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Archive for October, 2011

COSTA RICAN ROUTE AND DETAILS.

Monday, October 31st, 2011

PRESS  HERE FOR COSTA RICA ROUTE

6th Nov 2011 From Orotina to Jaco = 45km. Halfway I ran over a bridge thinking underneath it would have made a great place to camp last night. A crowd of people were looking over into the water. I noticed they were not fishing and when I looked over I saw several alligators, about 8 on each side of the bridge!

7th Nov 2011.From Jaco to Parrita, 43  km.commute back to Jaco. Roberto the owner of the Beatles Hotel here gave me a great deal $20 for a huge suite:) So I am going to take a rest day on Tuesday. Roberto is a Beatles fanatic and the whole hotel is a shrine to the Fab Four. Next door he has a bar called… Yes you guessed it.. The Beatles Bar.

Total = 13,401 km

TOTAL ON FRIDAY 4TH.. 13,286 KM FOR 302 ROAD DAYS. THE ROADS HERE ARE VERY TIGHT,DANGEROUS WITH LITTLE SHOULDER. CR IS A VERY EXPENSIVE PLACE. VERY HOT.

CAN YOU BELIEVE SPOT SENT ME AN EMAIL TO SAY THEY EXTENDED MY WARRANTY TILL 1ST NOV,THEY SENT IT ON 31ST!!!!

I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK I AM DRAGGING AROUND AN OFFICE BEHIND ME;)

I MISSED THAT DEADLINE :[  BECAUSE I COULDNT LOG ON TILL 3RD.

LATEST  MON 31 : 44KM

TUES 48KM

WED 50 KM

THURS 45KM .. NOT TOO FAR FROM PUNTARENAS, BUT NOT GOING THERE.

FRI  30KM. REDUCED TO 20KM AS I TOOK A WRONG TURN AND WAS HEADING FOR THE CAPITAL, SAN JOSE INSTEAD OF THE COAST.I NOTICED THIS NEAR A PLACE CALLED ” LA ANGOSTURA ”

I DONT KNOW WHERE I HAD MY HEAD TODAY, NOT ONE OF MY BEST DAYS. TOMORROW I WILL BACKTRACK, I HATE THAT WORD :(

VERY HOT, HUMID, LITTLE SHOULDER AND VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC.. SO HEAVY IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO RUN. TONIGHT I AM STAYING WITH THE RED CROSS IN ESPARZA.

I EXPECT TO CROSS INTO PANAMA NOT THIS WEEKEND BUT THE NEXT.

TA. FOR YOUR PATIENCE WITH SPOT, I ASKED IF I CAN PICK ONE UP IN PANAMA CITY AND AWAIT THEIR REPLY MAP AND DETAILS OF MY COSTA RICAN RUN BEGINNING MONDAY 31ST OCTOBER PRESS  HERE

PS I NOW BELIEVE MY SPOT DEVICE IS FAULTY. IT IS JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS OUT OF WARANTY AND AM NOT SURE IF THEY WILL REPLACE IT FOR ME. I AM DOING ALL I CAN TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE, BUT ITS VERY HARD TO DO SUCH THINGS AND CONTINUE TO RUN AROUND THE WORLD WITH NO SUPPORT CREW!

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NICARAGUAN DAILY LOG.

Monday, October 31st, 2011

 

Total at end of Nicaragua = 13,078.6km. for 297 road days.

Oct. 30th 2011. From km 111 in Rivas to km 145.8 in Puenas Blancas at the Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border. Today 34.8km run. Steady start but legs a bit tired after last nights hard effort. Recovered well in last hour. I ran to the border and returned to Rivas for the night. Nicaragua has been conquered! Tomorrow morning I will return to the border and start running across my 9th country.

Oct. 29th 2011. From yesterdas finish as below to Rivas at km marker 45 to km 111 just past the Chow Mein Chinese restaurant in Rivas. Today 66km run and that chalked up the 13,000km :)

  I started very late in the morning due to a commute from Managua to new base in Rivas and then the return to the start location in Jinotepe.  Finished very late in the evening in the dark, torrential rain and heavy traffic with little or no hard shoulder. One of my best days distance-wise but one I disliked due to the difficulties.

Oct. 28th 2011. West of Managua km 6.5 on west/east route ca 02 to Jinotepe at sign ” Managua 45km “  This is on the south Ca 02 route.Today 45.8km as I routed my way around the city. Commute back to Managua. Great days work clearing this place, enough said! Lots of stops at start, it took me a while to get goin but finished running hard and strong. Ran without pack today as good bus service for commuting. Spot still not working. I am trying to find a solution to this.

Oct. 27th From km 41 to km 6.5 in Managua City, Capital of Nicaragua. Today 34.5km. Very hot but not as bad as yesterday. Strong today. Finished early today as I plan to run from the hotel here (hopefully early!)  and commute back

OcT. 26th From km 91 Leon to km 41 = 50km.  Very, very hot day, many stops, shattered at end of the day.

