Today marks exactly one year since my book about the world run was published and in the book stores. If you haven’t already read it, you can buy a copy on via http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-world-at-my-feet-tom-denniss/prod9781760112097.html or by Googling the title, The World At My Feet, where you should find it on Amazon.

You can also read my latest article for Azumio. Just click on http://www.azumio.com/blog/fitness/journey-running-what-is-it. This one is of particular interest to those keen on the concept of running around the world.

I’ve had a good response to my intended 12 hour run in August. I will confirm the event in the near future. It will actually be good training for when Serge Girard gets to Australia on his world run a couple of months later. As I’ve said before, I want to do a few days of running with him as he makes his way west from Sydney. That means I’ll have to be averaging around 75 km per day. This 12 hour run will get me fit for this effort.

This photo below has me running through the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs. You can’t get bored running in places like this.

On This Day

Jun 24, 2012

Distance today = 50.88 km; Total distance = 8272.36 km; Location = North Branch, Minnesota – 45 30.711′ N, 92 59.231′ W; Start time = 0836, Finish time = 1701

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/192470815

Despite it being hot amd humid, I had a good run today. The countryside was a mix of forests and very green crops, and the roads weren’t too busy and had good shoulders on them.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but I’m finding my appetite is no larger, and perhaps less than, when I’m not covering such distances. I am just not hungry most of the time. If I force myself to eat when I’m not hungry, I end up feeling sick. So last night I had a small dinner, and I didn’t have breakfast before heading off this morning (because I didn’t feel like it). After 11 km I had a small sandwich, and I felt much better today because of it.

Something I’ve noticed in this region of northern Minnesota is the number of Scandinavian names. Further north there was a preponderance of Finnish names, and now it is predominantly Swedish. It’s logical, as the landscape is so similar to Scandinavia, with its green rolling hills, intermingled with thousands of lakes. Early Scandinavian settlers must have found it so much like home. It’s certainly a pleasure to run through.

Jun 24, 2013

Distance today = 53.89 km; Total distance = 22,050.41 km; Location = Norseman, Western Australia (26 km north of) – 32 00.281’ S, 121 39.980′ E; Start time = 0749, Finish time = 1621

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/332532410

I knocked over another 54 km today, running through eucalypt forests, with not a town in sight. As you can imagine, it was a day without incident.

One noticeable exception was a massive oversize load. A normal oversize load simply has signs on the truck, indicating as much. If it’s a bit bigger, there’s an escort vehicle driving ahead of the truck. However, if the load takes up both sides of the road, then there are two escort vehicles, as well as a police escort driving down the wrong side of the road, forcing the oncoming traffic to pull over until the oversize load passes. This is what happened today, with two enormous mining diggers being transported north.

The other unusual issue here in WA is the road trains. I have seen numerous two, three, and four carriage road trains. The latter are often 53.5 metres long – more than half the length of a football field. Cars overtaking these behemoths had better make sure they have plenty of time to complete the manoeuvre.

I am now just 26 km north of Norseman. Tomorrow I will run into town, then start eastward, officially beginning my run across the Nullarbor.