RUN LOG

Notice:  Please forgive the sometimes lengthy intervals between run log updates, as I cannot always get to a computer.  Thank you for your interest, and please keep checking back as I will get them up as soon as I can.  Also, if there are typos or grammatical errors, please forgive them.  Sometimes I have to write them fast for whatever reason, and do not have the chance to proofread. 

Wed Sept 7th: Woke up, had some breakfast and packed up my stuff. I had a real strange feeling because I was home but I hadn’t finished the trip yet.
Anyway, the night before, Tom from the Hartford Courant Newspaper stopped by to talk with me for a bit and that morning, Shana, a photographer from the Courant, was there to take my pic. I took off and felt good. Shana followed me for about 4-5 miles and then I said goodbye to her and kept going.

Reaching downtown Hartford spawned a feeling of success…but I knew I wasn’t done yet so I had to keep chugging. I ended up stopping in to Channel 3 WFSB, the local CBS affiliate in Hartford and they were interested in doing a story. So, Steve, the Anchor, and John, the photographer, came out and we did a quick interview. They were both real cool and we were able to talk for a while. They filmed me running off and I was on my way.

At one point, Alicia and Shannon, several of my former co-workers from Red Bull, stopped by and hooked me up. It was so cool to see them and def pumped me up. After that, I cruised on for a while longer and then I started getting some sharp pain in my hip…it didn’t matter though cause nothing was going to stop me now.

A bit later, Akili, a friend of mine stopped by to say hello and give a boost for the last couple miles of the day. I ended up finishing on up and Cherry, a former co-worker of mine came and picked me up and we went back to her apt. She cooked me dinner….excellent, excellent…pasta in a very good meat sauce….and then she had class so she dropped me off at one of my really good friends places, Jay. It was really good to see Jay and we hung out for a while. Then Cherry came and picked me up and we went back to her place and I crashed.


Thurs Sept 8th: I had to take the day off today so I wouldn’t get to Newport before Sat. It was a bit frustrating because all I wanted to do was pound the miles but oh well…it was all-good. I hung out the whole day…watched Forrest Gump for inspiration….Cherry cooked another amazing meal…then dropped me off at Jay’s where I was going to crash for the night.
Jay and I went over his friends place to watch football and then crashed.


Fri Sept 9th: Woke up, had some breakfast and Cherry came and picked me up to bring me back to go where she got me the day before (Jay couldn’t do it cause he has a broken leg). When we got there, Jared, a photographer from the Willimantic Chronicle was there. I had interviewed with Heather the day before so he was just going to get a couple pics. I packed up my chariot and then took off.

The day went pretty well. It was a bit strange that this was my second to last day but it was cool none-the-less. I kept on cruising along and finally I got to RI….the last state. It was a pretty good feeling to reach that mark but I knew that I still had a bit to go.

A couple miles before I was to finish that day, Thad, pulled over and gave me a cold bottle of water. What a nice guy he was….we talked for a while and he told me he was a science teacher and even invited me to speak to his class. On the side, he owns his own boat that he charters out to people so they can fish or just take a nice boat ride…his business is called Pole-Kat Charters, LLC.

After that, I only had a couple miles to go to reach the house I was staying at. I was staying with Michael, Kim, Lindsey and John and they heard about my run and just randomly got in touch with me…pretty amazing huh…that it offering your home to a complete stranger. Anyway, I got there and Kim made me feel at home right away. I showered up and then Michael was home. We had some amazing homemade pizza and then Kim cooked up a huge plate of pasta. The kids went to bed and Michael, Kim and I hung around for a bit longer but then it was time for me to crash to get ready for the last day.



Sat Sept 10th: THE LAST DAY…

I had trouble sleeping that night because I was nervous about finishing and I had every type of emotion that one could have…I was happy to complete the goal, to not have to pack and unpack, to not have to push the baby jogger, to be able to see my friends and family…but it was sad as well…sad that I wasn’t going to be meeting all the amazing people I had met, sad that this chapter I my life was coming to an end…sad and happy that I didn’t have to wake up and run 30-40 miles everyday….and so on and so on.

Michael woke up and cooked me and the rest of the family omelet’s…they were great and just the food I needed to get on the road for the finale. I packed up and said goodbye to them…they were such a nice family…so laidback and generous. I took off and started trucking along toward the Atlantic….I felt great. A couple times….I swelled up with some tears…they weren’t sad tears though…they were happy tears.

I made my way all the way over to around the Jamestown Bridge when I realized that I was going to have to get on the highway in order to get onto the walkway of the bridge. So…I fig I have run 3,290 miles…I wasn’t going to let this stop me. I started running on the grass of the highway toward the bridge and then a van pulled over next to me. I could see it was a gov vehicle and then a man, David, got out and he was in Navy attire. He said he had seen me on the news and had with him a group of teens who were in a special Navy teen program….so I talked with the kids for a bit and they wished me on my way….that was really cool.

When I came to the walkway…it was kind of blocked off…or lets just say it was blocked off enough to make it really difficult to get the jogger onto the walkway. There were these cement barricades that were there…in the way.
However, once again…I didn’t make it this far to not get past this…I ended up taking one of the wheels off and lifting it up as far as I could and somehow got it through the small little crack in the barriers to get it on the walkway.

I started running and thought to myself….I hope I don’t have the same problems on the other side. Sure enough…there were these wooden boxes that were as tall as me in the middle of the walkway on the other side.
Somehow…I got the jogger over the guardrail and onto the highway…I then sprinted about 50 meters to the exit and got off…a very interesting experience.
Anyway, I ran to the Jamestown/Newport ferry (www.conanicutmarina.com) where David set me up with a ticket. I was taking the ferry because I couldn’t run over the Newport Bridge. Ken, who is in charge of the Rhode Island Bridge Authority, was extremely helpful and arranged with Bill, who is in charge of the ferry, for me to be able to jog in place on the ferry as it brought me into Newport. It was really amazing how helpful everyone one was from people at the bridge authority to everyone at the ferry…thank you for your help.

So, I took the 1:07 ferry and jogged in place as Richard, captained the boat and Jane helped out. I was able to talk with the both of them and they were great. They let me off at Fort Adams and I had reached Newport.
Newport-to-Newport was complete….but I still had a bit more to go. When I got off the boat…I bent down and kissed the ground and then I took off.

Right after I ran out of Fort Adams, Chuck, a marine who is doing his master’s at an academy in Newport, ran by me…we ended up saying hello and then we started running together. We ran for about 4 miles…it was great to have some company for the last leg of the trip….he was a real interesting guy as well…he had been all over the world and I could tell he had some good stories. Chuck split off and told me I had about 1 mile to go…that was crazy to hear.

I took off and started picking up the pace…the whole trip had come down to a final sprint. My legs felt great…my breathing was steady…my heart was pumping. I started running downhill and then the street turned and I got my first glance of the beach. I couldn’t believe it…it was here…the finish.

At this point I was in an all out sprint…people were looking at me strange but I didn’t care…all I knew was that the Atlantic was waiting for me to jump into it. I was looking for people I knew and then, all of a sudden, Drew, the guy who helped me a bit with PR, came out of nowhere and started running with me….it was awesome to see him.

Then I looked up and saw a crowd of people standing there and cheering…they were holding a banner with my pic on it…then banner read ‘run willy run’…and that’s what I did…I waived at everyone and ran right by them on my was to the ocean. I jumped over the cement divider that was in-between the parking lot and the beach, took off my shoes and started sprinting even faster…all out.

I hit the water and dove in…I HAD MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO
HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!….I
think that’s enough exclamation….oh wait…no, no…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…that’s
enough.


When the water hit my face I was in euphoria….I couldn’t believe it…it was very surreal. I looked up and my family and friends were cheering…it was amazing. We hung around the beach for a while…visiting and talking. Thank you to everyone who made it out…I def appreciate it.

Well, that’s about all she wrote. Thank you for following my trip. I could
not have done this without all of your love and support. I will post
updates every-so-often about what I’m doing but feel free to drop an email and say hi. Take it easy and stay positive.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
THINK POSITVE AND
DO SOMETHING

Wed Aug 24th: Woke up and Sean brought me back to where him and Wes had picked me up the day before. It was really to cool to hang out with the Bucknell guys…I had such a great time. I packed up my stuff and took off.
It was a beautiful day…in the 80’s and a real nice breeze. I felt pretty good.

After I ran through Bloomsburg, I was cruising along and I saw a guy standing on the side of the road waiting for me. It was Mike from the Press Enterprise. He had heard about me from the AP wire and wanted to do a story. So, his co-worker had told him I ran by so he came out to greet me.
After talking to him for a couple minutes, he asked where I was staying for the night and when I told him I didn’t have anywhere, he offered to come and pick me up so I could crash at his place. We fig that he could do the interview that night. He also said that he was going to come out and run with me the next morning, which was great.

I continued on and kept chugging. I felt pretty good until I came upon this two miles hill. This thing was pretty monstrous…straight up and windy…killer combo. Anyway…I kept on going and eventually I got to the town I was aiming for. I gave Mike a call and then realized that I happened to stop in front of an ice cream parlor so I thought it was only right that I get a milkshake…cookies and cream to be exact. It was good and I just chilled in the sun waiting for Mike.

Mike drove about 35 minutes to come and pick me up…so incredibly nice. We packed up my stuff and took off. When we got back to my place, I showered up and then we went out to dinner where he did the interview. It was pretty cool because we weren’t rushed so we talked a bit about the run and then a bit about other stuff and so on. After dinner, I was pretty beat so we went back to his place and I crashed.



Thur Aug 25th: Woke up and Mike and I took off to where he had picked me up the day before. Mike was going to run with me for a while so he could get more of a feeling of what a day was like for me. Anyway, when we got to the ice cream shop I started packing my stuff and waiting for calls from two radio stations that I was going to talk to…one local and one from Kansas City. The local station had asked where I was specifically and so…after I was done talking with them, several people stopped by to say hello. First, Sylvia stopped by. She was just coming back from dropping her daughter off at field hockey practice and we got to talking and she ended up asking me if I would be interested in coming and speaking with her daughters team after I was done if the coach liked the idea…I thought that was the coolest thing and I said absolutely (on a side note…we have since talked and I am going to speak to them…that is so exciting). Sylvia also gave me a couple bucks to get some Gatorade and a sandwich…isn’t that amazing?

While I was talking with Sylvia, George pulled up to say hello. He said that he had just heard me on the radio as well and he owned a Subway right on the route I was going and if I wanted a sub on him…to just stop by. It’s really pretty amazing…people’s generosity that is.

So, after talking with Sylvia and George, Mike and I took off. We ran for about 100 yards and then we were greeted by a nice 2-½ mile hill like the one I had run up the day before. It was okay though…we made it up. We then made our way over to the Subway. Right before we got there though…we met up with Eric from the Standard Speaker….who was a photographer who had heard about the story. I then got some Subway and Mike and I were off again. It was great to have Mike along because we were able to have some good discussion. He also was tying up any loose ends on the story and was able to see some of the things that happens to me through out the day…for instance, I had told him the night before about the weird looks I got and boy oh boy…did I get a good one that he was able to see. We were running through a small town and we come upon this elderly woman mowing her lawn.
She looked at us as we looked at her and I gave her a wave…although instead of waving back she stopped the mower, dropped her jaw to the ground and starred, her head and eyes following us as we strolled by. So, when I got
no response, I waived again….and what do you think her response was???? If
you guessed staring blankly at me with not so much as a smirk…you were right. Now, I don’t think she was being rude…I just think she was so perplexed by the sight of a very hairy, tan, skinny runner, who looks like he should be a bum, running by with a baby jogger and no baby….at any rate, these are the looks I get every day which is cool cause it keeps me laughing.

After a bit more running, we ran into Ed, a reporter from the Standard Speaker who I talked to for a bit. Shortly after that, Mike turned around to head back to his car. He had run about 12 ½ miles with me….which adds up to 25 for him cause he had to run back…pretty cool. The rest of my run that day was really beautiful…I was running through the Pocono’s…, which are hilly but very pretty none-the-less.

Bethany, who is Scott’s wife from www.runtheusa.com, had offered to pick me up that day and bring me back to her parent’s house in Stroudsburg and then drop me off the next morning. So, when I was done for the day I gave her a call and she came over and got me. We went back to the house and I met her parents, Judy and Hilding who immediately welcomed me into their home and made me feel so comfortable. I also met Bethany and Scott’s son who is absolutely adorable. We had a really good chicken dinner that night, talked for a bit and then I headed off to bed.


Fri Aug 26th: Got up and Bethany brought me back to where I had stopped the day before. Once again, it was a beautiful day. I felt pretty good today…I was just cruising along. I ran all the way to Portland, which is where the footbridge is to cross the Delaware into Jersey. I finished the day next to an ice cream shop and got a milkshake again. It was really good. Bethany came over and picked me up and we went back to the house. Scott was supposed to get in later on that night so that was cool. We got back to the house and hung around for a while. Eventually Scott got there and that was
awesome. I had been talking with him for a while about the run and I had
stayed with his friends and family but I hadn’t actually met him yet. So, we shared pics of our trips and talked about our runs…it was pretty cool to talk to someone who had already finished a cross-country run. We had dinner, drank a couple beers, and went to bed.


Sat Aug 27th: My first day off in 12 on…my longest stretch without a day off. Bethany fixed up a great breakfast…French toast, bacon and OJ….pretty amazing. I worked on my updates and emails for a while…then Scott, Bethany and I went out to lunch…they treated which was amazing considering all they were already doing for me. We went back to the house, watched little league world series, had dinner, hung out and relaxed….it was a really, really good day off.



Sun Aug 28th: Woke up and Scott and Bethany took me to where Bethany had picked me up the day before. Believe it or not…they were going to come and pick me up one more time so I was going to call them later on and tell them where I was….can you believe their (Scott, Bethany, Judy and Hilding) generosity…driving around this smelly, hairy runner…. feeding him and letting him stay multiple nights…its pretty amazing to me...imagine if we could all be that generous and positive.

Anyway, unfort, it was raining for a good part of the day today so when I crossed into NJ, I couldn’t get a pic of the sign…welcome to NJ…oh well.
The good thing was that that was another state down. Eventually, the rain let up and I was just cruising. I felt good. I came upon some state troopers and talked to them for a bit. They were real nice to me and gave me good directions.

After about 35 miles I was done for the day so Scott came by and picked me up. We went directly over to Aardvark Sports Shop in Stroudsburg so I could get a new pair of shoes…I had been sent two new pairs of shoes from New Balance and Foot Star Orthotics but something happened with the delivery and I didn’t get them. So, John, the manager at Aardvark said he would stay open a bit late for me so I could get the shoes… pretty nice gesture…they also had the same NB that I had been running in so that was cool.

After that, we went back to the house, had dinner and hung around and visited for a while. Judy, Hilding, Scott, Bethany and Quinn really made me feel like one of their family…it was pretty amazing. I really enjoyed my time with them.


Mon Aug 29th: Woke up, had some breakfast, said goodbye to everyone and then Bethany brought me back to where I finished the day before. I took off and the new shoes felt great. As I moved toward NYC the roads were getting busier and busier and I could tell that this might be a problem.
Eventually, it got to the point where it was dangerous so I called Bells, a college friend and teammate of mine who I was staying with that night and who happened to be on vacation this week, and he got on the computer to find me another way to go. I went for a while following the other way but eventually came to the same problem.

Two officers, who were on traffic duty, ended up helping me out and advising me to go a certain way…that ended up working out for a while and I had Bells confirm it in the computer. I eventually got to a point where there was nowhere for me to go except on the highway and I wasn’t about to do that in Jersey around rush hour. So, what we did was this…Bells came over and picked me up…we clocked it and it was 7 miles west of the GWB…he lives 8 miles south of the GWB, with another college friend of mine and old roommate, Floody… and I fig that running that 8 miles up would make up the difference. It def wasn’t ideal but I didn’t really have an interest in getting killed and Bells saw no way around it on the computer.

Anyway, we got back to the apt. and Floody was there getting ready to go out for a run. I showered up and when Flood got back he got ready and then Bells, Flood and I went out to dinner. It was so awesome to see these guys but surreal and weird at the same time. I had gone 3 ½ months basically talking to people I didn’t’ know and now I was hanging out with some of my close friends…but I wasn’t done yet. Anyway, Flood got dinner…which was pretty generous of him…I def wasn’t expecting that. We went back to the apt and crashed.


Tues Aug 30th: Got up, had some breakfast and then took off. I was only doing a short day…15 to Fordham U, my old stomping ground. I crossed the GWB and was just overcome…I knew I hadn’t finished the run yet but I had run LA to NYC…that was a cool feeling. I felt great. I cruised my way to Fordham where I met up with Mike, Media Relations Specialist. He had Chris there to, a photographer, to take some pics. We met up with Frank McLaughlin, the athletic director, then my former coach, Coach Dewey and some of the team members. Chris took some pics of us and then it was time to get some food. Bells came by and I dropped my stuff off at his girlfriend, Patti’s apt and then, Bells, Patti, one of the seniors on the team now, Pat and myself went to get some food. Bells treated me, which was real cool of him. We then went around and hung out with people on the guys and girls team. It was pretty cool to be back.

Later on Bells, Pat and I went up to Yonkers to meet up with another former teammate of mine, Scotty. We got some dinner and Scotty treated. It was awesome to see everyone. All the guys had been so supportive throughout the whole trip and it was really cool to see several of them.

Bells then drove me back to Fordham and I ended up crashing with some of the guys on the team. They were all willing to help out in anyway I needed and were all great…Matt hooked me up with some food, Jeremy let me crash in his air conditioned room for example. Soon after I got back I ended up crashing.


