USA Day 9 - Revisited (09/05/2011)

The image below is the scene from the start of day 9, looking back at the previous day's finish point. The sandy verge at the side is where the RV was almost stuck! I was very tired going into this day after a very very cold night's sleep. I'd spent most of the night curled up in a ball, trying to keep warm. I was really tired anyway before that bad night's sleep. I had expected a drop in temperature after seeing the local forecast but I didn't expect it to be quite so low in the desert. 

I started the day's run wearing 3 layers and a wooly hat. What a difference to the previous day's scorching hot weather! I never usually had things all my own way in the USA and despite the favourable temperature I was so tired that I had to have a sleep after 5.5 miles. That first 5.5 miles saw a climb of 1500 ft into a strong headwind. 

Before I had my morning tactical snooze I spoke to Jonathan Miles on BBC Newcastle. I remember doing this from the comfort of the very small RV toilet. I'm sure the listeners of his programme wouldn't have realised!

The support team also had to have a snooze. They'd also not had a very good night's sleep. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I realised the RV had a heating system!!

I felt so tired after that morning session that I decided to aim for just 21 miles after a decent tactical snooze. I'd almost been nodding off during the first few miles!

The session after the 2 hour long tactical snooze started at the entrance of the Mojave National Preserve. I'd been looking forward to running in this part of the USA ever since I planned the route. I'm pleased to report that it lived up to my expectations.

The road surface had improved greatly in comparison to previous days so I switched back to wearing Brooks Glycerin 8. Days earlier, the Brooks Cascadia trail shoes had given my blisters lots of protection from parts of the decaying Route 66. I don't think I had to resort to them again until the state of Philadelphia some 2500 miles away. 

The scenery in the Mojave National Preserve was absolutely breathtaking. Running in a place such as that was a real joy. The roads were lovely and quiet too. The miles seemed to pass by quicker when there were so many nice things to look at.

Unfortunately, the mobile phone signal was very poor in this part of California and I wasn't able to do my usual amount of Twitter updates. At the same time, I wasn't able to check the messages of encouragement on Twitter either.

After a scenic climb to 4000 ft I felt really good. I began to think that I'd manage more than 21 miles as the scenery in the Mojave National Preserve really helped to perk me up.

I felt quite strong in the afternoon session and made it to Kelso after running 28 miles. The final mile of the day was the quickest by far. I was so pleased to have got in an extra 7 miles than planned.

The scenery had definitely played it's part in saving me from running the least amount of miles so far in the run across the USA. With that scenery came valuable thinking time and a chance to continue thinking about all of the reasons why I was running across the USA. 

I'd managed to run 265.1 miles in the first 9 days. I was 13.9 miles behind schedule. I was willing to go up to 40 miles behind schedule. Of course, I'd be much more than that later on in the run.

The support team and I stayed the night at the side of the road in Kelso right in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve. I didn't managed to write much of a blog that night due to the lack of a good quality mobile phone signal. 

I was supposed to talk to Gary and Lisa on Real Radio that night. The producer, John McInally, knew that if he couldn't reach me that it would be down to the lack of signal. At least that gave us time to switch the generator on and watch a DVD. Another treat for a good day's running.

USA Day 8 - Revisited (08/05/2011)

Day 8 got off to a good start as I was able to read boxer Tony Jeffries's Sunday Sun column online. Tony had hoped to see me off from Huntington Beach on day 1. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong beach and missed my start. His support throughout the run, via Twitter and the Sunday Sun was first class. To have an Olympian encouraging you, despite being from Sunderland, was very special indeed. You can read what Tony had to say here.

As I write more about the run across the USA over the coming months you should notice one important point. It's how the backing of a few "key people" as well as the thousands of other well wishers throughout the run would made a difference to the outcome. I've talked many times about how the Run Geordie Run brand implies that it is just one man's journey. This couldn't be further from the truth. It takes family, friends, sponsors and well wishers to make it a success. 

This was the first day when I really got a good feeling that people were enjoying the blog. I received lots of emails and Tweets to that effect and it sounded as though it had become part of various people's daily routine.

Due to the time difference between the UK and USA, the previous day's blog would usually be ready and waiting by the time people got out of bed. The UK is where I had the greatest following. However, there was also a strong readership in the USA, Australia, Canada and Germany. The blog would be viewed mainly on PCs and Macs but 20% of the total number of hits came from mobile devices such as an iPhone or Android phone. I do love some good stats!

I hope that through the general media, my blog, social media and the various speaking events I do that people are able to feel as though they've been a part of the run. It is your journey as much as mine. When I come to run across Australia, I hope to take the presentation of that event to a new level. I would like people to really feel as though they've ran some of it with me and have a very good appreciation of the whole thing.

Let's get back to day 8 of the run across the USA. It was by far the coolest start to a day that I'd experienced so far in the USA. The sun shone brightly over the Mojave Desert. This didn't last too long and it became overcast. It was a far more comfortable temperature to run in than previous days. 

