I asked the team for an early start today and once the daily ritual of Shelli trying to wake up Chef Stephen was over we drove the short way to the start line. There were more storms forecast and I was keen to get as many miles in as possible as early as possible.
I stopped at the 3 mile point for porridge and was soon on my way again. I could see storms behind me at the 14 mile point. This was the first day that I'd listened to local radio while running. The station I was listening to stopped their regular programme to broadcast a severe weather warning. I was aware that the Support Team had overshot the next meeting point by a mile and I managed to meet them in time before the lightning struck.
I took this opportunity to have a tactical snooze. The team told me that I'd missed one heck of a storm when I woke up. I managed to have 2 hours sleep but could easily have had a few more hours.
I met the team at the 22 mile point where Shelli had managed to find a grocery store. These are few and far between so a few supplies were taken on board. We think we are 2 days away from being able to refuel the RV. This will be in Kansas somewhere.
The weather during the final session of the day was very pleasant and the storm had moved miles away to the south. One thing I've noticed about these storms is that they tend to appear at the same time each day (as I was tipped off by Cop John in Denver). They also tend to follow the same course.
Shelli joined me for the final session of the day at the 28 mile point. We were only a mile into the run when we were attacked by a swarm of Mosquitos. She couldn't run quick enough to shake them off and I took the decision to leave her and run to the RV some 5 miles away. I found out at this point that Chef Stephen's phone had no credit left, meaning that communication with the RV was not possible. Rule number 1 of this trip is that there should always be communication between runner and RV. This must not happen again.
Still being pursued by Mosquitos, I increased my pace greatly and the final 5 miles were just horribly irritating. A passing car of nice ladies eventually picked Shelli up and then caught up to me. They offered me a lift but I declined. I was running far too quick and too well to stop then. Even if I was being eaten alive by those pesky Mossies! I met the RV after running 33.1 miles. By the time i got to it, there were swarms of Mosquitos everywhere. As I'm typing this blog, after 11 pm, I can here them tapping on the windows outside.
It looks like I'll be running fully covered up tomorrow with plenty of bug spray on. At least 32 more miles is a must. This will leave the next state of Kansas in touching distance on Monday morning.
