An unprecedented 5 hours of unbroken sleep was had last night from 9pm to 2am. Boy was that needed. The main reason for the quality of sleep was the quiet church we parked outside in Knightstown. Utter bliss.
I set off just after 6am on Highway 40. John drove me back to last nights finish point and I set off with a stiff back and needed to use the walking poles.
I made it back to Knightstown after 3 miles and had porridge and painkillers for breakfast. I set off soon after and what happened next was most unexpected.
I was running unencumbered for once with just a bottle of water and a hi viz vest on my single layer top. I was only a few feet into the run and it started to rain. Heavily. I started to pick up the pace knowing that I would suffer with the cold rain if I didn’t.
The miles flew by as the painkillers kicked in and the porridge was converted to fuel. I suspected I was on for a record “by 10” distance and continued to build the pace.
I took some water off John at the roadside at about 8 miles and didn’t hang around.
I was really pleased that I passed 10 miles by 0940. That’s a new tour record.
It seems the people in this area love a yard sale. I spotted at least 6 during the course of the day.
I met the RV at the 13.5 mile point just before it started to rain. As per our new plan, I had some more porridge. I also chose to sleep for an hour to avoid the torrential rain.
I headed back out for a 5.5 mile section. Unfortunately, the rain started again. I was well prepared though with waterproof socks to help limit the damage to my feet.
It was really cold at first but as soon as I found some pace I warmed up.
On 16 miles, I spotted what I thought was a familiar sight in Greenfield. It was statues of the Blues Brothers. At the time, I thought they were the same ones that we’d seen around here back in 2011. Now that I’ve revisited the old photos I can see that they are different but it's the same location.
There were other bits and pieces to see in Greenfield too which made a change from wet roads. There was a bit of information on the “national road”. We know it as Highway 40 and have been on it since Washington, Pennsylvania. I’ll continue to run on it all the way to St. Louis.
I reached the RV again at 18.25 miles. I wolfed down some pasta and was straight back out again.
David Fairlamb rang for his daily check in. He was telling me that he’d just finished some VersaClimber classes and used my run to motivate the participants and put things into perspective. I believe he did the same with his Beach Bootcamp the other week. That kind of thing is nice to hear. I’ve also seen comments across social media along the same lines. In fact, Steve Parker on X said “We are all right behind you Mark, keep on trucking, proud of your efforts and you inspire so many of us to get off our arses and look after ourselves better.”.
David was dismayed to hear about our continuing RV issues. To remind readers, we have no running water so can’t shower or easily wash dishes, can’t flush the toilet, have no fridge and no lights (which explains why I put my socks on inside out this morning). The latest situation is that John will be taking the RV for attention to Cruise America first thing on Friday morning. The depot is at Plainfield which is the other side of Indianapolis.
The journey to the RV meeting point at 24.5 miles saw my energy drop off a cliff edge. I was so slow it was painful. This was exactly the same situation as yesterday (and a good few other days for that matter). I had some more pasta (with crisps poured in much to John’s shock). I also asked for a wrap and I had a cake too. It’s possibly the most I’ve eaten on a break. Had the road been safe last night, I would have taken the same approach yesterday.
I left the RV feeling a little better and it wasn’t too long before I was able to find some pace again.
I reached the suburb of Cumberland with 1 mile to go and took my foot off the gas. The sun was shining and there were a few sights (mainly shops) to look at. I was pleased that the last refuel stop had given me the energy required to carry on.
Today’s finish point was a Walmart car park. This will be our digs for the night. Absolute luxury.
The charity fund is incredibly close to the next barrier of £18,000. Continued thanks to those that have donated to St Benedict's Hospice.
If you would like to donate, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025
TUNES OF THE DAY: Never Forget followed by Relight my Fire (Live Odyssey tour) - Take That.
Regular followers may know that Take That (especially the live albums) take me away to another place while I’m running. They make me feel safe and secure for some reason. I first discovered this while running in Indian Valley, Utah in 2011. People may laugh at that but it’s a fact.
Donna and me went to that gig (twice) back in 2019. Great times.
Tomorrow’s plan is to make it through Indianapolis and come out the other side. Roadside support from the RV will be challenging around the city centre but I’m sure we’ll manage.
Finally today, here are the usual maps and so on. I’ve included some larger maps for a sense of progress.
