sorry for being seriously late!
Too much hustle and bustle and problems with the Internet….
Comprehensive report will follow asap.
Now I first fly back to good old Germany!
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 122011
Sep 092011
….sorry, yesterday no report because we had a time issue, as we are strongly involved in preparations for the finish in NY and additionally we had our challenge with Internet access again. Start at 5 a.m. during heavy rain from our save parking place at Wal-Mart. At that time I had no clue that this day would be the most chaotic day of our tour. 
Due to the extreme rainfalls of the recent days almost all of Pennsylvania was under water. My running route could have only been managed with a neoprene suit – see picture. We drove or respectively I ran from one detour to the next. Even major parts of the Interstates were not accessible, roads and bridges washed away and so on.
Therefore we did not have another chance as to use a 100 km long detour with the mobile home to get to an area that was a bit dryer. For the piece of mind of critics – I managed my daily pensum 
.
Totally soaked and rather exhausted I reached the daily destination, a Wal-Mart (all the campgrounds were under water in this area) shortly before sunset.
Fortunately the weather improved the next day and the sun was shining again and I dried off. Around noon, briefly after we passed the border to New Jersey, our cameraman (Wolle) met with us. We filmed a few scenes and I reached my destination for the day after a bit more than 12 hours – I even stayed dry during the whole day. Now only 120 km are separating me from my finish line – Battery Park, New York. I will arrive there on Sunday 9/11 at about 9 a.m. close to the Clinton National Monument (Castle) among 3000 Flags of Honor!!!
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 072011
Rain decreasing??? No ways – it actually got even worse!!
I again started at 5 a.m. and after about 500 meters at the exit of the campground I faced a big lake at a tunnel, which was caused due to the heavy rains of last night.
Continuing was not possible, so I returned to the mobile home and Andrea and Markus immediately packed up and we drove together to the mentioned location. Even a part of the road was already washed away and we carefully felt our way forward. I opened the side door of the mobile home and the water level was as high as the entrance. We closed the eyes and got through!
After about a mile I left my water taxi again to pick up pace. Left and right of me the water was running in torrential streams – see picture.
The rain joined me without any break until breakfast; everywhere there was “land under”. And after breakfast no improvement to be seen. Actually the opposite it got so bad that partially there was no way that I could continue especially as drivers coming across me could not see me at all. I fled into the motor home; my crew took me to a secure area, from where I could go on. After about 8 hours downpours XXL I really had enough and asked Markus: “How far to the campground?” He responded: “Only a few kilometers.” Ah, finally! But arriving there we had a “joyful” surprise – see picture! As all the campgrounds in the surroundings looked similar we drove to the next Wal-Mart, which was fortunately not far away.
This was a day for an extreme athlete – ohweia. We’ll see what Petrus will surprise us with tomorrow….
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 062011
I woke up, the rain switched from slow to fast. That this was to continue the whole day, I did not know at that moment (luckily)
Is there no such thing as “normal” weather in this country? Either an incredible heat, extreme humidity or rain XXL.
Wet – I am obviously always, either because of the sweat or now because of the heavy rain. Unthinkable, when I come across a truck….
For the first time I changed my running clothes to “long” including my beloved red plastic cloak which was already very useful in Norway 2009. Completely soaked with tired legs and quite exhausted I reached our campground in the late afternoon (with Internet access very slow but at least….)
Now we first have to explore how we can dry my clothes, then supper. I am wondering if the rain will decrease during the night?!
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 052011
Cooling down, ok, at least a bit!
Start at 5 a.m. provided with fast legs I again continued on “my” Highway 22 East. The morning ran by without any major events. At about noon the wind started and it cooled down noticeably and the rain started too. But as I still had good legs, I made an average of 10 km/h and reached my destination for today, the Wal-Mart in Huntingdon a little earlier than planned:-). As we had a little more time we enjoyed a dinner in the company of Gaby and Petra (our visitors from Germany). Strengthened we got back to the mobile home. I listened for a few minutes to the sound of the raindrops pattering on the roof….
