Days 54 and 55 - Hennepin Canal Towpath

Day 54

The clouds continued to provide some relief from the sun - and possible measurable rain fell to cool us the tiniest bit. Anyway, just as the miles started to get tougher to run Corky surprises us with the best aid station of the Run as we entered Davenport. It was super to see Corky again as we last saw her in Spokane when she and Marty headed home after Justin's brother Adam arrived to assume crewing duties. Jennifer and I had a number of goodies to choose from in order to fuel the bodies. I believe we both consumed some great cookies and popsicles. Corky then surprised us again as we crossed the Centennial Bridge (a course reroute since the American Discovery (swing) Bridge was set in the open position all weekend for Mississippi River barge traffic) into Illinois, and then again with fried chicken straight from the oven, and then one last welcome aid station as we entered Corky's town of East Moline. WOW! The miles almost flew by as we enjoyed seeing Corky and the sky was overcast for much of the day. Corky joined all of us at Applebee's later for dinner and at Whitey's ice cream for my "second meal"; it was a fantastic day!

Day 55

The finish for the day was blazing hot so the intermittent shade this afternoon was greatly appreciated. Thankfully we did enjoy overcast skies for much of the morning. It was great to see Marty again since we were last together in Spokane. Marty spent most of the day with us either meeting us at the crewing locations on the Hennepin Canal Towpath or riding his bike with us as we ran. I was running not far behind Jennifer - due to my longer/slower crew stops -  when a blister forced me for the first time in the Run to stop and immediately try to correct/lance the offending issue. I believe I also became a cranky runner for the first time in the Run due to failure to properly lance the offending blister, but I accomplished enough draining to allow me to resume running and my crankiness quickly faded.

We both stopped at the Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park visitor center at mile 35 to say HI to the great staff there. The towpath trail is an enjoyable run or bike ride - stop by some time when you are in Illinois.

Jennifer and I both ran well in the heat and humidity today, but were both knackered when we finished. Can we run as fast tomorrow?

Colona to Princeton, IL 44.06 miles

Jennifer 9:04:54

Mike      9:13:17