Welcome to the start of week 6! What a start it turned out to be. After one of our most memorable nights of the trip so far, we were refreshed and ready to tackle the 35 mile day to Magnolia. The Youth Center we stayed in was such a cool place for the three of us to stay in and as Matt wrote last night we had plenty to do. Ken did what he does best and found a nice comfortable couch to take a nap on, Matt beat the video game Battle Front in the matter of a few hours, and I worked on my pool skills. As our friend Pennell's always says "its about getting good".
We decided to get on the road early after checking the weather report the night before. It looked like a cold day, with a high of 38 and a wind chill of 25. Snow was also in the forecast for early afternoon. With such a promising day ahead of us (joking), we thought the earlier we got going the more of a chance we would have of missing anything that turned nasty. Our alarm went off at 6:15 and we all stumbled around trying to pack the joggers. I personally wore every piece of long clothing that I packed. I also had my rain coat handy, just in case. We headed out the door just after 7 to a dark and windy morning. Much like the start of any day on the road, we first headed to a local grocery store to get supplies.
We grabbed the usual - breakfast to go, bread, Gatorade, snack food and this morning we also got the local newspaper. We were interviewed yesterday afternoon and told the article would be published this morning. As we walked out of town eating our pop tarts and muffins, Matt read the paper to us. We were all very excited to find out our article was on the front page! It was a well written piece and I was glad to see we were back in the news for people to hear about our journey.
We begin each morning walking in order to warm up our legs and to prepare ourselves mentally as we walk out of town. It's always hard to push the joggers up and down sidewalks so we walk them until we are back on the main roads. As we walked this morning, car after car honked their horns at us and were waving. I could tell a lot of people saw us in the paper this morning. It was a good feeling to know others were rooting for us once again.
After a couple of minutes we started running, when it immediately began to hail. Everyone agreed that this was much better than rain and it was a nice change of pace...at first. We heard it was suppose to snow on the day but I don't think anyone truly believed it. However, after only a mile or two of running, light snow began to fall. We all put on our rain coats and tarped the joggers for a long day of cold weather.
At first, the snow was very light and melted just as quick as it fell. This did not last very long. For the next 6-7 hours the snow became heavier and heavier and at times I thought I was at home on a training run. Our joggers piled up close to 4 or 5 inches of snow by the end of the day. I was making snow balls and throwing them at the guys (mostly Durkin) throughout the day. We tried our usual routine of running for a few minutes and walking for a few before we realized this technique would not work today. It was just to cold to walk even for a few minutes as our bodies were completely soaked.
I know this might not sound like a lot but at one point during the day we ran for 50 minutes straight. We were able to cover 7 miles an hour (absolutely flying for us) in attempts of finishing as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, with 22 miles left in the day we experienced our first flat of the day. I say first flat because another was waiting just down the road. Soaking wet and freezing this was the last thing that any of us wanted. We stopped inside a liquor store after talking to Lori who saw us in the paper. She was happy to talk to us as we fixed our wheel and before we left bought us all drinks and a snack. I remember her asking if our mothers knew where we were at least 3 or 4 times.
It was hard to force ourselves back outside and into the cold but eventually we were able to do so. The roads were starting to stick with heavy snow at this point making it that much harder to run. Ken said at least the shoulder was still extremely large or the day would be that much more miserable. It would be almost impossible to run if the shoulder was any smaller because we had to not only fight the weather but also the traffic. As each semi-truck drove passed us we had to brace for their wet impact. Somewhere down the road a man pulled up to us and asked if we needed a ride. We explained to him what we were doing and he wished us luck. He then gave us a few bucks for lunch and went on his way. It was another great gesture by someone that have never met us or that would probably never see us again, yet he cared enough to see us reach our goal. I am still amazed by the kindness of strangers.
We ran steadily for the next few hours, covering a good amount of ground before our second flat of the day occurred, with just about 8 miles left. Ironically, once again the flat occurred on the jogger Matt was pushing. I'm not necessarily blaming him but lets just say.. it was his fault. At this point my hands were freezing and it was twice as hard to stop and fix a wheel. We sat down a few feet off the road and took care of business. At this point in the day we were all pretty down and just wanted the day to end.
As we got running again for the last leg of the day, Matt took off pushing one of the joggers as he had done so all day. He was a real champ today - pushing one of the joggers almost entirely by himself all day. At times I could not even see him because he was so far ahead of us. He was a true warrior in such harsh conditions and it really kept me moving.
We finally arrived at South Arkansas University just after 3 and met up with our host for the night, the track and field team. Kendall, Bailey, Lindsay, Sunshine and the rest of the team were waiting for us as we arrived at Kendall's on-campus apartment. It was a great welcoming and we were excited to get out of the cold weather and into a hot shower. The rest of the night we talked with the team and traded stories. It was awesome hanging out with people our own age again. We ate at the cafeteria on campus, which was basically a southern Wilsbach. Durkin got one of the guys on the team with the salt shaker as we were stacking our trays. Everyone on the team seemed to really get a kick out of that game and we hope it spreads down here. We are currently resting in Sunshine's apartment for the night trying to dry everything out and prepare for tomorrow.
We posted some more pictures today under the link Day 32-36. Check them out to see the conditions today. Tomorrow we hear should be back in the high 50s low 60s and we are all looking forward to seeing the sun once again. One day of snow is more than enough for us on a trip of this magnitude.
That's all for now. We'll see you tomorrow.