Despite the quality of the road surface increasing there were still very few cars about. There were however, lots of freight trains. I could see them from miles away, winding their way through the Mojave Desert. It was a fascinating sight.  For every train I spotted, I still had the various questions going through my mind. Where had they come from? Where were they going? What was in the containers? 

The cool start combined with the descent into a huge valley meant that I was able to make really good progress during the first session of the day. 

It won't be the last time that I say this, but the Mojave Desert was an amazing place not only to run but to think. At this point of the run, I should point out that I still wasn't 100% sure why I was actually doing the run. Yes, there were the financial gains for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation. That was the main reason, of course I really started to think why I'd really left my family behind and quit my job. "Why do I do what I do?" was the eternal question. I'll park that one for now and it will hopefully become obvious by the time I come to write about climbing Berthoud Pass in the Rocky Mountains.   

After running through Siberia and Bagdad, I reached Amboy after 19 miles of running. It was yet another little town on Historic Route 66 that had once thrived but later suffered following the introduction of the Interstate road. I remember reading that The Hitcher with Rutger Hauer was filmed here. 

There were a few quirky features around Amboy. I noticed this ditch full of old shoes at the side of the road. Very strange!

Amboy had seen the lowest elevation of the day. I'd started running at 1800ft and had descended to 666 ft. The next 12.5 miles involved a climb back to 1800ft. The photo below was taken at the 22 mile point looking back down the hill to Amboy.

The quirkiness continued along Historic Route 66 and I took particular inspiration from the pile of stones below.

I also passed the following pile of stones spelling out my surname. Fate perhaps?

Sadly I had to say goodbye to Route 66 at the 25 mile point. I'd been on it since day 3 and it had conjured up it's fair share of incidents and amazing sights. Most of all, I was sad to say goodbye to the freight trains. They had been like a companion to me for many miles.

As I turned due north off Route 66, a strong headwind started to blow. This was to stay with me for the final 6.5 miles of the day. This was a shame as I'm certain that I would have been able to run more than the eventual 31.5 miles. I found that headwind to be as sapping as the heat of recent days.

As I met the RV, Richard confessed that he'd just had a "near miss". He'd parked the RV on a soft sandy verge. He'd only just managed to get the RV out of the sand. I'd previously seen signs offering assistance in the wake of such an event happening. I think it would have cost hundreds of dollars to get the RV out of the sand if Richard hadn't managed to!  Richard made up for that close call by cooking a cracking pasta dish.

The RV parking place for the night was next to some other trucks right next to the Interstate. We turned the generator on and watched a DVD for a real treat. I managed to watch the first 5 minutes before turning my attention to updating the blog.

USA Day 7 - Revisited (07/05/2011)

The team and I had settled into a good routine by day 7 of the run across the USA. That said, I dreaded the early morning alarm call closely followed by the sound of porridge being made. For as good a job that Richard (pictured below) was doing on the support team, I wished he would just for once be quiet and let me have a lie in. Of course, that approach  would have made the run far more difficult to complete on time. 

Richard was no fool and the deficit of miles was always one of his concerns. Thankfully, some of the other support team members, later on in the run, were easier to manipulate. You'll read all about my tips and tricks to getting longer in bed in later blog posts. For now though, take it as read that Richard was a tough taskmaster. 

As you can see from the picture above, with Richard's long hair and beard some people say that he has a look of Jesus. Imagine my shock when I'd see him at the foot of the bed holding a bowl of porridge with the glow of the RV kitchen light behind him, almost halo like. Seeing that image first thing on a morning when your'e still half asleep can be very strange indeed. Thankfully, he wasn't the Messiah, just a support team member who wouldn't let me have a lie in!

The conditions on day 7 were the hottest of all the days so far on the run. The main problem was that, unlike some of the previous days, there was no breeze to take the edge off the heat. 

It was 33 Degrees Celsius and felt much hotter than any other day so far. You could feel the heat  bouncing off Route 66. The further I got into the heart of the Mojave Desert the hotter it seemed to become. 

The heat, together with the amount of miles I was doing, was making me feel really tired. So tired, in fact, that I'd often run with just one eye open. I was almost falling asleep at certain points of the day.

The quality of Route 66's surface had deteriorated really badly. It's no wonder that I only saw a handful of cars all day. The jagged and sharp edges of the road played particular havoc with one of the blisters on my left foot. Switching to a pair of trail shoes made a massive difference and really helped give me extra protection from the terrible road surface. 

I had been running in Brooks Glycerin 8 shoes. The trail shoes were Brooks Cascadia 6. At the end of each session or day the amount of miles ran would be written on a piece of paper and inserted into the shoes. With 8 pairs of shoes on the go it was imperative that I kept a record of how many miles each one was doing. As soon as I got near 475 miles, I would retire that particular pair of shoes.

