Intoxicating Views
Nothing starts a morning off better than the cool mountain air and a good stretch. During our warm-up, I took the liberty of surveying my surroundings, looking for any good “photo opps”. And I found one. A rock path to my left led to a pristine clearing, perfect for a complete shot of the hills and valleys. Or at least I thought. My jubilant walk over to the spot caught the attention of the others, and they too began to follow me along to the rock path…OF DEATH. The person who placed the stones down must have known that they had a tendency to slide from under your foot. I mean, come on. A little warning sign wouldn’t have hurt. But I don’t think the creator of said path was worrying about some visitors trying to climb up the hill. Either way, the whole team kept losing balance on the way up, also meaning that we almost hurt ourselves just a few days prior to reaching DC. Imminent danger didn’t matter to us though, so we just kept climbing.

Uphill Both Ways – If You’re Jacob and Michael
Realizing that the first bit of the day’s run would have some hills, we ran Jacob and Michael first because: 1) nobody wanted to run it, 2) we called nosies, 3) Darham wanted them to have the experience anyway. Starting up that hill, we all enjoyed watching them struggle for a little bit. We made it a game to predict when the next downhill would come…but that’s the funny thing, it never came. At first, we found it amusing as we kept turning corners and there was no downhill in sight. But, after about three and a half miles of consistent uphills, we realized that we should be merciful to Jacob and Michael. So, at the four-mile mark, we picked them up and stuck Matthew and Kiet out there instead. Funny enough, about a quarter mile after they started, the uphill stopped and there were nice, gentle rolling hills. I tried to feel a little sorry for Jacob and Michael, but I couldn’t!

Inclement Weather
Way to rain on our parade. During Matt and Kiets’ run, lightning made an encore entrance. And boy did it pick a perfect place to strike. The area we were in meant no cell phones, and due to the winding roads and hills, the walkie talkies we brought along were no good at the communication thing. And to top it all off, the vans were too far apart from one another to make hand signals, or smoke signals for that matter. End result? Matt and Kiet kept running while the lead van scrambled to get everyone together. But as you by now know, no one got struck by lightning.

Posing With Jared
Just a little side note, but I was able to take a picture with Jared, the poster man for Subway Inc! Ok, so it was just a cardboard cut out of him that you can find in any measly old Subway, but it was still a fun picture.

Inclement Weather: Part Duex
Matt and Kiet were sadly lucky that day. During their second run of the day, they once again brought upon the wrath of Mother Nature. Thunder and lightning made another encore (it was getting annoying by this time) and made the handoff to Coach and me the last thing the team did for a while.

Warning: 9% Grade Downhill, 5 Miles
More like throw caution to the wind. That warning only applies to big trucks and semis, not runners. Have you ever tried running 5 miles completely down a hill? Not one bit of flat land, just winding curves and descents? Well I have, and man is it exhilarating. The only problem with going downhill is the tendency to let your feet overheat, just as mine did. One and a half miles down the road, and I had to stop. Blisterous heat was taking over my right foot, and running any more could have jeopardized the rest of the relay for me. Oh, it also rained on Chris Parker’s pillow, but that’s a whole new blog post in itself.

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Crazy Hills
In my previous writing, I marveled at the hills of Illinois, and detailed the trials and triumphs of running these hills. I also described Missouri’s relative flatness in comparison to Illinois. So it may seem a little odd that I am writing almost the exact same thing about Illinois in comparison to West Virginia. But West Virginia’s hills make Illinois seem like a pancake. The elevation got higher than 1400 feet, meaning steep hills that left us gasping for air, and left our legs drained of energy. Now, being a cross country runner, I consider myself a decent conqueror of hills, and hills such as those of Illinois I can coast up with relative ease. But the hills of West Virginia had me whipped, only one thing kept me at a good pace: the downhills.

One good characteristic of these hills is that they crested and immediately changed into ridiculous downhills, steeper downhills than I have ever encountered in a cross country race. At the bottom of each downhill, an immediate steep uphill cheerily greeted you, so the intense momentum of the downhill would drive you up the hill at a decent pace. This is how Michael Gurley and I came to run the fastest four-mile yet on this trip. We blasted the downhills, our legs flying, and then pounded up the hills. I felt like puking at that run’s conclusion, but it was probably good for me.

Scenery
Looking off the top of a West Virginia hill and seeing into a valley that is interrupted by hundreds of subsequent giant hills may be the most wondrous thing I have ever seen. To see what seems like miles of tree-topped hills stretching into the sky is truly a beautiful sight. I fell in love with West Virginia’s nature.

