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and shakers. Everyone backed my run 100 per cent. In my speech of
thanks, I told the gathering about a poem that inspires me every day of
my life: Linda Ellis's 'The Dash'. 'It doesn't matter if you are the Queen
of England or Pat Farmer,' I told the gathering. 'When you die, on your
gravestone will be engraved the date when you were born and the date
when you died, and separating those dates will be a dash. The dates
aren't so important. What
is
important is what the dash between the
dates represents, the life we've lived between birth and death. The
dash stands for the sum total of our lives.'
I finished my talk to the dignitaries and guests at the consulate
with a vow: 'I promise to everyone here tonight that I will complete
this run from the North Pole to the South Pole, just like I have com-
pleted every single thing I have ever taken on in my life.'
Phil Scanlan offered a toast to the expedition and called on all
those present to wish me 'a safe and healthy and robust onward
journey'.
The support I've been shown in New York has been satisfying, and
I feel my message is really getting out there now.
July 17
This morning, I ran out of New York City and into the state of Maryland
and fell foul of the law. Just as I was setting out behind Bernie's van
across a 3-kilometre bridge, I was stopped by a policeman who sternly
warned me that there was no pedestrian access to the bridge. I told the
officer that I was running from one end of the earth to the other for the
Red Cross and asked if he would contact the bridge authority to see if
an exception could be made for me. He ordered us not to move from
where we were and drove off to do so.
If permission was denied, what in the world could I do? I'd be
stuck. As usual, on principle, I refused to retrace my steps, so if I
couldn't run over the bridge I would have to either swim across the
river and risk drowning in the rips and currents that we could clearly
see from the banks, or buy an oar for the kayak we kept in one of the
vans and paddle across. This was not good. Whatever option we took
would soak up precious time.
After 20 minutes, the police car returned and the cop got out. I
was expecting the worst, but what he told me was good news. Because
