I expected today to be tough and it didn’t disappoint. The first few miles were downhill into Belle Vernon which made for a difficult start. The next 2.25 miles were alongside the Monongahela river which meant flat roads! I haven’t seen one of those for a while. I’m pinning all my hopes and dreams on reaching the flatter terrain in a few weeks. This will enable me to eat into the mileage deficit. As I’ve mentioned a few times, it’s all about damage limitation here in the Appalachians.
The next mile and a half was easily the steepest climb I’ve tackled so far as you can see from the elevation profile below.
I made a slight navigational mistake at 8 and a half miles but quickly found an alternative route without adding too much extra mileage.
A man called Bob stopped to say hello and good luck. He had been speaking to the support team at the first meeting point. This simple interaction gave me a bit of a boost.
I was further boosted by a video call with Órlaith our golden retriever. It was an emotional moment but a timely one. I keep thinking if she wonders where I am. I learned that Órlaith’s sister, Clodagh, had qualified for Crufts. Donna told me that not Órlaith obviously.
I made it to the Post Office at Van Voorhis after 10 miles. I was 4 minutes away from doing a “10 by 10”. That’s 10 miles by 10am. I’ve only managed that 3 times so far on this tour. It has to be the standard when we are on the flatter land.
I set off again at 1045. It was a tricky section to navigate but I managed ok. It was a steady uphill climb to a golf course at 18 miles. I’d long since finished the water in my backpack but was happy to hold out to the next meeting point. This proved to be a mistake, which I’ll come on to in a bit.
Meanwhile, Deb and John got talking to Charles, the owner of Pine Cove RV park. He let the team dump the waste and fill up the water tank free of charge. This was not only extremely kind but it allowed John to see what these tasks involved. He said it was pretty straightforward.
Back on the road and I was in a bit of trouble. The 28 Celsius temperature and my lack of water saw me feel a little dehydrated. Fortunately, I was near a petrol station. I bought a couple of bottles of Gatorade, crashed out on the grass bank outside and drank them. I also asked the team to come back a couple of miles to the 20.5 mile point.
I had a 45 minute tactical snooze in the furnace of an RV with noisy traffic all around. That was a feature of the day with so many HGVs, sports cars and generally noisy traffic.
The next 3 miles were pretty flat and I made decent progress. The 3 miles after that were uphill and I attacked it as best as I could.
I met the team briefly and had a cereal bar. I set off at a decent pace but as soon as I hit the downhill stretch into Washington, my right foot began to ache considerably. That was to last all the way to the finish line at 28.65 miles. It was a desperately slow end to the day.
I felt really hungry for once and I ate 2 chicken burgers for my tea. I also had a weigh in. Since my last official weigh in at David Fairlamb Fitness just before departing for the USA, I have dropped 21 pounds in weight. I’m currently 107kg so there is plenty more to come off.
While I’m talking about positives, I’m well on my way to becoming acclimated to the high 20s Celsius. It’s not bothering me too much. My fitness has also increased massively which is why I’m able to have a good go at the uphill sections.
The day ended with Deb cleaning my right foot combined with the usual bag of frozen peas on my right shin. “You’ll never sing that”!!
The real challenge of the day is now to try and get some sleep in this boiling hot RV. The overnight stop is outside a large chemist in West Washington. We are quite close to the interstate so noise is a factor too.
TUNE OF THE DAY: You’ll be in my heart by Phil Collins. It played right after I spoke to Órlaith. As I listened to it, I thought that if Órlaith could speak, those lyrics are what she’d say. Either that or “can I have another rabbit ear please”.
Continued thanks to the many people who have sponsored me in aid of St. Benedict’s Hospice.
If you do think my effort is worthy of a donation then please visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025