Wed Aug 31st: Woke up, said goodbye to Jeremy and Jose and took off. I felt pretty good…eventually, I crossed into CT…that was weird…I was in my home state. After running 3100 miles…I had reached CT. I kept on going and there was a couple times where I saw the water…that was strange…although it is Long Island Sound…it’s still kindda the Atlantic. I ran to Stamford and then I talked to Thomas, another former teammate of mine who said that I could crash at his place in Fairfield. So, I kept going…I ran all the way to Westport and then Thomas came by and picked me up. We went back to his house, said hello to his parents and sisters and then went out to dinner.
He treated…pretty cool and generous of him.

During dinner, I got a call from Chris from Letterman saying that I got tickets to be go to the show….how cool is that. So, I gave Bells a call, cause I knew he had the week off and asked him to come…we said we were going to meet in the AM at the studio.


Thurs Sept 1st: Woke up and road the train back into the city. Bells and I met up at the studio and checked in. The show was going to have the segment Show and Tell night where Letterman goes into the audience and talks to one of the audience members about something they have with them or something they are going to tell. I got chosen to do it. It was such an amazing experience…being on Letterman and all…I kindda felt like a giddy school girl because I was laughing the whole time but oh well. It was an amazing experience and everyone at the studio was great.

After the show, Bells and I got a couple beers, and then I got on the train and heading back. I ended taking the train all the way back to New Haven to hang out with my girlfriend and so we could watch Letterman together. After that…we crashed.


Fri Sept 2nd: Woke up and Sarah brought me back to Thomas’s house…where all my stuff was. Then, we packed up the gear and he brought me back to Westport…he was going to run with me for some miles so that was cool. I got my stuff in the jogger and then was ready to take off. As we were leaving the parking lot we ran into, Felo, who was leaving an AA meeting. We talked to him for a while and he was such an interesting guy…it was an inspiration to see him fighting alcoholism and winning. He wished us luck and then we took off.

It was great to be running with an old teammate…we had a good run…he ran with me for about 6-7 miles and then took off. Shortly after he left, I stopped at Marcello’s Deli in Fairfield for some lunch. They were great there. Very friendly and nice and the sandwich was awesome as well.

I then took off and eventually arrived on the border of Stratford and Milford where I was going to meet up with Matt, from Foot Star Orthotics and Arciulo’s Shoe Store, who had been giving me orthotics for the trip and who was the main reason my legs held up. He was going to run with me through Milford and we were going to stop at the store on the way through.

Before he got there, I met up with Carl, a friend and former teammate from Fordham, and his girlfriend Tatem. It was awesome to see them…and Carl…guess what?…I’m taller than you! Anyway, Matt came by with his wife Felicia and then Carl and Tatem left after hooking me up with some Gatorade.

Matt and I started running and right away, two police cars ended up pulling up to us…I thought I had done something wrong but they yelled out…get in-between us…we’ll escort you. Matt had arranged for an escort through town…how amazingly cool is that? We ran over to Jonathan Law High School where we met up with the boys and girls cross-country team. I met the coach who was real nice and let the team run with Matt and I till the store. At Arciulo’s, the staff had a banner welcoming me back, water for everyone, my old shoes, and paper towels to wipe ourselves down. I talked with several reporters, one from the CT Post and one from the New Haven Register and then was ready to take off again. Some of the members of the boys team hung around to run a bit more and we were joined by Matt’s kids; Matt, Christian, Drew and Juliette. As we ran on, with the police escort, people came outside to say hello….it was very cool. After a little while, the cross-country guys turned around to head back…it was great to have them come out.

Then, Jamie, one of Matt’s employees who is a high school runner at a different school, met up with us for some miles. When he came we picked up the pace a little and cruised all the way to the Milford/ West Haven line.
At that point, the officers, Officer Demirjan and Officer Salas, took off.
It was pretty cool to have a police escort through town….I kindda felt important or something.

Anyway, Jamie and I cruised on. It was great to run with him…he’s an incredibly positive and mature kid and has a bright future ahead of him…we had great conversation. After some miles though we met up with Matt who was going to give Jamie a ride home. I continued on for a couple more miles till I reached New Haven. At that point Sarah came and picked me up.

We went back to her place and I got all cleaned up and then we went over to Matt’s house for dinner. It was such an awesome night. Felicia had cooked up this pasta dish that was to die for and I def stuffed myself. Their kids, Matt, Christian, Drew and Juliette were all so well mannered and just such great kids. They cleaned up the table after we were done and Christian even made dessert…a three-cheese cake…it was excellent. Sarah and I had such a nice time with them…they are a wonderful family.



Sat Sept 3rd: Woke up had some breakfast and then Sarah brought me back to where she had picked me up the day before…on the West Haven/ New Haven line.
I packed up my stuff and then took off. I felt pretty good. I ran about
6 miles and then I met up with James and Amy. Amy had heard about the run from a high school friend of mine and then told James about it and he had gotten in touch with me before I left and said he wanted to come out and run. We took off and started cruising. They both had a very positive aura…it was real awesome to run with them. We talked about a bunch of stuff and one thing in particular that I thought was cool was James was telling us how he likes to do long races but he doesn’t really race for time…he does it cause he loves it. I thought that that is such a refreshing attitude because with so much of sports being about money now…i.e., the Terrell Owens saga from the Philadelphia Eagles… it’s cool to meet someone who does it purely because they love it…and for no other motive other than that….I wonder if you cut all the major league players salaries in half in all the major sports…how many of them would still play…my guess is not that many.

Anyway, we continued on and eventually met up with one of my former bosses and one of my former co-workers, Tom and Phil. Tom was coming out to run a couple miles and Phil was there to take a couple pics of it. Before we started, Cherry and Jennifer, my old co-workers from Red Bull stopped by to hook us all up. It was so good to see everyone. Its feels like I haven’t left and it feels like I’ve been gone for a while.
We took off and Tom came with us for several miles. It was great running with him because I would talk to him throughout the trip and he would encourage me and give me baseball scores. Phil got a couple good pics and then they took off.

James and Amy ran with me for a while longer and then we got to where Amy had parked her car. James had just bought me lunch, very generous, so I was ready to carry on…although I was def going to miss the good company. They ran about 20 miles with me…very impressive…and Amy had just started running about 6 months prior in order to come out and run with James and I…just goes to show…we can do pretty cool things with our bodies and minds if we want.

After I left them…I felt great…I was about 20 miles from home and just started cruising. I could smell it. I cruised into my hometown of West Hartford and just put my hand in the air…a great victory…although I’m not done yet. I ran home…to the house I grew up in and my dad, his girlfriend, Suzanne, and my next-door neighbors were there to welcome me….it was weird feeling…I had run from CA to home…but I still wasn’t done yet. That night, my dad, Suzanne and me went out to dinner and then Sarah came by and we chilled. I did 45 that day and was ready to relax


Sun Sept 4th – Tues Sept 6th: I took a detour through Hartford because I was ahead of schedule. I fig that I only needed three more days of running to get to Newport and since I had picked Sept 10th to be the finish…I had to take a couple days off…and that’s what I did. Just hung around with Sarah….got some lunch with a friend of mine from college, Coser and his girlfriend Mary, wrote my updates and just relaxed.
 

A recent news story carried a quote from me that was taken out of context and does not represent my views. The quote was "Why settle for just having a job and getting married? Why not just do something different? Why not just live?" What I meant was that it's OK to do something crazy, such as running across the country. Do what makes you happy. Follow your dreams. Think big. In no way did I intend to put down marriage or work. Part of my message is that all of us can do more than we think we can. Think positive.
Jonathan Williams

Mon Aug 15th: I woke up and said goodbye to Kim, fixed up a quick breakfast and then Dennis drove me back to where Kim had picked me up. They were such a great couple…you could really see that they had such a wonderful relationship.

I took off and started chugging along. It was a perfect day to run…about 70 and cloudy. I banged out the first 23 miles of the day pretty well. The road that I was on was flat and went through a couple lakes so it was really beautiful. I then connected up to 22E, my last road in OH. At this point, the hills started coming…it was alright though. I had about 26 miles left….so the total for the day was about 48….but believe or not…I felt pretty good.

At one point, 22 turns into a restricted highway so I got off and got onto old 22 although I wasn’t completely sure I was going the right way. So, I asked Julia, who was delivering the local paper and she was extremely helpful. Not only did she give me directions but she called the paper and a local news station to tell them what I was doing (unfort, they didn’t get in touch but the thought was there).

I eventually rocked up to Steubenville and was absolutely psyched that I was there because that was the last town in OH. I also felt great for having just run 48….the only thing was that I had no place to stay. So, I’m running along and I see a fire dept. I go in and knock on the door and I introduce myself to Steve who loves the idea and he calls over Tommy who calls Carlo (the assistant chief) and he calls Terri(the chief) and they give the OK for my to crash there for the night. Frank was also at the station and they ended up buying me pizza for dinner. Frank was a funny guy cause he seems kindda negative at first but you could easily tell that he was and extremely generous and caring person. The rest of the guys were awesome…..totally laid back and willing to help out in any way they could.
In fact, Carlo came by from the other station and drove me around town so I could scope out my route for the next day. I tell ya….firefighters are amazing…what a remarkable profession.



Tues Aug 16th: So, I woke up and said goodbye to the guys and took off running (ha, ha…it’s funny because it’s true). After 5/6 miles I crossed into WV…another state down. It was raining out though and kindda miserable….good running weather though. So, I in WV for about 2 miles and on 22 E still, which is basically a highway and I come to this ginormous mountain that is straight up…I kept on chugging and eventually made it to the top. I ran a couple more miles and I was into PA…ah yea another one bites the dust.

I plugged along for a while and eventually came to the point on 22 where I could no longer be on because it turned into a restricted highway…so I got off to continue on a back road toward Pittsburgh. I stopped for a quick bite to eat and was helped with directions by three really cool college kids. I then got a call from Luis, from the Pittsburgh Tribune and we talked for a bit….he is really good friends with my doctor back home and my doctor…Dr. Davis…gave Luis a call and told him what I was up to. Anyway, I eventually met up with Justin….a photographer from the Tribune for a bit as well.

I kept on chugging toward Pittsburgh and then I came to this hill….its on Steuben St. for anyone who knows the area and its just as you cross into the actually city of Pittsburgh….and lets just say it was the hill from hell.
This thing was killer….so I chugged up it and finally got to the top. I eventually made it to the river front where I met up with Luis and Justin again…both really cool guys.

I then made my way over to the Sheraton, which was awesome. Matt, from Foot star Orthotics (who is supplying me with the orthotics for the trip)…his friend Dean works for the company that owns Sheraton and arranged for me to be able to stay there complimentary. It was amazing…I got to use the hot tub and my room was unbelievable….it looked out over the city and the three rivers…it was a cool experience.



Wed Aug 17th: This was an interesting day. First of all, I want to say thanks to Scott from www.runtheusa.com for helping me navigate my way through Pittsburgh…his directions were great. So, at any rate…I woke up to the phone ringing and it was the morning radio show from Y 108 in Pittsburgh…they were awesome and I talked to them for a bit. Later on in the morning…Brian…the producer of the show dropped off a little care package for me….it was pretty cool.

At any rate, I packed up my stuff and was leaving the hotel….I had a great stay….and I decided to ask at the front desk about directions to make sure I knew where to pick up Scott’s directions. The guys at the front desk, Ed, Jonathan, Andy and Kevin were all very helpful and got me pointed in the right way.

Right after I left the Hotel, I got stopped by several families who had heard me on the radio that morning. They were all so nice and each gave me a couple bucks….it was pretty amazing.

I continued on and eventually got to the outskirts of the city and was on this little road with no shoulder and tricks flying by me….needless to say this was not my favorite part of the trip. Anyway, around 12 I turned my phone on and had a bunch of messages from media outlets all around the US.
I figured out that the story that had appeared in the Tribune had gone up on the AP wire and so people had just heard about it and were contacting me…it was really surreal...I was thinking to myself…its just me….I’m just running.

One of the calls was actually from Beth and Ivan who had heard about my story and was offering me a place to stay for the night…so I gave them a call and they happened to be right on my route so I ended up running to
their house. They were such generous people. I showered up and then their
daughter (Laurie), her husband (Bill) and two children came over. We had a really good dinner and then hung around for a while. The kids were great.
I did several interviews with a couple of different radio stations…one of them the BBC…pretty amazing. Also, CBS’s morning show contacted me and decided they wanted to do a live interview the next morning….I couldn’t believe it…It’s so crazy…like nothing I could have ever imagined…but very cool.


Thurs Aug 18th: We woke up early, had a great breakfast that Beth cooked; I packed up and got outside for the interview. Brian, Chuck and George had come out to do the filming and they were real cool guys. Also, it was really neat cause Beth and Ivan had four college students from Texas visiting for the summer and working and they were there as well….they were such friendly guys as well. Further, Beth and Ivan’s grandkids came back over so that was real cool to have them around. We did the interview and I was pretty nervous….I’ve done some interviews throughout the trip but this was to a national audience.

After the interview….I said goodbye to everyone….it was such a pleasure to be able to stay with Beth and Ivan…their generosity and demeanors are such a wonderful example for us all. I then started running and Brian and Chuck followed me for a while to get to footage of me running.

I was running for a while and then when I went through Export…Bob from Bob McClain Auto Body and Towing saw me and called me over. He was there with a couple other guys and they recognized me from the news….we talked for a while and they ended up giving me a couple bucks…so incredible.

I kept on going and eventually I was hurting. I came upon this mountain that was an incline of about 3 miles and this hill was a beast. As I was chugging up the hill a van pulled over on the side of the road with two guys inside (Paul and Bill). Paul got out and said he saw me on the news and asked how he could help….he said he owned a bar and would love it if I could come to the bar so he could give me some food….I said I still had a couple miles left for the day and so he said that since his bar was off my path he would come and pick me up when I was done, bring me back to the bar, feed me, let me spend the night and then drop me off the next morning….can you believe it. So this is what we did.

I got back to the bar and Paul and his wife Ruth let me have what ever I wanted…first, they cooked me up some wings…and let me just tell you…these were no ordinary wings…these were prob the best wings I’ve ever had….then they made me a salad and a burger…I was def full after that meal. I then went back to Bill’s house, showered up and then Paul dropped me off at his house and I went to bed.


Fri Aug 19th: So, I woke up and Paul took me over to the bar where Ruth made us a great breakfast. Then Paul took me back to where He had picked me up and said goodbye. They were such good people….Bill told me that Paul use to throw a block party for his neighborhood on his birthday every year so the kids could have fun…he also donates a lot of his money to make-a-wish foundation….they are just really good people.

Anyway…I took off running and this was a tough day. I did about 35-40 and there were some major hills and it was misting all day…not the most fun…but I chugged through it…sometimes I think…there are people out there who are going through cancer treatment or have had heart attacks or some traumatic experience and if they can survive through that…I can surely run 40 miles.

So I ended up strolling into Duncansville, right next to Altoona, and decided to go for a motel…it was pretty cheap and nice so I fig might as well….I stayed at the Mountain View Motel…def a good choice. I made phone calls that night and rested…it was well needed. I also got in touch with Dan who was from the area and wanted to come out and run a bit with me so we decided that he would come by in the morning.


Sat Aug 20th: I woke up and got some breakfast and then Dan came by. He is in college now and runs and wanted to come out for some miles. It was great to have him along…he is a real cool guy….and get this…he hasn’t run in 2 months because of a knee injury and he came out and did about 15 with me…pretty hard core huh? He was a real interesting guy as well…he’s been through a lot…for instance…one of his really close friends died in a car accident when they were in high school…really tough stuff. But he had a great, positive attitude and a good head on his shoulders…it was real cool to see.

Anyway, about half way through the run, he realized that he was going to have to get a way back to his car so he called his friend Adam, who lives in State College and asked him if he could come down and pick him up and give him that ride….Adam said no worries…which is pretty cool considering he was going to have to drive at least 45 minutes both ways. I asked Dan if he thought Adam would mind picking me up and bringing me back to State College for the night and then dropping me off…Adam was totally cool with it.

So I took off and Dan waited for Adam to come down and get him and then Adam was going to drive Dan to his car and then on his way back to State College, he was going to get me. As I was going…I saw a car pulled over on the side of the road and a guy and girl (Jeremy and Julie) outside of it. The guy was holding something out at me and as I got closer…I could see it was some cash. They had seen me on the news and wanted to give me some money for some Gatorade or something….it was so cool of them…how amazing is that?

So I kept on chugging and then Adam came by to pick me up. We went back to his place and then out to dinner and a movie…we saw the 40 year old virgin…it was pretty funny. Adam was such a nice, laid back guy…he treated me to dinner also…and this whole thing was just thrown on him at the last minute and he was totally cool with it…it was def neat to meet him.


Sun Aug 21st: Adam took me back to where he picked me up and I started on up. I felt pretty good today. It was in the low 80’s with a real nice breeze. The plan was that I was going to run to Penn State and then I was going to stay with one of Scott’s (he ran across the country several years
ago…www.runtheusa.com) old teammates at Bucknell, Bob and his soon to be wife, Heather. I ended up running a bit passed State College because Bob said he would come and pick me up so I didn’t have to run off course.

So, when I was done I gave him a call and he came right over. We went back to the house, I showered up and then Heather cooked up a real good dinner.
They were such a nice couple and so easy to talk to. Bob then took me out to get me some Gatorade and we went back to the house and watched some TV.
We were then all kindda tired so we headed off to bed.


Mon Aug 22nd: Bob took me out to breakfast when we woke up…it was really nice of him. He then drove me back to where he picked me up and I took of running. I felt pretty good and once again it was a perfect running temp with a nice breeze. At one point a car pulled over and Stephanie and her daughter Elana were there…they had seen me on the news and wanted to say hello. After I said bye to them, I took off and several miles later I stopped at a grocery store to get a sandwich. As I was eating, Stephanie and Elana and her other sisters, Maddie and Taylor, Maddie’s friend Jess and two girls that Taylor baby-sits for, Olivia and Alia stopped by. We took a picture together and then they handed me a couple bucks….it was pretty impressive that these young girls wanted to be that generous.

