The Country Mile

As I ran along the country roads of Ohio last week, I remembered the Riverfront Mile, a 1-mile road race in St. Louis along the edge of the Mississippi River.  As I recall, the finish line was visible from the starting line.  Being able to see where we were going seemed to make that mile shorter than four times around a track.

I've finally reached that point on this book I'm writing.  Three more days and it will be finished.  I now have a schedule for those 3 days and if it gets interrupted for some reason, it won't matter much because the hard part is done.  I've saved dessert for last.

"What on earth does any of this have to do with running Ohio roads?" says Virginia.

Well, I was thinking, how about planning a race called "The Country Mile?"  Outside Bluffton, where I was visiting, most of the country blocks are square miles.  As I ran, I came across several spots where I could see a mile ahead.  Police would only need to block off one intersection, and that would only be for 10 or 15 minutes. 

No train tracks.  Make a note of that.  I remember hearing about one race that went very well until a train chugged in and blocked the route.  The runners who had to wait were very unhappy. I'd like to order no train this week, please.