I could tell that Richard and Stu were really feeling the heat too. When I met the RV at the end of the morning session they'd just woken up. I, myself, had to have what became known as a "tactical snooze". I would have a deep sleep for an hour or so and then start running again. Tactical Snoozes were precious times. I felt that every moment resting really helped. 

I started the afternoon session in familiar scorching conditions. I was drinking 1.5 litres of water per hour, approximately and this was becoming a bit of a chore. I'd constantly find myself drinking. I became a little tired of it quite frankly, but it had to be done. From time to time in the run I'd become tired of eating too. Trying to replace 5000 - 6000 calories per day wasn't an easy task.

There was very little sign of civilisation on this stretch of Route 66. There were quite a few abandoned properties alongside the crumbling road. I always found the old houses very eery when I ran past. Why there was the need for the old shack pictured below to have a "keep out" sign attached to it goodness only knows. There was no way that I'd go anywhere near it. I've watched too many horror movies in my time to know what happens next!

The final few miles of the day were done by moonlight. I'd only managed 26 miles by the end of the day. Given the extremely tough conditions, I saw this as somewhat of of victory. It took me almost 9 hours to run those miles! 

I'd ran 206.4 miles, in total, during the first 7 days of the run across the USA. This was a new record for me in any 7 day period of my running career.

I was very mindful of the challenges to come over the next 7 days. Getting through the rest of the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas without too much more of a mileage deficit was the main aim. A smooth changeover of crew on day 14 would help with this. Timing was important. Continued maximum effort was important. The forecast of slightly cooler weather was important too. If the forecast was correct, that is!

Team Run Geordie Run's youngest member

Team Run Geordie Run is now almost 20 runners strong for this year's Great North Run. This small band of kind folk will be going all out to complete the 32nd Great North Run whilst raising funds for The Children's Foundation.

I'll write more about the team in the build up to the event in September. In the meantime, I'd like to thank 6 year old Elliott Atkinson for joining the team. As you can tell from the picture below, Eliiott really enjoys his running. 

He looks a very determined young lad in the photo below, which is brilliant. News reached me today that he told his Mam that he's going to spend all of the Summer holidays training! 

Elliott will be 7 by the time he does the Mini Great North Run and his parents, Joanne and Stuart, have every right to be very proud of him.

Thank you to Elliott for thinking of other children and helping to raise funds for The Children's Foundation.

If you have a place in the Great North Run and would like to join Team Run Geordie Run and raise funds for The Children's Foundation then please get in touch for further information at sponsorship@rungeordierun.com.

USA Day 6 - Revisited (06/05/2011)

I started day 6 of the run across the USA at 07:28 after writing the following blog post "Here we go for another day of running in high temperatures. I feel really good today and ready to get some more miles in. The majority of blisters are responding to treatment and I have no aches or pains to speak of whatsoever in my legs. My feet are still swollen though. Basically, it's minor stuff, which is great at this stage.".

Before I set off, I'd read some very negative and bitter Tweets received from an American who was currently walking across the country. I'd received so many positive message during the first 5 days. You might be surprised to hear that I found it very refreshing to read comments of that nature. You can become blind to so much positivity and encouragement. After a while it ceases to have the effect that it once did. That's not to say that I didn't appreciate those kind messages. I absolutely did and they really helped push me along from time to time.

I allowed the negative comments to spark me into defiant life in day 6. Here was a person who I'd not met before questioning why a British person was raising funds for British charities by running in his country. He mentioned the fact that so many other British people had tried and failed to run across the country. He implied that I'd be no different. I think he felt threatened by my presence in the USA. Perhaps he felt, in some way, that I was belittling his effort to walk across the USA. I wasn't the only person who he'd contacted in such a way. I wasn't angry with him. I pitied him. Ultimately, I was grateful for his comments. They gave me a renewed focus and if I was determined before to finish the run across the USA in 100 days, I certainly was now!

That wasn't the last time I created a nemesis in the USA to motivate me. You will read about other such situations over the next 94 days worth of blogs.

Anyway, back to the actual running. The first 4 miles were done on Interstate 40. This was the first of only 3 times I had to use an Interstate road during the run across the USA. There were plenty of passing HGVs and concentration levels were at an absolute maximum.

I was soon running on the familiar Route 66. This particular stretch of that road was extremely quiet. A car would pass every 1/2 mile to a mile. It was a very peaceful place to run with the least amount of dogs that I'd seen so far in the USA.

The scenery was getting better as each mile went. The road was as straight and long as the eye could see in many parts. There was a beautiful backdrop of desert mountains in many directions. The Mojave Desert was truly a fantastic place to run. 

I managed to run 15.1 miles in the morning session before stopping for pasta made by Richard. His cooking was improving by the day. After the restart, I ran underneath Interstate 40 at Newberry Springs. 

