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May
16, 2004
It?s
More Than a Run
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TREK
USA runners make their way across
the Mississippi.
See more photos in our gallery |
Ottawa,
Illinois - Today
we spent our last hours in Iowa.
Within three miles of the start of
today?s run was the unmistakable border
crossing to Illinois ? the Mississippi. For
the first time our two groups joined together to
run as one.
We first stopped at the western end of
the bridge for a full team picture.
The span was shrouded in early morning
mist as the ?Big Muddy? flowed beneath.
We met a couple from Lincoln who come to
that spot each Sunday morning to sit with a cup
of coffee and enjoy the early morning quite.
How fortunate they are to have such a
majestic view available each week. We, however, could only spend enough time for a photo and a
team jog across the bridge.
We all had a bit of Tom Sawyer and Huck
Finn in us as we looked below at the river that
they made so famous.
Once into Illinois, our
assignment was familiar ? 156 miles through
the farm lands that make up the ?corn belt?
of our country.
To say the least, we?ve seen a lot of
corn fields.
No, really, I mean a LOT of corn fields.
Yet, there have been subtle changes as we
make our way to the further reaches of the mid
west.
Between the vast farmlands
are the small towns that are beginning to spring
up with more regularity. Each town we enter posts the population beneath its name.
The most interesting are the towns with
less than 1,000.
Though small, they always seem warm and
inviting. We have experienced mid western
hospitality with many of the folks we have had
the pleasure of meeting along the way.
Perhaps it went a little too far today.
As we ran by a pretty little cemetery at
the top of a hill in a town of 150, we noticed a
sign at the entrance to the burial grounds that
read, ?Welcome?.
Thanks for the invite, but we have a few
miles to go first!
As we made our way to
Ottawa, today?s stop in Illinois, the
population of the towns we passed grew from the
100?s to the 1,000?s.
The quaint general stores have made way
for WalMarts.
It?s a sure sign that we will probably
see more ?familiar? scenery than we have
enjoyed in the past 16 days.
It will be interesting to see how we
respond to the changes.
We have been spoiled by the great weather
and amazing byways.
Speaking of being spoiled,
at the end of our day?s run, we were met by
two of our friends, Nancy Lieberman, the
President of the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon
(the site of the US Women?s trials) and her
associate Mona Vespa.
Along with a banner that welcomed the
TREK USA runners, they brought along some of the
best offerings of St. Louis.
Included were fine cuts of beef, turkey,
a case of Budweiser, home made cookies, and the
best frozen custard we?ve ever had! What a
feast! We
may have to log a few extra miles tomorrow.
Incredibly, tomorrow?s
153 mile run will end our brief visit to
Illinois and carry us into Plymouth, Indiana.
We will cross our final time zone ? the
same one we started with back in April!
We?ve come a long way.
The team has come a long
way in many regards.
We feel that on this 2nd half
of the trip we are ironing out a lot of the
bugs. The
ongoing joke is, ?Next time we?ll
know?.? Yet we have learned a lot that will help us finish our
journey stronger than we started.
Each of us want to contribute 110% to the
success of the project, and that energy can be
difficult to manage.
One of the decisions we
think we?ll employ is to rent another support
vehicle that will allow one of our folks to
?sprint ahead? near the end of the day.
That person will check us into the hotel,
begin the laundry, and find the best dinner
arrangements.
We have found that at the end of a long
day, fatigue, low blood sugar, and many chores
with too little time have made us too tense. We
need to have time to ?break bread? with one
another, relive the day, and get our personal
chores done before it?s too late.
We think the advance team will help us
accomplish that.
We have also realized how
important the roles of all our support folks
have become.
At our meeting this morning, Dave
McGillivray reminded us all to say thanks.
We also recognized the additional burden
of Bob Whirty.
He has been our utility runner.
He has filled in legs when necessary, and
has accompanied other team members frequently.
Though sometimes listed as a support
person, we know that he is one of the runners.
We are truly a team of 11 runners.
As the team grows closer, we look to each
other as peers.
Support team, director, runners ?
we?re all part of the team that has made this
so terrific.
We know that at the end of
our trip, things will never be the same for any
of us. The
experience we share will help us to grow in
amazing ways.
When we started this project, our single
focus was to help the kids represented by our
charities.
We have again learned that valuable
lesson that when you give, you receive so much
more in return.
We will be different, we will be better.
PS
If there are any ideas, comments or
questions about the journal, send me a note:
Tom
@TREKUSA.org
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