After yesterday's short mileage day, today's running got underway quite early. Having had 7 good hours sleep I felt really good and rattled off a quick 3 miles before breakfast which was sponsored by Colin Hillier (as was lunch, dinner and the RV waste dump).
It was another day of hills but my legs and feet coped well with the inclines early on. As an added bonus, the temperature was quite cool all day with a fantastic breeze to make things even more comfortable.
It was another day of hills but my legs and feet coped well with the inclines early on. As an added bonus, the temperature was quite cool all day with a fantastic breeze to make things even more comfortable.
I met the team for some pasta at the 18 mile point just east of Somerset, Pennsylvania. I was really surprised how well my feet were holding up compared to yesterday. There was certainly no need for painkillers, thankfully.
I spoke to Mark Fleming, Dave Fairlamb and Run Geordie Run junior during the course of the afternoon. Concentrating on speaking instead of on the hills I was running up helped make the miles go quicker.
There was quite a climb late on in the afternoon. The summit was called Bald Knob Summit which made Carlton and I chortle! It was just short of 3000 ft. I thoroughly enjoyed the descent down the other side. It was 6 miles of downhill bliss with a cool breeze and the tail end of a storm to help things along.
By the time I reached Shellsburg at the 37 mile point my feet were aching really badly. I took my socks and shoes off and put them back on again. As if that would make things better! I've got very little feeling in some of my toes and the others are just so sore. Then there are the burning pains in the balls of my feet. It's going to be a tough last 7 days for sure. I'll be back on painkillers tomorrow.
I finished the day after 40.3 miles of running. It was nice to finish in daylight for once!
Thanks to Lindsey (pictured below) at the Friendship Village for letting us stay there. This should mean another thug and rock free night for the support team and I. Thanks also to support man Carlton for a cracking Steak dinner tonight.
Thanks to everyone who has made a donation to the 2 charities over the last few days. The charity fund for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation is now over £46,000 and currently stands at £46,091.
If you would like to sponsor my run across the USA 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.
(St Benedict's Hospice)
(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.