I focussed on whatever mountains I could see in the far distance. It wasn't too long before I passed them and I was able to focus on the next lot. With a good mix of tunes on my iPod the miles seemed to tick by quite nicely.

The second rest of the day was at the 25 mile point. I could see the RV parked up in the distance and was looking forward to a short break from the sweltering heat. Before I got there I passed a house to my left and was stopped by a very concerned looking lady who was very keen to know what I was doing near her property. She was backed up by another lady who was holding a shotgun. I explained that I was running across the USA to raise money for charity. I could see that it was taking her a while to "tune in" to my Geordie accent. I talked to her in a slow and calm way. All of a sudden the penny dropped. She believed my explanation and was visibly relieved. She explained that there had been some trouble the previous night. She had initially thought that we were the troublemakers coming back for more.

After a quick sandwich it was back on with running the final miles. In order to squeeze a few extra miles out Richard agreed to run mile 32 - 33 with me. He would then turn back and fetch the RV. I managed a total of 33.3 miles with an 2000 finish. This was the earliest I'd finished running in 6 days.

Richard took the usual GPS reading so we knew where to return the next day. I drew my usual line in the sand at the side of the road. and made a note that I'd stopped running near 2 bridges. It was obviously very important that I ran in an unbroken line across the USA. I'm pleased to say that, I never got this wrong.

The resting point for the night was a truck stop in Ludlow if memory serves me right. It made a change from a Wal-Mart car park!

Not content with running with me, driving the RV, cooking during the day and lancing my blisters, Richard still had an ace up his sleeve! I tweeted the following that night:

"Sweet Potato Mash with Chilli Chicken and Chorizo Sausage. Best RV meal to date. Well done driver Richard."


"Driver Richard has just played a blinder, surprising us with Apple Turnover for pudding. Some boy! ".

That meal, after running 33.3 scorching hot miles in the Mojave Desert, was quite amazing. I don't think it would have done very well on Masterchef but it was, for me at that moment in time, a meal fit for a king.

The 179.6 miles that I'd ran in 6 days had involved 8800 ft of climbing with a burn of 23,400 calories. I was a mere 6.4 miles behind schedule. Things were going well. I knew, however, that I was only days away from the Mojave National Preserve and more hot weather was forecast. It was never a good idea to get complacent and I never did during the entire run across the USA.

USA Day 5 - Revisited (05/05/2011)

It wasn't quite the 0630 start I'd hoped for, but 0730 wasn't too bad. The start point on day 5 was a street called Morning Glory, which tickled the support team and me. The good thing about an earlier start was a cooler start than usual. Only just cooler though!

The aim was to get 12 miles done before lunch time. It wasn't going to be easy given the fact that the temperature started to rise fairly quickly. All the signs were that this was going to be another scorching hot day. It was unusually warm for the time of year. That was just typical of the run across the USA. If something could be at an extreme, it usually was.

This was my 3rd day on Route 66. It was a fascinating place at times. I got the impression that each town I ran through would have been quite prosperous in a bye gone day. Since the introduction of the Interstate roads, this was no longer the case. That was just my impression though. It may differ from reality.

I stopped to take photos of an unusual piece of "art". It was a load of bottle trees near Ore Grande. I later found that these were the work of Elmer Long. I've since seen them on a couple of TV shows including Billy Connolly's Route 66 and An Idiot Abroad.

I actually managed 14 miles before lunch and finished the morning session in sweltering heat. The temperature had hit 35 Degrees Celsius with only 4% humidity. Not that I needed much reminding, but I knew I was going to have to fight very hard to get through each dat as I moved further into the Mojave Desert. 

As per usual, the trains were always a delightful sight. Counting the number of carriages was now a daily hobby of mine. The surrounding terrain was very much how I remember old Cowboy and Indian movies.

After one of Richard's pasta dishes and a bit of a rest it was time to start the afternoon session. The heat seemed a lot more intense in the afternoon and reached 37 Degrees Celsius and only 7% humidity. Richard quipped "It's cooling off nicely out there!". Funny guy!

This was the first time on the run that I really had to dig in. I'd put considerable effort in during the previous 4 days but running and surviving at that temperature required a level of effort that I'd never experienced before. 

In the few months leading up to the start of the run across the USA, I'd ran in the heat chamber at Northumbria University. It was only now that I started to realise just how important that aspect of my training had been. 

Of course, I'd be running in far higher temperatures later on in the USA. Looking back, it was a tremendous test of human endurance. Pushing myself to the limits is a major part of the kinds of runs that I do. Putting up with the suffering that goes with it is one of my greatest assets. I might not be the greatest athlete but overcoming these kinds of difficult tests is the closest I'll ever come to athletic glory. 

I took time to assess the damage my body had suffered during those first 5 days writing a "damage report" piece on my blog. It was at this point that my blisters were causing slight concern. That said, Richard was continuing to do a very good job with them. They would have been a lot worse without his attention. 

