8 days 8 states 8 50Ks

Long 3+ hour drive day before, much of it thru sheets of rain.  Nothing dangerous, just messy & notta lotta outside-change between the two Dakotas… so ya struggle to stay mentally plugged-in.

Same course last two days of the Prairie Series.  Two-nite hotel stay.  Wahpeton ND & Breckenridge MN.  500ft walk to the common Start.  Tale of 2 different run days with a group dinner in-between. Warm exposed Day 7 which I’d walk the second Half with ‘George from Georgia’.  Another mega-marathoner.  Treasure trove of life stories; blessed afternoon.  32 miles: check, done ✅

Not so many eat choices in Wahpeton.  30-minute drive, no regrets.  Group nite-out where we’d watch Guinness-baby spread mashed potato across a restaurant window.  LOL>  [Mom cleaned mess]

Sleeps & high energy for Series final.  Cut 2 hours off prior day’s 50K.  Whoop whoop! 🙌

Build such a strong bond with folks over 8 days.  Travel, fatigue, weather — all the ingredients for lasting life memories.  Sad last day goodbyes… but the highway calls.

Pilot truck-stop shower & a tuna sub.  Highlights of my 4-hour bolt to Minneapolis.  It’s Expo day tomorrow at Mile High.  Colfax Marathon, Sunday in Denver.

Home sweet Colorado home ❤️

Prairie Series – Wahpeton ND

Prairie Series – Breckenridge MN

Big Sioux River

Can’t change the weather but you can still run 50K every day 🙂

3am alarm, 0n the road within 30 minutes, 2-hour drive to today’s course.  Extra nite in the same hotel.  No regrets; sleep does a body good.  Woke ready for the last leg of my Prairie adventure.  Truck-stop coffee & early morning rain.  Notta downpour, no wind, no hail… just light summer drizzle.  Would keep temps at bay a third straight day.

Lotta laps & a slow Half for Guinness Mom.  Stroller-push over rock & dirt on Baltic’s River trail not ideal.  Mom/daughter took a couple aid station breaks; I’d bust out a quick lap then rejoin.  Gal’s great company/been there every day — always with fun, young person life-stories.  Journey’s lot easier with 13+ miles under your belt.

2nd Half, Senior Olympics Day — me & German runner, Bolle.  Conditions suited me better.  Light rain, trail mud, lotta opportunity for aid station fuel.  Out-n-back just over a mile.  Would have to lap Bolle 4x to complete my distance ahead of his marathon.  I’d draft close, he’d push faster.  Popped in my ear buds, music blaring, cap low, eyes focused forward.  Hour slower than the 2 Sioux City(s) — today, trail — but another 50K first.

Final course awaits, route straddles last 2 states: North Dakota & Minnesota.

Prairie Series — Baltic SD

Montana/Wyoming/Idaho/Oregon — all states I enjoy for their Rocky Mountain similarities.  Other states, close friends or family reside.  Then... there’s a random handful I can’t explain why; I always race well & just feel at home/super comfortable — Minnesota, Kentucky and… Iowa.

Quick 10-minute drive to Riverside Park.  Dragging this day.  Out late [the] night before, enjoying the ‘social’ in social running.  Or… could just be the ‘Day 5’ blues — middle days of a long series are mentally tough.  Folks have come/gone.  Focus shifts to what’s hurting vs what new joy the day brings. Opportunity here.  Turn that frown upside down, McGruff.  Not my first rodeo 🙂

Easy scenic bike-path on Lewis and Clark Trail, alongside the Big Sioux River.  Cool comfortable morning temp.  Fields of purple.  Deer.  Leafy shade.  Slow start; progressively got faster.  Ran with Dollar Bill/the Ohio Exterminator, later Guinness Mom Chey.  2nd Half — Jason, our TV anchor from Columbus & finally, Bolle from [East] Germany.  Push, push, push.  Fastest finish of the Series.

Story of two different runners.  Quiet/negative-spirited guy at 5am & alter-ego medalist 5 ½ hours later.  Hung ’round, cheered on others, chatted with a local (John) completing his first marathon. Practice flipping mental slog/dark mindset will be a great tool for my 100-miler 👍

Less folks making the trip north to the Dakotas.  More goodbyes.  Rare 3-nite hotel stay, followed by a dark-hour morning commute to our only Prairie Series trail run in Baltic, South Dakota.

5 down, 3 states to go.  Momentum a shiftin’.

Prairie Series — Sioux City IA