The Search for Water

Daily Miles: 31.29 | Total Miles: 16,433.43

I woke up after another relatively short night. Cold coffee, packing, a damp tent, filling all my bottles, and before long I was ready to go. The air was already warm and humid when I started my day.

The route first led me through Maisons-Laffitte, a town built in a highly deliberate, geometric, and symmetrical way that stems from its 17th-century origins. It was quite fascinating to run through. From there I moved onto smaller pedestrian paths and through stretches of forest. Along the way I met Aliess, and we enjoyed a nice conversation before continuing in our respective directions.

It didn't take long for the day to become very hot.

A little later I met Anna from Peru. Almost immediately she handed me two yogurts and offered me a bed for the night. I have to admit, I was tempted. After all, there were still many miles to go and the heat was building quickly. But I continued on. Still, I love these spontaneous offers of kindness. They always mean a lot to me.

Around mile 13, I stopped in a town to buy groceries and recharge my phone. I was fairly certain I would be camping that night, so I wanted to save as much power bank capacity as possible for later.

The second half of the run was difficult. The combination of heat, steep gravel sections, and constant climbing made every mile feel hard-earned. Sweat was running from literally every pore of my body. I was completely soaked. From the beginning of the day I had made hydration a priority, knowing that with the temperatures rising over the coming days, managing my fluid intake wisely would become increasingly important.

After pushing the buggy up one particularly steep hill, I started running again as the road dropped away on the other side. Just before reaching the top, I noticed an unusual scene unfolding ahead of me. One man was chasing another up the hill while a vehicle followed behind them. When I arrived, the young man being chased had collapsed onto the ground and was breathing heavily. I immediately offered him some water.

It turned out they were three brothers, and the younger one was in the middle of a hill-training session organized by his older brothers. I loved their spirit. They were pushing him hard, but also supporting him every step of the way.

Later I met Remonde and Yannik on their bicycles before continuing through the afternoon heat toward Chaussy.

When I finally arrived, I urgently needed water. I still had some left, but not nearly enough for the evening and the following morning. There were no stores in town. The fountains all carried signs saying the water was not potable. I found myself becoming increasingly focused on one thing and one thing only: finding drinking water.

It's a fascinating sensation when you truly need water on a hot day. I've experienced it a few times before, and it is remarkable how completely the mind narrows its focus. Nothing else seems important.

The first man I asked told me he didn't have any water.

I thought, what?

So I continued up the hill and spotted a young father, Gérard, walking with a buggy and his daughter. When I asked him, he immediately turned around and called to his parents, Christophe and Valérie, who kindly brought me several large bottles of water.

The moment I saw those bottles, I could literally feel my grip on the situation loosen. Relief arrived instantly.

They were incredibly kind, and by then I was running on very little energy. All I wanted was to find a suitable place to sleep.

Just outside the village, I rolled my buggy across some freshly cut grass, looked around to make sure nobody minded, and decided it would do nicely. I pitched my still-damp tent, organized my things, forced myself to eat a proper dinner, cleaned up, and settled in for the night.

Now all I want to do is sleep.

Thanks for checking in. Andrea