I was pleasantly surprised that I hand't suffered and inflammation in my shins. This had plagued me throughout training.  Precautionary daily ice treatment seemed to be working. I'd go to sleep with ice packs taped to my shins! The worst part was tearing the tape off the following morning!

I recall feeling physically strong during the first 5 days. However, I had terribly swollen feet and this was slowing me down. Minor muscular twinges would come and go. Cherry Active was playing a major part in the daily recovery process. I was able to get out each morning with very few aches and pains in my legs. Overall, I was very pleased with how my body was holding up to running so far in such difficult conditions.

The apparent threat of dogs continued on a daily basis. I would hear numerous loud barks, as I ran past each ranch (like the one picture below). The routine was a well practiced one by this point:

• Assess the pitch of the barks and guess how big/fast/vicious the dogs were.
• Confirm the above if the dogs come into sight.
• Assess the property to see if there any gaps in the surrounding fence.
• If there is a gap or, indeed, no fence at all then run away very quickly.
• If the dog/dogs is/are no longer giving chase stop sprinting and resume at normal pace!

I reached Barstow in the dark and stopped running after 29.7 miles. The next 4 miles on Interstate 40 would have to wait until the following day. It was too dark and dangerous to start running on that kind of road. 

Thanks to a 5 mile shortcut, found by Richard, I was only 8 miles behind schedule at the end of day 5.

Day 5 was easily the hardest so far in the run across the USA. Unseasonal high temperatures, vicious dogs, nasty blisters, swollen feet, drug busts, "weirdo's" on Route 66 and unidentified mountain beasts  over 147.1 tough miles were all making it one heck of a tough run. The fund for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation was just over £31,000 though! It was well worth it.

USA Day 4 - Revisited (04/05/2011)

Day 4 of the run across the USA started at 07:53. The start times were slowly but surely getting closer to the required 0630. The first 4 miles were through a very tricky and steep maze of sandy bush trails. The 1700 ft climb over that particular stretch was the least of my worries. The huge and very fierce dogs were making the start to my day very unpleasant indeed. As soon as I heard the bark of a dog I'd look to see if it was kept within an enclosure. This was to become standard practice over the remainder of the run. 

I found myself being on constant tenterhooks because of the dog situation. With future blog posts, you'll see how this changed over the course of the run. In the early days, if those dogs were unleashed I just ran away from them as fast as I could. This wasn't easy with so many miles in my legs but I made sure they never caught me!

At the first meeting point, Richard told me that he'd had breakfast at a local diner. The great news was that he'd negotiated a free meal for me with the owners! Brilliant! The picture below is a very chubby me with Mike and Wendi, owners of the Outpost Cafe near Victorville. 

I described the hot beef sandwich at the time as "easily the tastiest meal I've had in California so far.". It was full of the fat and salt that I was craving. Delicious!

I left the Outpost Cafe having soaked my base layer and headwear in cold water. The breeze that I'd previously benefited from in the San Bernardino Mountains was no more unfortunately. The temperature peaked for the day by the time I got to the outskirts of Victorville at the 17 mile point. I'd clocked up over 100 miles since leaving Huntington Beach and it was time for more food! This time it was one of Richard's pasta dishes.

I started running again at 1800 with Stu for company. We took it in turns to lead the line and this really helped pick the pace up. I didn't feel particularly safe in this neighbourhood and that also helped the new found speed too.

That night, I wrote on my blog that this was "arguably the finest running I've ever done.". The increased speed came out of nowhere. Although, Richard's pasta may have had something to do with it.

I ran the final 4 miles by myself and unbeknown to me at the time, Richard rang 911 to report a suspicious vehicle that was being driven erratically around the area in which I was running. I actually ran past that vehicle later on and the occupants had been arrested. It was quite obvious what their crime was as the bonnet of the car was littered with large packages of white powder. At least 10 packages of white powder if memory serves me correct. Good old Richard. Not only had he cooked porridge, negotiated a free meal, cooked some nice pasta, driven the RV and, at the end of the day, lanced my blisters. He had been responsible for a drugs bust! What a support man he was! I wrote the following on Twitter that night:

"There was another quirky occurence tonight involving driver Richard but safety and security prevents me from expanding on it.".

The last few miles were done in complete darkness, which I wasn't too happy with! With just a head torch and the headlights of passing vehicles to light the way I called it a day after 29.2 miles. This prompted Richard and I to have a conversation about starting the run much earlier the next day. I wasn't due to to start my daily running at 0630 for another few days. Given the late finishes in the dark on the run so far, it was time to take action.

The final action of the day was to see to my blisters. Richard did a really good job lancing them. There were 7 major ones to contend with! The poor lad must have wondered what he'd signed up to!

It was 0015 by the time I'd finished updating my blog. There was a 0530 alarm call to look forward to! The lack of sleep time was an all too common occurrence on the run across the USA. I wouldn't have had it any other way. As I've stated many times before; taking people on the journey with me, via the blog, was so important.