-Andy
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Day 35
Yeesh, I've been trying to get this thing started for the last 20 minutes but keep running into computer problems. Well here we go, day 35, Strong -> El Dorado! As Rick let you all know we camped out for the first time in a long time last night. It was nice to get back into the wild, especially since we got to have our first camp fire. The one downside to last night was that no one told us that when you put a wet tent into a bag and let it sit for a week, it stays wet! Of course we all figured we should have done something, but it was too late for "shouldas" and we ended up with a slightly moldy tent. We're letting her dry out now and we'll clean it the next time we get laundry facilities (hopefully tomorrow?). When it was time to go to sleep last night the fire was still going pretty good, so Ken and Andy decided they would sleep under the stars. I had a feeling the fire wouldn't last, and we wouldn't keep it up, so I opted to sleep in the tent. At about 3:30am Andy joined me, and some time around sunrise Ken took the final spot in our 3 man tent. Ken assured us all that he would have stayed out there all night had we had more firewood, I guess we'll never know.
We got moving around 7:45, back down 82 just like yesterday. The shoulder has been a dream these last few days, you really never know how important a good shoulder is until you run for 5+ hours a day with all your belongings in a cart. We moved at a pretty good pace all day, and we were all in very high spirits. Probably one of our favorite things to do on the road is make up scenarios that we know will never happen, and today was a big day of that. We talk about things like getting keys to cities, job offers, and a Rambler waiting for us in San Diego, who knows, some of them might happen. The day went by very quickly. We made it to the outside of El Dorado by 11:15, and got into the city itself by 11:40.
We poked around the city a little bit, checking out what it had to offer. We eventually decided it was time to get something to eat, and sat down at Laredos. We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly wait staff, and some delicious chips and salsa. As we dominated the chips and salsa we all agreed that we need to pick more places to eat that have complimentary chips and salsa. As we looked over the menu Andy asked our waitress if what we were thinking about getting was "a lot of food". She said yes, and that was all we had to hear. We all got different lunch deals which led to us getting free cheese dip which was definitely welcomed. You will never hear about us turning down free food. Our lunch came out and I was very excited. I've had a lot of weird stomach bugs lately, and my appetite really hasn't been what it used to be, but today it finally made a strong comeback!
After lunch we explored the city some more and worked on finding a place to stay for the night. As we walked around, we were contacted by the local newspaper who met up with us for a quick interview before we got on our way to the police station. The folks at the station had no place to put us for the night, but assured us they would find something. Eventually we got in touch with Sterling Claypoole. If something gets done in El Dorado, Sterling probably has a hand in it. This guy does everything! He works with the Police Department and Fire Department, teaches Psych at the community college, teaches a spinning class at the gym, is in charge of 2Fifty2, a youth ministry and still has time to bike 250+ miles a week. Sterling met up with us and we quickly hit it off. He told us about a good place to get dinner, and showed us around 2Fifty2, where we are staying for the night. This place is very cool. It has a kitchen area, computer center, restaurant type dining room, a game room with pool tables, ping pong tables, tons of places to sleep (couches), X-Box, Game Cube and PS2s. I was very very excited when I saw they had a copy of Star Wars: Battlefront. Of course it wasn't Battlefront II, and of course Lipsky wasn't here to play it with me, but it was still really cool. I made it my goal to beat it by the end of the night, and even though Hoth gave me some trouble I was able to end up victorious.
After all our running and all the games, we're all getting set to go to sleep. Tomorrow is probably going to be one of our toughest days. Not only is it one of our biggest days so far in terms of mileage, its looking to be the most miserable in terms of weather. Cold rain and a windchill of 25, isn't this why we left New York?! Of course we do have a light at the end of the tunnel. We'll be meeting up with the SAU Track team for dinner tomorrow night, which we're all very excited about. We rarely get to see people our age on this trip, and it will be especially nice since they'll all be runners. Hopefully we can get an early jump on tomorrow and run strong all day.
That's it for now, I love you all!
-Durkin
We got moving around 7:45, back down 82 just like yesterday. The shoulder has been a dream these last few days, you really never know how important a good shoulder is until you run for 5+ hours a day with all your belongings in a cart. We moved at a pretty good pace all day, and we were all in very high spirits. Probably one of our favorite things to do on the road is make up scenarios that we know will never happen, and today was a big day of that. We talk about things like getting keys to cities, job offers, and a Rambler waiting for us in San Diego, who knows, some of them might happen. The day went by very quickly. We made it to the outside of El Dorado by 11:15, and got into the city itself by 11:40.
We poked around the city a little bit, checking out what it had to offer. We eventually decided it was time to get something to eat, and sat down at Laredos. We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly wait staff, and some delicious chips and salsa. As we dominated the chips and salsa we all agreed that we need to pick more places to eat that have complimentary chips and salsa. As we looked over the menu Andy asked our waitress if what we were thinking about getting was "a lot of food". She said yes, and that was all we had to hear. We all got different lunch deals which led to us getting free cheese dip which was definitely welcomed. You will never hear about us turning down free food. Our lunch came out and I was very excited. I've had a lot of weird stomach bugs lately, and my appetite really hasn't been what it used to be, but today it finally made a strong comeback!
After lunch we explored the city some more and worked on finding a place to stay for the night. As we walked around, we were contacted by the local newspaper who met up with us for a quick interview before we got on our way to the police station. The folks at the station had no place to put us for the night, but assured us they would find something. Eventually we got in touch with Sterling Claypoole. If something gets done in El Dorado, Sterling probably has a hand in it. This guy does everything! He works with the Police Department and Fire Department, teaches Psych at the community college, teaches a spinning class at the gym, is in charge of 2Fifty2, a youth ministry and still has time to bike 250+ miles a week. Sterling met up with us and we quickly hit it off. He told us about a good place to get dinner, and showed us around 2Fifty2, where we are staying for the night. This place is very cool. It has a kitchen area, computer center, restaurant type dining room, a game room with pool tables, ping pong tables, tons of places to sleep (couches), X-Box, Game Cube and PS2s. I was very very excited when I saw they had a copy of Star Wars: Battlefront. Of course it wasn't Battlefront II, and of course Lipsky wasn't here to play it with me, but it was still really cool. I made it my goal to beat it by the end of the night, and even though Hoth gave me some trouble I was able to end up victorious.
