I started the day a bit later than I hoped and ended up running by 7am. The morning was clear and sunny with temperatures near 55°F. After a warm stretch and lots of humidity it was great to have less oppressive conditions for the effort.
My good friend Jason joined me for the first 20 miles from the Jane Adam’s Trailhead at the state line. The first miles took us through shaded trails with limestone rock walls at times and cornfields, cows and soybeans at others. The path was a mix of dirt and grass and some rocks throughout, just about the perfect path for running.
I worried a bit about mosquitoes and horseflies, but didn’t get bothered by either. Most of the morning was quiet with few people on the trails. We saw a few bikes and walkers in the early morning but the trail was mostly empty.
Andrew, my driving aid station, met us at road crossings throughout the day, usually every 7-8 miles. He helped to fill up my hydration pack, offered more snacks and reapplied sunscreen for me.
At mile 19, Marty joined me for the final 21 miles. We ran a bit more with Jason and then said goodbye to him. Shortly after Marty joined, the day began to heat up. The high was expected to be near 80°F. Around this time, we took the detour around Stewart Tunnel which was MUCH hillier than I expected. We traversed country hills in direct sun. I’ll admit we walked a bit more than I had hoped at this point. When we got to Belleville, I realized I was starting to overheat. Andrew was able to meet us at the trailhead in Belleville and I tried to cool myself with ice packs.
We approached less covered areas as we traveled North on the trail and my run had turned into run/walk. The final 10 miles of the trail is paved and much busier. There were many triathletes buzzing along on their bikes on this section along with runners. The last 10 miles was a mix of running and walking in direct sun. It was tough, slowly but surely we made it all the way to Verona and finished The Badger State Trail at Lovell Lane.