I’ve got just about enough energy to write this blog today. It has been exhausting. Anyway back to this morning. I had no problem getting to sleep last night despite torrential rain beating down on the RV.
I didn’t feel like I had the best sleep last night. I think the support team would disagree given the amount that I snored. The issue I had was the blisters on my heels waking me up every time I turned. Again, I’ll save the photos for another time. Needless to say that they are the most impressive I’ve ever seen.
After a hearty bowl of porridge made by Carlton, I started running through Washington, New Jersey at 06:20.
There was hardly a soul about but I did notice a nice smell from a nearby diner. Pancakes and bacon probably I thought.I was pleased to have a very wide shoulder in from of me. The early miles ticked by slowly but at least I was moving forward.I managed to find some decent pace for a few miles before my right hip started to ache. This has been a problem since leaving New York. I’m putting it down to the constant stop/start nature of day 1 through Manhattan. I messaged the team to ask for massage and sleep. They “negotiated” and said I could have massage. The b******s.I met the support team at the 9 mile point. As the team said there was no time to rest but Deb was able to get the massage gun into my hip all the way down to my knee. It was excruciating. I’m pleased to say that it worked very well indeed and the next few miles were much quicker. Deb is a dab hand with the massage gun. There was a car accident a little further down the road at Phillipsburg. Not fatal by any means, their misfortune was my fortune as the traffic was very slow and I was able to make my way through pretty quickly.Carlton then joined me for 4.5 miles. The brief I gave him was to run 10ft in front and set a pace. It worked like a treat and we made it to Easton in quick time. It was probably the best set of miles so far on this tour.I crossed over the Delaware river in Easton using the Northampton Street bridge. That meant I was in the third state on this tour - Pennsylvania. The 14 miles that I’d managed to that point meant that the 100 mile barrier had been broken. Only 3100 to go!!I was absolutely drenched when I met the support team at the 17 mile point outside Dunkin Donuts. There was another massage to be had, a cream cheese bagel and a 30 minute tactical snooze. I set off again in pouring rain. I was wearing a waterproof but soon removed it as it was too warm. I must have looked like a right clip at this point.I met the support team at the 27 mile point. Carlton cooked a cracking omelette. It was delicious.The final miles through Allentown were extremely difficult. My feet were on fire as I finished running for the day in the dark at 9pm. 34.75 miles was the final total. It took me 14 days in 2011 to hit that mileage.I’m not saying I’m tired but I haven’t got enough mobility to have a shower tonight. That’s not good. I did manage to get another massage from Deb though and I also soaked my feet in ice*. The hip issue is getting much better. As expected, it’s my feet and the numerous blisters that are giving the biggest cause for concern. I’ve never seen anything like them. They are probably worse than Australia thanks to a combination of heat and rain. Deb has dressed my feet to attempt to give me a good nights sleep.Thanks to those kind folk who added £245 to the USA 2025 charity fund for St. Benedict’s Hospice via https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025. The current total is £15,034. Amazing!Tomorrow’s route is a 31 mile effort to Shartlesville. Day 5 TUNE OF THE DAY: Roadhouse Blues - The Doors. It got me going at a critical time in the afternoon.*bags of peas
