Welcome to the Prairie Series.  Welcome to My-a-mah — the other Miami… Oklahoma.

Rotary Centennial Park

Storms across the Prairie all week.  Tornados, Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.  Shared fears with Mom, added my name to the prayer circle & Thursday nite… off to Tulsa. Eventually.  Plane delayed, hours late.  Rental SUV not available.  Prepaid-in-advance… control what you can control.  Two-hour drive thru Indian Nation.  Tomorrow my next series begins — Oklahoma to North Dakota… just hours from the Canadian border.

Hotel check-in, no time to unpack — would pull run clothes & shoes in the morning.  No pre-series bib retrieval.  No pre-series Kroger provisions.  No pasta dinner.  But… I’m here.  On the road again, next 8 days 🚗   New series, new folks, new stories.  Folks here for a long weekend.  And a couple regulars.  That’s me now: #50K every day

Day 1.  Course diverted.  Normal route 20 FEET under water.

Lotta curves, whole lotta laps.  Ran first couple miles, then joined Chey/Guinness Mom for 10 of her 13.1 miles — first day, just couldn’t keep up.  Landscape warm, sleep started to catch me, stomach unsettled.  Walked it out friends.  Great company, great plan.

No win, not the caboose.  Collected my state medal, got it done.

Longest drive of the series ahead.  Rural road & open PRAIRIE.  Spotted a National Park sign in Fort Scott.  Park rangers, safe place.  I’d pull over, just a 20 minute nap.  Quarter-to-6, I’m the only car there.  Argh!

3 hours further: Hiawatha, Kansas.  2-nite stay never sounded so good.

Welcome to Prairie Series

Strangely full of energy last 2 days of a long series.  Felt the same day during Appalachia.  Body’s succumbed to its daily fate & mentally — whew! — you’re thinking about HOME.  For me, that’s the snowy peaks of the Front Range.  For me, it’s coming home to my best bud, Ro ❤️

Day 6 in the ‘Show Me State’.  Course 5-minute drive from my hotel in Cape Girardeau.  Still riding high from yesterday’s run.  Mostly flat bike-path today in Missouri.  #50K every day

Broken-record mantra: LUSH GREEN tropical.  6 days in, guessing that’s just the way the mighty Mississipp’ states are in Spring.  Trees don’t leaf-out ’til Mother’s Day in Colorado — but then, it’s an intense catch-up, all within a 2-week burst.  Winter, summer.  Our ‘fringe’ seasons are short.

Ran a half, jogged a couple miles, finished up quick.  2nd fastest of the series, another 50K win (not lotta ultra folks).  Packed/repacked the rental.  Tomorrow’s Day 7 — then after, an overnight visit with Sis.  Lives only 2 ½ hours from course. That’s just a short Mainly commute.  LOL>

Vienna, Illinois.  Place where I finished my first 50 miler.  Tunnel Hill.  Probably the flattest fastest 50-mile course out there (but it counts 😊)  This day, warned not to run thru the tunnel or will have overshot my turnaround by 6 miles.  HAHA!  Didn’t sleep night-before, walked the early DARK miles. Guinness Mom-Chey (also eager to get home) made quick time of her Half.  Thanks friend!

Happy pedestrian after; chatted-up miles with Tom from New Jersey.  He’s all but talked me into his favourite local 6-day event next May at the NJ Fairgrounds.  Said goodbyes @ Mile 24.  Ran hard late, 4 miles to catch my buddies Angela & Ed.  Wanted to finish out the series together.  And we did.

7 days, 7 states, 7 50Ks.  Notta record — that was last series.  But doing the math, still 350K & a whole lotta places I’d never seen.  One final river bridge-crossing into St. Louis, then fell off the wagon fast.  Large blizzard w/ Reese’s at the local Sonic near Sis.

Life’s meant to be lived & what’s life without ice cream.

Vienna IL