Day 24: Grand Rapids to Cleveland

Getting up this morning was rough. Fortunately we all mustered the strength to be on the road just after 7. The temperature this morning was a cool and in the 60s, quite pleasant.

I took off expecting to head to the checkpoint and read a book until they arrived, but on my way I spotted a gem of a trail along the river. There was a really cool old bridge that spanned the river with old fashioned archways. I ran into some other runners that were training for a marathon. The group was about 6 large and they looked confused as I entered the parking lot. I don't know if it was my marathon shirt, but one of them cracked a joke that they were scared the race was today.

After my run I drove down to Bowling Green State University to do some core work and exercises. Why Bowling Green State, you ask? A great middle distance runner by the name of Dave Wottle ran there in his college days. Dave won the gold medal in the 800 meters at Munich in 1972. Here's a link to the race. It's got quite the finish. Anyways, I had to stop by the track and pay tribute to his old stomping ground. After all, it was along the route.

I drove along to meet the bikers in Clyde for a post lunch refuel. Their plans had changed slightly as they now wanted to get all the way to the east side of Cleveland. I headed up another dozen miles up the road to a nice beachfront in Lorain. A blues festival was taking place at the park and I couldn't resist taking a listen before jumping into Lake Erie.

I found a nice spot on the lakefront pier. It was bustling with activity. I was taking some pictures when I overheard a conversation with a dad and his son. The dad was elderly and using a walker. The son had visited him and walked him out of his apartment to the bench directly behind where I was standing, talking about the beauty of the lake and how nice the fresh air was.

I got a call from Wes, saying they were getting tired. Because of the construction on the highway, there was no easy way for me to pick them up. So Wes and Will pushed on. About 30 minutes later, they arrived, exhausted and ready to call it a day.

On the ride back Wes totaled the mileage for the day: 134. The total mileage left was just about 1000 miles, something that could be achieved in just under 10 days.