I took off and kept on trucking and then something funny happened…or at least it was funny to me. Shortly after I left the grocery store I saw a sign that warned of horse and buggies because I was running through some Amish country. A bit after that, I saw a horse and buggy coming at me….I waved at what appeared to be a mother and her son inside the buggy and they didn’t even say hello back…they just starred at me in utter amazement…I am a very unusual sight I guess and this is def not the first time someone has just starred at me as I wave to them….the thing that stuck me as funny is that they were riding by being perplexed by me while sporting a bonnet and riding in a horse and buggy which really hasn’t been done for quit sometime…I guess I just found a little irony there…hey I need to find someway to amuse myself.

After a while, I gave a call to Sean, who use to be on the Bucknell x-country team and who now is in grad school…Scott had set it up that I could stay there…so Sean and Wes, another grad student who use to run on the team, came out and got me when I was finished for the day. We went back to the track house (they all call it Stucco), which has been in the track team for about 10 years. Sean, Wes and two guys who are still on the team, Ryan and KC, live there. I showered up and then we went over to the school and got some food. The school had put on a bbq so we were able to snag a bunch of food which was cool. We then went back to the house and ended up hanging out for a while. Then, Allison from CBS out of State College stopped by to
do a story, which was awesome. Then we went to a couple parties and then
came back and crashed…the night was def fun.


Tues Aug 23rd: Woke up and got some D and D for breakfast…if was good.
Then Sean, Wes and Hanlon, another grad student who use to be on the team, went back to where they picked me up the day before. We ran the 11 miles back to there place into town. It was real cool that they came out and ran with me. We then hung around for a while and went to lunch. Scott had contacted the Bucknell coach, Coach Donner, and he arranged a couple of meal passes for me…I couldn’t believe how nice that was. I got to meet a bunch of the guys and girls who are still on the team and they are all such a great group. After lunch, I ended up taking off to run another 17 and then Sean and Wes were going to pick me up again.

In the middle of those 17 I had my closest encounter with a car…it missed me by inches…actually I had to jump into the grass to get out of the way…so needless to say…my heart was pumping. I ended up finishing the day though and Sean and Wes came and got me. We went back to the house, I showered up and then we went to dinner. We came back and hung out for a while and then Sean, Wes, Hanlon, Ryan and I went to this bar to play trivia…they played a bunch during the summer and won a bunch as well and that night was no exception…we won and we won $100 bucks to split between us…pretty cool. We then went over Hanlon's house where I got to meet some other people and hang out for a while. I had a great time. All the people I met at Bucknell were real cool. And the guys I was staying with, Sean, Wes, Ryan, KC and Hanlon, were awesome….they are college guys, so they probably aren’t rolling in the doe and they went out of their way to help me out…it was pretty amazing.
 

Wed Aug 3rd: I woke up and headed over to Weber’s again for breakfast.
Then I packed up and headed out. The day was really hot!. That was tough but I kept on trucking. Luckily, the knee felt pretty good. It’s amazing what orthotics can do.

Anyway, after running about 20 miles I came upon this little ice cream shop on the road. I stopped in to get a milkshake (I know…I know…you are probably thinking he’s having a milkshake and then going to run some more…doesn’t that hurt the stomach…well it’s really weird because any other time it probably would upset my stomach but on this run I can eat something and then start running again right away).

So, as I was standing there I started talking to a couple of the people in the shop about the run. Eventually, David and Jackie were there offered me a place to stay in Indianapolis…since I already had a place though I thanked them…but I just think that is so amazing that someone I just meet is willing to put me up for the night.

I also met Jason at the shop who is the town clerk/treasurer for the town of Bainbridge. He was there having lunch with his mother and told me to stop by the town office when I got into town 5 miles down the road….he said he would have come cold Gatorade for me and give a call to a reporter.

About a mile before Bainbridge, a state trooper (Charlie and his son) pulled up next to me and said for me to get in and he’d take me into town because he was friend’s with Jason…I told him that I was just gonna run and he said “no…get in front of the car and I’ll escort you in”. So, I had a police escort into town…it was really cool…I guess I kind felt like I was in a victory parade without anyone else and without a crowd.

Anyway, when I ran up to the town office, Jason had put on the town sign my web address for everyone to see as they were driving by…that was a great welcome. When I went inside he had cold Gatorade waiting there for me…it tasted so good cause it was so hot out. This run has really taught me to appreciate refrigeration.

We talked for a bit and then, Rodney, the town marshal, stopped by to say hello. I talked with him for a bit and then he gave me some cash for the road. Then Karen stopped by from the Banner Graphic newspaper. She did a really good interview and then we went outside to shoot a photo. She also gave me some cash for the road. Before I left, Jason gave me some cash as well and loaded me up with Gatorade and water. The whole situation was a pretty amazing display of generosity ad I def enjoyed their company.

I had about 15 more to cover and the heat was pretty bad so I was chugging.
That night I was staying with Gene and Betty (cousin’s of my good friend Claire’s father). The plan was that I would make it to the edge to the Indianapolis metro and then Gene would come out and pick me up. When I got close I gave him a call. I did about 40 that day and def felt every bit of it. The good thing though was that my knee felt pretty good.

Gene got there and we loaded my stuff up in his truck. He had brought me a couple PowerAde’s so that was pretty awesome. We got back to the house and I got to meet Betty. I showered up and then we had an amazing dinner…steak, mashed potatoes, sautéed carrots, salad and then for desert…cobbler…I was pretty incredible. They then asked if I wanted to take the next day off and I figured that would be a good idea to let my knee rest. We talked a bit more and then I went to bed.



Thurs Aug 4th: Woke up and Gene made there amazing pancakes filled with apples and other good stuff. Betty went over to baby-sit their grandchildren so it was the two guys today. Gene was kind enough to show me all around Indianapolis. We first went to the Indy Motor Speedway where the Indianapolis 500 is and the Brickyard 400 is (which was that weekend). We did a ride around the track and we did a tour of the museum. It was pretty incredible to see it all since I had heard about this track since I was a kid. We then went out to lunch at this New York Style deli that was an amazing and then made out way over to the NCAA museum, which was really cool to see. I really liked Indy and Gene was so generous to bring me around to show me all the sights. He also treated me…which I was blown away by…Betty and him were so generous to me it was unbelievable.

So, we went back to the house and I got a call from Barb at the Indianapolis Star (Gene had called them earlier) and we talked for a while. Then Gene cooked me up some pasta and meatballs and I worked on my updates for a while. Then it was time for bed.


Fri Aug5th: Gene cooked some breakfast, I packed up my stuff, said goodbye to Betty and then Gene drove me back to where he picked me up. Matt from Foot star Orthotics had sent out a new pair of orthotics to Gene’s house to help my knee and they were suppose to get there by the afternoon…so Gene was going to run them out to me when they arrived. Before he took off he gave me some cash for the road….it’s just unbelievable how generous they were.

Right after Gene drove away it started pouring out…I can’t really complain though because that’s just the 4th time it’s rained on me the whole trip.
Anyway, after about 20 miles, I met up with Bob, a photographer from the Indianapolis Star, who was going to take my picture for the paper. At that moment, Gene showed up with the orthotics and we all decided that we would meet up in the center of the city and then Barb, the reporter who I talked to, would be there and we would all talk for a minute. When I got there, Gene had gotten me some Subway…. pretty amazing…and we all hung around for a bit. It was really nice to meet Bob and Barb…they were really cool.

After that, Gene followed me for a bit to make sure I knew how to get out of the city and then I said goodbye to him. As I was running out of the city I was thinking about all the interesting looks I had just got throughout the city. I suppose I look homeless at first glance with the beard and the jogger filled with all my belongings but upon closer look…I am wearing an
MP3 player on my arm and I am decked out in New Balance. Anyway, it’s interesting how quick we are to judge. I say hi to people and they just walk right by me or I get disgusted looks more often then not…I’m not sure why this happens but it’s just interesting. However, as soon as people start talking to me and find out what I’m doing…their demeanor totally changes…I guess it goes back to the whole saying…you cant’ judge a book by it’s cover.

Anyway, I ran out of the city and got to a mile or two away from where I was going to finish and gave a call to Dana and Dale, friends of my neighbors back home who I was going to stay with that night. I was only a couple miles away from their house so I just ran over to it. Dale’s Aunt and Uncle, George and Martha were visiting on their way to Germany so I met them when I first got there. I showered up and then Dana had cooked up some pasta with meat sauce, which was really good. One of their son’s, Bryce, was home and he had dinner with us as well. We sat around and talked for a while. They made me feel right at home. Later on, Dale and I played a quick game of ping-pong and he mopped the floor with me…it’s all good though…he had home court advantage…that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
After that…it was time for bed.



Sat Aug 6th: Dana cooked up some breakfast in the morning, I packed up my stuff and then Dale brought me to the town I was suppose to make it to the day before (since I had run extra miles of my course to their house…that made up the difference). I said goodbye and then took off. I no clue where I was gonna stay that night but I saw a town on the map that looked like it was a good one to shoot for.

The temp was pretty good that day and my knee felt okay so I was just cruising along. About two to three miles before I got to the town I was aiming for I passed through a town called Sulphur Springs. As I was running by one of the houses there were three young girls (Sydney, Jaime and Sarah) outside of the house selling lemonade. They asked me if I wanted a glass and I told them sure. As I was drinking my lemonade the girls were asking me questions about the run. Shortly, their mother, Susan, came outside and introduced herself. We were all talking for a bit and then I discovered that they were in front of Susan’s friends, Jeff and Laura’s house. Jeff came outside and introduced himself and after finding out what I was doing…immediately asked if I wanted to stay for dinner because they had just barbequed some hotdogs. Since I only had a couple miles left and no agenda, I ended up joining them all for dinner. Eventually, Jeff and Laura asked where I was staying that night and I said I wasn’t sure…so they invited me to stay with them…pretty amazing huh? Here I am a complete stranger running by their house and I end up staying with them…I was just totally blown away and such wonderful company surrounded me.

The three sisters, Sydney (9), Jaime (almost 8) and Sarah (7) were so cool.
They were so friendly, polite, down to earth and such little entrepreneurs with their lemonade stand and all. They def get their demeanor from their mother, Susan, who was a delight. She mentioned to me that she has been through hard times but she had such an amazing positive attitude…it was really inspiring. And then Jeff and Laura were amazing people as well.
They said that they often do things like what they were doing for me because they like to help people…for instance, they are big Colt’s fans and when they go to games they will often times have some homeless people over to their car for some food. Pretty amazing.

Eventually that night Susan and Jaime left…Sydney and Sarah were going to sleep over. Jeff and I talked for a while about positive attitude and what it meant to us…I really enjoyed his company. Then, Laura’s cousin, Kim and Suzi stopped by. They are from Washington and now traveling the country on a visiting nurse program…how cool is that?

Later on Jeff had to go DJ (it’s one of his side jobs) and I was talking to Laura. She was telling me about how she has had and has health problems yet she still charges forward. Her fighting her health issues def gives me motivation…if she can deal with all she is going through I can surely run 40 miles.



Sun Aug 7th: I woke up and Laura made us biscuits and gravy…my first time having it…it was def good. Then Laura asked where I was going to stay that night and I said I wasn’t sure. Her and Jeff then offered to come out and pick me up and bring me back to their house and then drop me off the next morning. I couldn’t believe it. The only problem was getting the jogger into their car. So, Jeff decided that he would follow me for a bit with Sydney and Sarah and then drop them off and then drive all the way down to where I was going to finish for the day and try to find a place for me to store my jogger.

He eventually met up with me and said that he had talked with Chris, one of the vol. firefighter who said I could store my jogger in the station. Then Jeff drove home and told me to call him when I got to the town and he would come back to pick me up.

About halfway through the day I came upon The Corner Market in Losantville.
I went in to get a sandwich and as I was ordering I started talking with Sherry. She ended up giving me the sandwich on the house and a bottle of water with it. Her and her husband owned the place and her family worked there. They were all so nice there…I met her father, mother and sister. As I ate, Sherry sat with me and kept me company…I’m really glad I stopped in there…oh and by the way…the sandwich was really good.

I made it to Lynn and made my way over to the baseball field where I was supposed to meet up with Chris. I was greeted by Hazel who was just full of smiles…it was very nice. The town has a softball league and Hazel and Chris belong to an organization that sells the refreshments at the games. When Jeff got there we brought the jogger of over to the fire station and then I hoped in the car with Jeff.

Jeff and I made it back to the house and he cooked up some pork chops…they were real good. Unfortunately, Laura wasn’t feeling to hot so she was just resting. We talked for a bit and then I went to bed.



Mon Aug 8th: Woke up and Jeff brought me back to the fire station where my jogger was. We just happen to bump into Hazel who told me that her and a couple members from her organization had left me a little something’s…they gave me some cash…so nice of them. I said goodbye to Jeff and then took off. After about 6/7 miles I crossed into Ohio…ah yea! After a while I came upon Lavy’s Corner Market where I got a sandwich and talked with Joe, Mary and Diana for a while. They were real nice.

I kept on going but I didn’t know where I was going to stay that night so I gave a call to Chief Taylor from the Paris fire dept and asked if he would be able to give a call to the Piqua dept to see if I could stay there. Sure enough…it wasn’t a problem.

I eventually got to the dept and they immediately made me feel at home. I first met Rick, the asst. chief and he introduced to everyone else; Billy (the Capt. on that shift), Tony, Anji, Don, Bob, and Brent. Billy cooked up some pasta with meat sauce and garlic bread and Anji cooked some desert….it was all really, really good. The only thing though was that literally as soon as we sat down to eat…they got a call…I felt bad for them but they were only gone for a bit and I guess that’s part of the job. They were all so cool though. I just can’t say enough positive things about firefighters…they are just really good people. I talked with them for a while and then headed off to bed



Tues Aug 9th: In the morning, I met the next crew that was coming on; Jeff, Bill, John, Jeff and Kevin. I talked with them for a bit and then Don and Tony stopped by to run with me out of town. Billy took me downstairs to meet Chief Connell and then I said goodbye to everyone and took off. Tony ran with us for about 3 miles and Don ran with me for about 7. It was great to have their company. I really enjoyed it. After saying goodbye to Don…I kept on trucking.

Billy had arranged for me to stay at the Urbana Fire Dept so that was pretty cool. My knee still felt good, which I was ecstatic about. The temp was hot but I felt pretty good. About halfway through the run, Steve, from CBS out of Dayton met up with me. It was def cool.

I got to the station and met all the guys; Phil (the captain) Eric, Brian, Barry, Jason, Captain Tursell and the Chief. They made me feel right at home. Phil had called a reporter from the Urbana Daily Citizen and the Springfield News and pretty soon, Ryan, from the Citizen stopped by. We had a great interview and he was def a cool guy. Then a bit later, Latoya, from the Springfield News came over and we had a really good talk as well.

Then, Jason and I went over to the country fair to drop of some stuff to the firefighter tent and then he took me over to the local college to see the campus. After that we went back to the firehouse and had dinner. They cooked pork and shrimp…can you believe it? Talk about a good dinner. Then, I was talking with Phil for a while, who was a real cool guy and Ryan, from the newspaper gave me a call to see if I wanted to grab a beer and I said def.

So, we went out for a couple and talked for a while. I thought that was so cool that he just gave me a call up. He has had a lot of cool experiences and it was neat to hear some of his stories. After that, I went back to the firehouse and went to bed.


Wed Aug 10th: I woke up and said goodbye to the firemen. They were such cool guys. The plan was that I was going to run to a bit outside Dublin (which is a suburb of Columbus) and Nancy, who got in touch with me before the run because she saw my site on the Cool Runnings website, was going to meet up with me and run with me into Dublin. So, I gave her a call when I had about 7 to go and she got off work early and met up with me. It was pretty cool to have her to run with. She also agreed to put me up for the night so we ran back to her apt, showered up and went to dinner. We went to this really good Asian style restaurant where you pick what you want to eat and the cook it up right in front of you. Nancy was so cool…she was really interesting to talk to. She also treated me to dinner….that was really nice of her.

After that, we went and got some desert and then made our way over to the house that she works at. She works with a boy who is mentally retarded and cares for him. His parents, Dave and Sandy, said we could come over so I could do laundry. As my laundry did its thing I talked with Sandy for a while. It was really nice to meet them and I enjoyed their company.

We then went back to the apt and it was time for nighty-night. It was def a good day…I had good food, great company and Nancy ran with me…yoo hoo!



Thurs Aug 11th: I woke up and Nancy cooked some incredible pancakes. They
had chocolate chips in them and they were really good. After that I packed
up and took off. I ran through the suburbs of Columbus and finally got into
the country. When I got there I came upon a little store on the road.
There, I met Harry and Gary who helped me figure out how many miles I had
left that day….about 17…I had already done about 20 something. So I kept on
trucking. I finally arrived in Newark and decided just to spring for a
motel. I got some food and headed off to bed.


Fri Aug 12th: Woke up and took off. I felt pretty good in the beginning
but then it got really hot and I started chugging. I went through one town
and ran into Tim and Misty who asked what I was doing…I told them and they
handed me a couple of bucks to get something cold to drink…random acts of
kindness….pretty cool.

I eventually made it to Coshocton and wasn’t sure where to stay. I searched
around for a place but couldn’t find anything. Then someone told me that
there was a campsite in the northern part of town. I headed over to the
site and went over to where the rangers stay. I met Denise, Tab and Laurie
and told them what I was doing. They arranged it so I could camp next to
their camper complimentary and then they got in touch with Sue who was at
the food court and she donated a pizza to me. It was pretty amazing because
I def wasn’t expecting that at all. The campsite is beautiful though. It’s
called Lake Park Recreational complex and it is really nice. They have a
huge swimming pool complex, golf course and baseball diamond. Their website
is www.coshoctonlakepark.com …check it out if you are going through the area.

