The good points and the bad points will continue to be covered. As I stated earlier, there are occasions where I can't go into details. Once this is all over and a book is written, the full story will be known. I won't be making any money out of that book by the way. Everything last drop of funds raised in association with this run will, of course, go the way of St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation. I'll state one last time, if you are easily offended then please don't visit the blog. Please feel free to email me at junk@rungeordierun.com with any grievances or complaints.

That all said, nobody is more grateful than I am for the time and money begged, stolen and borrowed by members of the Support Team to be here. For the most part, they have all, so far, done a good job. I have only seen the RV nearly written off once and the team have only been lost once. Not bad for almost 1500 miles.

Meanwhile, today's run followed the pattern of yesterday. There were a good haul of miles before lunch,  a good haul of miles after lunch and some bonus miles at the end of the day. The first lot of miles were supposed to be 17 but Dame Shirley Bassey popped up on shuffle on my iPod and I managed to get to 20 before stopping for a bite to eat and a short Tactical Snooze.

The restart saw me do 8 miles only to then wave the team on when I saw a bit of a climb (pictured). I've missed a good run up a hill so I managed to get another 3 miles done at a much quicker pace.

The final session of the day, after tea, saw me reach Atwood having managed a total of 37.75 miles. That's a new record for this tour and means that I've now ran 1472.75 miles in the USA so far. I'm now due to hit the half way point on Friday. It's all downhill after that.

And finally, thanks for some more wonderful donations today. They are all so very appreciated. St Benedict's Hospice cared for my mother during her final days battling cancer is a wonderful institution that is so worthy of your pledges. As is, The Children's Foundation who do some wonderful work with children in the region. It is on those notes that I send out a plea for your hard earned cash.

www.justgiving.com have introduced a brilliant new free donation method. Did you know that you can now donate to the 2 charities using your mobile phone?

To donate an amount to St Benedict's Hospice, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR98 to 70070:

To donate an amount to The Children's Foundation, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR99 to 70070:

Donations can also be made direct to St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation using the following links to justgiving.com.

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun1

(St Benedict's Hospice)

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun2 

(The Children's Foundation)

Finally, a donation can be made via cheque payable to 'The Children's Foundation' or 'St Benedict's Hospice' and sent to the following addresses:

FAO Libby Nolan
The Children's Foundation,
PO Box 2YB,
Sir James Spence Institute,
Victoria Wing,
Royal Victoria Infirmary,
Queen Victoria Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
NE99 2YB.

FAO Sylvia Stoneham
St Benedict's Hospice.
Monkwearmouth Hospital,
Newcastle Road,
Sunderland,
SR5 1NB.

Thanks in advance for any donations. I will get round to thanking everyone personally, via email, when I return to the UK in August.

Day 53 - Photo of the day

A crop dusting plane near St Francis, Kansas

Day 52 - Back on form

I'm happy to report that, for once, everybody was up on time to get the run underway at 06:30 am. Almost sticking to my new plan I managed to do the last few miles (17) in Colorado by midday. Those last few miles, incidentally, involved one of the straightest, longest and flattest stretches of road that I have ever seen (pictured below).

There was a very gusty wind today and other than a 2 mile stretch it was right on my back pushing me out of Colorado and into Kansas.

As soon as I reached the Colorado / Kansas border at 17 mile point the time on my GPS watch swept forward one hour. This served as a timely reminder that I was entering the 3rd time zone of this run and, moreover, that I would be losing an hour of sleep tonight!

The Support Team and I stopped for some photos on the border. I then had a very quick lunch break, scoffing down some tuna and pasta made by Shelli.

As soon as I started running again I noticed just how different Kansas looked in comparison to Eastern Colorado. I'm still racking my brains as to why this was the case. Perhaps it was the fantastic cloud formations.

I finished the second section of the run (12.5 miles) just after 5 pm. By this time the wind had died down slightly and in it's place was glorious hot sunshine. It was just the ticket after yesterday's horrible weather. The team and I went for a burger in St Francis which was delicious. I had sweet potato fries with mine. I'm sending Shelli on a shopping mission tomorrow to find sweet potato!

Shelli accompanied me for the final 5 miles where we were chased by a big black dog. Instead of my usual sprint away I confronted it with a loud voice in a low register. If anyone has ever seen the Monty Python sketch "I wish to report a burglary" you'll know just how I spoke to it. The deeper my voice got the more afraid the dog became. It turned and ran home eventually. After 52 days of running away from those critters I now have a tactic that seems to work. Hopefully!