After all our running and all the games, we're all getting set to go to sleep. Tomorrow is probably going to be one of our toughest days. Not only is it one of our biggest days so far in terms of mileage, its looking to be the most miserable in terms of weather. Cold rain and a windchill of 25, isn't this why we left New York?! Of course we do have a light at the end of the tunnel. We'll be meeting up with the SAU Track team for dinner tomorrow night, which we're all very excited about. We rarely get to see people our age on this trip, and it will be especially nice since they'll all be runners. Hopefully we can get an early jump on tomorrow and run strong all day.
That's it for now, I love you all!
-Durkin
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Day 34
Greetings from Strong, AR! The guys called me tonight from their campsite and campfire while looking at a sky full of stars. Durkin said the trio got moving today around 8 am. He said it was kind of hard to get started because the mindset was much different than the previous weeks. The guys had not spent 1 night in Mississippi outside, or looking for a place to stay. They had arranged places to stay, and then the Durkin's generously had them in a hotel for over a week. Andy said it was nice to start the day without knowing where they would stay, as the adventure was back, and the guys were back in the swing of things.
Most of the day's run was through a wildlife preserve. The road was lined with huge trees, so it gave some real nice shade on the 65 and sunny day. I asked if it was a shirtless one, and Durkin assured me that it was. All three guys were very excited about the shoulder of the road today, as it was about 10 wide according to Andy. Other than the trees, the excellent weather, and the gigantic shoulder - nothing too exciting happened.
They rolled into Strong this afternoon, to find not all that much. They got some grub at Rachel's Diner. Durkin said he had an amazing pulled pork sandwich. After they grabbed some food, they moved on to the Post Office to pick up their second mail day's gifts. Ken got an amazing care package from his girlfriend Claire (nice work ClaireTown!) Andy got one from his parents as well. This included a new cell phone, as Andy's old one could not endure the Nation. Between these two, Durkin said they got some really good food. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn's package did not make it (it's not your fault Gigs!) After the nice gesture from back home, they decided to move a little closer to the next town in search of somewhere to stay.
The guys ended up meeting Kevin Black who hooked them up with a place to pitch their tent and helped them get the first campfire of the trip going. Ken was especially excited to get it going, as campfire's are his favorite thing in the entire universe. The morale of the team was very high tonight, and for me that was very nice to hear. As Ken said yesterday, they have a bunch of contacts for the next couple days and that will be very exciting. Check back to see how Arkansas treats `em!
Rick
This is Babs, Rick's mom . Rick is home with us for a few days and I just wanted to say that it was so awesome to talk with Andy today for the first time in a month. We are so proud of Nationrun! You are all on the most amazing journey and we look forward to reading the daily updates everyday. My entire office reads them daily! Hawk says" monster mash" to Matt, he needs all of you for partners in foosball and golf ball string ladder (House came up with that name) cause no one plays with him unless you guys are here. I miss "my boys!"
Babs
Most of the day's run was through a wildlife preserve. The road was lined with huge trees, so it gave some real nice shade on the 65 and sunny day. I asked if it was a shirtless one, and Durkin assured me that it was. All three guys were very excited about the shoulder of the road today, as it was about 10 wide according to Andy. Other than the trees, the excellent weather, and the gigantic shoulder - nothing too exciting happened.
They rolled into Strong this afternoon, to find not all that much. They got some grub at Rachel's Diner. Durkin said he had an amazing pulled pork sandwich. After they grabbed some food, they moved on to the Post Office to pick up their second mail day's gifts. Ken got an amazing care package from his girlfriend Claire (nice work ClaireTown!) Andy got one from his parents as well. This included a new cell phone, as Andy's old one could not endure the Nation. Between these two, Durkin said they got some really good food. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn's package did not make it (it's not your fault Gigs!) After the nice gesture from back home, they decided to move a little closer to the next town in search of somewhere to stay.
The guys ended up meeting Kevin Black who hooked them up with a place to pitch their tent and helped them get the first campfire of the trip going. Ken was especially excited to get it going, as campfire's are his favorite thing in the entire universe. The morale of the team was very high tonight, and for me that was very nice to hear. As Ken said yesterday, they have a bunch of contacts for the next couple days and that will be very exciting. Check back to see how Arkansas treats `em!
Rick
This is Babs, Rick's mom . Rick is home with us for a few days and I just wanted to say that it was so awesome to talk with Andy today for the first time in a month. We are so proud of Nationrun! You are all on the most amazing journey and we look forward to reading the daily updates everyday. My entire office reads them daily! Hawk says" monster mash" to Matt, he needs all of you for partners in foosball and golf ball string ladder (House came up with that name) cause no one plays with him unless you guys are here. I miss "my boys!"
Babs
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Day 33
Today was our third day off of the trip...and probably the laziest to date. We woke up at 9am which is pretty late for us. And the only reason we failed to sleep in any later was because the housekeeping lady knocked the door off its hinges this morning to see if we wanted any keeping done to our house...we got some fresh towels. But, it was from then on that we were up for good.
So we woke up today and we ate at the Huddle House...again. I am pretty sure we are all getting tired of going to the same place to eat. We also ate dinner at this establishment...which makes it an even 4 times we've eaten there during our stay here in Crossett. Whatever, the food is good and we are just barely lazy enough not to venture any further into town to get something else.
We have all been joking all day about who will be the unlucky one to type up this evening's blog because we honestly did NOTHING today. We woke up, ate, watched the same looped Sports Center all day, and also watched a couple episodes of Scrubs...which I think is a favorite of all of ours. It's a quality program...brings many laughs. Besides the times I was on the phone with Claire or my family...I think I spent the entire day sitting or sleeping in bed.
