Day 41: Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Today was a big milestone for me: I crossed the Cuyahoga River and surpassed my total mileage from my 2019 attempt (2573 miles as of this evening vs. 2560 miles before my knee gave out in Akron, Ohio in 2019). This time I detoured north, through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, so I wouldn't have to run down the same Tallmadge Road in Akron that holds such a traumatic memory for me. CVNP is a bit past peak fall foliage, but I could still enjoy the beauty of the hills and river. And my body certainly enjoyed the change of pace traversing rolling hills instead of endless flat cornfields. I also enjoyed some great company today. Debra Horn, an old friend from 24 hour national teams, came out to run 6 miles with me, and caught me up on some world news and running gossip. Then two new friends from the Medina running club, Laura and Harold, each joined me for a few miles. I'm so grateful for the generosity of old friends and strangers (new friends!) who are willing to keep me company and lift my spirits with conversation. At the end of the day, another new friend Karen stopped by our RV (she called it the "Jennymobile") to introduce herself because she will be running her first marathon in New York City a day or two after my projected arrival there. Good luck, Karen! As we pass through the region of Ohio originally known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, where land grants were given to New Englanders who fought in the Revolutionary War, I also noted the many towns with duplicate New England names. Last night's campsite was in New Fairfield, and today I ran through Fitchville, New London, and Greenwich (my childhood home in CT). Near the end of the day, I ran through Boston Township, and I briefly thought "well, I could just stop now, since my original goal was to run from California to Boston." I am tired, and feel like my body is holding together by a thread, but now that we're in new territory I do have some renewed energy and excitement for the final week to come. I am also looking forward to cooler weather: this week we've had record-breaking heat in Ohio (80s in the last week of October!) but I hear that more wintry temps are coming soon and I look forward to crossing the Pennsylvania border tomorrow.