Anyway, Denise called up her brother, Shawn, who works for the local radio
station and also called up Jim who works for the local paper. I talked to
both of them that night and had good chats with each. After that…it was
time to crash.



Sat Aug 13th: After I packed up my stuff…I said goodbye to Denise and then
Tab took me over to the office and gave me a couple PowerAde’s and some
water…such generous people. I then was leaving the campsite on a paved path
that goes out to the road. Just then, three women came running by and I
told them I was running across the country. One of them (Kim) said that she
was training for a marathon and decided to come with me for a bit. I was
really excited to have company and how cool is that that she just came to
run with me for a bit. She had already done about 8 so she ran with me for
about 4 or 5 and then said that she was going to run back to the park where
she had parked the car and then come by and drop off one of her cards.

So, a little while later she came by and brought her card and a couple of
PowerAde’s. She then asked me where I was staying that night and when I
told her I wasn’t sure…she said her and her husband would love to have me.
Not only that…but I was finishing for the day about 45 minutes away from
their house and she said that they would come and pick me up and drop me off
the next day….can you believe it? The plan was that I was going to give her
a call when I got to around where I was going to finish for the day and then
she would come out and get me.

After she left…I was thinking about the amazing nature of the situation and
how its funny how things work out. I also was thinking about Kim and her
running and what an amazing success story she is…she had never run before
and then two years ago…in order to loose weight…she started walking.
Eventually, she mixed in running and then she ran her first 5K. After more
races, training and persistence, she ran her first marathon and now she’s
training for her second…that is pretty cool.

Anyway, when I was done for the day, Kim came by and picked me up. On the
way back to their house (her husband is Dennis) she brought me by Cy Young’s
grave…that was pretty cool being a baseball fan and all.

When we got back to their house their three dogs and Dennis greeted us.
Dennis is just beaming with positive attitude and they immediately made me
feel at home. Also, Dennis’s hobby is cooking and he was making homemade
sauce and pasta and really good corn bread. Dinner was amazing. We sat
around and talked for a while and then they asked if I wanted to take the
next day off. I hadn’t had a day of in 9 days so I thought that would be
great. After that we sat around and talked a bit more and then hit the hay.


Sun Aug 14th: Woke up and Dennis cooked omelets…they were really good as
well. Then I worked on my updates and then Amy volunteered to take me on my
route that I was going to run the next day so I could see what I was up
against…and this is an hour out and an hour back…. pretty amazing. It was
good we did that though because I decided to go another way because the way
I was going to go was unbelievably hilly. We got back and had dinner and
then I finished my updates…we hung around and then went to bed. Amy and
Dennis were so kind to me and had such an incredibly positive aura about
them…it was def a pleasure to be around them.
 

Sun July 31st: I woke up and said goodbye to Gary (Tony was pulling a
double) and introduced myself to Gary’s replacement for the day, Gina. She was real nice and let me snag some of her pop-tarts for some breakfast and I had some of Gary’s OJ which was real nice of him.

The day before I had talked to Jocelyn, the Red Bull manager for state of IL besides Chicago, and she had said that the team could come and meet me today and hook me up with some Red Bull’s….sweet!!!

So, about 10, I got a call from Brian and Lance who said they were on their way. We decided to meet at the fire house to make it easy. While I was waiting, Herb, from the Journal Gazette stopped by to talk for a couple minutes. It was great to talk with him. I def enjoyed the interview.

Then, Brain and Lance came by and were all pumped up…it pumped me up as well. They hooked me up and then hooked Tony and Gina up with a couple Red Bull’s…it was pretty sweet. We talked for a couple minutes and they took off…they were def cool guys. I said goodbye to Tony and Gina and then went on my way. I’m telling you….firefighters are just such cool people.

I was only going to run 7 miles today because I had two new pairs of shoes from New Balance and orthotics from Footstar Orthotics that I had to get at the post office on Monday in Charleston and I also wanted to give my knee an easy day. So, Tony recommended that I stop at the fire station when I got into town and tell them that I stayed with him the night before.

When I got to town…that’s what I did. I went in and met Shane and Mike who called their chief who gave the okay that I stay…and once again…the guys were awesome. They made me feel at home right away…asking me if I wanted to do my laundry, take a shower and so on. A bit later, I met their captain, Richard who was real cool as well. The rest of the day, I did updates…the guys had a couple calls. At dinner time though, they bought me dinner…how generous is that?

At one point in the day, the assistant chief, Kris stopped by. He asked me if I needed anything and then said he would bring me over a bunch of PowerAde…he did…pretty cool. He was a really calm, relaxed guy…def neat.
At that point, I was pretty tired so it was going to bed time.


Mon Aug 1st: I woke up pretty early because Jocelyn from Red Bull had notified the morning radio show, Rob and Kevin, on Hit-Mix 88.9 WEIU, that I was coming through and they said they wanted to talk with me. So, Richard drove me over to the station and dropped me off. The interview was awesome.
The radio station is a college station so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was so nice. Rob and Kevin were great…I totally felt comfortable with them and I stayed on air with them for about an hour…it was really neat.
They are def cool guys and you can access their show at www.weiuhitmix.net..
The station also is host to WEIU Public Television. So, when I was done with the interview, John, the local sales manager, took me around the studio and showed me the facilities. It was really nice…the school is very lucky it has that nice of a facility. I was also introduced to Jeff, the FM director who hooked me up with a couple tee-shirts…really cool!

Dan, who was the captain for the next shift at the fire dept, came back and picked me up after I was done with the interview. He drove me over to the post office so I could pick up new shoes and then we went back to the fire house where I met Tim and Dan who came on that morning. I packed up my stuff and then was ready to head out when Dan handed me a couple bucks for the journey…and not only that, they said they would drop off my old shoes at the post office to be sent home. Pretty amazing. And another act of generosity….the postman at the post office said that they would take care of the postage for me…man…people are really amazing, aren’t they? Oh yea, one other thing was that before I left the fire dept, Kris, the assistant chief called up Herman, the chief at the Paris station, and asked if it was cool if I crashed…he said of course.

So, I headed out toward Paris. Right away, I met up with Daniel from Gazette, who took my picture. He was a cool guy. I then took off and headed toward Paris. My knee felt okay but was def hurting throughout. The pain never fully went away but it was tolerable.

I made it to the fire house after about 28 miles and I was ready to stop for the day. I met Steve, the Captain, Michael, Steve and the chief, Herman.
Once again, the guys were great. Totally laid back and willing to help me out in whatever way I needed. The chief told me that he knows a lot of fire stations along the way and if I need him to call ahead…he’d be glad to.

Eventually Michael’s family came over for a bit and they were all so nice…he has a two year old son who has his own language and who is adorable.
Anyway, after hanging in out for a while…it was time to hit the hay.



Tues Aug 2nd: Woke up and met the fire fighters who were coming on
shift…talked with them for a bit and then headed out. It was a tough day.
My knee was really hurting at one point and the sun was beating down…I was
not moving at the light of speed lets just say. I eventually called Robbie
Gunz….a friend from college…who gave me some encouragement and then kept
going. It still hurt though so I gave another call to Matt from Footstar
Orthotics. He told me to put another wedge under my arch and that would
take away the pressure from my knee…sure enough it worked. I ran the last 8
miles of the day with hardly any pain. I was going to run to a campsite but
came upon this really cute motel…the Parke Bridge Motel
(www.parkebridgemotel.com) and decide to check it out. I talked to Bobbie
who gave me a discount I couldn’t refuse…plus I didn’t really feel like
running an extra 9 miles to camp when I had already run 36/37 that day.

I cleaned up and went to Weber’s Family Restaurant (www.dineatwebers.com)
and had one of the best burgers I’ve had on the trip. It was really good
and messy…just like a burger should be. I also talked with Dick, the owner
and a couple of the waiters for a while….they were really nice. I then went
on back to the motel and went to bed.



The long awaited and anticipated cow and horse report part deux

Cow report: So, you want to know what’s funny…when you are running past a
pasture of cows and one of them has his head down and is grazing…you moo at
it and it looks up at you with a pile of grass hanging out of his/her
mouth…it’s mouth going in a counter-clockwise motion…chewing away…happy as a
pig in…well…you know. This is contrary to what I usually experience…usually
they run away…but as with any rule…there are exceptions…in this case…a cow
will run away from you most likely…unless it’s chewing a ginormous wad of
grass.

Another funny occurrence…the other day I was running (I guess this is
stating the obvious) and I mooed at some cows and I noticed there was a
donkey in the pasture with them….I said to the donkey in my best Shrek voice
“Hello Donkey”. The donkey took off running and all the cows
followed…interesting…interesting.

Horse report: Not to much to report about the horse’s other then the fact
that they still want to beat me up whenever I go by there stables…I’m
serious they all come and step up to me…maybe it’s the beard…I look pretty
shady.

Bonus report… corn and soy: There’s a lot of it in IL and IN

Sun July 24th - Mon July 25th: Woke up and took Sarah to the airport. We had such an awesome time. It was sad to say goodbye to her but I know I'll see her again soon and it's good motivation for me to get home. At any rate, I wasn't feeling very good...I had a bit of a sore throat and I had some phlegm in my lungs (the first time in the trip I was sick). So, I gave a call to Jim and Jen, who were going to drop me off in IL where they had picked me up a couple days earlier, and asked if it was OK if I took the day off so I could get better....they said of course.

Jim came and picked me up and brought me back to the house. Jen was there and they cooked me breakfast and then I went to sleep. They had a party to go to later on in the day and they let me just sleep all day.... I'm relatively a stranger (I stayed with them the night before Sarah got to St.
Louis) and they let me stay in their house.... how amazing is that. They also went out and bought me orange juice and told me I could eat whatever I wanted. Their generosity blew my mind.

The next morning I woke up and I still felt a bit under the weather so they told me I could stay another day...in fact they said I could stay as long as I wanted until I was better...that's amazing. That night they cooked a really good dinner and we talked for a while and then I went to bed. I felt pretty good by Monday night and was ready to start up again. Fortunately, I missed two of the hottest days of the year but unfortunately I ended up taking off 5 days in a row...three to be with Sarah (woo hoo!) and two to get better (boo!) so I was ready to hit the road again. I just am really thankful to have met Jim and Jen because they really took care of me and were so kind to me.


Tues July 26th: Woke up, had breakfast and then Jen brought me back over to IL so I could start up again. I felt OK...still had some phlegm in my lungs but I was ready to start up again. Unfortunately, it was pretty hot out so I loaded up with water and Gatorade and was ready to go. I ran about 20 miles and then I came to the town of Hamel. When I got there I went into Scotty's Bar and Grill (www.scottysroute66.com) for a cold drink. Linda who gave me a nice cold drink of water greeted me. We talked for a bit and then Pat, one of the owners, came by and we all talked for a while. I ended up getting a sandwich that was to die for....it had turkey, bacon, ham,
cheese...really good, and talking with Linda and Pat for a while. They
were really cool and then at the end...they said the sandwich was on the house.... pretty amazing.

I left from there and started chugging along. I was hurting...the temp was in the high 90's, the humidity was pretty tough and I was feeling the days off and the cold...but I kept on going. I wasn't sure where I was going to stay that night. I finally got to Staunton and decided that since I was just getting over a cold and since it was about to thunder and lighting and since I had no other lead, I might as well get a hotel room.


Wed July 27th: Woke up and took off. I started running and my left arch started killing. I kept going cause I figured that it would go away like all the other injuries I seem to have gotten. Anyway, after about 13 miles I came to Litchfield, IL and the intersection of route 66 and route 16...at this point I took a right onto route 16 and was off of 66.... I had traveled
66 for about 2000 miles and now I was done with it for this trip...ah...shed a tear. In all seriousness though, my travels on route 66 were amazing. I strongly encourage anyone who hasn't experienced the culture and the history of 66 to go for it.... its worth it.... the people and the sights along the way are amazing and it's a trip that will never be forgotten. Thank you 66 for 2000 miles of great experience.

So, I started off on 16 going east. Right before I got to Hillsboro, a man
(Dale) pulls over on the side of the road and asked me what I was doing. I told him and he asked what he could do to help and I said I was pretty good but he reached into his wallet to pull out some money...I said I was OK but he ended up handing a big wad of money and saying that he wanted me to have it...it was pretty amazing.

After that, I made it into Hillsboro and went to the Journal News where I talked with Mary. She was really cool and we had a good chat. We talked about the run and she mentioned how she really likes to travel...def cool.
Everyone at the paper was really nice and they sent me off with a couple bottles of water and some really good homemade cookies.

I kept on going and then something happened that really shook me. I was running (obviously) and I stepped awkward on the side of the road and twisted my knee a bit. It hurt but not excruciating at the time so I kept running on it. Over the next several miles the pain started getting more intense though but I thought maybe it was related to my foot. Finally it got to the point where I decided I better walk.

At that point I was walking by a house and there were two women outside (Stacie and Joanne). Stacie had seen me on NBC in St. Louis and had seen me earlier in the day so they knew I would be walking by. They told me to come on over and I met their husbands, Scott and Joe. It was Joe and Joanne's house and they made me a sandwich and gave something to drink (Joe and Joanne are the parents of Stacie's best friend). We talked for a while and they were such nice people.... I really enjoyed hanging out with them. I asked them if they knew anyone in Nokomis, which was the town I was headed to, and Stacie said that maybe I could try the churches...so she gave a couple of the churches a call for me but we couldn't get in touch with anyone.

Scott realized that he knew one of the police officers (Dave) in Nokomis and gave him a call to see if he could get in touch with any of the churches or had any other ideas about where I could stay. Dave said that I should give him a call when I got into town. So, I said goodbye and thank you to Scott and Stacie and Joe and Joanne and headed out again.

I tried to run but my knee was still hurting so I kind of hobbled along. I made it to Nokomis and right when I got into town I saw the Nokomis Ambulance building. I saw someone there and I figured that they could call Dave for me. I went over and introduced my self to Jo who was there with Phil checking his blood pressure. She immediately got on the phone and asked Dave to come by.

When Dave got there, he said that he hadn't gotten in touch with anyone and he wasn't sure where I could stay. So, I asked Jo and Dave if I could crash on the floor of the Ambulance building and they said it was cool.

As I was getting my stuff out, Phil said that if I wanted to come back to his house to shower that that would be cool. So, I got some stuff ready and away we went. When I got to Phil's house I met his wife, Charlotte, his daughter, Jerri and his Grandson, Noah. I took a shower and then when I got out, he had some food waiting for me (some really good soup that he had made the day before with fresh veggies from his garden...um um!). He then said that they had an extra bed and asked if I wanted to stay there instead of the ambulance building...that was so cool! So, we went back to the ambulance depot and I got some stuff, and then we went back to his house and I went to bed.


Thurs July 28th: Woke up and my knee was a little sore. Phil cooked a really good breakfast and then brought me back over to the Ambulance building to pick up the rest of my stuff. I packed up, thanked Phil and then took off. I made it about a mile and then my knee started really hurting. I called up Matt, from Footstar Orthotics, who has been providing my orthotics for the trip and who has been giving me priceless advice throughout the trip and asked him what I should do. Based off what I described to him he told me he thought I had done something to my meniscus and told me to take the day off, ice and described how I could make an insert for my shoe that would relieve tension on my knee.

So, I gave Phil and call and asked if he would mind if I took the day off and spent an extra day with him...him and Charlotte welcomed me back with open arms. They were so incredibly nice to me. They let me hang around all day, lie on their couch so I could keep my knee up and keep ice on it.
Gerri came over with her son and we all chilled out...it was great. Later
on in the day Phil made a really good dinner and his son and son's friend came over and we all ate. The food was awesome.

Throughout the day I was thinking about my injury...Matt told me he didn't think it was incredibly serious because I could walk with little to no pain...but the meniscus is a serious injury to have...if it tears...that requires surgery to fix it. So, I was incredibly lucky that I didn't hurt it worse. It made me realize the preciousness of the run and that it can be taken away from me at anytime so I really need to respect it.... not that I didn't before but this just put it in my face.

Also, all day on the news, there was a story about a horrific car crash that happened outside of St. Louis in which 7 cars and a dump truck were involved and five people were killed; one adult and 4 children. Not that it is even comparable but the crash and my knee thing made me think how things can turn in a millisecond and how we really need to appreciate what we have when we have it because we never know when it will be taken away from us.



Fri July 29th: I woke up and Phil made me breakfast again. Phil and Charlotte were so generous to me...it really was incredible. I said goodbye to Phil and took off. My knee felt okay but I decided I was going to walk to the whole day to make sure it was all right. On my way out of town, Charlotte stopped me on her way back from work and said she had arranged for me to stay at the Shelbyville Fire Department...sweet.

After 13 miles, I got to Pana and felt pretty good so I decided to keep walking to Shelbyville. I walked 29 miles that day from Nokomis to Shelbyville and my knee seemed to be holding up.

I got there and met Dick who was on duty. He was such a cool guy. He made me feel at home right away. I got some food and we sat around and talked for a while. He gave me tour of the station and showed me some of the equipment. It was really neat. Like all the firefighters I have met, Dick is such a stand-up guy. I just really enjoyed hanging out with him for the night. Later on in the night, his wife and daughter stopped by to say hello. They were really cool as well. Then John, from the Shelbyville Daily Union came over and we talked for a while. He was very thorough and it was cool to talk to him. After that, it was then sleeping time so I headed off to bed.


Sat July 30th: Woke up and Dick's replacement Kevin was there. He gave me one of his breakfast sandwiches, we talked for a bit and then he said that he would make a couple calls to see if he could find me a place to stay for the next town. He called his friend Andy (who later came over to the station to say hello) who called someone else who eventually worked out that I could stay at the fire station in the next town I was going to...pretty cool.