I'm writing about random stuff at this point, so I will let everyone in on a couple things that keeps us entertained on the road. A couple years ago, Andy and I took a class at Oneonta State called "Team Sports." This class was the greatest class ever and we loved every minute of it. Matt almost took the class, but ended up dropping it because he had "other classes that he needed to focus on" or some weak argument like that. Anyways, Andy and I have ostracized Matt ever since because he missed out on the most fun ever by dropping it. We have a secret "handshake" for the class, what we do is bump elbows while saying "team sports" in unison. Matt has obviously been left out of this handshake, as he did not follow through by taking the class. Andy has been extra mean lately by making sure that Durkin knows when we give the Team Sports' elbow. Durkin, whenever the elbow is given by us two, always shakes his head in disappointment because we are (but mostly Andy) teasing him by doing it so often. Matt, on many occasions, has attempted to create his own secret handshakes with us...one in particular was a certain "Nation" handshake where he makes his fingers into an "N" and tries to pound one of us with the N while saying "nation" to each other. He has gotten nothing in response from us...rather Andy and I have begun to do the "Nation pound" between ourselves, and have left Durkin out of it. We may sound like mean guys, but its what keeps us laughing...well at least me and Andy...hopefully Matt is okay with it.
While I'm on the topic of Durkin...he has recently (about a month ago) begun to grow a mustache. I am not entirely sure if our readers and fans have even picked up on this, even in the pictures...as Durkin lacks the only skill needed to grow a mustache...and that is the ability to grow a mustache. He has told us on many occasions that he fully intends to grow this thing out the entire 4 months. I am excited to see how it turns out.
Also, we were at the Huddle House earlier tonight, and the waitress was asking us all how old we were. We told her that we were 23...and she responded with "I don't believe you." she also told us that I looked the oldest...and that I didn't look "a day over 19." She insisted that we show her ID...at which time Durkin handed her his identification and said "I don't think I have ever been ID'ed for a Double Bacon Cheeseburger."
I guess there's really nothing to talk about in this update other than goofy things we've been up to today and in general. The trip has really become all we've ever wanted. A trip to escape the monotony of life and to experience something so different that no one would ever be able to tell us what to expect. I look over at two of my best friends in the world as I type this out and chuckle on the inside because we are living out what so many people wish they could be doing. Maybe not exactly. I was talking to my parents earlier today. They told me that everyone has that one dream that they want in life. Something that burns inside of them that we all wish to do someday. Many people never get to light that flame and live out their dream. He was telling me that a lot of people are living vicariously through us each day and having all the same fun, feeling all the feelings right alongside of us each day. That makes me happy to know that this trip is more than just a trip to us and to many other people. It's a wonderful opportunity to bring happiness into so many lives, not just our own. We try to affect anyone we can in a positive way.
On a side note...we are looking forward to this next upcoming week. We have been contacted by a couple groups that are getting together with us to run and help us out. The Southern Arkansas University Track Team has contacted us, and on Friday we will be joining them for dinner. We are very excited about this and we look forward to meeting everyone. A few days later, a running club in Texarkana has offered to run with us. Our future looks bright with new faces and new friends.
Thanks again for reading...I promise tomorrow will have actual stories of events from our day. We love you all ")
KENNETH
So we woke up today and we ate at the Huddle House...again. I am pretty sure we are all getting tired of going to the same place to eat. We also ate dinner at this establishment...which makes it an even 4 times we've eaten there during our stay here in Crossett. Whatever, the food is good and we are just barely lazy enough not to venture any further into town to get something else.
We have all been joking all day about who will be the unlucky one to type up this evening's blog because we honestly did NOTHING today. We woke up, ate, watched the same looped Sports Center all day, and also watched a couple episodes of Scrubs...which I think is a favorite of all of ours. It's a quality program...brings many laughs. Besides the times I was on the phone with Claire or my family...I think I spent the entire day sitting or sleeping in bed.
I'm writing about random stuff at this point, so I will let everyone in on a couple things that keeps us entertained on the road. A couple years ago, Andy and I took a class at Oneonta State called "Team Sports." This class was the greatest class ever and we loved every minute of it. Matt almost took the class, but ended up dropping it because he had "other classes that he needed to focus on" or some weak argument like that. Anyways, Andy and I have ostracized Matt ever since because he missed out on the most fun ever by dropping it. We have a secret "handshake" for the class, what we do is bump elbows while saying "team sports" in unison. Matt has obviously been left out of this handshake, as he did not follow through by taking the class. Andy has been extra mean lately by making sure that Durkin knows when we give the Team Sports' elbow. Durkin, whenever the elbow is given by us two, always shakes his head in disappointment because we are (but mostly Andy) teasing him by doing it so often. Matt, on many occasions, has attempted to create his own secret handshakes with us...one in particular was a certain "Nation" handshake where he makes his fingers into an "N" and tries to pound one of us with the N while saying "nation" to each other. He has gotten nothing in response from us...rather Andy and I have begun to do the "Nation pound" between ourselves, and have left Durkin out of it. We may sound like mean guys, but its what keeps us laughing...well at least me and Andy...hopefully Matt is okay with it.
While I'm on the topic of Durkin...he has recently (about a month ago) begun to grow a mustache. I am not entirely sure if our readers and fans have even picked up on this, even in the pictures...as Durkin lacks the only skill needed to grow a mustache...and that is the ability to grow a mustache. He has told us on many occasions that he fully intends to grow this thing out the entire 4 months. I am excited to see how it turns out.
Also, we were at the Huddle House earlier tonight, and the waitress was asking us all how old we were. We told her that we were 23...and she responded with "I don't believe you." she also told us that I looked the oldest...and that I didn't look "a day over 19." She insisted that we show her ID...at which time Durkin handed her his identification and said "I don't think I have ever been ID'ed for a Double Bacon Cheeseburger."
