I had a lovely run this evening. Ran for about an hour and a half mostly around the Walkingstown triangle..It’s about 2.4km around.I ran it several times.Its one of my favorite runs.Sometimes I run it against the clock,it can be a decent workout.
Tonight I felt strong,in recent days have been a bit poorly,am trying to chase off a cold.

I seem to do a lot of good thinking and planning on these runs,also get some ideas but don’t always implement them.

Tonight’s idea is to >>> put out a call to anyone that can put me up for a night along my Irish route to Dunquin. <<<
Not expecting much,just a place to throw a sleeping bag..Me only..No crew.Feel I will be doing a lot of camping out in hedges and worse around the world but want to ease into it,especially in my own country. I will also be looking for contacts along my Canadian,USA or even world route! THEWORLDJOG@GMAIL.COM

I can hardly wait to start...It's now or never..I'm scared,Shit only 5 weeks to go!
Why am I making it so hard for myself?I will probably be running for a year and half through the Americas as far as Tierra del Fuego...That distance alone is a world run and there will hardly be any westerly gain!
A world trip only requires around 26,000km and 4 continents..I got nearly twice that distance..I think mine will be something between 40,000 and 45,000km,depending on the Asian route.
I wouldn't have it any other way...This is my dream route,it may be tweaked a bit here and there on the road - essentially this is what I want..

I also considered Africa, too problematic.The route would have been from Turkey to Egypt across North Africa as far as Morocco..
The African problem is Libya. It's effectively closed to overlanders, there is no realistic way around it,a guaranteed gap. Pity,could have gone north through Spain and run Europe northerly as far as Nordkap,Norway in the Arctic circle and then come back to Ireland via Iceland and Scotland.
3 years for sure. Gotta be honest..Impossible to tell how the body will react..It could be 4..

Two things are for sure: I am going to start when I cross the finish line of the Dublin Marathon...People ask me why the marathon finish line and not the start line? Well, the run has to finish in the exact same spot it started from. So, if I could time the finish of the world jog with a future Dublin Marathon...And I will try...It would be a really nice way to finish the trip. With a lap around my own city..That would be really nice Can't think too much of the finish...That would surely wear me down...And also....Gotta do it properly..One shot only.

SONG OF THE MONTH ON MY IPOD: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, ” WORKING ON A DREAM. ”

SURGERES 48 HOUR RACE IN FRANCE.THE UNOFFICIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OF 48 HOUR RUNNING.JAPAN'S MASAYUKI OTAKI WAS TOO STRONG.THE TRACK IS A 301 METER CINDER TRACK

Thanks to my super crew man Alan Young for passing me on some photos of the world 48 hour treadmill record in St.Mels College, Longford,Ireland in August 2008.
Pictures Here

I tried very hard to plan this run from a west to east direction. There were so many visa issues especially with Russia, Kazakhstan and China in particular.Regarding China, a visa agency and my own research told me that they generally issue an inadequate 1 to 3 month visa which has to be applied for before leaving home in Dublin. Then to complicated things further this Chinese visa may be difficult to extend and has to be activated within 3 months from the date of issue!

I understand that it is much easier to get said Chinese visa from Hong Kong with a longer stay duration as an added bonus.So by traveling west I will be approaching China from the ‘right direction.’

Kazakhstan is huge,one of the largest countries in the world. The standard visa is for just 30 days with no extensions.There is a shorter route through Kazakhstan through a series of about 5 former Soviet Bloc countries commonly referred to as ‘ the Stans ‘ into Turkey and then into Europe.

The Stans are a notorious bureaucratic nightmare even for a cyclist or backpacker let alone a plodder like me.

These countries have visa validations from 14 to 30 days with no possibility of an extension and often a wait of a precious week for this vital passport stamp is necessary.So that is a risky route.

