Mileage for today: 42
Pass mile 1500.

Starting point is at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Columbia at 2955 Colonial
Drive.
Stopping point is along Rt. 23 in Ridge Spring, SC.

Today's run is dedicated to the memory of Florence Marjorie McQuay.  Florence lost her
battle with cancer three years ago today at the age of 89.  Today would have been her 92
birthday.  Her battle with cancer and chemotherapy inspired her grandson to grow his
hair out for Locks of Love.  Submitted by Michael Vance.

Thar she blows . . .

Things started out great.  There were four members from the University of South
Carolina's cross country team to run about 4 miles with me.  Very cool, I always enjoy
company on the road.  The coolest part was when I was telling the story about how my
fourth pair of sneakers only lasted 300 miles.  I've been counting on them lasting 400.  
Well, the coach, Stan Rosenthal, literally gave me the shoes off his feet.  Now, you may
think it a bit odd to take someones shoes from them, but I look at it from this point of
view.  If the man thinks enough about what I'm doing and the mission to offer up the
sneakers he's wearing to make sure I'm good to go, how can I not accept them?  So
coach, thank you for your Nike's and maybe down the road I can get the shirt off your
back to make it complete.

Seeing as I wasn't sure where I was going to stop today, I decided to get in a little more
miles than originally planned.  Initially it was 34 miles with the next day being 42, well at
the end of it, I put in 42 today to leave me with a shorter day tomorrow.

That all sounds fine and dandy except for the fact that the wind was horrible (sorry to let
you all down with the cheap intro bait!).  And  when the hell are the hills suppose to stop?
 I was told when I get near Georgia things seIttle down.  Well, hello?  I'm near Georgia
damn it!  In any event, the wind was in my face the whole day and aggressive to boot.  
There were moments when I wasn't sure if I was actually running or walking.  Brutal,
absolutely brutal.  Good thing is was only for 42 miles - ugggghhhh.

Another cool moment came when I stopped for dinner at a place called Shealy's in
Leesville, SC.  Shealy's is a BBQ buffet style restaurant.  It was nice to stop because the
day was really cold all day.  I asked one of the gentleman working there how often it gets
this cold out he basically said, "It doesn't."  Great!  Or course when I walked in, a lot of
heads turned to see the homeless guy with the stroller.  I quickly informed one group of
diners of what I was doing.  Turned out to be a good move because they bought my
dinner for me.

Before finding a place to crash for the night, I stopped at a store for some chocolate milk.
 Figured I have it in the morning.  I tried to only have a sip or two this night, but I wound up
finishing it.  Tonight also marked my second night busting out the tent and I picked one
of the coldest nights of the trip with the forecast calling for temps in the low 30's.
Day 50 - Columbia, SC to Wagener, SC