I guess there's really nothing to talk about in this update other than goofy things we've been up to today and in general. The trip has really become all we've ever wanted. A trip to escape the monotony of life and to experience something so different that no one would ever be able to tell us what to expect. I look over at two of my best friends in the world as I type this out and chuckle on the inside because we are living out what so many people wish they could be doing. Maybe not exactly. I was talking to my parents earlier today. They told me that everyone has that one dream that they want in life. Something that burns inside of them that we all wish to do someday. Many people never get to light that flame and live out their dream. He was telling me that a lot of people are living vicariously through us each day and having all the same fun, feeling all the feelings right alongside of us each day. That makes me happy to know that this trip is more than just a trip to us and to many other people. It's a wonderful opportunity to bring happiness into so many lives, not just our own. We try to affect anyone we can in a positive way.
On a side note...we are looking forward to this next upcoming week. We have been contacted by a couple groups that are getting together with us to run and help us out. The Southern Arkansas University Track Team has contacted us, and on Friday we will be joining them for dinner. We are very excited about this and we look forward to meeting everyone. A few days later, a running club in Texarkana has offered to run with us. Our future looks bright with new faces and new friends.
Thanks again for reading...I promise tomorrow will have actual stories of events from our day. We love you all ")
KENNETH
Monday, March 3, 2008
Day 32
Greetings ya'll. We made it to our third day off. Everyone here could use a break from the road and try to get some much needed rest. Durkin has not been feeling his usual self as of late and has been sleeping the entire afternoon. I have also picked up a small head cold, probably thanks to Matt, and Ken...well, Ken's on top of the world. It's funny how quickly things can change in a matter of a few days.
We started the morning with a 7am wake up call and headed over to the continental breakfast. Unfortunately, it only consisted of donuts and coffee so we headed over to McDonald's for a couple of delicious McSkillet's to go. There was a strong chance of thunderstorms in the early afternoon and we wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. Mr. and Mrs. Durkin dropped us off for the last time at 8:30 and drove the three hours back to Jackson, MS to catch their flight. It was sad to see them leave but at the same time I was glad to get back on the road on our own again. As much as I appreciate everything they have done for us over the past week, it was a totally different feeling of running each day. The adventure of the trip just wasn't the same knowing that we would be ending in a hotel every night.
We ran on Route 8 towards Crossett for about 5 miles before we turned onto a number of smaller dirt roads. I absolutely loved running on these type of roads for the last few days because the traffic was minimal and the softer surface was great for my sore shins (which are feeling a lot better as of late). Route 8 was also a nice change of pace because for the first time in days it consisted of small rolling hills. They weren't much but they definitely had an elevation gain to them.
The sky remained cloudy all day and by noon we had a little more than 6 miles left in our day. We were all looking forward to getting inside before the storm hit and be able to rest for the day. Ken's calf was starting to tighten up but with the clouds becoming darker and the wind picking up he decided to fight through the pain and finish the day off as quickly as possible. We arrived on the edge of town just before 1pm and Ken and I headed over to Wal-Mart to pick up something to eat while Matt continued on to the hotel.
Within minutes of Ken and I arriving at the hotel, the sky opened up and the rain started to fall. It was a hard rain that continued for the rest of the night and we hear tomorrow's forecast is more of the same.
I apologize for both the quality of this blog and its length. Nothing exciting really happened today and I am having a hard time writing tonight. Tomorrow we don't have much on our plate besides eating as much as possible and sleeping twice as long. Give us a call anytime after 11 if you want to catch up and chat. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and for your continuous support. Enjoy the night.
-Andy
We started the morning with a 7am wake up call and headed over to the continental breakfast. Unfortunately, it only consisted of donuts and coffee so we headed over to McDonald's for a couple of delicious McSkillet's to go. There was a strong chance of thunderstorms in the early afternoon and we wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. Mr. and Mrs. Durkin dropped us off for the last time at 8:30 and drove the three hours back to Jackson, MS to catch their flight. It was sad to see them leave but at the same time I was glad to get back on the road on our own again. As much as I appreciate everything they have done for us over the past week, it was a totally different feeling of running each day. The adventure of the trip just wasn't the same knowing that we would be ending in a hotel every night.
We ran on Route 8 towards Crossett for about 5 miles before we turned onto a number of smaller dirt roads. I absolutely loved running on these type of roads for the last few days because the traffic was minimal and the softer surface was great for my sore shins (which are feeling a lot better as of late). Route 8 was also a nice change of pace because for the first time in days it consisted of small rolling hills. They weren't much but they definitely had an elevation gain to them.
The sky remained cloudy all day and by noon we had a little more than 6 miles left in our day. We were all looking forward to getting inside before the storm hit and be able to rest for the day. Ken's calf was starting to tighten up but with the clouds becoming darker and the wind picking up he decided to fight through the pain and finish the day off as quickly as possible. We arrived on the edge of town just before 1pm and Ken and I headed over to Wal-Mart to pick up something to eat while Matt continued on to the hotel.
Within minutes of Ken and I arriving at the hotel, the sky opened up and the rain started to fall. It was a hard rain that continued for the rest of the night and we hear tomorrow's forecast is more of the same.
I apologize for both the quality of this blog and its length. Nothing exciting really happened today and I am having a hard time writing tonight. Tomorrow we don't have much on our plate besides eating as much as possible and sleeping twice as long. Give us a call anytime after 11 if you want to catch up and chat. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and for your continuous support. Enjoy the night.
-Andy
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Day 31
Another day in the books and a few more miles closer to our goal. Today was just as exciting as the previous few days as it had its share of adventure and uncertainty. Matt's parents dropped us off where we had finished the day before, just outside an abandoned gas station on Route 65. Our plan was to run most of the day on Route 65 before Mr. Durkin hooked up with us to run his last leg of Arkansas. I am hesitant to say this is his last leg of the trip because I have a good feeling we will see him again before our time on the road is complete. For anyone keeping track at home, he is sitting in second place after running with us for 18 total miles only behind John and Reynold from Columbus, GA. Although the guys from Columbus have more total miles logged with us, Papa D has two states under his belt and I hear he's looking for a third...
We all began running in shorts and t-shirts, the first time we had done at the start of any day, and almost immediately altered our plan of traveling down Route 65. Our traveling companion and life support (GPS) to many unknown and untraveled roads had us turning onto a small dirt road within the first five minutes of running. Once again we made a group decision to follow the GPS to where ever she might lead. The road started out as a dirt path but before long we were standing in the middle of cotton fields on both sides. We kept moving forward hoping that it would improve and a more defined path would emerge. Unfortunately, just the opposite took place. The field of cotton soon turned into row after row of catfish ponds. In case you weren't paying attention to our previous blogs, we are in the catfish capital of the world. For the next two miles we twisted, turned, jumped and skipped our way around the ponds. At one point Matt commented to us that this would be the perfect cross country course. Nothing but a flat grassy field with plenty of different paths to take.
This off road adventure soon ended and we were back in civilization, kind of. We were still on a dirt road but at least it was a road. I kept telling myself as I have been for the past 31 days, that quote "this feels right". None of us have ever been on these roads before and we weren't entirely sure where they would take us but I don't think it really mattered one way or another. We would end up where we ended up and go from there. There is not enough time in the day to worry about what ifs. I know we have said this a lot over the last few days but our journey is already 1/4th complete. This is so hard to believe for me. All the people we have met along the way and friendships we have made still boggles my mind. I can still vividly remember standing on the beach that first day as the rain came down upon us. I remember Ken taking his shirt off as the sun finally came out in the afternoon. He was watching the sun as it was about to show itself from a group of clouds. He timed it just right so his shirt came off just as the sun appeared. Three months remain before we return back to reality...
Anyways, back to the day. We continued to follow dirt road after dirt road until we popped out in the town of Portland, AR, population 552. With only 9 miles left in our day we sat down in the shade to get something to eat and rest for a few minutes. We made some phone calls and talked about the morning with each other when a man who lived across the street came walking toward us. He introduced himself and asked what we were doing. He could tell we were traveling but he wanted to hear our story. We gave him our card and talked with him for a few minutes. When we mentioned that we had just graduated from SUNY Oneonta his eyes lit up. He exclaimed he knew the school well because his niece was Professor O'Mara daughter-in-law. Professor O'Mara is a communications professor at Oneonta and Matt had taken his class. I could not believe this! Out of all the roads we could have followed today and all the places we could have stopped, we chose to sit down in front of this house. In a town with a population of 552 we ran into someone that not only heard of Oneonta but also has a connection to one of the Professors there. It truly is a small world.
Overly excited at this point we continued on down the road where we met up with Mr. Durkin to finish off the last four miles of our day. I do not want to blame him or say it is his fault but the moment we met up with him the wind picked up dramatically. For the next few miles we ran into a fierce wind that did not let up. We finished the day just off of Route 8, where we will pick it back up tomorrow. We have only 22 miles to travel before we arrive in Crossett and will be taking our third day off of the trip. We are now a full day ahead of schedule and can use this day where and when we chose. I am trying to convince the guys to run the nine miles down the road and cross into Louisiana. I don't think it will happen but check back with us over the next few days and find out. .
We ended our day at the Huddle House with a couple of triple-decker hamburgers and fries. This was our second experience with the Huddle and I must say I see a definite third in the near future (tomorrow?). We are staying in a hotel just outside of town and will be here for the next three nights thanks to the Durkin's. The weather is supposed to be nasty the next couple of days, and there is a chance of snow on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what is to come and who we will meet over the next few months.
Make sure you check out our pictures from today. You don't want to miss turtle and puppy-cam.
Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the road.
-Andy
We all began running in shorts and t-shirts, the first time we had done at the start of any day, and almost immediately altered our plan of traveling down Route 65. Our traveling companion and life support (GPS) to many unknown and untraveled roads had us turning onto a small dirt road within the first five minutes of running. Once again we made a group decision to follow the GPS to where ever she might lead. The road started out as a dirt path but before long we were standing in the middle of cotton fields on both sides. We kept moving forward hoping that it would improve and a more defined path would emerge. Unfortunately, just the opposite took place. The field of cotton soon turned into row after row of catfish ponds. In case you weren't paying attention to our previous blogs, we are in the catfish capital of the world. For the next two miles we twisted, turned, jumped and skipped our way around the ponds. At one point Matt commented to us that this would be the perfect cross country course. Nothing but a flat grassy field with plenty of different paths to take.
This off road adventure soon ended and we were back in civilization, kind of. We were still on a dirt road but at least it was a road. I kept telling myself as I have been for the past 31 days, that quote "this feels right". None of us have ever been on these roads before and we weren't entirely sure where they would take us but I don't think it really mattered one way or another. We would end up where we ended up and go from there. There is not enough time in the day to worry about what ifs. I know we have said this a lot over the last few days but our journey is already 1/4th complete. This is so hard to believe for me. All the people we have met along the way and friendships we have made still boggles my mind. I can still vividly remember standing on the beach that first day as the rain came down upon us. I remember Ken taking his shirt off as the sun finally came out in the afternoon. He was watching the sun as it was about to show itself from a group of clouds. He timed it just right so his shirt came off just as the sun appeared. Three months remain before we return back to reality...
Anyways, back to the day. We continued to follow dirt road after dirt road until we popped out in the town of Portland, AR, population 552. With only 9 miles left in our day we sat down in the shade to get something to eat and rest for a few minutes. We made some phone calls and talked about the morning with each other when a man who lived across the street came walking toward us. He introduced himself and asked what we were doing. He could tell we were traveling but he wanted to hear our story. We gave him our card and talked with him for a few minutes. When we mentioned that we had just graduated from SUNY Oneonta his eyes lit up. He exclaimed he knew the school well because his niece was Professor O'Mara daughter-in-law. Professor O'Mara is a communications professor at Oneonta and Matt had taken his class. I could not believe this! Out of all the roads we could have followed today and all the places we could have stopped, we chose to sit down in front of this house. In a town with a population of 552 we ran into someone that not only heard of Oneonta but also has a connection to one of the Professors there. It truly is a small world.