I managed to run a total of 34.5 miles today giving a total of 1435 miles overall. I've got to follow this up with similar distances between now and the end of June. The mileage deficit is a tough burden to carry. The 4 days that I'm behind need to become 3 before I leave Kansas. Then I'll work on getting it down to 2 days behind in Missouri. I have 2 contingency days planned on days 98 and 99. Looks like I'll need to use them to get right back on schedule. There is so little margin for error and further delay now.

It's almost midnight now as I finish catching up with my blog. It's almost 11 some 18 miles away back in Colorado. I hope this time zone is easier to adjust to than the last one. It may only be 1 hour difference but it really played havoc last time. Lights out! Up in 6 hours to do it all again!

Day 51 - A tough stormy day

Today was an extremely tough day. I started running in very windy conditions. I was only a mile down the way when I got an absolute soaking. By the time I got to the first stop for breakfast at 5 miles I was wet through! 

I waited an hour until the rain subsided before continuing on. The challenge this time was a very strong wind. Sometimes it was a full on headwind and other times it was a cross wind. It was very difficult to run in and sapped what little energy I seemed to have today.

I got to the 10 mile point and told the Support Team that enough was enough. For the 4th time in 51 days I had hit the wall. More mentally than physically on this day I think.

Later on in the day, I came up with a slightly new approach to the up and coming days. Generally, I run much faster in the mornings. So tomorrow would see a 16 mile target before noon. I'd then take a 90 minute break for lunch (although tomorrow it would have to be shortened due to the time zone change that would happen at around noon once I reached Kansas). Following lunch the aim was 12 miles before 5 pm. A more than achievable target that would allow a few water changes if needed. The final session of the day would be done after an hour's break and would be at least 6 miles. A short distance compared to the other 2 sessions. This kind of approach is one that I've used most day's in the past. However, it's success wholly depended on the Support Team getting their backsides up on a morning and getting the RV to the start line ready for me running by 0630. Oh and of course it depended on me getting my backside out of bed too!

Tomorrow is another day to do battle out on the roads. Strong winds are forecast and it is going to be another challenging day. They are all challenging one way or another. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Day 52 - Photo of the day

Hello Kansas. Apologies for my lateness.

Good old justgiving.com

I learned today that www.justgiving.com have introduced a brilliant new free donation method. Did you know that you can now donate to the 2 charities using your mobile phone?

To donate an amount to St Benedict's Hospice, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR98 to 70070:

To donate an amount to The Children's Foundation, please text your desired amount and the following code RNGR99 to 70070:

Donations can also be made direct to St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation using the following links to justgiving.com.

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun1

(St Benedict's Hospice)

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun2 

(The Children's Foundation)

Finally, a donation can be made via cheque payable to 'The Children's Foundation' or 'St Benedict's Hospice' and sent to the following addresses:

FAO Libby Nolan
The Children's Foundation,
PO Box 2YB,
Sir James Spence Institute,
Victoria Wing,
Royal Victoria Infirmary,
Queen Victoria Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
NE99 2YB.

FAO Sylvia Stoneham
St Benedict's Hospice.
Monkwearmouth Hospital,
Newcastle Road,
Sunderland,
SR5 1NB.

Thanks in advance for any donations. I will get round to thanking everyone personally, via email, when I return to the UK in August.

Day 51 - Thanks on this wet day!

Thanks to those kind folk who have made some wonderful donations over the last few days. It really makes my efforts here in the USA worthwhile. I'm sure I speak for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation when I say just how grateful I am for every single penny donated.

Thank you to the staff at Cullen Contractors for their £200 donation to The Children's Foundation this morning. This now puts the charity fund within touching distance of £39,000. Thank you again to everyone else who has donated. Rest assured that I'm working extremely hard in all kinds of adverse weather conditions to ensure your sponsorship is being greatly earned.

If you would like to sponsor my run across the USA then a donation, no matter how large or small, can be made direct to St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation using the following links to justgiving.com.

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun1

(St Benedict's Hospice)

www.justgiving.com/rungeordierun2 

(The Children's Foundation)

Alternatively, a donation can be made via cheque payable to 'The Children's Foundation' or 'St Benedict's Hospice' and sent to the following addresses:

FAO Libby Nolan
The Children's Foundation,
PO Box 2YB,
Sir James Spence Institute,
Victoria Wing,
Royal Victoria Infirmary,
Queen Victoria Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
NE99 2YB.

FAO Sylvia Stoneham
St Benedict's Hospice.
Monkwearmouth Hospital,
Newcastle Road,
Sunderland,
SR5 1NB.

Thanks in advance for any donations. I will get round to thanking everyone personally, via email, when I return to the UK in August.

Day 51 - Photo(s) of the day

A beautiful sunrise over eastern Colorado

The sun is quickly covered up by storm clouds

Storm clouds move in and the wind picks up - "There's a storm brewin'"