Day 34 of the run across the USA 2025

What a strange old overnight stop. Not the church parking lot. That was perfect. It was the very nearby railway line and the three huge trains that went past at various parts of the night. Not only were the trains noisy as they made their way along the tracks. The train horn sounded loud and proud at all times of night. It was almost as if the train was just 6ft away. Personally, I didn’t mind it and I was able to get straight back to sleep. 

I set off at 06:14 on the now very familiar highway 40. It was the warmest start to the day for a very long time. It was also unusual to start in daylight thanks to the time zone change yesterday.  

After nearly 5 miles, I made it to Greenup where I had some porridge in the RV. 

Today’s strategy was meant to be a slow start and I’d attack later in the day. However, I felt really good at the 7 mile point and decided to put my foot down. 

I stopped briefly to take a picture of a historic bridge - Cumberland County Covered Bridge. I found out later from Alan while he was doing some sightseeing that this version of the bridge was built in 2000. I was surprised that the bridge took the weight of the RV. 

There was a vehicle painting the lines on the road. It went one way painting the edge and centre lines and the other way later on painting the other edges. I had to bob and weave around it but it didn’t slow me down. 

I made it to the RV after 14 miles having used all available energy. I’d also ran out of water after 9 miles. It was blisteringly hot (30 Celsius) and my hydration backpack looks to have only a 4 mile range in this heat. It’ll be even less in the weeks ahead. 

I was really pleased with the effort I’d put in but did wonder if I’d gone too soon. 

Meanwhile, back in the RV and I had 2 peanut butter bagels and a 20 minute tactical snooze. I’d intended to have 30 minutes but I was keen to get back out there again. 

The wind had picked up considerably when I got back on Highway 40. I made it to Montrose, Illinois after 18.5 miles. I got my backpack refilled with water and got back on the road straight away. 

I battled a strong wind and scorching heat for the next 5.5 miles. Once again, I ran out of water and had to called Alan back to Teutopolis for a refill. I decided to have some pasta while I was there. That should have been enough energy to see me to the finish line. 

At the 26 mile point, I was thrilled to see a train. In my excitement, I forgot to count the number of carriages but it seemed to be well over 200. 

At approximately 27.5 miles, I ran out of water again. Alan was already at the 33 mile finish line point in the RV so I decided not to call him back. 

As I approached mile 30, I felt pretty dehydrated and decided to get the RV to come back for me. I made it to mile 30.1 and called it a day. 

As I waited for the RV to arrive, I felt pretty unwell. Thankfully, Alan arrived 5 minutes later and I got a drink straight away. 

I think the recent cooler weather has made me complacent with hydration. I would even go as far to say that I’m out of practice. Anything around 30 Celsius and the RV has to stay in closer proximity. Once the temperature gets over 30 and closer to 40 then an even stricter plan will be needed. 

We drove to a park that Alan had scouted out and got permission to stay at earlier in the day. It’s called Evergreen Hollow Park and about a mile and a half from the train tracks. Although, I can still hear them in the distance as I write this blog. 

It’s now 96 miles to the outskirts of St. Louis. The dream of reaching there (and the end of Highway 40) by Friday is still very much alive. 

There have been some tremendous donations to St. Benedict’s Hospice today viahttps://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

The current total is £18,855.32. Thanks to everyone who has donated so far. Incidentally, the overall total amount raised for St. Benedict’s Hospice smashed the £170,000 barrier today. I received that news as I ran through Effingham. Although feeling dehydrated, I also felt very grateful for the incredible kind support. Support that stretches back many years from so many people. 

There are numerous tunes of the day as music played a huge part in getting me through the miles today of all days. 

TUNE(S) OF THE DAY: The Railroad - Goodnight Texas. This one is a nod to the overnight trains that literally shook the RV on 3 occasions. 

Get a hold of yourself - Chesney Hawkes. A pace builder. A title that reminded me to take charge of my own destiny. Nobody is coming to help. It’s down to me. 

Save the day - Boyzlife. Another inspirational pace builder which is a nod to the support team as well as Donna back at HQ. “You’re my saviour when I’m not ok, not all heroes have to wear a cape” sums it up.  

Gold - Myles Smith. Another pace builder with a jolly good beat that was in sync with my footsteps today.  

More to lose - Miley Cyrus. This one came on the iPod when the overall fund for St. Benedict’s Hospice smashed the £170,000 barrier. I’m not sure what the song is about but it seemed very fitting at the time from a musical point of view.

