Day 550 – US – Illinois [Beloit to Rockford]

06/10/21

30km

  From Beloit (Illinois) to Rockford (Illinois)

North America

Into Illinois, 7th state of the US crossing, in very autumny weather

Into Illinois, 7th state of the US crossing

I was glad the humidity was down again this morning as I headed out to run. I seem to think there is trouble looming in when the weather is too humid, it does not seem to agree to well with my joints! Anyhow, so today was good, and was a short day too. I am now on a 14 days stretch from LaCrosse to Chicago (I normally take 1 rest day every 7 days).

Main Street, Rockford

A bit of explaining here. My initial plan had me run from LaCrosse to Chicago with a rest day in the middle in Madison. Then I heard news from the French Consulate in Chicago (thanks to French Consul Olivier Gauvin in Istanbul who had spread the news of my journey through his US diplomatic network). They told me Sunday 10th October is the Annual Chicago Marathon and they would love to have me run it! I had no choice but to cut 1 rest-day (the planned one in Madison) to be able to make it to Chicago on time, and run alongside 40,000 runners, on a festive day!

How good is it gonna feel, after 460 marathons… to finally get to run a “real / official” one! I am really looking forward to it. It will definitely end up being my slower marathon ever, but the feeling of being surrounded by so many other runners and spectators is going to be quite a change! A bit of festive atmosphere, during the run and after the run too.

Cheap Trick tribute in Rockford River Park

Walking through the park by the water this afternoon, I stumbled upon a sign in honour of Cheap Trick. An iconic band from the 70’s – and I realised it had been a long time I had listen to them. I put my earset on, Spotify on, switched to a Cheap Trick playlist and it was just fine, starting with the famous ” I want you to want me” and then going down the list… the magic of Spotify’s algorythm! I used to work for Spotify back in 2016/ 2017 and I still think they have done wonders in revolutionizing the music industry. On a very personal level, my experience of listening to and discovering new music is aboslutely amazing. Back 20 years ago, stumbling across the Cheap Trick sign in a park in a random city in the US… what would have been my chances to instantly connect to them as I made my way to town? None!

Enjoy the video of today’s run: https://www.relive.cc/view/vKv2y2njMoq

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: