Mar 4th 2011 Unionville to Princton 50km = 31.1 miles

Staying on Pete and Peggy’s farm. Thanks so much

Mar 5th 2011 Princton to Bethany  46.1km = 28.6 miles

Camping behind Camaro’s Steakhouse Thanks very much Mark  :)

Mar 6th 2011. Bethany to Albany 31.4km = 19.5 miles.

Tonight I am the guest of the Countryside Inn, Albany, Mo. Thanks very much Bonnie, Rob and Jennifer

Total for 112 Road Days = 5006.2 km =  3,110.7  miles. 118.64 Marathons

There was a little overnight snow in Ipave. It never really stuck and was all gone after a couple of hours of nice sunshine as I forged on and on on route 136 west. This road goes all the way to Colorado, just 750 miles away. It’s going to be a special moment for me when I cross that state line from Nebraska and run into the first town, a small place called Wray. I sent the mayor of Wray 2 emails informing him of my world run and my love for Colorado. I told him I lived in the state from 1994 to 2002. A huge part of my 20 years of dreaming about this trip was dreamt about while running on the roads and trails of the state. In many ways it will be a sort of homecoming. Disappointingly I have not had a reply from the Wray mayor. Dublin and Wray the only two places in the world I will be requesting some kind of a welcome. I would also love to have a Colorado flag to carry over the state line. Alas such things are difficult for me to arrange on my own.
 
Mac who had overheard Carol in the bicycle shop talking about my trip had come out to the edge of Macomb to greet me. He was with his wife Barbara.

 Mac and Barbara in the house Rich let me stay in.

I loaded Nirvana into his truck and ran the last hour into this university town. A coach from the university track team also came out to greet me. I think his name was Doug. He seemed to be a bit disappointed that I was already being taken care of.
Because Mac lived a bit far away he directed me to his friends house on Washington St.
Rich and Mo (Maureen) live next door to where Rich’s mam used to live.

Maureen ( Mo) and Rich.

 His mam died only last month so it is a difficult time for him but he seemed to be more than happy for me to spend a couple of nights there as I also wanted to take a rest day.
That rest day was spent catching up on my endless emails and a bit of blogging. Later I was invited over to Bill and Diana’s house for dinner with a couple of their friends. A few more people came along later and as we all sat around for what was probably a one hour questions and answers session of the world run. Diana was recording the session for playing back at the running clubs Christmas party! Not sure if she was serious but that’s what she said.   
Diana also wrote an article for the newspaper PRESS HERE TO READ. Next morning, Sunday I was run out of town by Rich, Marge, Lauri! Anna ran a bit further about ten miles while Diana chauffeured Nirvana in her pickup.

The Macomb Runners

It was raining heavily.
” Tony you will know you are in the American heartland when you see jet black earth like we got here. ” Said Anna.
I treated Anna and Diana to our second breakfast that morning before we departed.
A  couple of hours later I was running into Carthage. Diana and Mo had been working hard to find a contact for me there. They came up with a lovely couple called Chet and Ruth who seemed to be totally devoted to each other after 50 years of marriage. They are both retired school teachers.

Chet,Ruth and Miss Audrey

I had a pleasant evening chatting to some of their friends as we scoffed pizza and ice cream while Miss Audrey, their terrier cleaned the floor of any crumbs.
On the way out of Carthage I pass the prison where Mormon founder Joseph Smith was lynched by an angry mob. It seemed the locals were outraged by Smith’s bigamy and overpowered the prison guards.
I understand there was an attempt by a politician to apologise for Carthage towns infamous deed but one person told me that that unpopular politician was told that if Smith was around today the town would probably do the same thing again.
 
I crossed over the Mississippi river by running for 10 minutes along the pedestrian footpath into the town of Keokuk. Keokuk is in a little corner of Iowa.

The Mississippi

I will just run 4 miles of that state. However even in those 4 miles I gave another interview for the local newspaper! Someone had phoned the reporter and she was waiting for me with a sharp pen at west end of the Mississippi.

Then I ran straight out of town and before departing Iowa came to the factory gates of the Roquette company. A French company that makes sweeteners. Apparently they received many other sweeteners in the form of tax dollars and what did they do?
As Bud and Trudy of Local Union 48G told me.

Trudy and Bud

” They just sacked their entire workforce and employed cheap scab labour. ”
Today they were taking their turn on the picket which has been in place since September.
They keep warm by burning broken pallets and scrap wood.
I go a bit up the road and come to the second factory gate.
Ron, Dave and Randy are manning this picket as the scabs drive trucks through the picket.  They are sitting in a rickety hand-built shack which is heated by a wood burning stove. I drink a coffee in the shack with them.

Ron, Dave and Randy

They are all Vietnam vets. ” Globalisation… That is what it is. Things are going to get worse. ” Said one of the lads.
 
I crossed into Missouri. Last night I had been wondering about where to stay tonight. I am all out of contacts.. There doesn’t seem to be any runners either on the horizon. While sitting in Chet and Ruth’s last night I noticed that there is a Baptist church in Wayland. I decided to send an email to my good friend John Walshe and his wife Debbie.  John is the pasto of the Baptist church that I spent Christmas at in Cliffton, Maine. I asked them to do the ‘ dirty work ‘ and phone the pastor in Wayland.
So pastor Dan greets me at the entrance to his house that he shares with his four children and wife, Heidi.

Dan, Heidi and family

” Tony we are delighted to have you stay for the night.. It’s a great privilege for us. I cried with joy when John asked me! ”
” But I hope you don’t mind because I have invited about 20 people over to see you and we are going to have some pizza and ice cream ”

” Of course not Dan…. That’s a normal night for me lately! ”
 
Next day I had a good run to Memphis, Missouri. A 54km / 33.6 mile day. So I decided to dust off the Magic Letter and look for a discount in the Oak Ridge Motel. Viola, the manager took one look at it and refused my $20 offer.” I would like to help you on your journey with a complimentary room. ” MAGIC LETTER DETAILS

After breakfast some guy called Gilbert from WGEM Newstalk radio phoned the motel for an interview.

” So where will you be for Paddy’s day? ” says the presenter.

” The middle of the Nebraska praries ”

” Why don’t you run faster and get yourself to somewhere like Denver and get a bellyful of Guinness? ”

” Caus I don’t drink alcohol.. ”

 
On the way to Lancaster I clocked up 3,000 miles for the run. Dan had arranged for me to stay with Boyd and his wife Connie.
Boyd is a kind of a roving Evangelist pastor. He had many interesting stories like how in 1957 he was working on a ranch in Colorado with a guy called Rattlesnake Larry.
” Well Larry would just go up to pits of the rattlers and fish them out with his stick at the rate of one a minute! 
” Then he would sell the serium all over the world for vaccines. ”
And then the story of the 400lb wrestler. 
” He was the state champion and could go nowhere without people staring at him. 
” Then we heard about another wrestler that would give him a good fight for his money.
” So we asked him to fight the other guy…
” Don’t tell me anything about the other guy… Just tell me about the money! ” Said the champ.
” But he is a big guy! ”
” I told you 3 times I don’t care just tell me about the money…
” It turned out the other guy was a monster.. 800lbs and nowhere to get a grip on him he was so big!
” Well our champ went for his knees, weakened them and then whipped him.
” They have both given up wrestling and became born again Christians.
” We even had the two of them in church together..
” Champ said it was the first time nobody stared at him…
” They were all wondering where the big guy was going to sit…
” Of course he couldn’t… He ended up standing! ”
 

Connie and Boyd

It was assumed I would go to Bible study that Wednesday night I arrived at Boyd’s place. He was in a hurry out and so I went along.
The Baptist minister delivered a passionate show encouraged by dozens of ‘ Amens ‘ which were uttered at appropriate moments by the congregation.
A prayer list was drawn up for all the people known to be ill or in need of prayer.
Boyd stood up and told of my world run so I was added to the prayer list. I stood up and said I needed all the help I could get, answer a few questions and heard a few more amen’s.
On the way out a kind man slipped me a $20 bill and told me my next meal was on him. I managed to hold back from saying an ‘ amen! ‘
 
On the way back to Boyd’s place he told me he had a place for the next night in Unionville but the pastor of that church had to go to a saddlery meeting and that I would have to go with him. We probably wouldn’t get home till after 8pm. I asked if his wife could pick me up.
” No I wouldn’t put her in that position. ”
” How do you mean Boyd? ”
” Well us religious people must be careful we are not subject of gossip or accusations so I would never pick up a woman hitchhiker for instance and if you were a woman I would not have picked you up. ”
” So Boyd are you saying that you, some of your pastor friends and their spouses would not get into a car be in a house alone or any other location alone with a member of the opposite sex? ”
“ Yes I am and do you know the preacher Bill Graham… He is the world famous Evangelist preacher?
” Well he wouldn’t even get into an elevator if he was alone with a woman…. So what will I do will I call my friend in Unionville back. ”
” Please call him to thank him for the offer but I will take my chances elsewhere and wouldn’t like to inconvenience him. ”
 
Over breakfast Boyd and Connie called up the local television news company. Over the phone I gave a brief outline of the run and agreed to an interview on the road to Unionville. I think they were a bit put out when I said I don’t usually answer my phone when running so it was pointless phoning. I had said I believed in keeping things simple.

” Come on out to 136 I am easy to find… If I stop for a coffee you will see the buggy outside. ”

 They didn’t turn up.

 Well it was a beautiful day running to Unionville.  I arrived just before 4pm and had a late lunch in Deb’s East Side caff. I asked if I could camp around the side and was surprised when I was told no that the cops might not like it. I was starting to wonder how friendly the town was when someone told me to go to the sheriff’s office in the town square as they usually issue motel stays for people that are stuck. So I mosied on over to the sheriff and asked if he had any floor space for me and my sleeping bag!

A phone call later and I was sent over to the Alamo Motel on the west side of town.

” Are you the runner? ” Tim, the young lad that owns the motel says to me.

” Yes that’s me. ”

Pose for a photograph while holding key 111.

 ” Good I’ll send that off to the newspaper! ”

 Later I went over to his office to mooch a coffee and get him to sign my witness book for the world run. There are no coffee makers in the room so he is giving me his own. I tell him not to bother and just sit down and drink on in the office.

 ” So do you get many people sent in here from the sheriff? ”

 ” Yes quiet a few and I only took over a couple of months ago.

 ” Late night crashes when the people are not hurt..

 ” Then a couple of weeks ago we had a huge snow storm and the snow was halfway up to the roof. A couple of motorists were following their gps and it wasn’t working in the storm so they ended up a county road that wasn’t plowed. They were trapped in their car for hours. Then a couple of police officers went to rescue them. They were trapped also so the four of them stayed there the night till rescuers could dig them out. They got the motorists out but it took another couple of days to get the cars out. That was only two weeks ago, so where were you running 2 weeks ago? 

 ” Indiana, I think I was writing about the end of the winter! “

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