It was another boiling hot overnight stop. Throw into the mix the very noisy nearby interstate junction and a poor nights sleep was had.
I set off for what hopefully would be the final day in Pennsylvania. It’s a state that has been one of the toughest, if not the toughest I’ve ever ran in. I’ve climbed over the equivalent of Mount Everest over the previous 12 days.
The climbing wasn’t over as I started running just after 0630. I tried to attack the first climb but I had nothing but slow pace. The road was narrow and the hard shoulder was non existent.
I met the team at the 10 mile point where a bagel and some bad news awaited.
The RV had lost power in the coach, again. So that means no fridge, lights or shower. We have stopped at 2 RV parks so far so it’s not as if we’ve gone 16 days without being hooked up to power. Deb and Donna have been trying to deal with Cruise America and it looks like we’ll have to wait until Tuesday when I reach Columbus to find a resolution. The RV has other issues but electrics is the main one.
I started on the second session of the day and reached West Virginia pretty quickly.
I could see storm clouds gathering up ahead and knew I’d be cutting it fine to meet the team at the 20 mile point before the heavens opened. I tried to build some momentum with 3 miles remaining to the team. I had to take a few risks. By that I mean not stepping off the road when there was oncoming traffic.
The heavens opened and I attempted to take cover next to a brown warehouse type building. The team arrived after a couple of minutes. I was only 200 metres short of the meeting point.
I had to have a complete change of kit. Oh and a tactical snooze too. I got back out on the road an hour later and made it to Triadelphia then Elm Grove. The latter proved tricky to navigate through.
I ended up on a long bike track for 4 miles before making it to Wheeling.
I made it to the 30 mile point before calling the team back a few miles to pick me up. Frustratingly, I was only a mile from the state line into Ohio.
Deb and John had a look at my feet and they both agreed that they were massively improved. Deb thinks that I’ve benefitted from a few dry days. Fortunately today’s downpour wasn’t enough to cause any further damage.
You can probably tell where Pennsylvania ended in the elevation profile below. It was all downhill after that.
I ended the day with a huge portion of pasta cooked by John. It was very good.
Thanks goes again to the kind folk that have donated to St Benedict's Hospice. If you think my effort is worthy of a donation then please visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025
TUNE OF THE DAY: Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