I took off and started walking. My knee felt good so I started running...after about two miles though it felt a bit strained so I started walking. This went on for a bit and then I decided that I needed to test my knee. I ran for a while longer and it felt okay. I finally got to Mattoon and walked for a bit cause it started hurting a bit more. I had about 6 miles to go though and decided that it wasn't hurting really bad so maybe I should just run on it a bit more and sure enough it felt okay...not 100% but not to bad. So, I think it's getting better...I'm def optimistic.

Anyway, I got to the station, which was at the local airport, and met Gary and Tony who, as with the other firefighters, made me feel welcomed right away. We hung out for a while and then Gary's wife, Chris, came over with their two children and brought pizza. They treated, which was very generous of them. We hung around for the rest of the night and talked and watched TV. They were such nice, laidback guys...it was a pleasure to be around them. Before I went to bed, Tony's wife and daughter stopped by to say hi and it was lovely to meet them as well. I then went upstairs and hit the hay.... my knee felt pretty good as well going up those stairs.

A quick additional story from Fri July 15th: So as I was leaving Lebanon, MO, I was running by a woman's house (Norma) who was in her front yard. She yelled to me and asked me what I was doing and I told her. She immediately, without hesitation, went to get her camera and invited me up onto her porch for a sandwich, some fruit and a cold drink. Before I left she gave me a snack and a couple bucks for the road. It was a really amazing act of generosity.
 

Mon July 11^th:  My hamstring really hurt so I took today off.  I ended up staying with Teri and Leslie (mother and daughter) who were amazing.  Leslie had heard about my run and they sent me an email saying I could crash with them….they didn’t know me at all….they just wanted to help…pretty amazing.  They fed me extremely well (a spaghetti lasagna for lunch and steak for dinner) and let me do all my updates.  Leslie also took her nephew (he is 6 and was visiting from Tulsa) and myself to a movie (the fantastic four…it was ok…no Spiderman or x-men but still cool)…really nice. 

After that, we stopped at a local bike shop (Bicycle Specialists) so I could get a tire fixed.  I talked with Debbie, one of the owners for a bit.  She was really cool and gave me a bit of a discount.  At any rate, I really enjoyed my visit with Teri and Leslie.  They were just such good-hearted people and I felt so comfortable with them.  Also, Teri had found me a couple places to stay for the next couple nights so I was pretty excited about that. 

Tues July 12^th:  Teri cooked me a real good breakfast, I said goodbye and then Leslie took me back to where I finished the day before.  I started up and thought I would run until my hamstring started hurting.  I figured that if I kept running and didn’t give it any time to tighten up, I would have a better chance of getting through the day without any pain…and I was right.  I ended up running the 30 miles pretty much straight through. 

The run went pretty well.  The only scare was not actually from my leg but it was when a group of 5 dogs came charging after me.  This happens pretty often when one dog charges me but it has never happened with multiple dogs.  I whipped my jogger around so it was in-between the dogs and myself but several of them started going around one side of the jogger and the others started coming around the other side.  At that moment, a couple driving by saw what was happening and pulled over in-between the dogs and me.  This gave me the opportunity to get out my mace and get to the other side of the road.  Luckily I got out of it fine. 

Anyway, the day before, Teri had told me that Mickey Owens Baseball School was on the road I was running.  So, she gave them a call to see if I could stay at the camp.  Unfortunately they said that it was against their policy but the woman (Lisa) who Teri talked with said that I could stay with her and her husband (John)…so unbelievable. 

I gave them a call and John came and picked me up when I had finished for the day.  He took me out to dinner and then we went back to their house.  Lisa got home later on that night from work and we all talked for a little while.  I had amazing conversation with them.  John was and Lisa is involved with school psychology and it was interesting to hear about their background. 

Wed July 13^th:  I woke up and Lisa cooked some breakfast.  They then brought me back to the point where I had stopped the day before and I took off.  The day went pretty well although it was really hot and humid.  I ended up meeting up with Brett from ABC Springfield, which was really cool. 

Teri had arranged for me to stay with one of her former co-workers, Bea.  Bea’s husband, Randall, said he would come and pick me up when I was finished for the day.  So, when I got to Springfield, I gave him a call and he came right over. 

He took me over to Bass Pro, which as this enormous outdoor sports store.  We went to the restaurant that is in the store.  It was great.  He then took me around the store, which spans approx 2 ½ blocks.  It has a waterfall in it, a museum and an arcade….I’ve never really scene anything of its kind before. 

We then went back to his house and we had some really, really good cobbler made by Bea.  Bea came home a bit later and we talked for a while.  They were such a nice couple and made me feel right at home…pretty amazing. 

Thurs July 14^th:  We woke up and Randall made me some oatmeal….I used to eat oatmeal and I hadn’t had it in a long time and I forgot how much I like it.  Randall and Bea then dropped me off and I took off for the day.  On my way out of Springfield a woman stopped me and gave me some money.  She said she saw me on the news and wanted to help me out….pretty incredible.  I ran a bit and then I stopped at a gentleman’s house (Doug) that I had met the day before on the road.  He was really nice so I wanted to stop by and say hi.  We talked for a bit and then I was off again.

This ended up being my longest day so far…I ran about 56 miles…give or take a mile or two.  I felt pretty good so I just kept going.  I also had nowhere to stay so I wanted to get to Lebanon, which is a bigger town and would have more options.                       

The run took me a bit over 12 hours but I chugged into town about 8 PM.  I decided that I’d take the money that the woman gave me and stay in a motel.  I checked in, got some food and went to sleep.

Fri July 15^th:  I woke up, had some breakfast and got ready to go.  I talked with the Dora at the front desk and went over to the hotel next-door to see her daughter Chelsea.  They were both very nice and they wished me well.  At one point during the run, Tom, who was from MA, stopped me.  We talked for a bit and then his next-door neighbor, Ingrid came over and gave me some water and a banana.  It was really nice of them. 

I made it to Waynesville and had no clue where I was going to stay.  I made my way to the police department where I talked with Gwen.  She was really helpful and referred me to the town campground where I could camp and shower.  I went there, set up camp, took a shower and went to bed.

Sat July 16^th:  I woke up, cleaned up my stuff and took off.  It was really hot out but I just chugged along.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do that night for housing but I was sure something would work out.  I ended up running to Rolla and about halfway through my run that day I realized that the University of Missouri at Rolla was there.  I thought it would be worth it to get in contact with the track coach because maybe I could stay with one of the athletes.  My girlfriend called the campus and talked to Clarence.  A bit later I called to talk to him and he said I could just crash with him.  Pretty amazing.

So I was making my way toward Rolla and I was on this back road…not much traffic at all and I see a car pulled over…I asked the guy how much further I had to a particular point and he told me (this will be relevant later).  I continued on and I started running up this ridiculously steep hill…oh and it was about 95 and with the humidity over 100.  Anyway, I’m chugging up this hill and this women pulls over and shouts in an angry, raspy voice, “you’re going to have a heart attack”…I kind of laughed because I thought she was joking but as I glanced at her I could see she was dead serious.  I tried to say I was ok but she drove off in disgust.  The best part of the situation was that she was inhaling a cigarette as she was telling me I was going to have the heart attack…”and isn’t it ironic…don’t you think”. 

Anyway I kept on chugging…and I say chugging because the hills of MO are unbelievable….they are constant and steep and just plain old tough.  Right before I got to Rolla, a man was driving really slowly toward me, checking me out.  He drove past me and I gave him the peace sign…he just looked blankly at me.  He then did a u-turn to come up next to me.  He stuck his head out the window and in a very concerned, curious manner said, “is…that a baby in there?”  I said, “no sir, its…”  Before I could tell him it was my stuff and I was running across the country, he drove off in disgust.  As he was driving off, I saw him look in his mirror so I gave him the thumbs up to say no worries and he gave me the finger.  Yep…you read it correctly….I got the finger.  My first finger in the whole trip came in MO.  Oh well…what are you going to do. 

At any rate, here is a contrast for you…right after the bird flew, the guy who I told you about before, the one who I asked how much longer I had, drove by with his girlfriend and pulled over and said, “wow, I can’t believe you made it this far” and then he said he wanted to take me out to lunch.  So, he (TJ) and his girlfriend (Lydia) and myself went out to a late lunch because I had just arrived at Rolla so I was done for the day.  They were such a cool couple and I really enjoyed their company.

I then went over to the university to see Clarence, who was working at the sports complex helping out with a high school basketball clinic.  His roommate, Jamel, came over to help us get the jogger back to their place.  Clarence and Jamel are on the football team and Jamel runs track as well.  They live in a frat house and they belong to Alpha Phi Alpha.  Their friend Chris was there, who is also in the frat and we all just hung around for a while.  We then went out bowling and had a good time.  When we got back to the house, I was beat so it was nighty-nite.

Sun July 17^th: Woke up, said goodbye and then took off.  I ran about 40 miles and it was one of my toughest days.  The heat and the humidity were unbearable and the hills were pretty tough as well.  I made it to Sullivan and decided to snag a hotel.  I was beat, hungry and had no interest and looking around for a place to stay.  I got some food, watched some TV and went to bed.

Mon July 18^th:  I woke up, had some breakfast and took off.  Little did I know that this day would rival the last day in terms of difficulty.  It was the heat, the humidity and the hills that just killed me.  Fortunately, I had a place to stay that night.  I was going to be staying with Doug and Lisa….Lisa is Sarah’s (my girlfriend) dad’s co-worker. 

Doug came and got me when I was done for the day and we went back to their home.  They are such a neat couple…full of positive energy and they have the cutest 2-year-old daughter.  Lisa fixed a chicken dish with couscous that was to die for…we sat around for a while and talked and then it was time for bed. 

Tues July 19^th :  Woke up, had some breakfast, packed up and said goodbye to Doug and Lisa.  Today I was running to Washington University to stay with one of my really good friend’s sister’s good friend, Cassie.  I cruised the run today.  I felt great.  It’s so weird how I can go from having one of my toughest days to having one of my best days.  The body is an amazing thing I guess.  Anyway, throughout the day, I had some weird things happen to me.  About 6 times throughout the day I ran by someone and looked straight at them, said hello and they walked right passed me without a glance.  I also waved at several people who didn’t even give me so much as a smirk…and this actually happened throughout MO where I would give people the peace sign and they would give me a dirty look or not even acknowledge my existence.  Kind of strange but as my main man Jay-Z said…”brush you shoulders off”.  Most of the people I encountered were amazing…I thought it was kindda interesting since it hadn’t happened like that in any other state with the looks or the walking by me and not saying hello….maybe it’s the beard….oh well. 

Anyway, I made my way to Washington U and met up with Cassie at her apt.  She is such a cool person and she lives with two guys, Alex and Phil who were awesome as well…in fact all the people I met that night were really chill and cool.  Cassie and I went and grabbed a bite to eat at a local restaurant and then went back to the apt and talked for a while.   She is a really interesting person and I really dug talking with her.  I used Phil’s computer to load up my MP3 player with a bunch of new songs and then eventually, we went out for a little while.  I had a great time hanging out with everyone and got into some good conversation.  We got back home and I crashed.

Wed July 20^th:  Woke up, packed up my stuff, said goodbye and peaced.  As I was walking out of the neighborhood I ran into Teri.  We started talking about what I was doing and then she told me about herself.  She is a single, working mom who can barely afford to pay rent.  From talking with her, I can tell she is a completely positive person and a hard worker but unfortunately she has just run into some bad luck.  She told me that she has this dream that next summer she wants to somehow get an RV or a van and take her son around the country so he can have that experience…the only problem is that she can’t afford it on the salary she has.  I thought it was an amazing story.  We sat around and tried to brainstorm for a couple of minutes about how she could do this.  We had a couple of ideas but she could always use more.  If anyone has any ideas how Teri could accomplish this amazing goal of hers…please email me and I’ll pass it on to her.  Thank you.

After saying goodbye to Teri, I took off toward Illinois.  I eventually got to the Mississippi and crossed the river into Illinois…7 down, 9 to go.  I was going to run to an Enterprise just over the river in Granite City and rent a car because Sarah was coming to visit.  Then I was going to drive it to Jim and Jen’s house…I met them in AZ and they said I could stay with them in St. Louis.  However, when I got to Enterprise, they didn’t have any cars so Jim said he would come and pick me up.  The people at Enterprise were really cool though and definitely were willing to help me in any way they could. 

Jim came by and brought me back to the house where him and Jen cooked me steak and potatoes…pretty amazing.  We stayed up late talking about a bunch of different things.  They are such nice, generous people it really unbelievable. 

Thurs July 20^th – Sat July 23rd:  On Thursday morning, Katie and Jeff from KSDK in St. Louis came out to interview me.  It went really well and I enjoyed talking with them.  Then Jen drove me over to Enterprise at the airport where I rented a car.  They were really helpful as well. 

I went over to the airport and picked up Sarah.  I was so excited to see her.  I was taking the next three days off with her and then starting up again on Sunday.  Over those days, we went and saw a Cardinals game, went up in the Arch, met up with the TJ and Lydia (the couple who had taken me out to lunch in Rolla…they are such a cool couple…we really like hanging out with them), did the Budweiser Brewery tour, went to the St. Louis Zoo (which is free and amazing), went to dinner at Lisa and Doug’s house (who I had stayed with several nights before and who treated us to an wonderful home cooked meal and a great time) and got some time to walk around the city a bit.  It was much-needed break and now I’m ready to tackle the rest of the country.  Bring it on!          

 

Thurs, July 7th: Woke up and said good-bye to Charlotte and Cliff drove me back to where he picked me up. I strapped in my new shoes to my jogger that had been brought to me by Steve, a friend of Kathy....that was really nice of him to drop those of. Cliff stayed with me while I got my stuff together and gave a couple of bucks so I would load up on Gatorade and water. I said goodbye and thanked him for his generosity.

After a little while, Shannon and his father, who own their own bug exterminating business stopped me to say hello. They had seen me on TV and wanted to give me their best. Before they left, Shannon handed me some money for the road. This also happened a couple more times throughout the day. Phillip, the principle from the local school of the town i was in stopped me and gave me a couple bucks. Fern stopped me and gave me some cold water and a couple bananas. Gene and his wife stopped me to talk to me for a couple minutes and give me a break. It is just really amazing the type of generosity that is out there....i am just totally blown away.

Kathy had arranged for me to stay with Brian, who she had trained to run his first marathon. He was going to meet up with me at some point during the day and run with me. Before that though, I got in touch with Burt from Channel 8 ABC in Tulsa who came out to do an interview. Not only did he come out to do the interview but he ran with for about 4 miles while we did the interview and Chench was the cameraman from the back of the truck and corey drove the truck. It was a really cool interview and Burt was a really cool, positive guy...I def enjoyed myself. During the interview, Brian stopped by to run a couple miles with us. He took off to go to work and said he'd meet up again later on.

I kept on going but my quad was really starting to hurt me now. I just tried to go really slow. After a while, Brain met back up with me and that helped a lot. He told me how he had just started running about 9 months prior and had already ran a marathon. He couldn't run more then 5 miles and then he got into a training group and...all of a sudden...boom...he broke through....pretty amazing...another example of positive attitude at work.
Brian's sister, Gina and niece, Abi, came out to take pictures of us. We eventually made it back to the house where I met Gina's other three children, Daniel, Becka and Noah, and Brian's mother Dianne. They immediately made me feel at home. We jumped in their pool and then watched the newscast that had been shot earlier....it was really cool.

Later on, Brian's son Austin came home from baseball with his three friends, Angelo, Hunter and Colin. I hung around with them and the other four kids for a while. They were all so awesome. They were so energetic and happy...it was great. I wrote some updates, we watched the 10 news and then i hit the hay....oh yea...and we had a really good dinner cooked by Dianne and Gina.



Fri, July 8th: We woke up and Gina cooked eggs and bacon for all of us. We all took pictures together and then I took off. Austin and Abi ran with me for a bit....that was def cool. They were all such cool kids...i was happy to have met them.

After a while, I was stopped by Rusty, who brought me a nice cold bottle of water and who talked to me for a bit. Then, Sean and his mom Dawn stopped me a little while later and gave me some money and a bottle of water as well. They had both seen me on the news and wanted to help. More examples of the amazing generosity I'm encountering every day.

A little later, I ran into Gary, a photographer for the Miami newspaper. He took a couple photos and told me that when I got to Miami to stop into the Coleman Theatre...so when I got there...I stopped in. It's a theatre that was built in the 1920's and is absolutely beautiful. Gary, Sally and Larry showed me around and told me whenever I come back through to stop in and they'd treat me to lunch...how nice is that? it was def a cool stop and you should def stop by there if you are traveling 66.

I then took off and headed to the state border of Kansas. My sister, Mary and her husband Geoff, were flying into Tulsa and were going to drive up and pick me up. After about 45 miles and much struggle from the heat and my quad, I staggered into the jayhawk state. five down, 11 to go.

My sister and Geoff came and picked me up shortly there after and we went and got a hotel and some dinner. It was really good to see them. I always have a good time with them so it was going to be a fun time.



Sat, July 8th: I took the day off to spend it with Mary and Geoff. Levi's father owns a ranch up in northern ok that he let us stay at. We made our way to the ranch which was breathtaking. It is a log cabin set on a vast set of land. We were able to ride horses and cook out. It was an amazing day...and Geoff and Mary treated me...they are pretty amazing to fly out there for just a couple days and treat me....we had such a good time. It was wonderful to see them.

Sun July 9th: We woke up and Mary cooked breakfast...it was good! then, Geoff and Mary dropped me off where they picked me up. Ron, who i had met up with the day before, dropped by to say hello again. He had gotten me a cool hat and some sweat bands. I said goodbye to Mary and geoff, packed up my stuff, said goodbye to Ron and then took off. Upon leaving Baxter Springs, I ran into Jim and the Baxter flea market who helped me with directions.

