Close Encounters of the Tenth Kind written by Aaron Gurley

Since the trip began, every runner has had some sort of encounter with the incredulous drivers of this country. Running on slim shoulders of old country highways and on the sides of dirt roads naturally leads to these close encounters. Here’s one of the many stories of our close relationships with the truck drivers of the midwest.

Our fourth day of the journey began like any day out in the country. The sunrise was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Michael and Adam started the day running down the highway. Massive trees shaded their part of the run for a pretty relaxing 6 mile leg each.

The close encounter came when me and my friend Chris and I ran together for the first time of the trip. We ran ahead while the other vans did their thing–making sure the runners don’t keel over, providing water for them, etc. Chris and I began running in a single file line because the shoulder was a bit lax you could say. Imagine running on a 2×4 for 6 miles. But while you’re running on that 2×4, massive semi trucks and overzealous drivers speed by you in an inadvertant attempt to blow you off of that 2×4.

One eager driver; it appeared he worked for some sort of fruit company, driving a shipment of some delicious treats, decided to speed over the hill that me and Chris had just descended and drive as close to the two of us as possible. Almost as if to play a game of chicken. Chris naturally found himself in the fertile position and I naturally found myself swearing to myself. One of the scariest moments of the trip!

A Hot Day’s Cool End written by Jacob Heil

The hills of Missouri were not tall, but they were long, they would continue at a steady rate for long stretches. Often one would run a series of long boring uphills that slowly sapped strength from the legs, only to end still battling a hill. It was not discouraging, the hills were simple to run because the incline was gentle, but they could ruin one’s mood, and ending a stretch on top of a hill was just plain annoying.

One good thing that happened this day was the first swimming pool. Oh how we frollicked in that heaven-sent water. It was as if we had found the fountain of youth. Swimming in that pool was just plain glorious, but alas, we have not had a pool since.

The Squirrel’s Nest written by Adrian Love

Missouri can and has shown that it’s not just an extension of Kansas. Our waving fields of grain have been countered with waving fields of ragweed. And just to put emphasis on the differences, some small town in Missouri decided to make itself the definitive stop for all things pecan. Betting the hopes and dreams of the town on their pecan enterprise didn’t seem to turn out too well for them though, as most of the buildings in the town were dilapidated beyond repair. The trip through was almost saddening, and we would have driven right through the city limits if it were not for the massive pecan they had hidden on the side of the road. We passed the world’s largest pecan accidentally, so the van turned around to catch a glimpse and a few photos of the 6 ton behemoth. Coming up upon nature’s kidney stone, shouts of NO WAY and THAT COULDN’T BE REAL were thrown about. The couldn’t be real comment turned out to be true though, as upon a thou rough investigation of the pecan, it was discovered that it was only a oval shaped pile of cement with a coat of brown paint thrown on. Needless to say, our hopes were shattered and the pictures that followed featured countenances of disappointment.

Natural Litter of the Road written by Adrian Love

Missouri can also take the title of having the most depressing shoulders on roads. When you’re driving by at 70 mph, things can get a little blurry. But when you’re running on those roads at no more than 10 mph, every little bump gets noticed. Especially bumps in the shape of animals. Either the other states dump their wildlife into Missouri to help their infestation, or Missouri has the biggest population of remedial animals. And most of those animals turn out to be turtles. And that really hurts me, seeing as my nickname is turtle. So when we found a snapping turtle trying to cross the road, being the good Samaritans that we are, we promptly pulled over and helped the little bugger get on his way. Actually we poked it with a stick so we could see it’s snapping action. All we seemed to do to the turtle was scare it, as it didn’t move for over a minute. Finally it figured we weren’t out to kill it, and it scurried over to the other side. Mission accomplished, we jumped back into the van.

The Real Life Heroes written by Aaron Gurley

I’m not usually one to be a sensitive guy. I hardly ever cry during movies and have been known to be a bit of a shut out when it comes to relationships. So i have to believe that this new transition from me being a non-cryer (except for the film Forrest Gump) to a guy who’s been tearing up almost daily now for the past week or so is a major one.

As I’ve been reading books and watching movies about the situation in Darfur and Sudan in general, I find myself at the mercy of these incredible heroes, activists around the world and the people who do so much more than i could ever fathom. It takes a little while and I’m a bit reticent to admit my overwhelming emotions in the midst of these great stories. Here are a couple examples of the times that I’ve cried during the relay.

I read today about a ten-year-old girl named Larissa Peltola. I read about how she would write papers in class and read them aloud to everyone. And i read about how she held garage sales to raise money for refugees in Darfur. She sold her entire Barbie collection to raise that money. Tears. It absolutely baffled me to think about this girl selling her belongings for other people. It is so completely selfless of her and it makes me feel so overwhelmed that there are people–children–like this. She gives a quote: “You just have to stand up for what is right and fight for what you believe in. No matter how young you are or old you are, you can make a difference if you put your heart into it.”

We watched Hotel Rwanda today. The first time I’d seen it. I’ve read about Paul Rusesabagina in the book “Not On Our Watch” by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast. Paul Rusesabagina is the main character in Hotel Rwanda and manages a beautiful hotel. When the conflict in Rwanda broke out in 1994, Paul took action. What happened was the Hutu (an ethnic group) led an army called the interahamwe to extinguish the Tutsi (another ethnic group) because they had started a rebellion against the government. Instead of going out and silencing the rebels, a genocide occurred and 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu civilians were killed within 100 days. Paul Rusesabagina held a safe haven for a number of these civilians. And Paul alone saved over 1,200 civilians from the genocide in Rwanda. A true hero. The tearjerker: while reading Not On Our Watch Don Cheadle speaks of the time they watched a screening of Hotel Rwanda and he sat next to Paul. After the movie Paul details the occurrence of the whole crowd giving a standing ovation for over 3 minutes. I imagined myself in the same room standing and clapping for this man. It gave me chills and brought me to tears just knowing that there are real heroes in our presence. AND KNOWING THAT ONE MAN CAN CHANGE SO MUCH.