Pennsylvania
The Mighty Hills of West Virginia were tamed at the border of Pennsylvania. The hills continued, but not as severely, and the running was considerably easier in Pennsylvania. Otherwise it was not much different– though the scenery wasn’t as good.

Two Days…
Prior to writing this I was informed that we only have two more days of running. I was blown away and saddened by this news. I will miss all the states we have been through, and the experience of a lifetime that consists of running, eating, and trying to entertain oneself in a van. But I also anticipate going home to my friends and family.

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The Pacifist
The early morning stretch is the staple of the beginning of the day. It is always there, unlike my roommates’ ability to wake up on time (although we always do move fast once we do get up), a good full size complimentary breakfast, or a sunny morning. It is during these stretches that the team gets together and shares their aches and pains with one another. During one of my stretches though, I looked up and saw a cute cat standing in the middle of a gravel parking lot. Jacob, Kiet, and I decided to swarm and blitzkrieg the cat to see if we could catch it. The problem with all of this is that the cat kinda wanted us to. Oh, of course Kitty went into the defensive stance as it saw us surrounding it. But once we were within attack range, it did the one thing it thought acceptable for the situation it was in. Kitty rolled over. And we were stunned. What a brilliant defensive maneuver: psych out the predators by acting like you’re theirs already. This trick would have worked if we didn’t feel like having cat in the morning. But we did. So we started to pet, rub, and pick up Kit the kitty (not to be confused with Ron and Nancy Burt’s Kit–considering this Kit v2). Kit did cause us to lose our stretch time, but it was well worth it.

Uncalled For Blessing
We didn’t ask for it. Or maybe we did. We didn’t call any media. Or maybe our previous calls did it for us. It just kinda happened. Nathan and Adam had just finished their six-mile run when a man walked up behind the two. He did all the talking, as he told them he was a reporter for the local newspaper and had heard through the grapevine about our relay coming through his part of the country. This man did what no other press organization had done outside of Kansas: he took down notes and listened to our tale of wanting to make the term “genocide” more mainstream to the public. Not only that, but he also promised to have the story in the next day’s paper and said he would contact other media outlets along the way to DC. I don’t know his name. I do know that he drove a Ford Focus, and a nice one at that. I don’t know exactly what paper he worked for. I do know that he was sincere in promise to spread the word about us. And I know that if only more people were like him, then maybe this relay wouldn’t be necessary, as the atrocities in Darfur would possibly have already been handled.

Victorian Flare
The small towns that litter the sides of U.S. 40 are those left in time. After I70 took over as the main artery in the U.S. transportion network, the old national highway began to be forgotten. And so were the citizens who lived near it. Some of the towns these people lived in died along with the highway. But towns like Greenwood, Ohio were able to weather the storm of a lack of vistors. This town today has stood the test of time, and in more ways than one. Not one building that the vans passed by on our way through the city was recently built. That’s not to say they were run down buildings. Not at all. These edifices showed their victorian roots, proudly displaying their tall windows and pillars. It’s towns like these that make taking the scenic route worth it. The next time you’re thinking about traveling by car across the country, try out U.S. 40.

Text Only
For our faithful followers, you might have noticed that after the first few blogs, the pictures have been noticeably….nonexistent. Don’t worry. Collectively, over 700 photos have been taken on this trip, and they are all being held captive on Matt’s computer. The reason behind the lack of pictures correlates with the lack of time and the lack of upload speed. Matt just can’t upload the pictures to the server in the time we have at the hotel every night. Instead, the time we spend mulling around in D.C. will be dedicated somewhat to getting pictures up of every day that has transpired. Stay with us. We promise we have some good, great, and amazing shots to share with you all!

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Dining Diversity
Today is the tenth day of our journey across the country. So, as luck would have it, it is also the tenth day of delicious Subway sandwiches! I can only hope that the rest of the journey brings one of eight delicious subs (we can only choose between eight because that’s where our budget lies) every day at the crack of noon!

Hello, Ohio State!
We’ve reached Columbus, OH safely today: home of the Ohio State Buckeyes! We drove through the city and through the campus a little bit and it was the epitome of a college town. Big campus, a kickin’ downtown and, of course…collegiate cuties.

The Central Ohio Darfur Solidarity Network
When Matthew told me we were coming to Columbus and said that we’d be meeting with a group of anti-genocide activists I was extremely excited. In my mind I envisioned a big reception with around a hundred people cheering and coming together for the cause. Matthew kind of designated me as a keynote speaker for the group so I naturally prepared a little ten minute speech for the event. I was excited.