I was only going to run about 17 that day but ended up running about 35.
About halfway through, I crossed into MO...6 down, 10 to go...yes!!!!!! I went over to the Joplin Globe and met up with Nammi who wrote a great article. I then limped my way to Carthage...where I decided to stay at the Econo Lodge. My quad was really hurting and I figured i might as well cause they had a pool and a hot tub. There I was helped by Ginger who was very nice and helpful. I got some food and then I got in touch with Teri and Leslie, who live in Carthage and said they would put me up. I asked them if i could stay with them the next night so i could take another day off and let my leg rest an extra day. They said absolutely and said they would pick me up the next morning. They heard about my story and thought they shoudl help out so they emailed me...unbelievable!

Sun, July 3: I woke up and Mark fixed me breakfast. He cooked up some bacon and pancakes and they were real good. He proceeded to tell me how he had had a tumor in his brain and had overcome it. Hearing his story def gives me motivation.

After that we took off....he dropped me on the north side of OK city to avoid having to go on the highway....it cut out a couple miles but i figured that I had had to run extra miles recently to get to people's houses so it was cool. Anyway, Mark bought me my Gatorade and water for the day...so unbelievably generous and then it was time to start up.

I felt pretty good in the beginning. It was really hot though...in the mid 90's and humid...i don't know if all you want to know this but i sweated enough that day to fill a small pond. Anyway, about halfway through the day, I got a call from Tim from ABC. I had met him, his wife and his newborn at the Ok City bombing memorial with my dad. On one side of the memorial it says 9:01 and on the other side it says 9:03...Tim explained that the bombing happened at 9:02 and this represents the innocence before and the loss of innocence after.

Anyway, we started talking and I told him what I was doing and he told me he was a reporter. I gave him my number and he called me on Sunday saying he wanted to come out and do a story...i told him where i was going to be and he said he meet up with me.

Right after I got off the phone with Tim, a gentleman named Ron, who is a route 66 enthusiast, called me. He had emailed me prior and we were trying to figure out a time he could stop by when I was on the road. He was driving in the vicinity where I was so I told him to come and stop by.

Ron and his wife caught up to me right before Tim did. Ron and his wife were great. Ron has tattoos on his legs of famous route 66 icons so we talked for a bit about 66 and his wife and him gave me some ice and $20...can you believe it?

I then went and met up with Tim and the camera person, Becky. Ron and his wife hung around to watch the interview. it went well. then, Tim said that if I didn't have anywhere else to stay...I could crash with him...how amazing is that. Tim and Becky were really nice...I def enjoyed doing the interview with them.

After that, I said goodbye to Ron and his wife and Tim and Becky followed me for a bit longer to get a couple more shots. Towards the late part of the day...I started hurting. The heat, humidity and hills were getting to me.
I took a quick break under a bridge and Marvin, from Denmark stopped by to say hi. He was here doing research at the University of Michigan and after he was done he decided to drive across the country...pretty cool.

That night I stayed with Levi again. Paula, him and their family were up in the Tulsa area visiting family and he came home early to pick me up where I left off and drive me 30 miles south to their place in Shawnee, where my dad and I stayed. He took me out to dinner and Chillis...where Sarah waited on us...she was real cool and she did track for OBU....we got into talking and she ended up giving me a desert on the house...so cool. We went back to the house, watched a bit of TV and went to bed.


Mon July 4th: I woke up and Levi fixed us waffles and eggs...we then loaded up the car and he drove me back to where he picked me up. They are just so unbelievably generous...it's pretty amazing. I took off with approx 35 to bang out. Unfort I had no where to stay when I got to where I was going but I was confident something would work out.

I felt pretty good and was cruising. When I got to Stroud...I took a few minutes to make a call and take a break. At that time a car pulled up and three people got out of the car...Spencer, Kit and Amber. Spencer had seen me on ABC the night before and just wanted to say hi. They were from Ok city and they were on their way to Spencer's parents house for a 4th celebration. We talked for a bit...I really enjoyed talking with them...they were really cool...and then Spencer said that if I couldn't find another place to stay to give him a call and I could probably stay at his parents house.

When I got to Bristow I couldn't end up getting in touch with the contact I had so I gave a call to Spencer. he came right over, picked me up and brought me back to the house...it absolutely baffles me that people are opening their house to a complete stranger...its so amazing and generous...it def reflects well on humanity.

Anyway, when I got back to their house i met his parents, Joe and Debbie and his brother Mikey who lives there and all his relatives that were there. I showered up and then they fed me...it was really good bbq...and they had home made ice cream...uummm!! They have a tradition of letting of their own fireworks...so we watched that and then we watched the town fire works display....it was really nice...it was such a cool place to be on the 4th...in small town America with really cool people.

Tues, July 5th: Woke up and Debbie and Mikey dropped me back off in Bristow, about 15 miles up the road. I got some breakfast at one of the local gas station and was sitting there eating when I started talked to Gene, a Chiropractor. We talked for a while and he was really cool. At the end of our conversation...he gave me $20 and wished me luck...pretty incredible huh?

I took off on my run. about halfway through the run my quad started hurting a bit...not much to think of...but a bit of concern non-the-less. When I got to Sapulpa...it started getting interesting. I ended up spilling a bottle of Gatorade on my baby jogger...then I was running on the grass (cause Sapulpa doesn't have sidewalks) and one of my shoes fell out of my jogger. I ran back about two miles looking for it to no avail. When I returned to where I had left my jogger...it started raining for the first time on my trip....needless to say...this did not make me incredibly happy.
However...at that time...I got some really good news...my girlfriend told me she was going out to visit me in st. lois...woo hoo!!!

I called up Ashley, who I was going to stay with that night (her parents had lived next to levi and paula back in shawnee) and she said she would come and get me and we could look for the shoe. So, as soon as I got into Tulsa she came and got me with Sarah, her good friend and co-worker, and we went looking for the shoe...unfort we didn't find it...oh well....if that's the worst thing that happens...I'm in good shape.

We went back to Ashley's house where I met her husband, Jeff and their newborn son. Sarah ended up coming over with her baby girl (her husband wasn't feeling well) and we went out to get Italian. They treated...how nice is that. Ashely and Jeff and Sarah and her husband are all similar ages to me and it was really nice to see how nice both of their family's are...it was very admirable. After dinner we went back to Ashely and Jeff's house and went to bed.


Wed, July 6th: When we woke up, Jeff cooked me some eggs and rolls...so nice. I said goodbye to Ashley and then Jeff drove me to a spot that was about 3 miles east of where i stopped but 3 miles south of where i needed to be...we did that to avoid the highway and then I'd still be running the same amount. Anyway, Jeff stayed with me until i was all ready to go and then we said goodbye. I started running.

The plan was something like this...one of Ashley and Sarah's co-workers, Marvin, is a big runner and wanted to come out and run with me for a while...he was going to run with me to a certain point and then Kathy, who manages the running store Runner's World in Tulsa was going to come out and run more with me. I met up with Marvin and he is just such a spark of energy...when you meet him you immediately feel his positive aura...what a nice guy. While we were running, he told me that he had had a heart attack several years earlier and that after it...he wasn't sure if he would ever run another marathon again. Well, not only has he run another marathon but he might want to try to qualify for Boston again...just a testament to what a positive attitude can accomplish. Also, the fact that he was in good shape from running might have saved his life from the heart attack...pretty amazing.

We ran about 8 miles to his church where we met up with Joe (the assistant
pastor) d.a. (the pastor) his wife Robin and Patrick. They were all really nice and we hung around and talked for a while. After that, they prayed for me on my run and I took off. Shortly after I left, I met up with Kathy from Runner's World in Tulsa.

We took off and during the run we were met by Omar from CBS, Richard from AM 740 and Jeff and Stephen from The Tulsa World. It was def pretty cool.
At any rate, Kathy ran with me the rest of the day...about 25 miles. Pretty amazing. She was great...I def enjoyed the company. She talked to me about how she helps out with this group "newbies" which try's to help new runner's get into running. She is such a positive person and it was a pleasure to run with her. Toward the end of the run, Patrick from the church came out and ran about 5 miles with me. He just started running and ran his first marathon this past year...here is a guy who had never run at all in his life and he went out, trained and did it....just goes to show you that if you put your mind to it...it can be done.

About halfway through the run, I was telling Kathy about loosing my shoe. I was kind of stressing because I didn't want to call new balance and ask them for another pair since they had just given me two new ones or Footstar Orthotics...not that they would have any problem giving them to me because matt at Footstar (who is also my connection to new balance) has been so unbelievably generous in this whole trip...but Kathy said that she would just give me the new pair from runner's world in Tulsa so I wouldn't have to worry about shipping and all. She said she would have someone bring them out to me later on.

At any rate, Kathy and I made it to Claremore, where cliff (Sarah's father) was waiting for me. I said goodbye to Kathy and Patrick (who was there waiting for Kathy) and we went back to Cliff's house. I showered up and then Cliff, his wife Charlotte and myself went out to dinner. They took me to the Hammett House where I got Chicken fried steak and sizzling apple pie ala mode. It was amazing...talk about good food.

We went back to their house, had some wine and hung out on their deck a bit.
They really made me feel at home...it was pretty amazing. They have such a nice house and I enjoyed hanging out with them....such generous people.

 

Thurs, June 30th: So I woke up and Kristina cooked me breakfast
burritos...um!!!!!! We talked for a while and she said that she would pray
for me on my journey and then I took off. I really enjoyed staying with them.

I was really excited today because my dad was coming. I felt good as well.
Before I left El Reno, I met up with Pat from the El Reno Tribune...she was cool and we had a nice talk. I then took off and I cruised the 30-35 miles into Oklahoma City where I met my dad. My next-door neighbors back home...their best friends, Levi and Paula, live in Shawnee, which is relatively close to OK city...they let my dad and I borrow their car and stay with them in their guest room...although they were only going to be their one of the nights...so they were going to let people that they just met stay in their house alone...isn't that amazing...people are unbelievable.

At any rate, my dad came and picked me up in their car and we drove to Shawnee. We visited with them for a while and the we made it over to their neighbor’s house, Rae Ann, to use her pool and visit with her for a bit. At that point, Peter, the publisher from the Shawnee News-Star came over and introduced himself and said that he would have someone call me to do an article. How cool!!!

Later on, Levi, Paula and their daughter took my dad and me out to dinner.
So unbelievably generous. When we got back I was pretty beat so we just went to bed.


Fri July 1st: My first of two days off...ah!!!!!! So, we woke up, had
breakfast and then visited with Paula for a bit. She is an amazing artist
and their house is full of paintings she has done. She took us up to her
studio above the garage and showed us things she was working on. you can
check out her work at http://www.paulawillisjones.com...it's pretty great.

Anyway, we ended up having some lunch saying goodbye to Paula and Ellis (her
daughter) and heading into the city. Fist we went to the Cowboy Museum
which was really cool. There, they have an amazing collection of western
art and it's the home of the cowboy hall of fame...pretty interesting. When
we first got there we ran into Joetta, who was one of the people that
greeted you when you entered the museum. She had heard my story on the
radio so we talked for a while. A little while later, she came and found my
dad and me to give me a pin for good luck she had bought me at the gift
shop. I couldn’t believe it. It was so kind of her.

We then went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and museum which was
unbelievingly powerful. It’s unfortunate that people like Timothy McVeigh
paint a dismal picture on humanity where what I am experiencing the exact
opposite in that people are so incredibly generous and good-hearted…quit a
contrast. I guess that’s why the promotion of positive attitude is always
needed…because it only takes one person to paint a dark picture and we need
to be reminded that that is the exception and not the rule.

We then went and got dinner, went home and went to bed


Sat July 2nd: Woke up and packed up my stuff and then my dad and I took
off. He was going to drop me off at the next family I was staying with on
his way to the airport. Levi and Paula said he could take their car and
leave it at the airport and they would pick it up when they got a chance…and
it’s a 45 min drive to the airport for them…so unbelievably generous.

I was staying with Mark who is my girlfriend’s uncle’s brother. My dad
dropped me off there, I said goodbye to him and he took off. It was great
to see him…I had a great time and it was a great boost.

Mark introduced me to his son, Jake, and they immediately made me feel at
home. After talking for a bit, they took me over to the University of
Oklahoma to see the campus and then we went to a local brewery to have a
beer.

Later on, I ended up going with Jake and Mark’s other son Justin and his
finance KC to a 4th/50th b-day party. Jake and Justin are in a band
together and one of their band mates, Jeremy, was playing in a band with his
father and the gentleman that was turning 50 at the party. The party was
cool. They had a ton of food…it was really good. I got to talk with Eric
for a bit who is one of Jeremy’s friends. He was telling me how he had been
deaf in one ear all his life….it made me think about all the obstacles he
has overcome and about how if we all need to…we can overcome some pretty
incredible circumstances. He also has played music throughout his life…so
he didn’t let this obstacle get in his way…there’s always a way.

We then went on to one of their other friend’s house. That was really cool.
I enjoyed talking to all the people there. Unfort I was starting to fade
so we left so I could go to bed but I def had a good time.
 

 

So, after running across approx half of the country…I have noticed some things. For instance, people have different accents throughout the nation.
I find this really interesting. Also, food is varied slightly from one state to another. For example, New Mexico has it’s red and green chili that they pride themselves on and Oklahoma has chicken fried steak…both good but I warn you that the chili is def hot. These two examples are differences.
One thing that I have noticed about the country that seems to be pretty much the same wherever I run is the way the cows and the horses respond to me.
Therefore, I thought it was time that I offered up the cow and horse report (respectively)…because after all, people need to know what’s going on with the cows and horses or our beautiful nation.

Cow and Horse Report #1

Cows:
There are a lot of cows throughout the country! There is no doubt about that. No matter how many cows I see though, they all have pretty similar reactions to me. When I see a big pasture full of these guys I usual will say hi to them and maybe moo at them….this usually gets them all looking at me….as I have written before…this is an interesting feeling when you have 100 cows staring at you and you’re the only human around for a while.

At any rate, sometimes when I first approach them, they get startled and begin to run away but then they realize its me and just stop and stare….once again…a bit weird…and if I’m really lucky…they run with me for a bit…sometimes I feel like I’m running with the bulls in Pamplona and I get excited but then I realize I’m on one side of the fence and they are on the other and that they are also cows and not bulls…oh well. They only run with me a bit and I think it’s cause they’re scared but then when they stop they usually start staring…as you can see…it always reverts back to the staring.

Horses:
The horses are def not as funny as the cows. They will look at me, look me up and down as if they are stepping to me and then actually run toward me….sometimes I almost think they are saying to me…’hey you….how dare you run by my pasture with a baby jogger without a baby in it…you want a piece of me?’ Or sometimes they just run around like they are showing off…it’s pretty cool to see.

Well, that's it for now…stayed tuned for the next episode of the cow and horse report.

Sunday, June 26th: I woke up and Jonnie, Jim and myself had breakfast. I
got all my stuff together and then their neighbor came over to talk to me
because she runs the town website. She was so nice. We talked for a while
and then I was on my way. Pondering the past two days, I really felt lucky
to come into contact with such a wonderful family.

I took off on my way to OK. I had about 40 miles that day. I felt pretty
good that day. I guess it was because of the good food and company I had
the past couple of days. Anyway, about 10 miles into the day, a van pulled
over on the side of the road and a man, Steve, and his two children got out.
He had seen my story that morning in the Amarillo Globe News and was on
his way from CA to MO with his children to meet up with his wife and he was
stopping off to give me a couple of CLiff Bars and some liquid. It was so
kind of him and his children were so polite. He was a really positve guy
and it encouraged and motivated me to talk to him for a couple of minutes.

SInce I felt good that day, I decided to play a game with myself to make the
day a bit easier. I told myself that I was just warming up 20 miles and
that all I had to do that day was run 20. It really helped because when I
was getting tired durning the first 20 I just told myseld to suck it up
cause it was only warm-up for my actual run.

Anyway, when I got halfway, I reached Shamrock, TX. Here, I met Freddy and
Coby who were on their way down to Fort Worth. They had seen my story in
the paper as well and agreed to buy me a sandwich. What nice guys. We
talked for a bit and then I was off to tackle my actual run....only 20
today...woo hoo!

I finally crossed into Ok and took a deep breath...4 down...12 to go. Not
knowing what I was going to do that night for lodging...I remembered that in
the next town, 7 miles away, there was a couple, Harley and Annabelle, who
ran the Sandhills Curiosity Shop and who I had been told to visit. I
figured I might as well give em a call even though it was sunday night...and
what-do-you-know...they were there.

Harley told me to come on down and they would see me when I got there. When
I got there, Harley told me, welcome to the the redneck captial of the
world, Erick Ok and then they both exclaimed that they were the mediocre
musicians.

There shop is extremely interesting. They have things from all over 66 and
from all dif times. They also play guitar and sing. People come from all
over the world to meet them and they have been on television, in the
newspaper and have just been sketched by Pixar to appear in a new Pixar film
about 66. Harley is an extremly energetic soul and Annabelle is lively and
sweet. Together they make quit a team.

After talking with them a bit, three couple from Ohio, Frank and Gretchen,
Tom and Judy and John and Nancy, that were traveling 66 came in to meet
them. We all sat around for a while, took pictures, talked and listned to
Harley and Annabelle play music for us. At one point, Frank and Gretchen
told me that when I came through Ohio, I would be close enough to them where
they would put me up....how cool is that?

Also, at one point, a local women, Lenita, came in with her son, neice and
nephew to get change for the soda machine down the street. Harley ended up
giving them sodas. They went and sat outside and I ended up going outside
to get something from my jogger and we got into talking. I found out she
was a teacher and on summer break.

