The Dollar General at Urich provided a safe and reasonably quiet overnight stop. There was a tremendous thunderstorm in the middle of the night and considerable rainfall.
The 0530 alarm went off and it was still raining. By the time the rain stopped and I’d eaten my porridge, it was 0715.
We drove to the start line which was a good 6 miles north of Urich. Unfortunately, I was back on the stones.
I got talking to a lady about half a mile down the road. Her name was Kathryn. I told her about my journey and she took my picture for an article that she’d written for a local newsletter. We chatted about her farm and I quizzed her about the history of Blairstown. She said her husband used to go to school there in the 50s and 60s. The closure of the railroad was the reason why it had fallen into decline. She wished me good luck and I went on my way.
I passed a lot of farmland, some of which had cattle and horses. I gave them my usual wave and hello.
The terrain was absolutely brutal on my feet and I did my best to power ahead.
I met the RV at 5 miles and had 4 sausage sandwiches. I was really hungry!
I was soon back out on the stones and the rolling hills. I had a few run ins with some dogs over the next few miles. At mile 7.25, however, I was greeted by 2 curious and friendly dogs. One of them was a golden retriever (I think. It may not have been). They responded to my “good boy/girl” with wagging tails. In my mind, they were desperate to have some kindness shown.
For as long as I could see them behind me and they me. They continued to look longingly in my direction.
As I went over the brow of the hill, they disappeared out of sight. For some reason, it was a very sad moment. I’m not ashamed to say that I shed tears.
At mile 8 the stone covered road turned into tarmac. “Hallelujah” I thought.
I made it through Creighton and met the RV at the 10.5 mile point. I had a 30 minute tactical snooze. I felt much better after that.
The next 10 miles were some of the most unique terrain that I’ve ever seen. It was rolling hill after rolling hill after rolling hill. The climbs themselves weren’t a problem. It was the many blind summits on a reasonably busy road that posed the risk.
Two people stopped for a chat; Oran and Sidney. I talked about my journey and they wished me good luck. Sidney left me with a warning to be careful of the hills.
I made quick work of the climbs and took my earphones out in order to listen out for traffic on the other side of the numerous blind summits.
By 3pm the temperature was really getting intense. Even the locals decided to take an afternoon bath.
At mile 18, a lady stopped and asked me if I would like her to call the police to “take me somewhere”. I briefly wondered if I could get a lift to Huntington Beach, California. I then decided that it was probably outside of their jurisdiction.
Another lady pulled over one mile down the road. She gave me a nice cold bottle of water. Her name was Loretta. “After Loretta Lynn?” I asked. She said she’d been named after the actress Loretta Young. She was a fascinating lady to talk to. I told her where I was headed and she offered the use of her drive as an overnight stop. She had her dog in the car. She was very friendly and called Lucy.
Loretta was one of the coolest looking people I’ve ever seen in the USA. I’m sure you’ll agree from the picture below.
I sent Alan a message saying we had “digs” for the night. I later found out that Alan thought that I’d arranged a B&B for us. The look on his face when I told him that it was a safe driveway was a picture.
I made it to mile 20.6 and called it a day. Hunger, but more intensely, foot pain had kicked in. The painkillers had well and truly worn off.
We made our way 2 miles back to Loretta’s driveway. I introduced her to Alan and gave her a leaflet. Lucy was there and we found out all about the training she’d had since being a puppy. As we say in the north east of England,“she was dead canny”.
Within 30 minutes of finishing for the day, there was an unexpected and significant downpour of rain. I’d dodged a bullet there.
It’s all setup nicely for entry into Kansas tomorrow and a potentially decent overnight stop back in Drexel. The rolling hills are soon to be replaced with very long, flat straight roads. If I can get my feet back into shape then that’s the time to go for the big miles.
TUNE OF THE DAY: I'm a Honky Tonk Girl - Loretta Lynn (one of my Mam’s favourite country singers by the way).
If you always read this far into the blog (thank you) then you know the message that is about to follow....hit that link and donate please if you are able to (if you have already then thank you - tell a friend to do the same).
It would be great to reach the £21,000 milestone on day 50 of 100 on this run across the USA raising vital funds for St Benedict's Hospice.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025