Day 33 of the run across the USA 2025

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

Day 32 of the run across the USA

It was a lazy start to the day as planned. I was “awake” at 0730 and eating porridge with my protein shake. I’d had a decent nights sleep only spoiled by the bed sheet moving off the bed. That meant sleeping on a horrible plastic mattress most of the night. I look forward to one day having a great sleep. I think I’ll have to wait until the run is over however. The sleep need versus actual chart from my Whoop for May makes for interesting if not unexpected reading. 

Last night’s stats made for great reading though. 

John helped me strap my left foot up. Some padding was placed on the raw skin first of all and then the tape was wrapped around. I think we did a pretty decent job. 

I set off running from the Marathon gas station in Cloverland, Indiana at 0823. I used the walking poles for support and to help take some of the pressure off my left foot. It was a slow start and quite cold. By mile 4 I was moving really well and with a small amount of pace. 

I made it to the RV and had a quick banana and a drink. I didn’t hang about and continued down Highway 40. 

By the time I made it to the next meeting point at 8 miles the sun was shining and the temperature had cranked up to 20 Celsius. John had parked in a Kroger supermarket car park in Terre Haute, Indiana. I laughed when I saw the Cheetos branded wagon. You may remember that was the staple diet of Carlton and Deb while they were the support team in early May. 

John had bought some croissants (and if his wife is reading this, then he definitely didn’t have 2 big ones all to himself). I had 2 of them and a coffee and cake. Despite that, John doesn’t think I eat enough. He’s probably right and I’ve shed 2 stone since I started running on May 1st. 

With a full tummy, I was back out on Highway 40 and heading towards the centre of Terre Haute. According to wiki - “The city is home to multiple higher-education institutions, including Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. It also contains the United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, which houses the US federal death row.” 

I passed numerous murals and museums which made a nice change and helped the miles pass by. 

I found a convenient boardwalk type path that linked Terre Haute and West Terre Haute. It overlooked the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area wetlands. 

I was stopped by a man on the boardwalk who asked if I was having a good day. I explained the details of my journey to him and he said that he’d keep me in my prayers. What a nice man. 

I met the RV for some pasta at 12 miles. I wasn’t too hungry but ate anyway. 

During the final session of the day, I spotted a road sign saying 160 miles to St. Louis. That simply has to be the target for Friday I thought to myself. Again. 

I spent the final miles listening to Tony Blackburn on Radio 2. When he played Hot, Hot, Hot by Arrow I must admit I broke out into a bit of a dance. The hips started swaying and I must have looked like a right plonker. That’s tune of the day sorted! 

I reached the final meeting place after 15.45 miles for the day. The location will allow John to get a quick getaway onto the interstate road in the morning for the handover with Alan. 

The short day has allowed me to be well rested before tomorrow’s unsupported stint. I estimate that it’ll be between 25 and 28 miles before Alan reaches me. I’ll be carrying a lot more supplies than normal and it looks like it could be the hottest day of the tour so far. 

Given the scarcity of water to fill the RV, I’ve perfected the art of having a 40 second shower. Hopefully, we can get topped up soon. That could well be Alan’s first conundrum. 

I’ve just heard that Alan has landed in Philadelphia and his connecting flight to St. Louis is on time. 

I was made aware of a mention in the St. Benedict’s Hospice newsletter this week. It is 15 years ago to the day that I had a similar mention. 

A huge thank you goes to those kind folk who have sponsored me today. Over £450 has come in for St. Benedict’s Hospice via https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

Some of the messages left on the site make me chuckle. There have been quite a few anonymous donations too. Whoever you are, thank you. 

The total amount raised for St. Benedict’s Hospice since 1993 currently sits at £169,680.63. If all other charities are included then £364,220.61 is the total. That’s some incredible generosity from so many people all over the world. Thank you! 

Tomorrow will see me leave Indiana and enter Illinois. There’ll also be a 1 hour time zone change. It promises to be a tough old unsupported day. 

TUNE OF THE DAY: Hot, Hot, Hot by Arrow

Day 31 of the run across the USA 2025

I’d give last nights sleep a solid 4/10. When I score that low, I usually expect to be in for a tough start to the day. 

The alarm sounded at 0530 this morning. It’s a sound that I dread and I’m usually awake beforehand anyway. I had my usual protein powder in milk and we drove the very short distance to last nights finish point at South Putnam. 

