In the dawn light of this morning’s run, we soaked in the golden yellow from the fields around us. Kansas—the sunflower state.

If you visit Goodland, Kansas, you will no doubt see what’s referred to as the “Big Easel”—a 22 by 32 foot canvas of one of Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings which rests on an enormous easel towering 80 feet above the corn fields. After the silos, it’s the largest thing around, and at first glance struck me as oddly out of place. Apparently, this is part of an international project to reproduce all seven of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings in seven different cities across the globe. Goodland, being a US marketing center for sunflowers, was chosen as one of the 7. In fact, Kansas boasts more sunflower bushels than any other US state.

My run this morning brought me along a country road paralleling I-70, over rolling hills, past farms, silos, tractors and a kennel of collies who went berserk with excitement-- here in the plains, runners are probably not a common sight. Today, I was blessed with the company of not only our paramedic Mark (who jumped out to stretch his car weary legs) but also David, the owner of a Denver based running group Runner’s Edge. We chatted the whole way, and given my sore legs from a hilly run the day before, the altitude, and 5 hours of sleep in two days, David and Mark’s company kept me going. I’m hoping that as we gradually lose altitude, the runs will feel a bit easier. My right calf is still quite sore, which a doctor I saw in Vegas attributes to shin splints, but as long as it doesn’t get any worse, I’ll be able to bear it. 16 more runs to go. . .

I have been through Kansas once before (on a road trip from east to West the summer after I left college). What strikes me now is not the contrast between coastal and inland America, but rather the similarities between small town America and small town Siberia. Despite cultural variance, people around the world really are not all that different.