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 042011
First of all apologies for the delayed report. It is not about intentions but about being able to. Our mobile hotspot unfortunately only works in urban centers – if at all. And a campground with Internet access is not easy to find in some areas either. And then, often the Internet is so slow that it is not possible to upload pictures, like today – but we will deliver at a later stage – promised .
At the US branch office of PM International (FitLine) close to Pittsburgh:
After a quiet night on the compound of PM it got a bit more turbulent at about 9 a.m. Tina, the head of the branch, two of her sisters including Mama Tarr (Carolyne) had been promoting our arrival quite a bit and that led to 50 people turning up for our reception. We were offered typical American specialties like muffins, bagels, coffee, fresh fruits and so on. After a speech and an interview lots of pictures were taken. I signed some Flags of Honor – one for the branch office. I would have liked to stay a little longer, as we had lively discussions and exchange of experiences, but I am not yet at the finish line. A little later I started and spent the rest of the day running on Highway 22. In the evening I reached our campground, located in the middle of the forest. Now I am curious if the weather forecast is correct and it will cool down.
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 022011
Incredible – the heat is back, temperatures of far more than 30 degrees Celsius paired with extreme humidity.
Start for once a little later at 5.45 a.m. My route was a continuous up and down – physically as well. At the peak of the heat at noon I arrived at river Ohio, which I ran along for about 30 km. I followed a bike route that was signposted and continued parallel to the road. But unfortunately not always, it led me partially into the outback, away from the main road. My two “angels” were driving up and down the main road several times to find me again, and it fortunately worked out.
The day ended as horrible as it started as we didn’t find a decent campground and had to stay in the forest with the wild animals
The following day we started at still extreme temperatures (as there was no trace of cooling down), on time again – 5 a.m. towards Pittsburgh. This day will surely stay in my memory forever as I have rarely experienced such an extreme traffic before – and me in the middle of it. Mainly the roads were without any shoulder and it was almost impossible to escape the traffic. How nice it was in New Mexico with only three cars per day . Somehow I muddled through the traffic and we were extremely glad when we reached our destination of the day, the PM branch office (fitline) close to Pittsburgh.
See you soon
Achim and Team
Sep 022011
Today, I – Andrea, write about my thoughts on this project.
You have already heard a lot about the tour and about the remarkable action of Achim. Now I would like to express impressions with gratefulness.
Thanks that I can be part of this.
Thanks that I was able to learn to know this man.
Thanks that I can be his friend.
Thanks that my whole family is supporting me to do this.
Thanks that everything is working out (and is well protected)
One man who follows his goal without any IFs and BUTs, who will not be stopped by anything, who suffers and would even in such situations still “share his last water”. Who looks at me with honest eyes and shows so much contentment, which is actually so contagious. – Thank You.
Conclusion for me: The biggest decision of your life is that you can change your life, by changing your mind-set. (Albert Schweitzer)
Sep 012011
…sorry, no report yesterday but somehow our visitors do disarrange our routine a little 
Therefore today a bit more!
I noticed that we turned into “five digits” now; respectively I have already been on roads and Highways in America for more than 10,000 km. Today I met some bicyclists and thought to myself: Incredible how long it has been. And the images of the fantastic landscape passed in front of my eyes, which I was allowed to see on my bike route and which I am missing so much during my running.
on sale
Now I continue always towards Pittsburgh and towards the PM International branch office in the US. We are curious what to expect there on Sunday. May be we can already see the lights of Manhattan, as it will then only be several 100 miles left
Today I “spent” on quick legs on “my” Route 40 always towards East. When did I start this morning? I think, you will know . I arrived at the campground close to Cambridge/Ohio at 5 p.m.
Now I am looking forward to my delicious desert. What might that be??? …. more about it tomorrow.
See you soon
Achim and Team
