Today's run got underway just after 7 am on a very hot and sunny morning in Illinois. The only good thing about a hot day at the moment is that the washing gets easily and quickly dried in the RV.
Temperatures today were predicted to peak at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The usual precautions were taken with water stops every 3 miles, factor 50 sun tan lotion and lots of ice pops.
Such was the extreme temperature, a passing farmer stopped to hand me a bottle of water from his tractor. This was a very kind gesture and really put a spring in my step for the next few miles.
I made it to the Indiana state line within a few hours and right away and very coincidentally there was a huge drop in temperature. I celebrated with lunch and an ice cold Dr Pepper (Forrest Gump would have approved).
I ran through the town of Montezuma in the afternoon. One of many interesting place names I've encountered during this run. Rockville soon followed and Bellmore was the final destination for the day with 37.5 miles run.
Just before I got to the finish line I almost stepped on a snake that was sleeping in the hard shoulder of the road. Had I not been running with a head torch I think I would have stood right on it. A lucky escape there!
A feature of this run is that when I enter a state for the first time something seems to be immediately different from the previous state. While Indiana still has it's fair share of corn there seem to be far more trees and land without any crop when compared to Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.
Tomorrow should see me reach the suburbs of Indianapolis. More hot weather is predicted. More head down and one foot in front of the other is an absolute must.