Overly excited at this point we continued on down the road where we met up with Mr. Durkin to finish off the last four miles of our day. I do not want to blame him or say it is his fault but the moment we met up with him the wind picked up dramatically. For the next few miles we ran into a fierce wind that did not let up. We finished the day just off of Route 8, where we will pick it back up tomorrow. We have only 22 miles to travel before we arrive in Crossett and will be taking our third day off of the trip. We are now a full day ahead of schedule and can use this day where and when we chose. I am trying to convince the guys to run the nine miles down the road and cross into Louisiana. I don't think it will happen but check back with us over the next few days and find out. .
We ended our day at the Huddle House with a couple of triple-decker hamburgers and fries. This was our second experience with the Huddle and I must say I see a definite third in the near future (tomorrow?). We are staying in a hotel just outside of town and will be here for the next three nights thanks to the Durkin's. The weather is supposed to be nasty the next couple of days, and there is a chance of snow on Tuesday. I can't wait to see what is to come and who we will meet over the next few months.
Make sure you check out our pictures from today. You don't want to miss turtle and puppy-cam.
Thanks for reading and we'll see you on the road.
-Andy
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Day 30
Our first daily update from Arkansas! I write to you from a Ramada Inn in Lake Village, a couple miles north of Eudora, AR, which was our ending point for the day. WHAT A DAY IT WAS...I will now recap our day in the form of words:
We woke up at 7am once again. The three of us meandered our way down to the continental breakfast and had ourselves some cereal, donuts, toast, muffins, orange juice, and some other goodies that escape my mind right now. It was a good one. Now, we have experienced some fine continental breakfasts in our time on the road, but this morning's was the best in my opinion. We had warm glazed donuts, fresh orange juice...I personally loved it.
We got all of our stuff ready, and were then driven back to our starting spot. The weather was overcast...but not too cold. Our pants and long sleeves were off in about 15 minutes. The running was really flat and easy for the first 9 or so miles. As we neared the 9 mile mark, we saw our first major intersection off in the distance a little ways. Andy asked us all "how far away do you think we are from that road?" Matt and I looked at the road and figured we were about 3 or 4 minutes of running from the intersection. Andy guessed we were about 8 minutes....and Matt and I thought that guess was absolutely ludacris! We then timed the run (and we were going at a pretty good speed) and we hit the road at exactly 8 minutes. We blamed Matt's lack of depth perception on his inaccurate estimate.
Instead of taking Route 1 to the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River, we decided to follow our GPS's suggestion of a different road to take. It was going to cut off about a mile of our daily mileage, so we decided to go for it...I mean what else have we got to lose at this point? We've experienced it all because of this GPS it seems this far.
The GPS lead us to a road that was actually a levee for the Mississippi River. We came onto the levee and immediately saw miles of livestock roaming free around the with no fences. As we entered the levee area, we started passing cows and horses left and right. Some of them were even hanging out on the road, sometimes even sitting! As we would pass them, most of the cows and horses would run away. Many times our presence would cause major stampedes, with as many as 50 cows parading the land around us. One time as we ran, there was a bull standing in the road in front of the rest of the cows. We slowed down as we neared the bull, only then did the bull start walking towards us! Durkin and Andy turned around to walk to the other way...but I, being the heroic and brave man I am, stood my ground and faced my adversary. The bull soon saw that I was not a force to be reckoned with and turned around and ran away as I stood...proud and content.
The three of us kept going. The levee took us along for about 8 miles. It was a nice run, as the weather was warm and there was absolutely no traffic (car traffic that is.) We eventually found ourselves at the foot of the bridge that crossed the Mississippi River. The bridge had no pedestrian walkway, so we had to have Mama and Papa D help us transport the joggers across the Bridge for us. We dropped off the joggers in their van and figured we would be on our way...but standing before us was a giant Casino...just begging for us to come give them some money. We decided we only lived once, so we would go in and put all our money on red. I'm just kidding about that, but we did go in and explore. Andy lost 10 dollars and I lost $2.99, as I redeemed a 1 cent voucher at the end of my day. I didn't want to give them that last penny, so I kept it for myself.
Mama D, however, won 46 dollars playing the Deal or No Deal slot machine. Lunch was on her...and we ate at the casino buffet. The Hostess, her name was Anita, immediately took a liking to us and our adventure. She was very interested in our journey, and asked a million questions. We were happy to see someone so excited and animated. After filling our tummies, we were back on our way.
We exited the Casino, and got back on the road. We immediately got onto the bridge and crossed the Mighty Mississippi River. It took a while, as we took many pictures. To me, crossing the Mississippi River is quite the landmark accomplishment for us. Not only is it a cross into our 4th state, but the river itself is a symbol of moving westward. No longer are we in the far eastern United States. We have moved completely into the Central region of America, and the river only acts as a testament to all of our hard work and dedication to this dream of ours. I look at a map of the United States and I am completely stunned when I realized how far we've come. It's exciting to think that we are 1/4 of the way across this amazingly huge nation of ours. I can't wait to see what these next 5 states have for us.
After we crossed the Miss, we got the jogger back and Papa D joined us for the last 6 miles of the trip. We had quite a large shoulder going for us. It was such a nice end to our day. We only have one more day of running with Mr. Durkin. We have thoroughly enjoyed him running with us. We are so grateful for everything him and Mrs. Durkin have done for us. It has been so great. Friends and family visiting us throughout the trip have and will really make this adventure something special.
We finished the day with another strong 25 miles. All of us felt very good today. Andy's shins are continuing to improve with each day. We are enjoying our runs each day more and more because of our continuing improvements in health. The three of us are finally starting to act more like ourselves during the day...being goofy, fooling around and laughter is a major part of our runs now, whereas, a couple weeks ago, you could find pain and limping along more in our daily updates. We have all made it this far, and there is no doubt that we have passed the point at which our bodies have been able to adapt to all the mileage we put in. I have a huge smile on my face when I look forward to meeting new people and doing new things with our days. The days are not as hard when you're not worried as much about your legs recovering. The best is definitely yet to come!