Many of the Asian logistics have still to be worked out but my hope is that by the time I arrive things may be more straightforward with a more open society. Perhaps I will have made some vital contacts or other routes may open up to my feet? (eternal optimist)

I also want so much to depart on Marathon Monday, 25th October from Dublin. My projected pace would have taken me into Russia around January or February. Not a warm thought. I know I will have some very cold weather at the start of the world jog in Canada and the USA but I don’t expect it to be as bad as a Russian winter. It is so difficult to cover all factors.I also wanted to be traveling through the USA and my former home, Gods Country, Colorado towards the end of the world jog as opposed to near the start but as I have said its so difficult and compromise is necessary.

As soon as I resigned to running in a westerly direction my route immediately fell into place. Whereas,no exaggeration, previously I had chopped and changed my route in my mind over 200 times over the last 20 years or so.

My main aim with the route is to make it look as continuous as possible on a world map..I mean I could easily have gone from Ireland to say New York, D.C. Orlando or Miami, Florida and not many people would have raised an eyebrow – but for me that is not what I want.That is why I chose Dunquin as its the most western point in Ireland and Cape Spear,Canada as that is the most eastern point in North America.I envision the only gaps in this trip will be due to factors such as the road running out,visa refusal,ordered off the road by police or unforeseen dangers.

USA footnote: The 5 towns I lived in Colorado are: Fort Morgan,Brush,Gunnison,Crested Butte and Lake City just have to be run through. Heaven on earth I intend to take the scenic route through this state also visiting Estes Park,Aspen,Silverton and Leadville which is the highest town in continental USA around 3,500mt
From Colorado I head for the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and San Diego.

I intend to take a couple of ‘timeouts’ of about 2-3 weeks during the world jog.The first on will be at the end of the North American leg (Dublin- San Diego 8,252km)
I have already booked a flight from LA to Dublin for June 19th,you see U2 are playing in Anaheim on the 17th and 18th…Timing is everything!
I will then return and continue from the exact spot I left before.

I just thought I would give a quick explanation of how the world jog has developed over the years. I first got the idea during one of those wonderful endorphined-filled runs in Dublin’s Phoenix Park over 20 years ago.That was before we had really light weight camping equipment.Everything had to be backpacked.It seemed so problematic to run,so instead I got thinking about walking.So,I planned a world walk 12 years ago.I got all my equipment,got the tee-shirts printed but never started the walk. I literally had the tee-shirt but never did it as they say.

The logo of the world jog is a modification of the world walk. I am kinda  proud of that design which came to me in a flash all those years ago.I have given this website designer serious grief to get it modified for this journey.Sorry and thanks Simon! who is a round-the-world-cyclist
The big black letters with the white stripe in the center signify a road with a hiking boot for the ‘L’ in world.

Runners and walkers don’t have to backpack their equipment,food and water anymore as we can push it in a jogging stroller,a buggy of sorts. I am being sponsored by Chariot Carriers and will use their Cougar 1  Jogging stroller

The original world walk tee-shirt from 12 years ago.This was before websites were popular.

 

ANY MORE QUESTIONS

 

CIVIL DEFENCE ESCORT IN IXTLAN DEL RIO

A GROUP OF 5 OF US GOT AN ESCORT INTO IXTLAN DEL RIO

                                                  ESTEBAN, JULIO AND MONTERO

GIVING A TALK IN IXTLAN DEL RIO

THE MEXICAN NATIONAL EMBLEM, THE TEQUILA PLANT

JOSE, FRANSISCO THE BOSS AND MARCO TAKE GREAT CARE OF ME IN THEIR GUADALAJARA BASE

I booked my flights on Sunday..So after running the Dublin marathon on the 25th October I run to Dunquin,Co.Kerry as its the most  western point in Ireland. Then on Saturday 6th November I fly to New York.

I overnight there.On  the Sunday evening I take a flight to St.John’s Newfoundland and arrive around 10:30pm.I had hoped to start the next day but may just have a lie in and travel out to Cape Spear (the most eastern point in North America and my start point in the Americas) and have an easy 14.5km first day back to St.John’s.