It’s amazing how quickly the pain of running is forgotten.

Midland, Michigan is home to DOW headquarters, and on Saturday August 25thas we passed through, we had an incredible reception by the employees. It felt like the entire town was out to celebrate the Blue Planet Run. My teammates, who had dispersed amongst the crowd, were no longer easily identifiable by their BPR outfits. Today, everywhere I looked people donned BPR shirts. Many were gearing up for the 5k run/walk, while others enjoyed the food and performers on stage. Someone said 1,000 people had showed up. The entire premise buzzed with energy and high spirits.

With the final countdown, as Mary, Heiko, and CEO Andrew Liveris ran through the crowd, baton in hand, having joined together for the last two miles, they charged onto the stage where we all stood waiting. I felt my skin tingle. I can’t believe we are actually doing this. Running non-stop for 85 days… Jin’s words replayed in my head—Blue Planet Run had one chance in a million of turning into reality--a shot in the dark. And there it was, an event 7 years in the making, now playing out before my eyes.

Mary and Heiko spoke to the crowd and TV cameras, the message was read just as it has been read time and time again around the globe, and Rudy took off amongst shouts and cheers.

Leaving the noise of the crowd behind, I quickly made my way down the stage and out to a nearby car. Kelly, Ignition coordinator, drove me two miles down the road. Given Rudy’s injury, I would pick up where he left off.

And thirty minutes later, on a curb next to a gas station, I was back on the road, in the Michigan heat. Quiet. With a baton in hand. Just a runner. Alone.

While I had left the Midland event feeling like I could run the world again—no problem! —reinvigorated and inspired by the support shown by DOW’s employees, at 5pm on Patrick Street, the reality of the run came crashing back upon me. Running hurts, and this is hard. Just like many of the past 25 days, my right calf throbbed, and I struggled. The mental game began— should I walk? Push on? Take a break? But, I kept running… 8 miles through to Auburn, and the Elementary School parking lot that served as the 6pm exchange.

To my surprise, 3 visitors greeted me—a DOW employee and his family, who had come out to see the run in action, the real run away from the commotion of an official event. “You’re right,” I said, “this is what it’s like the majority of the time. Us on the side of the road.” I passed the baton to Paul. “Water is life! Pass it on.”

David handed me a bag of ice, and as the cold numbed my leg, I chatted to our guests, the pain of the last few miles already forgotten… Until tomorrow.