USA Day 3 - Revisited (03/05/2011)

Into day 3 of the run across the USA and things were going pretty well. I was slightly ahead of schedule and the fund for St Benedict’s Hospice and The Children’s Foundation was up to £31,000. Each day I tried to set off a little earlier than the previous day. I had started the run on day 1 at 0900. I was looking to get this to 0630 within a week and day 3 saw an 0822 (Pacific Time) start. Those early starts were tough but the support team and I had settled into a good routine. Richard would drive to the start point (usually with me still asleep!). I'd get my kit on, eat my porridge and then get out running. It was as simple as that. 

It was another absolutely boiling hot California day with gorgeous clear blue skies. It called for factor 70 sun cream once again on my arms and legs. I wore my cap and my head was fully covered with a Buff. Oh and not forgetting the nice Oakley sunglasses donated by Robinson’s Optometerists in Monkseaton.

To help with the high temperatures there was a lovely headwind coming on off the mountains. The roads were really quiet and I had The Beach Boys playing on my iPod. Could my running life have been any better at that point in time?

I took the opportunity, several times, to look back at the coast line in the very far distance. The green smog hanging over LA was not a pretty sight and it wasn’t a pleasant thought to think that I’d ran so many miles in it. 

Day 3 was probably the first day when I fully realised that I’d be away from my family for a considerable amount of time. I had a few tears on the phone when I rang home that morning during the first few miles. Running and texting, running and talking on the phone or running and updating Twitter was a skill that came in very handy indeed over the course of the run across the USA.

I took a very short break for a good gulp of water and an energy bar at an underpass (below) at the 5.5 mile point. It was a good spot to stop and the temporary break from the blazing hot sunshine was most welcome. I'd arranged to meet the RV at the 10 mile point but just needed some shade for a few minutes.

As planned, I met the RV after 10 miles and took the opportunity to call my son Jack (below) via Skype. This was the first of many such calls and, for the very first time, it really helped confront the separation issues that I had. More importantly, it also helped Jack. He was much happier talking face to face than over the phone. I would show him the surrounding scenery and he was able to really get an idea of where I was running. He was also interested in the RV and the support team.

That day was a definite turning point in dealing with being away from home. There weren't too many tearful days after that and we seemed to slip into a good routine of communication. 

The Skype calls, as and when the signal and time would permit, and lots of text messages really helped. Add to that the fact that Jack had started to write a blog about what he had been doing at school etc and it all made for as good a communication strategy as we could have hoped for. Please click here to read his blog from that particular day.

It wasn't too much longer before I was on my way again and instead of resting during the hottest part of the day I decided to push on through. Despite being incredibly warm I was really enjoying running through the California hills.

I made my first mistake of the run in Devore Heights having taken a wrong turn. I'd realised the error pretty much straight away. I've got a good sense of direction but, leaving nothing to chance, I stopped and asked 2 ladies on horseback for directions. I also asked them about what lay ahead on Route 66 (which wasn't too far away). They told me to watch out for "The Weirdos"! I had no idea what that meant at the time but thought that I was prepared for anything. 

The lady on the right hand side, Kim Bridgewater, had the following to say a few days ago about our chance meeting:

"When we seen you running in our little community of Devore, CA and you asked about a dirt trail leading you in the direction that you wanted to go, we suggested that you take the famous Route 66, but we warned you of the weirdo's that lurk in that area ( I'm going to call them street people). As you jogged off.... My first thought was good lord that's a lot of miles to run, then it was I hope he can run fast through that area where the weirdo's are…. Later I heard the your support team had a situation from the weirdo's... so sorry about that ...... But I'm truly impressed of your determination and strong will for such a great cause !!! God Bless you Mark Allison.".

I soon arrived at Historic Route 66. It was an old dual road with one side of it no longer in use and covered in overgrown plants and crumbling in parts. I guess the nearby presence of Route 15 (The Barstow Freeway) had seen the decline of Route 66. This was the kind of situation that I encountered all over the USA, meaning that I could make use of a very decent road with the traffic using the more modern route nearby.

At the 15 mile point for the day, I stopped to admire the trains again as they wound their way up through the valley. They were moving very slowly indeed and I loved hearing the sound of the horns.

The heat was taking it's toll on my feet and I stopped at the 17 mile point to ice my feet. In the mile before getting to the RV I had noticed a lot of cars parked randomly here and there. There was also a Sheriff's car pulling up alongside each one of them. Were these the weirdos that the ladies had talked about? It all seemed very strange.

The ice on my feet was such a relief. It had been a very tough 17 miles. I'd climbed to 2700 ft and still had another 1300 ft of elevation that day. As I was sitting there with my feet in a bucket of iced water a car pulled up diagonally opposite. The man in the car simply stared into the RV for what seemed like a very long time. This was my response to that at the time.