Once again it was dark as I set off at 0600. Once again, my morale was very low. I think tiredness had a lot to do with that. I spoke to Donna as I made my way along Highway 40. Again. 

I reached the RV at the 3 mile point for porridge, coffee and painkillers. I also had a 30 minute tactical snooze. I really didn’t want to sleep so soon in the day but I felt that I had no choice given how tired I felt.  

I met a lady called Laura setting up a yard sale at the 5 mile point. I asked her why there were so many on Highway 40. She said that it was the annual National Road yard sale. It stretches over 5 states. Google it! So that explains why I’ve seen so many this week. 

I told her about my journey and that I was raising funds for a cancer charity. Without hesitation, she went over to her cash box and handed a 20 dollar note. That was incredibly kind of her. I paid the equivalent in pounds to my justgiving page a little further down the road. 

There was another yard sale down the way and I spotted something that could possibly help out my running! Or not. 

I then hit the 800 mile point for this tour. I allowed myself a second of celebration but that was all. I know that I should be much further across the country by now. 

I met the RV for some pasta (and crisps) at the 13 mile point. My left foot in particular was feeling quite sore. So was my back due to carrying the hydration backpack. 

I hadn’t been back out on the road for very long when I was greeted by a statue of Champ, the Great Dane. Google told me that “Champ stands tall and proud in front of US-40 in Brazil. The 70-year-old statue resided in Florida and Georgia before coming home to the Great DaneTrailers plant in Indiana. The recently restored dog is 17 feet paw to tip of his ears, stands on a 3-foot base, and weighs a total of 800 pounds".

At 17 miles, I made it to a McDonald’s in Brazil, Indiana and used the toilet. No burgers were consumed. In fact no food was eaten at all. Not even in the RV which was close by. Looking back, I now realise that this was a mistake. Read on for more on that. 

I made my way through Brazil and was surprised to receive a call from one of my guardian angels, Helen. Long time readers may remember that she let me stay at her place before the start of the run across Australia in 2013. Given her profession, she has a way with words and is an excellent counsel. She had set her alarm for 0200 (Australia time) to speak to me. What a lass! I must admit that the time she was on the phone made the subsequent miles fly by. I then spoke to Dave for a bit. Yet again, the miles flew by. 

No sooner had I ended that call at the 20 mile point, I felt something “burst” in my left foot. There was a sharp pain and I was left with no choice but to limp along. By this time, I was on a road that ran parallel to Highway 40. The quality of the surface was very poor. I assumed that was what had caused my latest foot problem. 

By 22 miles, I was severely lacking in energy. This probably wouldn’t have been the case if I’d taken some food on at that 17 mile point. Lesson learned! 

I sent John a message to meet me at the end of the old road I was currently on. This is where it rejoins Highway 40. After 23.66 miles, I was done for the day. Yet again falling short of what I would have liked to achieve. 

We drove a short way to the overnight stop and I peeled my socks off. The damage to my feet, particularly my left one didn’t look good. It didn’t feel good either! I’m getting shooting pains now as I right this blog.   

When I took my left sock off, I found a small piece of sharp plastic inside. I assume that it had been there all day. It was in fact, some sellotape. I don’t know for sure if that’s what caused the problem in my left foot today. 

There’s a raw point of skin on my left foot. I’m going to attempt to strap it up in the morning. It’s not something I’ve ever done before so could be a bit of a disaster. 

Tomorrow’s plan is to set off a lot later. John suggested 1000 and only to run 15 miles to the Illinois/Indiana state line (just before the time zone change where we go back 1 hour). That will enable him to set off very early on Monday to hand the RV over to Alan in St. Louis and catch his flight in time.  

As I’m writing this blog, I’ve negotiated an 0830 start. Initially, I wasn’t happy about just doing 15 miles tomorrow. However, I’ll be unsupported for almost 8 hours on Monday during the support team handover.  

The route on Monday will have potential supply points at 10 miles (Marshall), 20 miles (Martinsville) and 26 miles (Casey). I’d like to think that Alan will have arrived by that point. 

Continued thanks to those that have donated to St Benedict's Hospice, over £18,000 has now been raised to date for the run across the USA.

If you would like to donate, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025

TUNE OF THE DAY: Disco Inferno - The Trammps. I listened to a lot of disco music today to try and find some pace. 

Finally today, John has struggled to find any water for the RV. This means that 30 second showers are back on the menu. He’s hopeful of finding some tomorrow!