Before, I had asked Harley and Annabelle if I could camp in thier backyard
and they enthuisiastically said yes. However, about an hour after talking
with Lenita, she came back to the shop and said that her and her husband,
Jack, had and extra bed and wanted to know if I wanted it.....wow! talk
about awesome.

I said goodbye to Harley and Annabelle and thanked them for everything and
went back to Lenita's house. There, they fixed me up some pizza and I got a
nice shower. Their son Justin came home and we all talked for a bit and
then I hit the hay.



Monday, June 27th: The next morning, Lenita cooked up some breakfast and
then I packed up and took off. She walked with me and brought me to a
gentleman and ladies house who owned their own Christian thrift shop and had
just opened his own church opened to all sects of Christianty. They prayed
with me a bit and said that they would continue to pray for me on my trip.
Lenita and I then kept walking and we talked about religion. I found it very
interesting. A bit later, her pastor and the gentleman who we had just
talked with, came by and we sat in his car with them. They talked wtih me a
bit about religion and then they prayed for me. Lenita jogged with me a bit
more and then I took off.

I made it to Elk City that day and Lenita had arranged for me to day at the
Red Earth Animal Hospital and Pet Boarding clinic. Dr. Zent, the doctor
there, had built in a little Apt attached to the clinic in case he ever had
to stay with an animal. Rigth before I made it to Elk City, Lenita and Jack
drove by me and said that they wanted to take me out to dinner that night
and that once I got to town they would pick me up and bring me to Dr. Zent's
since it was about 3 miles off of 66.

They picked me up and we went to Dr. Zent's. When we got there I met him
and his assistant, Karen, and they were both so nice. Dr. Zent showed me
all around the clinic and told me to call him if I needed anything.

I then showered up and Lenita and Jack took me to Western Sizzler to get
some good food. I stuffed my face and then they dropped me back off at the
clinic and I went to bed. That was so nice of them.

It's unbelievable how amazing people are.


Tues, June 28th: I woke up, had some breakfast and packed up. Dr. Zent and
Karen came in a bit later and we talked for a couple of minutes. They were
both so amazingly nice. I wished I could have stayed and talked with them
more.

I took off on my way to Weatherford. Before I left town I stopped at the
Elk City Daily News and talked to John, the sports editor. He said he would
put a small article in that days paper.

Lenita had arranged for me to stay with her son Robert's good friend Devin
at the University in Weatherford so I took off running. This was one tough
day. I saw on a bank clock that it was 104 out. I ran about 49 miles that
day and maybe this is a good time to talk about OK. Every state has been
tough in its own respect but OK has prob been the toughest so far. There
are rolling hills, so in every mile, I run up 4-5 hills, there is the 100
degree weather, the humidity, the wind (that doesn't blow in any particular
direction...just against you) and the flys. I love the people though.

Anyway, at one point during the run, a gentleman pulled up next to me and
gave $5 and told me to get a cold bottle of water when I saw a gas
station...that was really cool. I eventually chugged into Weatherford and
made it to Devin's place. I met his roommate Steve, showered up and then
Devin took me to get some food. When we got back, we hung out for a bit but
I was beat so I ended up crashing kind of early.



Wed, June 29th: I woke up and Steve and Devin gave me some breakfast. They
were cool, laid back guys. I then headed out. Lenita had set up another
place for me to stay in El Reno with one of her old students, Kristina, her
husband David and thier two children, Skylar and Aerial. I just couldn't
believe this. Lenita and Jack are so generous it is really amazing.

I headed out and made my way to El Reno. The run was about 45 and it was
about 100 that day so once again...it was a doozy. I finally made it to
thier house where they instantly welcomed me with open arms. They made me
feel at home right away. We talked for a bit, then i jumped in their pool.
That was amazing....I often will dream durning the run that someone will run
out to the road and say to me 'hey you...you look tired and sweaty...how
about coming over here and jumping in my nice pool'....this was just like
that. Anway, we had a terrific steak dinner and then they took me over to
the local lake to check that out. We then got some icecream, went bakc to
the house, talked for a bit and then I went to bed. They were so nice and
Skylar and Aerial were so polite and nice. It was really cool. I was
impressed.

Wed, June 22nd: I woke up and went next door to the gas station and a couple things for breakfast. I then packed up my stuff up and started heading toward Amarillo. On the outskirts of town, Mark, who I had talked to at the town hall the day before, stopped me and gave me a really nice Vega, TX cap.
he also is the fire chief and so I gave him a patch of one of the fire dept's I had stayed with and he gave me one of his...pretty cool.

About halfway to Amarillo that day I passed a feed lot for cows....oh my goodness....did it smell horid. I had just ate something and lets just say that eating that something was almost a waste. The smell was so strong it was buckling.

At any rate, after i got by the lot...i carried on. Several days before I had contacted the Amarillo Globe News and I got a call from the sports editor, Jon Mark. He told me that a phtographer was going to come out and meet me on the road and sure enough...one did. Michael came out and took a couple pictures, we talked for a while and then he was off. He was a real nice guy and agreed to send me a couple copies of the story when it was done.

I then continued on and came to the famous Cadillac Ranch which are a group of Cadillacs sticking out of the ground just off the highway. They are painted different colors and look pretty cool. Just another reason to check out Historic 66.

The whole day was about 40 miles and i eventually got to amarillo.
Amazingly enough, a family who I had met in Albuquerque, Sandy, Chuck and Kelli, agreed to pay for a hotel for me in Amarillo. I made my way to the East end of town and eventually settled at the Days Inn. I got some dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.


Thurs, June 23rd: Today I took the day off. I had just run 9 days in a row and covered approx 280-290 miles so a day off was much needed. Jon Mark, from the Globe, came by the hotel in the morning, picked me up and brought me back to the paper so we could do the interview. At the paper, he introduced me to a couple of people and then we got into it. We talked for about 45 minutes. After, I asked him if he knew anyone in the east part of the pan-handle who might let me camp in thier back yard and he said his mom lived on the route i was running and he'd check with her.

After that, he took me to the store so i could pick up a cheap pair of sunglasses and then he took me back to my hotel. That was so nice of him.
I really enjoyed talking with Jon Mark.

On our way back to the hotel, I noticed signs on other hotels that advertised rooms for less expensive then where I was staying. This was odd to me bacause the lady at the front desk at the Days Inn had told me that thier rates were pretty much the lowest. i guess she was comparing simliar quality hotels but I had asked about all hotels. At any rate, i enjoyed my stay at the Days Inn because it is a very nice hotel, however, I felt a bit decieved so I decided to move on to another hotel. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing misc. things.


Fri June 24th: I woke up, had some breakfast and hit the road. Jon Mark from the newspaper, had called me to let me know that his mother and step-father, Janetta and Gerald, said that i could stay with them in Groom which is about 40 miles away...how cool is that?

On my way out of town I stopped at the Big Texan...a famous route 66 stop known for its free 72 oz steak if you can eat the whole thing in under an hour. i talked to the manager there for a bit who helped me with directions and took off. It was a really hot day and I was dragging. But I kept trucking along. About ten miles away from Groom, I saw one of the things that Groom is famous for....the self proclaimed tallest cross in the Western Hemisphere. It's quit a site because you can see it for miles and miles.

At any rate, i eventually got to Janetta and Gerald's house which is in this adorable little neighborhood. I really liked the Texas towns that I went through...they are all little and cute with a nice mid-west feel. I parked my jogger in their back yard and then we sat out on the porch and chated for a while. I came to find out that they were highschool sweethearts who were reunited after their spouses passed away. It's really unbelievable how the world works. We had great converstation. Gerald had lived in Germany for most of his adult life so he told me a bit about that and Janetta had been a school teacher and she told me a bit about that. I really enjoyed myself.

I showered up (its unbelievable what a good shower can do to revive you) and then Janetta gave me a plate of her home made chilli and mashed potatos...it was so good! And then, she gave me a piece of her chocolate chip chocolate cake which was to die for. We then talked a bit more and then we went to bed.

Sat, June 25th: We woke up and Janetta cooked waffles....they were really good. I then got packed up and before I left, they took me over to see the cross and the station of the cross up close. The art work on the station is pretty unbelievable. The whole thing is an amazing site.

We went back to the house and i got all my jogger and was ready to hit the road. Before I left though, Janetta told me that she had talked to her sister, Jonnie and her husband Jim, in Mclean, 30 miles away, and they said could stay with them.

So, with a destination in my sites, i hit the roads. The run was tough that day because I had to be on the highway a bit, it was really hot and the terrain started rolling....once again...whoever said Texas is flat....i want to talk to him.

At one point, when I was on the highway, I came upon a truck driver, Robert, who was broken down on the side of the road and was being helped by a mechanic. When I came up to him, he aksed me what I was doing and we got into talking. He's from North Carolina and was doing a drop in CA. After talking with him for a couple minutes, we said goodbye but before i went he reached into his wallett and handed me a $20 bill. I tried to say no but he insisted. When I went to get his address so i could thank him later on...he said no thats ok. He just wanted to be generous. I just couldnt believe it. What an amazing gesture. So, since I don't have your address, thank you Robert.

I eventually got to Jonnie and Jim's house and like her sister, they live in a real cute neighborhood and have a very nice house. They greeted me at the door and then we went out to their deck in the back yard. They brought me a beer rigth away so I could start carboloading. We sat and talked for a while. Jim told me how at one time he was in real estate, cattle and the manager of a bank. At that time he slept 6 hours a nigth, if that, and worked pretty much the rest. Its incredible what people can do if they put their minds to it. The body and mind can do some amazing things if we let 'em

I then showed up and we had an awesome dinner. They cooked up some big Texas steaks, which were great, baked potato's and salad. Then for dessert, we had appricot cobler which, like her sister's cake, was to die for. We talked for a bit more and then i went to bed.
 

 

 

Tuesday June 14:  I woke up this morning and Marion and John cooked me pancakes.  They were real good.  I got ready, said good-bye to John, and Marion drove me to an intersection in Albuquerque where I was going to meet Jake, the photographer from the Tribune, and Stephen, the owner of The Athlete’s Edge, who was going to run with me for a couple of miles.  When we got there, I packed up my baby jogger, got some Gatorade and water, and was ready to go.  Before I left however, I gave a hug to Marion and she gave me a couple bucks for the road.  It’s really unbelievable to me how generous people are. 

Stephen and I started running and Jake trailed behind taking photographs of us as we went.  A mile or two into the run, Stephen asked me where I got my baby jogger, and I told him that I bought it back home.  He then said, if I had no special connections to the baby jogger, he wanted to donate a brand new baby jogger to me.  This was truly amazing.  I said yes, and later on, one of his employees, Eric, met up with me and dropped off the new baby jogger.  Eric hung around with me for awhile, while I transferred my stuff from the old baby jogger to the new one, and kept me company, which was really cool.  Stephen ran with me for a little bit longer, and then we parted ways.  After Stephen left, Jake followed me for a little while taking a couple more pictures, but said that if I needed any help along the way to give him a call.  This was a tough day. 

I ran approximately 40 miles this day, and had to climb a good part of the day out of Albuquerque, which is in a bowl.  Plus, the wind was blowing east to west this day.  However, I kept pushing along.  At one point, I reached a gas station and was about to go in to pick up some Gatorade.  And at that point, two women named Twilia and Misha pulled up and gave me Gatorade, water and a sandwich.  They had seen me on TV and wanted to help out.  How cool is that. 

As I was eating my sandwich, I began to talk to Bill, who works at the tire shop next to the gas station.  Bill is a real nice guy, and has lived in several different places around the US which is pretty interesting.  He took my baby jogger into the tire shop and pumped up the tires with some air.  As I was talking to Bill, another gentleman named Keith came over and I talked to him for a little while about positive attitude, and he told me that he had biked across the country when he was younger.  What a cool thing.  

I said goodbye to Keith and Bill and continued running.  A little bit later at one point, another gentleman got out of his car and threw me a bottle of water.  He took off pretty fast, so I didn’t get his name, but it once again reinforced the generosity of people.  I continued to run, and I eventually I saw a white jeep come around a corner and turn onto Route 66.  The jeep pulled over and the window went down, and the woman in the car, Candace, asked me where I was staying that night.  I told her that I already had accommodations for that night, but not for the next night.  She offered to drive out to where I was going to be the next day, pick me up, and bring me back to her house.  She said she saw me on TV, and had a feeling she was going to run into me, which just blows my mind because she doesn’t normally go out at that time of day to go to Albuquerque, and I had just spent an hour changing out my baby jogger—so it was really by chance that we met up.  After meeting Candace, I kept running and eventually I saw another car pull over on the side of the road and another woman got out of the car and started heading toward me.  I stopped my music, and she came and brought me a cool tie, which is a thing that you dip in water and tie around your neck.  It has beads in it that keep you cool on a hot day.  The woman, Angel, makes the cool ties, and saw my story and the news and thought that I could use one.  I was very thankful for it, because man oh man did I need it.  They definitely work. 

After saying goodbye to Angel, I eventually made it to Moriarty, where I made my way to the Holiday Inn.  Jeff, a pilot in the Air Force, had seen my story on the news, and since I had a place to stay in Albuquerque, wanted to put me up in a hotel room in Moriarty.  So he went ahead and booked me a room at this Holiday Inn.   I know I say this a lot, but this just shows the incredible generosity of people—I just don’t think I can emphasize enough how amazing people are.  I mean, can you imagine seeing someone on the news and being willing to buy a perfect stranger a hotel room?  That is some generosity there.  At the Holiday Inn, I was able to talk to the front desk people, Caroline and Kimmy for a little while, and they were very helpful and nice.  I then checked into my room and went down to the hot tub, where I was able to soak my legs for a little while.  While I was there, I ran into a woman who was traveling with her father and stepmother to the Grand Canyon and back.  We talked for a little while, and she and her father and stepmother wished me luck.  I then went back to my room and went to bed.  That was a big day. 

Wednesday June 15:  I woke up, had breakfast, got my water and Gatorade at a local grocery store, and took off.  Unfortunately, the next two days would be all highway running, which I don’t necessarily like, but every goal has obstacles, so I had to suck it up.  I ended up covering about 31 miles that day, and then had to cut my run a couple miles short because lightening was right off in the distance, and it started to sprinkle a bit.  I didn’t want to get hit, so I stopped. 

I called Candace, and told her I was waiting under a bridge, and she came right over to pick me up.  We went back to her beautiful house in the hills.  Right next to her house, there was a guest house, where I was going to stay.  She recently got the guest house ready to rent out to people who are going on vacation or driving through, and want a really nice place to stay.  She let me stay in it for free.  If anyone is interested in checking it out, the website is www.colinasencantadas.com, which means enchanted hills in Spanish.  I showered up and headed over to the house because Candace was having some friends over for dinner, and she invited me to join them.  When I showed up, I met Sandy and Chuck and their daughter Kelli.  Candace had prepared a chicken enchilada casserole, and Sandy had made a dip for us to munch on with chips.  Throughout the night, we all had good conversation.  I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Sandy, Chuck, Candace, and Kelli, and the food was delicious.  They were such delightful company, and I am blessed to have met them.  After everyone left, I talked with Candace for a few more minutes, and then headed back to my room to go to sleep. 

Thursday June 16:  When I woke up, I headed over to the house because Candace cooked some eggs and toast, and we had some of the enchilada casserole for breakfast.  I then packed up my stuff, and she drove me 45 minutes all the way back to where she picked me up.  That means she drove a total of 3 hours to help me out—pretty amazing.  After saying goodbye to Candace, I took off to tackle my biggest day yet, which I suppose was only fitting because it was the anniversary of my mother’s death.

After all was said and done, I ended up running 50 miles that day, throughout which I ran 26 of them non-stop in 4 hours 15 minutes.  I dedicated that 26 miles, and the rest of the run for that matter, to my mom, and to anyone else who has to deal with cancer and the ugliness of it.  Needless to say, when I arrived in Santa Rosa, I was pretty beat.  But luckily I had some amazing people who were helping me out. 

Troy, the gentleman who I had gone to breakfast with the other day, had contacted a woman who used to live in Santa Rosa, who knew a reporter, Davy at the Guadalupe County Communicator.  I called Davy, who didn’t even know who I was, but was still willing to help me out in an instant.  He called Richard, from the visitor’s center in Santa Rosa, and told him about me.  Later on that day, I called Richard and asked if he knew of anywhere I might be able to stay that night.  He told me to give him a moment, made a call, and talked to Bob and Jean at the Santa Rosa campground who let me stay at the campground complimentary.  I went up to the campground, introduced myself to Bob and Jean who were very nice and directed me back to my campsite.  I had dinner, went back up to talk to Bob and Jean some more, who gave me a couple packs of cookies, then went back to my campsite and went to bed.

Friday June 17:  Woke up, packed up my tent and stuff, got some breakfast, and walked back down the huge hill in Santa Rosa, about 2.5 miles, to the visitors’ center, to go say hi to Richard.  Richard was great—he was all excited to see me and we ended up talking for a little while.  His two assistants were really nice as well.  I went over to the newspaper and talked to Renee, and then went over to the post office to pick up my brand new orthotics, which were mailed in from Footstar Orthotic Systems, one of my sponsors.  I headed back to the visitors’ center, and Richard took a couple of pictures of me for the newspaper.  I picked up a bunch of liquid at the grocery store, and then Richard said he would drive me up that big hill since I had already run up it the previous day.  He actually drove me a little bit further past the hill, because I was going to take the Route 66 alignment, which added on about 5-6 miles.  So by him driving me to the top of this hill, it only added on about 2-3 miles.  Since I had already run back and forth between the campsite and the visitors’ center, I felt comfortable with this.  He took a couple pictures of me at the top of the hill, said goodbye, and I was off.  Richard was a really great guy, really nice, and really eager to help me out even though he had just met me, which seems to be the norm on this trip rather than the exception—absolutely amazing. 