The first guy drove off to the rear of the RV soon after which I remember being a very nerve wracking experience. Shortly after that a big fat bald guy in a white vest parked very close to the front of the RV and blocked our exit. Richard, Stu and I were not too happy with his manoeuvre. That's an understatement, in fact. A few other cars drove past and once they had all gone I started running again.

This was the first tangible brush with danger that I'd experienced in the USA. Things were never quite the same after that. This wasn't like running from John O'Groats to Lands End. This was potentially a very dangerous place. The dogs were fierce and mostly unleashed. Some of the people carried guns and I was a very long way from home!

On the plus side, it was making for a great story on the Blog and via Twitter. Maintaining my famous sense of humour, these were the Tweets from the time:

"Having a break in the RV. Looks like we've parked in the dogging capital of LA. This is bizzare and very scary! But my feet are soaking…."

"..in ice and I'm going nowhere. This geezer is just staring into the RV from his car. Richard and Stu might have to take one for the team!"

"Richard says - 'one of the most bizzare situations I have ever been in'"

I got some good responses to this particular episode via email and Twitter and I think people following the journey started to realise that there was a bit of a story unfolding here. This wasn't just a simple run across the USA.

The website hits started to go up considerably too. I was hearing, yet again, that the blog had become essential daily reading. It was for that reason that I was quite happy that incidents such as the one on this day happened. Increased interest in the run would hopefully mean increased sponsorship for the 2 charities.

The final 6 miles of the day were done on a dirt track through the mountains. For safety and security, I was accompanied by Stu on this stretch. Not realising it at the time, I made my second mistake of the day. I missed a turning point and ended up going the wrong way. It wasn't a major mistake but it meant that I had added on a few more miles.

I will never forget what happened next and neither will Stu, I would reckon. As we ran past a bush there was this almighty deep growling noise. We both paused for a brief nano second and looked at each other in a kind of Scooby Doo Zoinks fashion! We agreed to maintain a "radio silence" before picking up the pace somewhat! Further up the trail, we heard the noise again. I wrote the following on my blog that night.

"Based on the tone of the creature's growl, I imagined that it was the size of a bull with huge fangs for teeth. My imagination was working overtime.".

I hadn't recovered from the Route 66 situation earlier in the day. Now this! My nerves were frayed. I was only a timid Englishman after all. These weren't everyday occurrences for me or any of the support team. Suddenly, having to run an average 31 miles per day was the least of my worries. But, oh what a story!

Weirdos and strange monsters aside, they were very challenging running conditions. The challenge of the searing heat and a climb up to 4000 ft in the mountains was something that I relished.

The very eventful day came to an end after just 25 miles on the "Rim of the World Scenic Byway". It was pitch black and I wasn't feeling confident about the route ahead. The busy train line (see the video below) and complex dirt route over the next 6 miles meant that I was calling it a day. It was a very good decision as it turned out. You'll see why on the next day's "Revisited" blog post.

 .

Unfortunately, Richard had to bring the RV on quite a detour to reach us. It was not the best road to drive an RV on but he did brilliantly. Detours such as this were costly in terms on time and more importantly fuel. I had a budget to stick to and this kind of mistake couldn't be allowed to happen too often.

I'd ran 87.4 miles, climbed 6941 ft and burned 11,300 calories during the first 3 days. I was 5.6 miles behind schedule. If I kept losing miles at that rate for the rest of the run, I'd be 186 miles away from the finish line on day 100!

I enjoyed my Cherry Active drink that night, I can tell you! Surely day 4 wouldn't be as eventful. Would it….

USA Day 2 - Revisited (02/05/2011)

Day 2 was the first time on the tour that I'd ever woken up in a Wal-Mart car park. In the RV of course! This was to be the first of many such way ups! I think I referred to overnight RV location as "The Campsite" on my blog at the time. This was for safety and security reasons. It wouldn't have been a good idea to give our exact position away on a daily basis. In fact, I was learning quickly that it wasn't a good idea to give various pieces of information away on my blog and on Twitter/Facebook. Tune in to day 4's blog post for example on Friday when I'll talk about the drugs bust.

Meanwhile, as planned, Shelli left the support team in the early hours of the morning to catch a flight home. This left Richard and Stu on support team duties for the next 13 days until Las Vegas.

To help get in the mind of a long distance runner and to assist with the writing of the book (that was never to be!) I was accompanied by Stu for most of the day. And what a day it was! Another absolutely scorching day in the Californian sun in fact. 

The first obstacle was about 5 miles into the run where I had to cross a major road under construction that was signposted "No pedestrians". It seemed like an insurmountable obstacle at the time. I crossed the road with great fear and hesitation. I was so relieved to be able to continue the journey without any problems once I reached the other side. Looking back, that situation was hardly worth worrying about. Quite pathetic really. At the time, though, I felt sick to my stomach that my carefully planned route had hit a potential dead end and that the run across the USA was in jeopardy. 

