Run Diary Week 2
Monday 9th April 2007
We received text messages from Martin confirming it is hot and hard going again. However, it is a good day with the tail wind and he planned to finish in Tonopah. His brother is leaving to head for skiing/snowboarding before his return next week for the London marathon.
Tuesday 10th April 2007
Martin set off today in good weather conditions. Brother Paul carried out a very useful exercise dropping off supplies at ten-mile intervals for the next 140 miles (the next town Ely is 170 miles from Tonopah) then he left for Mammoth Mountain. His parting words were something like, “Don’t worry, it’s a pretty flat road ahead”. (Yes, you’re right to be worried at this point!) Martin reached a place called Warm Springs by early evening, where there were… warm springs and a disused old café. He set up his mattress and sleeping bag and slept on the Billiard table.
Wednesday 11th April 2007
Martin woke up feeling much colder today, although no snow (yet), so he put on three layers. Paul had mentioned a tiny petrol station at Blackrock, where he thought Martin might get a hot drink and even shelter for the night. He arrived at 6:50 pm asking for coffee, but the guy said he was closing up. Martin said he had run from Tonopah to which the man replied, “I didn’t ask you to”!! Needless to say, he also refused to let Martin camp on grass area, but suggested a gravel pit three miles on. So Martin camped there. Raining, windy, cold.
Thursday 12th April 2007
Very unpleasant conditions i.e. very cold and such strong winds made it impossible to run. Martin reached Currant by about midday and by 3pm he was facing horizontal ice blizzards. By today he had counted about nine summits he had crossed, hence the photo with nine fingers, in case Paul is reading! By the early evening, the temperature had plummeted and he realised that he would not be able to camp so he decided to keep moving. About 6pm, a lady offered him a lift in her pickup truck to Ely, but he refused. He kept going despite –10 deg C and slid down an icy hard shoulder from the Murray pass down into Ely. Best sight ever, hotel Nevada at 3:30 am. He collapsed into bed at 4am slept for several hours and then rang us with 96 hours of information.
Friday 13th April 2007
This was a rest day for Martin as he didn't get any rest on Thursday.
Saturday 14th April 2007
Martin stayed in an old caravan 30 miles on from Ely and met some real cowboys from Utah, who showed him a pretty route. He decided against camping due to mountain lions and coyotes! Martin met Carl Leeming, a trans America walker from Des Moines on the road!
Sunday 15th April 2007
Martin will stay in Border inn tonight, we don’t have many detail, as this was a text message, but we know it was on the border with Utah. He will then tackle the 80 miles to Delta tomorrow. So no phone calls for a while, we imagine. This should be the last very remote stretch for a while though.
