Today was our first full day of running in Kentucky and according to the weather report temperatures were to exceed 95F …. and they did!

As well as the team covering the mileage there was a Sorghum Festival in one of the towens we were passing through called West Liberty. The team were kindly hosted by the Mayor Jim Rupe, Sally and the local media were there too. It was nice to meet you.

One of the major problems we have faced in Kentucky is keeping the runners protected from stray wild dogs. The previous night we came up with a plan on how best to achieve this but, as with all best layed plans, it failed in the first five minutes and we pretty much made it up as we went along … at one point Crazy was pinned to the bonnet holding on for dear life as we was chased by a Great Dane! Every incident that occured we dealt with accordingly and the runners survived without any dog related injuries. In fact the only injury of the day was Kester who put his back out (obviously carrying a coffee mug that was way too heavy for his spindly arms).

Although we are slowly aclimatising to it I think the heat and humidity are the main things affecting the runners. Most of the team aren’t used to it, being from sunny England, they are all dealing with it very well and staying hydrated. As I sit here writing this we are waiting for the final runners to finish and then will be met by Linda Black from Lago Linda Hideaway who is kindly providing us with a campsite for our RVs tonight. We will also be accompanied by the Sheriff and, on the outskirts of Beattyville, a fire truck. Many thanks guys for your support. Linda and her friends are also going to cook us our evening meal tonight ….. more fantastic hosts.

Mark

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