Distance today = 56.39 km; Total distance = 12,177.67 km; Location = Clarion – 41 11.723′ N, 79 23.629′ W; Start time = 0806, Finish time = 1649

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226924373

For the past couple of weeks, I have been running through the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. While they are nowhere near as high as the Rockies, many of the roads are much steeper.

And hill after hill adds up – so much so that today I reached a cumulative ascent for the run of 100 km. That is like running to the top of a mountain that is 100 km high. Or, more realistically, like running from sea level to the top of Mt Everest and back more than eleven times.

At the beginning of the day I ran through the centre of Punxsutawney, home of Phil and Groundhog Day. It’s a very pleasant place – I can see why both humans and groundhogs like it – and worth a visit if you are travelling in the vicinity.

The rest of the day was mainly spent on back roads through nice forests – just for something different. The 56 km and 1,000 metres of climbing took a bit of a toll, but the worst thing was an extremely steep downhill at about the 30 km mark. It was so steep that I had to traverse down it sideways.

The other notable point of the day was running in 6C temperatures this morning. Although I was cold, I refuse to complain about it after my experience in the heat of this past summer.