I arrived at Coney Island at 07:15. Thanks goes to Steve for driving me there. He really has been a huge help.
The weather was very pleasant indeed and not at all like the 3 forecasts that I'd looked at. The overriding feeling that I had was just that this situation was surreal. I'd battled hard back in 2011 to run TO Coney Island. Never did I imagine that one day I'd be back on the pier facing the prospect of running back to Huntington Beach.
Soon after taking a few photos, I was joined by Ben who lives in NYC. A fellow Newcastle fan, I originally met him the day after the 2011 run across the USA as we celebrated with the rest of the NYC Toon Army in a bar in Manhattan.
We said goodbye to Steve for the time being and set off running at 7:50. Ben and I made our way through Brooklyn and.the temperature hotted up nicely.
I used up all my water but managed to fill up just in downtown Brooklyn.
When we reached the Brooklyn bridge, it was very busy with tourists. This made getting across it very slow indeed. One lady cheered as I ran past her. I assume she saw the back of my running shirt with the RUN ACROSS THE USA details. The same thing was to happen later when an old guy asked when the run started. He wished me luck and I went on my way.
I was met by Steve again at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge. We said goodbye to Ben when we reached Manhattan. Those first 10 miles had flown by thanks to Ben. He was really good company.
Steve and I proceded north up Manhattan and made it to Peter Dillons bar on 36th Street. There waiting for us was Eddie. I hadn't seen him since he joined me on the final miles of the run across the USA in 2011. He'd travelled over from New Jersey to meet up with me. I wolfed down two large glasses of water while we chatted.
Another goodbye and a quick photo outside and Steve and I were on our way again.
Steve stayed with me all the way to 179th Street and the entrance to the George Washington Bridge. He was brilliant company and the chat that we had really helped the miles tick by,
As I ran across the bridge I took the opportunity to glance over to my left and take in the Manhattan skyline. Numerous police officers were helping someone threatening to jump off the bridge a little further down the way. I was shocked at first but the situation seemed to be under control.
