Sweating in Chany, Russia. We'€™re in a basic gas station hotel with oily smelling water. It's raining outside, we'€™ve secured all the windows against the mosquitoes and it'€™s sweltering. I like to think of it as cleansing our innards of all toxins, and getting us ready for the heat of the Gobi and Moab. If all things stay the same, Team Silver should be on day shift when we cross into Mongolia. I am so ready for daylight. I am counting down the nights of what has been for me yet another round of graveyard shifts, praying that another team change does not result in me losing another 9am to 3pm "golden shift."€ I think I'€™ve only had one of those so far. I call it "golden"€ because it allows you to eat, sleep and run on what for me is a more regular schedule, as well as be in the sun.

We have a treat in store for us. If there are no changes, after tonight's run we will drive to Novosibirsk and stay in the same nice hotel for two days, going out to run but returning to the same bed. Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia, the first being Moscow and the second St. Petersburg. It is the largest city in Siberia and east of the Urals. It even has a state university. It began as a settlement and is a conduit for the distribution of goods to the Russian markets from the Ural Mountain Region. It is home to Russia's most powerful short wave relay station east of the Urals and to the Tsunami Laboratory.

I was again humbled by our mortality when I checked a U.S. running website and learned that Alberto Salazar suffered a heart attack on Saturday while jogging on a 4-lane track in Beaverton, Oregon. He required a stent and at the time of the article was still in fair condition with no diagnosis of the underlying cause. Before and during the BPR run, so many have asked the questions, "Are you afraid? Are you not worried about this or that? And being so far away?" My response is always the same as it is about my daily adventures. You can meet your destiny at any time, any where, doing anything. I could have left the earth when hit in the head by an icicle several years ago. It fell from the roof of my office as I exited in the same manner that I had exited that doorway several times a day for five years, just two blocks from my house in secure Montpelier, Vermont. And then I look at the people under harsh conditions here in Russia who survive. No wonder they are such tough social nuts to crack.

My favorite quote of the week comes from the newly self-proclaimed "€œKing of Russia,"€ our rock star Emmanuel who said he went from "€œzero"€œ in Kenya to "€œhero"€ in Russia. We are spreading stickers and cards across Siberia. Most of the recipients don'€™t have access to our website. If our guide is not available, we can'€™t even explain what we are. But they love the stickers and we hope we are leaving a trail that will be detectable to travelers for years to come who will then go to the web and make a donation to help provide access to safe drinking water for those who need it. That is our cause and our purpose for running through all the trials and tribulations. It keeps us strong. It keeps us directed. It keeps us vital.

During my run tonight, we sang Happy Birthday to David just after midnight. Although gnawed by mosquitoes beforehand, thankfully they took their evening snooze during my run. I felt pretty awful, nauseous from inhaling mosquito coil smoke in the van. I'€™m also just plain sick of running at night. I may regret that statement in the heat of the Gobi. Tonight'€™s 10 miles did offer some features. There was a small up and downhill grade over the railway tracks, some uneven pavement, bushes near the highway and even creature sounds in the trees. Ooh whee! The long straight road through Siberia continues on and on and on. Happy Trails!