I never really got going today. It was probably on the cards due to not getting to sleep until midnight. My painful and itchy right foot was the reason that. I also think that there was a car checking out the RV early on. That may have been paranoia.
My kit today was 4 layers deep with a wooly hat too.
I set off at 0700 with Columbus in my sights. It was cold and wet as I headed west. I was soon joined by Northumberland ex-pat Alistair who’d arranged to accompany me a few days earlier. We talked a lot and the first 9 miles flew by. It was so good to have some company. We parted ways but not before the obligatory selfie.
I reached Columbus city centre and crossed the Scioto river. News reached me that Cruise America may have fixed the power problem. John had set off early to get that sorted. Time will tell if it was successful. There are a number of unresolved issues but that’s the main one.
I reached the RV at the 13 mile point and needed a 30 minute tactical snooze. When I woke up there were a few strange people causing a commotion near the RV so I quickly went on my way again.
I met the RV again at 20 miles. I had another 45 minutes tactical snooze. I could have slept for hours. I ditched my waist pack for a backpack. It was causing some pain in my lower back. There are a lot of things hurting at the moment. Not my feet ironically.
I ran past a field full of animals. Some of them rushed over to greet me. One goat in particular reminded me of Órlaith back home. As trains have been my friend in the past I seem to find comfort waving and talking to the various “bow wows” that I encounter.
Highway 40 west was quite busy and the narrow hard shoulder meant that full concentration was needed.
The road for the next few miles saw the hard shoulder disappear. I was back on sharp stones unfortunately. My morale dropped even further as a result.
I spotted some llamas (I think) at 24 miles and did the now traditional wave and “hello bow wows” greeting. I think might be losing my mind. But any glimpse of joy on a tough day has to be appreciated.
I made it to West Jefferson at 1800 after 25.65 miles. I was absolutely spent and felt pretty low in morale.
John found a nearby outdoor swimming pool car park for an overnight stop. At the time of writing it’s pretty quiet. We celebrated another decent (far from perfect) day with the left over key lime pie from Darren and Heidi last night.
The final act of the day was to get the massage gun on my legs. I’m hoping this helps to relieve some of the pain tomorrow.
The fund for St Benedict's remains close to £17,000. If you're enjoying following the journey so far and think my efforts are worth a donation, please visit
https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025