Thanks again everyone. Your homework for today is to tell a friend about our journey. Inspire them to chase their own dreams. Thanks again :)
-Kenny
A couple of quick side notes on the day: Only minutes after crossing into Arkansas, Durkin found our first state plate on the side of the road, probably our 20th total of the trip. For diner, we experienced our first Sonic drive in of our lives. However, unlike those witty commercials that you see on TV debating the shade of color of a raspberry sherbet smoothie in their cars, we ate our meal inside. Nonetheless, the meal was everything that we imagined and more.
We woke up at 7am once again. The three of us meandered our way down to the continental breakfast and had ourselves some cereal, donuts, toast, muffins, orange juice, and some other goodies that escape my mind right now. It was a good one. Now, we have experienced some fine continental breakfasts in our time on the road, but this morning's was the best in my opinion. We had warm glazed donuts, fresh orange juice...I personally loved it.
We got all of our stuff ready, and were then driven back to our starting spot. The weather was overcast...but not too cold. Our pants and long sleeves were off in about 15 minutes. The running was really flat and easy for the first 9 or so miles. As we neared the 9 mile mark, we saw our first major intersection off in the distance a little ways. Andy asked us all "how far away do you think we are from that road?" Matt and I looked at the road and figured we were about 3 or 4 minutes of running from the intersection. Andy guessed we were about 8 minutes....and Matt and I thought that guess was absolutely ludacris! We then timed the run (and we were going at a pretty good speed) and we hit the road at exactly 8 minutes. We blamed Matt's lack of depth perception on his inaccurate estimate.
Instead of taking Route 1 to the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River, we decided to follow our GPS's suggestion of a different road to take. It was going to cut off about a mile of our daily mileage, so we decided to go for it...I mean what else have we got to lose at this point? We've experienced it all because of this GPS it seems this far.
The GPS lead us to a road that was actually a levee for the Mississippi River. We came onto the levee and immediately saw miles of livestock roaming free around the with no fences. As we entered the levee area, we started passing cows and horses left and right. Some of them were even hanging out on the road, sometimes even sitting! As we would pass them, most of the cows and horses would run away. Many times our presence would cause major stampedes, with as many as 50 cows parading the land around us. One time as we ran, there was a bull standing in the road in front of the rest of the cows. We slowed down as we neared the bull, only then did the bull start walking towards us! Durkin and Andy turned around to walk to the other way...but I, being the heroic and brave man I am, stood my ground and faced my adversary. The bull soon saw that I was not a force to be reckoned with and turned around and ran away as I stood...proud and content.
The three of us kept going. The levee took us along for about 8 miles. It was a nice run, as the weather was warm and there was absolutely no traffic (car traffic that is.) We eventually found ourselves at the foot of the bridge that crossed the Mississippi River. The bridge had no pedestrian walkway, so we had to have Mama and Papa D help us transport the joggers across the Bridge for us. We dropped off the joggers in their van and figured we would be on our way...but standing before us was a giant Casino...just begging for us to come give them some money. We decided we only lived once, so we would go in and put all our money on red. I'm just kidding about that, but we did go in and explore. Andy lost 10 dollars and I lost $2.99, as I redeemed a 1 cent voucher at the end of my day. I didn't want to give them that last penny, so I kept it for myself.
Mama D, however, won 46 dollars playing the Deal or No Deal slot machine. Lunch was on her...and we ate at the casino buffet. The Hostess, her name was Anita, immediately took a liking to us and our adventure. She was very interested in our journey, and asked a million questions. We were happy to see someone so excited and animated. After filling our tummies, we were back on our way.
We exited the Casino, and got back on the road. We immediately got onto the bridge and crossed the Mighty Mississippi River. It took a while, as we took many pictures. To me, crossing the Mississippi River is quite the landmark accomplishment for us. Not only is it a cross into our 4th state, but the river itself is a symbol of moving westward. No longer are we in the far eastern United States. We have moved completely into the Central region of America, and the river only acts as a testament to all of our hard work and dedication to this dream of ours. I look at a map of the United States and I am completely stunned when I realized how far we've come. It's exciting to think that we are 1/4 of the way across this amazingly huge nation of ours. I can't wait to see what these next 5 states have for us.
After we crossed the Miss, we got the jogger back and Papa D joined us for the last 6 miles of the trip. We had quite a large shoulder going for us. It was such a nice end to our day. We only have one more day of running with Mr. Durkin. We have thoroughly enjoyed him running with us. We are so grateful for everything him and Mrs. Durkin have done for us. It has been so great. Friends and family visiting us throughout the trip have and will really make this adventure something special.
We finished the day with another strong 25 miles. All of us felt very good today. Andy's shins are continuing to improve with each day. We are enjoying our runs each day more and more because of our continuing improvements in health. The three of us are finally starting to act more like ourselves during the day...being goofy, fooling around and laughter is a major part of our runs now, whereas, a couple weeks ago, you could find pain and limping along more in our daily updates. We have all made it this far, and there is no doubt that we have passed the point at which our bodies have been able to adapt to all the mileage we put in. I have a huge smile on my face when I look forward to meeting new people and doing new things with our days. The days are not as hard when you're not worried as much about your legs recovering. The best is definitely yet to come!
Thanks again everyone. Your homework for today is to tell a friend about our journey. Inspire them to chase their own dreams. Thanks again :)
-Kenny
A couple of quick side notes on the day: Only minutes after crossing into Arkansas, Durkin found our first state plate on the side of the road, probably our 20th total of the trip. For diner, we experienced our first Sonic drive in of our lives. However, unlike those witty commercials that you see on TV debating the shade of color of a raspberry sherbet smoothie in their cars, we ate our meal inside. Nonetheless, the meal was everything that we imagined and more.
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