There was a knock at the door of the RV on Sunday night at 9pm. It was a police officer asking why we were parked in the school parking lot.
Once I explained the situation (and gave him a leaflet) he said it would be ok to stay overnight as long as we were gone by 0600 on Monday morning. He was a nice guy and very reasonable indeed. Pretty much like every police officer I’ve ever dealt with in the USA. As it happened, we were away by 0530 to drive just a few miles to the start.
I said goodbye and thanks to John at 0600 and started the day’s journey. John then drove to St Louis to handover the RV to the incoming Alan. Despite being scorching hot yesterday, it was a chilly start. I used my rain jacket for warmth and was heavily laden with water and a bit of food in a large laptop backpack. It wasn’t ideal, but given that I’d be unsupported until the afternoon, it was a must.
It was only 1.5 miles to the Indiana / Illinois state line where I stopped to take a couple of photos.
The next few miles in Illinois were no fun at all. I had a very small hard shoulder and some of the drivers passing by showed me various hand gestures. They weren’t offensive but these people clearly weren’t happy to see a pedestrian at the side of the road.
After 11 miles I made it to Marshall, Illinois. It seemed like a nice little town and I was pleased to see people waving at me. It was by this time that the temperature had really cranked up. I seemed to cope well with it.
Once out of Marshall, I rejoined the main highway 40. There was the same small hard shoulder but the traffic was so much quieter.
I stopped at 14 miles for a bagel and some water. I was running low on the latter which was a concern given the temperature.
I had my last drop of water at the 18 mile point. I pushed on to Martinsville as quick as I could. I’d either meet the RV there or there would be a shop to get a drink.
The 4 miles it then took to get to Martinsville saw me feel very dehydrated.
At 22 miles as I reached the outskirts of the town, Alan arrived in the RV. I drank quite a lot before eating some pasta and having just a 20 minute tactical snooze.
I took my hydration pack for the next section to Casey. The temperature continued to rise but it didn’t seem to impact me too much.
I gave a decent account of myself on that 6.5 mile section. A couple of ladies in a swimming pool applauded and waved as I ran past. I reached Casey much quicker than I expected. It was one of the nicest towns I’ve seen so far on this tour.
It had the world’s largest rocking chair. It would have been rude not to have my photo taken with it.
A couple of ladies (Chris and Rachel) stopped me to ask about the USA run (they’d spotted the details on the back of the my running shirt). They said that they would pray for me. I’ve now got quite a few people doing the same along this route.
As I left Casey, I had to do a double take as I thought I spotted Donald Trump relaxing in a front garden.
The final 5 miles out of Casey and back on Highway 40 were rapid (in USA 2025 terms). I had to cross the road a few times to let farm traffic pass by. It didn’t cause a problem as the roads were pretty quiet. I had stupidly forgot to take a bottle of water so it was another thirsty period of the day.
I made it to the 33 mile point at a convenient stopping place for the RV. However, it was nowhere to be seen. I think Alan had gone in the wrong direction to find me but arrived soon after. At least I had a load of flies to keep me company while I waited.
We attempted to find a safe place to stay down the road in Greenup. There were no decent options despite driving round for 20 minutes. I suggested that we went back to Casey.
We arrived at Westside Church of Christ on the outskirts of Casey. I explained the situation to a very nice lady called Janet who was busy watering flowers. She made a phone call to “the elders” and handed it to me. I explained the situation again and the very nice man on the other end of the phone said that it would be no problem at all to park overnight. Janet said that we could fill the RV with water too which was a huge bonus. Alan set about putting about 12 gallons in using some bottles.
It’s now 124 miles to the centre of St Louis. I have set myself a target of Friday to get there. Today’s 33 miles have given me a fighting chance. The weather over the coming days may have a part to play but I’ll be going all in to get there on time.
TUNE OF THE DAY: White Horse - Chris Stapleton. This is a tune I had on repeat as I approached Casey. The music, together with many people waving, made me feel pretty good about myself.
A huge thank you goes to those kind folk who have sponsored me today. The charity fund is fast approaching the next milestone of £19,000.
If you are following the journey and think my efforts are worth a donation, please donate: https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025