The temperature got to 31 Degrees Celsius at one point. It was hard work to run in such heat. Especially weighing 18.5 stone as I did! I think my training in the heat chamber served me well though and I was able to make it through to 15:00 after running 16 miles or so. Later on in the run across the USA I'd manage to run 16 miles easily before midday and in temperatures of up to 45 Degrees Celsius. Those early days were very tough going now I think back.

Such was my tiredness I took a 2 hour break until 17:00 where I took on pasta, iced my swollen feet and had my very first "tactical snooze". The RV was parked in a side street and the world passed us by while I tried to recover as best as I could in the short space of time that I had.

I felt much better after the break and the miles started to go slightly quicker. I'd started the day in what had been quite a nice Chinese community. The quality of the neighbourhoods dipped somewhat with each mile ran. It wasn't long before I was running through a rough Mexican neighbourhood. The stark realisation that I was no longer in the safe area of LA started to hit me. At least that was my perception at the time. I've said many times since finishing the run across the USA that I was a very "timid Englishman" during the early days of the run. I think my opinion of San Bernadino was as a result of that and possibly misplaced.

This area was the first time that I saw the huge freight trains that were to keep me company for the next 10 days. I was fascinated by them. I had so many questions. What was the cargo? Where had they come from? Where were they going? I even counted the number of wagons in each train. I think the record was  194. This may seem like a ridiculous thing to say but I always felt a lot safer when the trains were close by. They were like a friend to me. I even managed to get a wave or 2 from the train drivers which made my day. Call me insane but it helped the miles go seemingly quicker!

After I ran past Ontario International Airport and into Fontana the landscape changed. I was running through a huge industrial park. It seemed to be 10 times the size of Team Valley in Gateshead. It was very modern with thousands of buildings. I later discovered that this was the regional hub of the trucking industry. Hundreds of Millions of tons of good must be shifted through here every day. I really got the sense of the size and scale of the operation when running through this part of California.

It was dark by the time I reached the outskirts of Fontana and I spoke to Gary and Lisa on Real Radio. This, of course, was the first of many calls to the show. Producer Mac would ring me up to setup the line etc. Then I'd record the short interview with Gary and Lisa to be aired later on that morning. The time difference at this stage of the run wasn't was quite kind. Later on in the run I'd do the interviews quite late on at night usually from the comfort of my bed in the RV. It was always a pleasure to speak to them and it soon became as much a part of the run as, say, my running shoes. Here is a link to that first interview - listen to ‘Run Geordie Run on Real Radio (USA Day 2)’ on Audioboo.

The remaining few miles were completed just before midnight with Richard in the RV and myself communicating via walkie talkie. His directions were excellent and I had managed to run 30 miles before calling it a day in what seemed like quite a dangerous neighbourhood.

Given the really tough conditions I was very pleased with another good haul of miles on day 2. That gave me 62.4 miles in total meaning I was ahead of schedule. Albeit only 0.4 miles ahead of schedule!

We stayed at another Wal-Mart that night. When we parked up, a security car was over straight away to enquire who we were. All of these stays had been pre-agreed with the relevant store manager. This had been done in advance by one of Shelli's student colleagues, Kate Beaver. This worked really well and saved a lot of time and explanation. I felt quite safe at Wal-Mart. Security were onto us like a shot so I would imagine they would have been on hand had anybody entered the car park and approached the RV late at night. Hopefully!

Another day was over and the supportive messages that were being received in may different forms; text messages, Tweets, emails and the Skype calls with my family were really helping. That support was not only to grow stronger over the next 98 days but it would make such a high difference to the outcome of the run. Please stay tuned over the next few months to find out how and why that was the case. In the meantime, I've really enjoyed reliving day 2 of the run across the USA which was on May 2nd 2011.

I'm interested to hear your opinions and questions too. If you have a particular question about the run across the USA then please get in touch at sponsorship@rungeordierun.com. I'll incorporate the good ones in my blog. 

One interesting question I received on the back of yesterday's "Day 1" blog post was from Tracy Gullet (@tracygullet) who asked "What led you to choose Huntington Beach as the starting point of your 3100 mile trek? I have family in Huntington Beach, and we live fairly close to Hwy 36 in Missouri, so your route helped me connect with your story.". 

The answer to that one is fairly simple. My route was based on a foot race across the USA held in 2004. Huntington Beach was the start point for that race. It was very important that the run had "coast to coast" status which is why I started on a pier in the Pacific Ocean and finished on a pier in the Atlantic Ocean. There was no doubt then that the run was, indeed, "coast to coast across the USA". I've heard of a few similar crossings that finish in Central Park, New York. These haven't gone down on record as being coast to coast which is a bit of a shame in my opinion. Therefore, my run was from Huntington Beach, California to Coney Island, New York.