For about 15 miles, I saw only 2 cars and a bunch of cows.  Throughout the whole trip, it is kind of weird…  I have noticed that when I run by a pasture of cows, they all stop and stare at me.  It is a weird thing to be stared at by over a hundred cows, all looking at me, wondering what I am doing.  Sometimes I wonder what they’re thinking.  I think they are surprised to see a human in some respects, especially a human with a baby jogger.  Most of the time when they look at me, I start mooing at them, and sometimes I also dance at them.  They continue to stare at me, but I kind of get a kick out of it, so I guess it is good to laugh at yourself once in a while.  To embellish on the point, dancing that is, I often times find myself rocking out to the beat.  Sometimes I play air guitar, sometimes I play air drums.  I can only imagine what animals and passing cars think when they see me doing this.  I guess I’m a little crazy, but I guess I wouldn’t be doing this trip if I wouldn’t.  But come to think of it, aren’t we all a little crazy at heart? 

Eventually I came to Newkirk, which has a population of about 15.  I went to the gas station and asked them if they had any suggestions on where I could camp.  They suggested I go up the road and camp under a bridge.  Needless to say, this did not sound ultra appealing to me.  As I was walking up the road, I saw a gentleman named Don standing in his yard.  I asked him if he knew of anywhere to camp, and he told me I could camp in his backyard.  I then asked him if I could take a shower in his house, and he said he didn’t have any electricity or running water, he liked to live simply, and I thought that was pretty cool.  I set up my tent, and went inside to talk to Don.  Don has had a fascinating life.  He served in Vietnam, he drove a truck all around the United States, he owned an airplane and traveled around the world, he owns a log cabin up in Washington state, he is totally self-sufficient in that he knows how to live off the land, he knows how to fix pretty much every type of automobile and mechanical device that exists, he has battled cancer, and much more.

Eventually, Don’s roommate Jesse came home.  About 4 months back, Jesse was on his way from Georgia, CA, and broke down and Don has let him crash with him ever since.  Don is just a really giving guy.  Before I went out to my tent, Don gave me some chicken and rice that he had cooked up.  Oh I forgot to mention, Don also went to culinary school and is a very good cook.  After the meal, I said goodnight, went out to my tent and went to bed. 

Saturday June 18:  Woke up early in the morning, found out I had a flat tire, and Don helped me fix it, and I took off.  That day was a really hot one—it got to be about 103 out there, but I kept chugging along.  Eventually, I go to a gas station, where I met a couple who told me they were hiking the Appalachian Trail in segments.  They were really interesting to talk to, and while we were talking, I also met a gentleman named James and his daughter Samantha who were traveling from Arizona to Michigan.  James has cerebral palsy and told me that throughout his life, he might not be able to do things in the same way that most people do things, but he will always find a way to do those same things in his own way, and that he would never take no for an answer.  I found his story incredibly inspiring, because here’s a guy who epitomizes positive attitude and that one can accomplish anything if one so desires, no matter what one’s obstacles are. 

After talking with them, I headed back out.  I had to get on the highway for about 9 more miles into Tucumcari, which was my destination for the day.  On my way into town on the highway, I ran into Gustavo, who was biking across the country from Boston to LA.  We sat on the side of the highway and talked for a little while.  We both took pictures of each other and exchanged phone numbers, because I think we were both so happy at what the other one was achieving.  I told him to come down to Newport from Boston when I finish, and hopefully he will. 

When I made it into Tucumcari, I eventually was directed to the police station, because I was told by one of the fire fighters that sometimes the police station will give a voucher to one of the motels to someone who is doing something crazy like myself.  The fire fighter was right—the police station gave me a voucher to one of the local motels which was an amazingly nice gesture.  I made my way over to the motel, made a couple calls, and went to bed. 

Sunday June 19:  Woke up in the morning, had breakfast, loaded up with drinks, and took off.  This day was another 100+ degree day, and the heat on this day was killing me.  I was exhausted, overheated, my legs hurt, and I felt mentally drained as well.  I ran to San Jon, where I made my way over to the Baptist church.  I ran into Frank, one of the deacons of the church, and explained to him what I was doing, and asked if I might be able to camp in the backyard of the church.  At that time, some of the members were having a business meeting, and he consulted with the other members of the church who all agreed that I could camp in the backyard of the church.  They set me up with some Kool-aid and some cookies, and a nice place to camp under the trees in the backyard.  When the meeting was over, Frank came out and said goodbye, and I thanked him for his generosity. 

A short time later, a police officer came by and asked what I was doing and why I was there.  I told him that I was running across the country, and that several of the members of the church said that I could camp in the backyard.  The officer said that the neighbors had been complaining to the police chief and to the deacons of the church that they didn’t want me there, and the officer advised that I leave and go to the town park.  This shocked me.  I was pretty taken aback by the neighbors response to me, and that they judged me and complained even though I was on private property and wasn’t doing any harm.  However, what are you gonna do. 

So I packed up my stuff and went over to the park like the officer asked me to do.  I ended up putting up my tent next to a baseball dugout that blocked the view of it from the street, to conceal me and make me feel a little bit safer.  I didn’t get much sleep that night because the wind was blowing and I was just nervous about being in a park.  But I got through the night.

Monday June 20:  Woke up early on Monday morning and went to the gas station/diner and got some breakfast.  While I was there, I ran into Tim, a truck driver, and his son Timmy, who is traveling with him during the summer on his school break.  Tim was telling me how he works about 7 days a week, 18 hours a day, and how he drives all around the United States, and I was just impressed with his work ethic.  He gave me a breakfast burrito for the road, and I said goodbye, got my stuff together, and took off. 

I ran from there all the way to Glenrio, the border of New Mexico and Texas, on a dirt road, but finally I made it.  I was 3 states down, and 13 to go.  I entered Texas and had to get on the highway for 18 miles, and that 18 miles was a doozie.  Whoever said that Texas is flat has not been on the very western part of I-40 in the beginning of Texas.  Anyway, I made it to Adrian, TX, which is renowned for being the midpoint of Route 66, between Chicago and LA.  I decided to spring for a motel that night, and boy did I need it.  I went to the motel, got some food, and went to bed.

Tuesday June 21:  Woke up and went to breakfast at the Midpoint Café, where I met Fran (the owner) and Jenny.  The café is a cute little restaurant with a Route 66 gift shop, and the breakfast was really good.  I went back to my motel room, gathered my stuff up, and went back to the café to show Fran and Jenny my jogger.  I started talking to Fran a bit, and realized that she was from western Massachusetts.  We also talked about the history of Route 66 and how cool it is, and she also put me in touch with Linda in Vega, which was the next town that I was going to run to.  Also, she told me about a Central Connecticut State University professor who is doing a study of Route 66, and had just brought his class out there to explore it.  And since I’m from CT, I gave that professor a call, and hopefully I’ll be able to talk to him in the next couple of days.  Before I left the café, Fran gave me some money for a motel when I need one, some oranges, and some water, and told me that if I ran into any trouble to give her a call and she would come pick me up…can you believe how nice people are?

I made it to Vega, and went to see Linda at the Chamber of Commerce.  She wasn’t there, so I picked up some food and waited next door at the city hall.  Everyone there was great—they told me about a reality show that had just been filmed there and appeared on CMT.  I then made my way over and met with Linda, and we talked for a little while.  Then, she told me that she would let me stay in a house that she owns that doesn’t have any furniture in it.  When we got to the house, it was great.  It did have electricity and air conditioning, and the floors were carpeted, so I just whipped out my little air mattress and sleeping bag and I was set to go.  It was perfect for me.  I got some dinner, talked to my girlfriend, and told her the updates which she typed as I dictated them, which took about 2.5 to 3 hours, but we got through it.  Then I went to bed. 

Thurs June 9th PM: So that night at the firehouse was pretty cool. Chief Andrew and Brian came over to the house. I got to have a real good conversation with Chief. What a good boss. You can really tell how much he cares about his firefighters…he just had a real positive aura about him. We all talked a bit more and than I hit the hay.

Fri June 10th: Mike, Billy and I woke up about 6:45 and Chief came over to take us out to breakfast. We went to this nice little café and I got some really good French toast. The other guys got eggs with New Mexican Green Chilly (it’s the craze in New Mexico). Anyway, we went back to the firehouse and Marjorie, the administrative assistant who I had met the day before and who was very sweet, Elliot and Chris were there starting their shifts. I got to meet them and then I packed up my jogger and headed over to the Cibola County Beacon to talk to them.

When I got to the paper, Don, the editor of the paper and the one who had put me in touch with the firehouse, greeted me. Don took me back to one of the rooms and interviewed me and then took my picture. He was real nice and I enjoyed meeting him and everyone else at the Beacon. He wished me good luck, gave me a copy of the day’s paper and then I took off.

I headed back to the station for a brief moment and got to talk with Marjorie, Elliot and Chris a bit more…what great people…and then I took off.
The day went well. I had a bit of soreness in my knee but for the most part I felt all right.

About halfway through, Nicole and Ross from Channel 4, the NBC affiliate from Albuquerque, came out to meet me. We talked for about 20 minutes.
They were great….all smiles and good energy. Nicole did the interview and Ross filmed it.

After saying goodbye to them, I had about 15 miles left. The whole day was about 30 miles and I was to finish at Laguna Pueblo. Joe from the Gallup Herald had arranged for me to stay at the church there.

When I arrived, I contacted Father Ulrich. As I was waiting for Father to come out and show me where I was going to stay a police officer pulled up.
Apparently he had been called by a worried local claiming that there was some weirdo with a beard and a baby jogger wondering around, looking suspicious and kind of drunk because he was stumbling…I guess that was me…hey what do want…I was looking around cause it was beautiful and I was stumbling cause I was kind of tired…oh well…no harm done…I explained to the officer what I was doing and he was real cool about it.

Anyway, Father Ulrich came out and unlocked the school next door for me. He then let me shower in the priests’ quarters. We talked for a little while and he told me a bit about the history of the area and then I went back to the school hall, had some food and went to bed.

Sat June 11th: Woke up about 6:30 and got going right away. I had about 40 miles to cover to get to Albuquerque so I wanted to get a good start. After the first 6 miles I had to get on the highway.

I felt ok but as usual, I had no interest in running on the highway.
However it was either give up or suck it up….I proceeded to run down the ramp. Within minutes I started getting cars beeping at me and waving at me.
I quickly caught on that it was because of the NBC broadcast that had aired the night before…Nicole had told me she was going to tell people to beep at me if they saw me.

A bit later, a couple, Joe and Linda, pulled over on the side of the highway and waved me down. They were from Indiana and traveling 66. They took my picture and told me that when I came through Indiana they would try to find a place or two for me to stay. They gave me their number and email and went on their way. It was so cool that they stopped though. It pumped me up big time.

A bit later a yellow car full of people sped by honking and waving at me…they later posted something on my site saying hello…how cool is that?
Than, about halfway through, I came across a couple, George and Janet, who were in the breakdown lane with a flat. It was their second flat of the day! That stinks…but they didn’t see it that way…they just took it in stride and said that if they hadn’t gotten another flat…we would have never run into each other. Anyway, we started talking and they told me they were at a Boy Scout function and were on their way home to Arizona. They gave me some ice, Sunny D, a candy bar and $10 bucks. They were really cool, laid back people who I would have probably not met had I not done this trip…they also told me that they would be in Tulsa possibly at the same time I would be there…such a cool coincidence.

After taking off from them I felt rejuvenated. People were beeping and keeping me going over the rolling hills towards Albuquerque. Then I reached this killer hill. This hill must have been at least a mile and a half to two miles long. I was sucking wind pushing the jogger up the hill. Excuse me but it sucked big time.

About halfway up the hill a man by the name of Chip drove by me and said he saw me on the news and asked me if I needed anything…. I said no thanks and he drove off. About 10 minutes later, Chip came back with a bottle of water, Gatorade and $20 bucks for me….once again…I was blown away by another human being.

After I reached the top of the hill, I went from feeling pretty physically low to getting an amazing second wind…I felt incredible…I was just grooving to the music and running away. I think it was all the positive energy I had got that day….it’s unbelievable what a little bit of one’s time can do for someone else.

At any rate, I reached Albuquerque after running about 41 miles and I felt great. That was the best I felt after a 40-mile day so far. I actually could have kept going. I gave a call to Marion and John, whose daughter knows a friend of mine from colleges’ mother….so on so forth…and they came and picked me up.

Sat June 11th PM – Mon June 13th: Marion and John are awesome, amazing, generous, lovable, kind, friendly, intelligent people. From the moment they picked me up, they made me feel like I was part of their family yet they had just met me. Unbelievable! Friday night, they cooked me chicken parm and it was really good. Marion said that her goal for the next couple of days was to fatten me up a bit. Since I’ve started, I’ve lost about 13 pounds so that was awesome to hear. They let me take two days off with them so I could rest up and get ready to concur the rest of NM.

On Sunday, they took me to Old Town Albuquerque and we went to a Mexican restaurant. I tried the New Mexican green and red chilly and oh boy…was it hot. Not for me but they tell me it’s an acquired taste. It’s also Albuquerque’s 300th anniversary and there was some ethnic dancing going on to commemorate it, which was really cool.

Monday morning, I went out to breakfast with Troy, a college friend of my neighbor. He also offered to house me but since I was covered, we decided to meet up for breakfast. He was a real nice guy and I wish I got to talk to him more. Hopefully I’ll meet up with him again when he come to the East coast. He treated me and then took me over to a friend of his, Stephen, running store, Athlete’s Edge. We all talked for a while and Stephen said he was going to come out and run with me the next morning…that’s awesome!
He also gave me a cool shirt and a couple pair’s of socks, one with New Mexico on it and one with Texas on it.

Later on in the day, I met up with Jeff from the Albuquerque Tribune who interviewed me. We talked for a while and he said the story should appear in Wednesday’s addition. That’s pretty cool.

Tues June 7^th:  So, today I took the day off.  I def needed it as well.  The night before I asked Gus if he minded if I crashed an extra day with them and he said of course.  That morning I woke up, went and got something to eat and started looking for a Laundromat and the library.  On my way to the library, I walked past the Gallup Herald.  I decided to go in and introduce myself.  When I walked in, I was greeted by Joanne and her brother John who were the publisher’s daughter and son.  Joanne was home for the summer on college break and working for her father as a receptionist and John was on summer break as well and helping out.  Both were really nice and welcomed me with smiles. 

 

After a couple minutes, Joe, the publisher and owner of the paper came out and introduced him self to me.  I explained what I was doing and he decided that he wanted to do a story on me.  After interviewing me, I asked him if he knew of any places I might be able to crash for the next couple of stops.  He immediately got on the phone and made some calls.  Within minutes I had places to stay for the next three nights.  It was pretty amazing. 

 

Joe also had recently bought the new American Basketball Association (ABA) franchise that will be known as the Gallup Talons and he gave me one of the team shirts as well as $20 for the road.  Lastly, Joe informed me that he was involved with certain Catholic publications and that he was going to submit my story to them.  Absolutely amazing!  What a great family.

 

After that, I made my way over to the library, wrote my updates, got a bite to eat and did my laundry.  Later on that evening, Mike, Gus, Lavena and I went out to dinner at a buffet.  It was really good but you know what the incredible thing about it was….they paid for me.  It just baffles me people’s generosity…actually no it doesn’t…people are really great and kind and good hearted…I only hope I can return the generosity that everyone has been showing me someday.

 

So, after dinner, we went back to the hotel room.  Gus and I talked for a while about various stuff and then we went to bed.  By the way, Mike and Lavena own L&M studios and they take family portraits…Gus tells people about the portraits and gives them coupons to come in…they do a great job and are really nice if you ever come across them. 

 

 

Wen, June 8^th:  Today was a tough day.  I did about 34/35 miles and I rose to the about 7300 feet.  For some reason the altitude really bothered me.  I was breathing real hard and my knee hurt again.  I ran to the top of the Continental Divide which is where if it rains to the West of there, the water runs to the Pacific and if it rains to the East of there, it flows to the Atlantic.  Joe had arranged for me to stay at the Thoreau ambulance depot or fire dept. that night.  When I got to town, I went to the depot and met up with Andrew.  He told me that I could crash at the volunteer station just down the street. 

 

I went on down there and was greeted by Olivia.  She was really nice and told me I could shower up and then she’d take me to get some food.  After showering, we went to Blimpies and I got my self a good-sized sub.  She waited for me and then brought me back to the station.  After eating, I ended up going to sleep because I was really tired.

  

 

Thurs, June 9:  Today was tough as well.  My right knee was really hurting.  Something hurts everyday but this hurt in a way that wasn’t cool.  I ran on it for a while and then I started walking for a bit.  It was pretty tough because I was thinking ‘if this is a real injury, do I give up?...no way…every goal has obstacles…but what if I do some serious damage…I can run until I can’t run no more I guess…but that means that I’d have to run in pain for 2300 miles.  That’s a long time’.  So, after a bit of walking, I started running again…the pain was still there…saying ‘hello…I’m here…did you really think I was just gonna go away if you walked a bit’?  I kept going…and then…the pain started getting less and less…it actually did go away…for the most part.  We’ll see what happens tomorrow but for now…I concurred another day.

 

Anyway, Joe had called Don at the Cibola County Beacon and Don contacted Chief Andrew at the Fire Dept who agreed to let me crash there for the night.  When I arrived, I met Mike, Billy and Tebby.  As usual with firefighters, they were extremely welcoming.  It’s really awesome the type of people firefighters are…they are all generous, accommodating, friendly, humble, good-hearted people.  This was no exception.  Tebby took me over to the other station to shower and then we ate steaks and potatoes.  They cooked and cleaned and have allowed me to use the computer.  The more firefighters I meet the more it reiterates that it is a model profession.