Today began at 6:30am about 30 miles outside of Columbus, GA. We woke up and began packing our gear in the frigid 35 degree morning air. Our tents and gear had frosted over the outside which made packing up extra difficult. We started the run at 7:15, heading off towards Columbus. Columbus meant a lot to us today, it meant a day off, a place to stay, and most importantly a shower. We made it about 45 minutes before meeting up with our new friends Reynold and John. The two found out about us through our website, and saw running with us as a great oppurtunity they couldn't afford to miss (who could blame 'em?!). We immeditatly hit it off with them, possibly because we were all big distance runners, or possibly because they brought us breakfast, who knows?
It was nice to run with other people for a change. John and I pushed ahead for a while trading running stories and advice. About 8 miles into our run we came upon Four Winds Restaurant, home of the famous "Ranger Burger" in Cusseta, GA. Reynold told us whenever famous people come through town they stop into Four Winds which is also a popular spot for Army Rangers training in near-by Fort-Benning. We walked in just to check things out and when the employees found out what we were doing we were offered breakfast on the house. We happily accepted and enjoyed some good 'ol fashion southern breakfast (minus the grits). It was a great meal, Andy and I agreed that this had been the kind of breakfast we'd been looking for the whole trip. While at breakfast John and Reynold gave us some of the best training advice we've heard so far "Walk before you're tired, eat before you're hungry and drink before you're thirsty" definetly words to live by on this trip. As we left the waitresses brought out a bunch of snack food, crackers, cookies, cinnamon buns and more for us to take with us on our journey, we barely had enough room, but we can always make room for extra food.
We hit the road again with about 20 miles to go. Along the run we were stopped a few times for interviews which can be found on our website. I think we're all getting better at interviews, we all agree we look and sound more natural. We eventually made it back onto route 280. Route 280 takes the cake at this point as the worst road so far. There was a lot of traffic and a small shoulder with rumble strips along the side. We eventually met up with Dean, Dave and Troy, more great runners from the Columbus area. For the first time on the run we had a crew and it was a great feeling. We had so much in common with these guys it seemed like we'd known them for years. We joked around for a bit and even gave the guys a chance to try pushing the baby jogger! About 4 miles after they joined us we made it to "The River Walk", a paved path that follows the Chattahoochee. For those slacking on their Geography studies, the Chattahoochee is the natural border between Georgia and Alabama. We made it to the end of Georgia!
We continued on another two and a half miels, getting a jogging tour of historic Columbus. We saw an old brick baking oven, the house Coke was invented in, and the home of the Columbus Catfish. We finished up the run right at the bridge to Alabama, we were welcomed by other members of the running club who weren't lucky enough to get the afternoon off to run with us. They had a spread of Gatorade, bananas and cookies waiting for us at the end which was greatly appreciated! After our little picnic and photo-op we made our way to the Cannon Brewpub, a local favorite. We had a huge meal and some great locally brewed beer*. It was nice to talk to the guys in a relaxed, non-running atmosphere, everyone had their own stories and advice for us which we really enjoyed. The owner found out about our run and personally came out to meet us. He wished us all good luck and told us lunch was on the house, music to our ears.
After all was said and done we piled into Troy's truck and headed off to our new home, The Sparks' residence. We experienced an immediate welcoming feeling from the family, Andy and Kellye are going out of their way to make this feel like home. We experienced our first shower in over 2 days, I can't remember the last time I've felt this fresh! Kellye made us a delicious lasagna, I told her it was second to only my mom's and I stand by that. We made it across our first state and to our first day off. I can't explain how happy I am with this trip so far, we've met so many amazing people. Georgia has set the bar, it'll be tough for the next seven states to compare, I wish them all luck.
We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow considering its a day off, Ken has physical therapy, we're meeting up with a local baseball team, and having dinner with the local track club. Luckily for us we'll have the legendary power of "The Rambler". Reynold was kind enough to donate his pick up truck to us for the day, under the condition we give it "some blog time". Check in tomorrow for our ghost riding adventures!
-Durkin
*I got a pink lemonade.
I don't have much to add on the day as Matt did a great job walking you through what Columbus has shown us so far. However, I would like to mention how awesome it was that John and Reynold took a day off from work in order to run with us. They went out of their way and rearranged their plans just to be on the road for one day with us (at least Reynold did, John was on his phone more than I could count...just kidding John). I could tell right from the start the reason they did so. They were true adventurers just like we are and some of their stories they had confirmed that. We all hit it off immediately and joked around about a number of things. I think it is true with any serious runner. Their heart and minds are always in the same place as mine and I could tell they truly appreciated what we were doing each and every day. I look forward to meeting more people like Reynold and John along the route, but it's going to be hard to top their killer attitudes as well as their adventurous spirit.
-Andy
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