However, to my surprise, the arrival was not quite as I had pictured it. We walked into the church where the event was being held and there were only about 16 people in the room…12 of them being us.

We proceeded to grab some seats and commence the awkward silence that comes so naturally in a group of unknowns for about ten minutes. Then I finally stood up and met a gentleman who I believe is named Glenn (I’m so sorry if that’s wrong). Anyway, he was incredibly knowledgeable and very personable.

It gets better…promise
So as we began to eat a potluck thrown by CODSN (the group’s chosen acronym), more and more people began to show up. About 22 people were sitting around eating.

And then it happened…
Like a prayer was answered from the boys who’ve been together for two weeks, ten girls from Columbus School for Girls walked into the meeting. It was a sight to be seen. Not the girls, but all the guys to my left and right looking across the room like they’d just been stricken blind, deaf and dumb. Hilarious.

And then Adrian had the brilliant idea to mix and mingle…and so every guy proceeded to run to one of the girls and initiate conversation. Huge laughs… anyway, on to the meeting.

A brilliant, insightful evening
To my great surprise and appreciation, three Darfuri refugees had come to the meeting that evening. I was so happy because I would finally get to hear some real life accounts.

Khamese and Halima
I first met Khamese when we were putting up tables for some more guests. He didn’t speak English very well at all but he was the nicest man I’ve never really spoken to. He spoke first with his beautiful wife Halima.

Khamese and Halima spent four years in a refugee camp in Ghana. They spoke of how the Janjaweed destroyed their village and displaced thousands of people. When they tried to flee into Chad, they were turned right back over to the Sudanese government and thrown right back into Darfur.

After this, they ran into the mountains and hid for two months with their family and friends. When they decided to go back to the village for a fresh start, within days, the Janjaweed attacked again…but in a fiercer fashion.

Halima spoke of how she was separated from her children in the raid. She had to run so fast to get away from the Janjaweed that she couldn’t even turn around to find her children… Halima and her husband escaped through Nigeria and spent their time in Ghana until finding their way to the United States.

Khamese and Halima have four children. To this day, they have no idea where they are…

Salah Eldin
Salah escaped Darfur into Egypt when the problems in the region became severe. When he reached Egypt he expected to find a refugee camp. He did not. Instead, he found a group of thousands of Darfurians huddled in an area. No real humanitarian aid. They acted as a herd of nomads trying to survive together. The “refugees” had no identification, therefore, did not really exist.

Salah and the others organized a protest outside the U.N. embassy in Egypt in order to receive the care and attention they desperately needed. After 100 days, the U.N. responded.

25,000 Egyptian soldiers surrounded the Darfurians and proceeded to hose them down with hot water hoses. They threw glass bottles into the crowd. They systematically harassed them physically and mentally.

Salah still has a scar from a glass bottle breaking on the top of his head.

After the riot, Salah was arrested and imprisoned for two years, being tortured regularly and sometimes blindfolded for 24 hours at a time. Two years.

Salah was eventually released from prison, and with no idea of what was going on around him, he arrived in Columbus, OH ten days ago.

Brave students…
Only a week ago, a news report came over NPR about some students from a prestigious Sudanese university. The students protested the Khartoum government for allowing the Janjaweed to administer such terror across Sudan. You’ll never guess what the government’s response was….

The students’ hotel rooms on the fourth floor were set ablaze and the students were tossed from the four story windows, falling to the ground. The students were beaten with lead pipes and physically incapacitated.

The government has refused to give these students medical attention.

Katie Brown was one of the girls I met from the school in Columbus. I sat next to her through the presentations. I saw her eyes divert several times when something shocking was said. She even buried her head in her hands at one point.

She looked up at me and said, “I had no idea…”

It was so sad hearing her say this only because I knew that there are so many inadvertantly naive people in the world who really just don’t know. But there is a certain optimism to find in her reaction. She was so affected by the stories that it just reminds me that I believe most people hear about what is happening and know in their hearts that it is just so wrong.

We’ve all heard stories like these in some form or another. But to hear them directly from those affected makes the tragedy even more real.

We’ve met the faces behind these stories and let me say…it is eternally heartbreaking to imagine these sweet, dear people having to go through that.

We’re doing this for Khamese, Halima and Salah. We’re doing this for the brave students who spoke up against something that’s morally wrong. We’re doing this for the thousands, for the millions with stories like those we heard tonight. We may never be able to cure the wounds deeply engraved in these wonderful people, but together, we can be sure to help ease the pain and provide a happy ending for these horrific tales.

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