Day 107

Hello all! tonight's blog is coming to you straight from little Albion, NY. for the first time in nationrun.com history I, Claire Albertson (Ken's girlfriend), have been given the privilege...no the HONOR of being asked to write the blog. I was so excited when Ken asked me to write it tonight, simply because I am an avid reader of the blog, and being able to write one of the entries for the boys is a really exciting venture for me.

our gang woke up at about 6 o'clock this morning, and everyone loaded up at the Hotel's continental breakfast, getting as much food as they could and taking full advantage of this opportunity for free food. after their feast they got out onto the open road after having nearly two whole days off of running, excited to tackle an easy 19 miles that separated them from their destination, Palo Verde, CA!

Ken's been telling me that with everyday they spend on the road, the temperature keeps getting warmer and warmer, with temps reaching up to and past 100 degrees! so, by 7 this morning, it was already pretty warm. since today's trip was so short there was no real unusual stories to be told, or extraordinary adventures to be had. and as a whole, everyone felt really good, except for Kenny, who's foot has been bothering him a bit. but two days ago while in Blythe, Ken received a package from his parents containing a new pair of running shoes. he said that the new shoes really helped him out a lot, and his foot is feeling much better now because of them. "Thank You!" -Ken

the days worth of running was completed around 11 this morning in Palo Verde. hungry for their post-run meal, the guys stopped in at a local bar/grill where Ken and Durkin had cheeseburgers, and Andy enjoyed a BLT! while eating and talking to their waitress, she informed them about a county park about a mile up, where the guys decided they would check out and potentially have a camp for the night.

after lunch they stopped into a gas station to restock on some hydration supplies (Gatorade) where they were then informed by the gas station attendant that Glamis, their next scheduled stop before Brawley, had nothing in it, so they stocked up on three days worth of Gatorade! Ken told me that they bought 30 bottles! 30 bottles at 32 oz. a piece...that’s 960 oz. of fluid...now i don't know how heavy that is in pounds, but it is safe to believe that the boys are pushing around a substantial amount of extra weight in those joggers!

after check-out at the gas station, the team headed for the park that their waitress at the bar/grill told them about,\ where they found a nice flat area to set up camp under a bunch of huge trees. the park is also located on a small lake, however, this lake is nothing like the beautiful Colorado River that the boys were spoiled with a couple of days ago. instead, this lake was a bit more murky and cloudy, and probably not too fit for swimmin' in. so instead of a mid-day swim, everyone laid down in the shade for a bit of a rest. because of the intense heat that the boys have been faced with, they really aim at finishing their days and getting out of the sun as close to noon as possible. so comfortably settled in the shade, everyone enjoyed cool naps. Ken then climbed himself up into a tree and found a nice area....up in a tree...to write in his journal a bit, and write me a letter :) .

sweaty and dirty, they found a small water spicket located about a foot off of the ground on the side of the park's bathroom building. this little spicket then served as the tree boy's "shower".....which consisted of them lathering up with soap, and shoving their bodies under the running water. after the showers, they are just resting at their camp-site for the night, getting ready for their next bit of running.

as a side note of the day, the nationrun team ran into Brian Kerby, a man who is BIKING across the country! Kerby just recently started his trip in San Diego, and is making his way East to Virginia! since they are traveling the complete opposite directions, both Kerby and the nationrun boys were able to exchange some advice and information as to what could be expected for their next coming days of travel. so it was nice for them to share some stories about what he could expect traveling east, as well as getting some information on what they could expect due west. Brian Kerby's website is www. crazyguyonabike.com/kerby. check him out and show the same kind of love and support for his grand adventure that we have given our boys.

as the guys finish up one more day on the open road, they are that much more close to their final destination! there is only nine more days left of the trip. NINE DAYS! That's single digits now, and personally, i am very excited and very happy about this! but the boys are greatly anticipating the only three more days till their friend Rick comes out and joins them. as well, just five more days till Dan arrives and joins them on their journey to the west coast!

the trip is really winding down, with every day that passes they are getting more and more excited about celebrating their great finish, and finally seeing all of their loved ones after four long, lloooonnnggg months. i know that i am more than ready to see ken again. its been 107 days since i've seen him last, and that's 107 days more than i would like. and even though i am really excited to see Ken, i couldn't help but notice how cute Matt and Andy have been looking lately...especially matt. because i don't know if you all have noticed from the pictures, but matt has been working on his moustache for the past four months...and let me just tell you, he looks pretttyyyyy gooooood. (sorry ken ;-) )

anyways, that concludes today's adventures of our three guys on the road. thank you all for reading, and THANK YOU KEN, MATT, and ANDY for asking me to write the blog tonight. it truly is an honor. But nine days till we can see our boys again. nine days....but until then we'll all just have to grin, and bear waiting a little longer.

but thanks again for reading, and all of the support.

remember, there is never an excuse not to dream!



all my love - Claire-town

p.s. Hi Mr. Stannard! :)