One year on the road today, Tuesday 12,847.5km for 292 road days. Circa 8,000 miles.

The dream lives on. I am as happy as ever.

Thank you all for your great messages of support and best wishes.

Many thanks also to my sponsors The North Pole Marathon, Great Outdoors, Chariot Carriers and DryMax socks.

THE START OF NICARAGUA NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AS I AM IN A CIBER CAFE WITHOUT MY LOGBOOK.

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GOOD LUCK TO ALL RUNNERS IN MONDAYS DUBLIN CITY MARATHON!

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Buena Suerte! To all the runners in Mondays Dublin  Marathon.

Enjoy yourselves, I still am after nearly 13.100 km since last year marathon. And if one more person calls me Forest Gump! At least he was smart to stop in Los Angeles. I will be crossing from Nicaragua to Costa Rica as the tailenders are coming in in Dublin.

Enjoy and I will see you in 2014. I am on schedule… 13k is my target per DCM! :)

Tony

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ONE YEAR ON THE ROAD! 12,847.5km

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

105 KM FROM COSTA RICA BORDER. I SHOULD BE THERE IN A COUPLE OF DAYS.

Total to date 12, 977.8  for 295 road days.

October 28th 2011. West of Managua km 6.5 on west/east route ca 02 to Jinotepe at sign ” Managua 45km “  This is on the south Ca 02 route.Today 45.8km as I routed my way around the city. Commute back to Managua. Great days work clearing this place, enough said! Lots of stops at start, it took me a while to get goin but finished running hard and strong. Ran without pack today as good bus service for commuting. Spot still not working. I am trying to find a solution to this.

October 27th From km 41 to km 6.5 in Managua City, Capital of Nicaragua. Today 34.5km. Very hot but not as bad as yesterday. Strong today. Finished early today as I plan to run from the hotel here (hopefully early!)  and commute back,

October 26th From km 91 Leon to km 41 = 50km.  Very, very hot day, many stops, shattered at end of the day.

One year on the road today, Tuesday :) 12,847.5km for 292 road days. Circa 8,000 miles.

The dream lives on. I am as happy as ever.

Thank you all for your great messages of support and best wishes.

Many thanks also to my sponsors The North Pole Marathon, Great Outdoors, Chariot Carriers and DryMax socks.

Today I ran 40km and finished a little past Leon. During the day my Spot crashed and I believe it was probably due to a missed yearly subscription as it started this day last year. I hope this will be up running soon!

I had considered setting out to break my road record for the run to celebrate! That is something like 75.5km but I declined later due to the Spot being down as it would not be totally appropriate time to claim a new road record!

I got myself a nice hotel and dinner in the hotel.

Heres to the next year and after that it will all be downhill!!

I seem to have gotten over the Athletes Feet! and would like tyo thank all at the Amigos for Christ mission center especially Kelly, Jackson, all the doctors that checked me out and Dr. Christian for his help and advice, even if he told me to stop and give it one more day after just 9km yesterday!

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POTHOLES IN HONDURAS

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

ANOTHER COUNTRY ANOTHER RAIN STORM!

October  14th I ran from Santa Rosa in El Salvador and crossed into Honduras. Only about 140km to be run here, a long weekend job!

 Though Honduras is about the same size as the other central, central American countries I will just be clipping through a small southern spike on my way to Nicaragua, right now my frame of mind is ‘ miles not smiles, ‘ well!

My tourist days are over, it will have to be special for me t make a detour, like the Inca ruins in Peru next spring.

Why do I travel ? Well I like to meet and talk to people  in their own territory, I also like the challenge of the endurance, mad I know. 

So I dumped my pack in another grubby hotel, of sorts about $10 for a basic room.

I ran on towards Choluteca, easy to remember that name, well not correctly anyway as a I kept calling it chocolate.

Border towns can be a bit dodgy, a bit shady. At the time I guess I was a bit intimidated but looking back the people were lovely, I too would stare at someone running around the world and everyone I meet is a different person. People came out of their houses which to be honest are very basic dwellings.Mostly constructed of whatever scrap building materials they can find, pieces of galvanized roofing nailed together for a roof and walls, or just a wooden framework with sheets of plywood or advertising hoardings covered by large strips of black plastic covering.

As I ran the 20km towards Puente Seise I ran past 5 lads kicking football on the highway. One of them gave me a great pass, I tried a backheel flick, enough said, I’m sticking to the running :)

Time to go back to the hotel and yet again a bus driver changes his mind about stopping. I am lucky I stopped outside a shop and even though it’s lashing rain a young man called Hector stands with me for half an hour. His mam brings out two umbrellas. When a bus does come along the driver is visibly surprised when my savior doesn’t board the bus. I wonder was this guy going to stop and when I complain about the other drivers they just give me a knowing smile and don’t collect my fare.

Next day, Saturday I set up base in Choluteca. It’s late morning and decide it’s too late to go back on the road. I haven’t had a rest day in almost three weeks so I decided to take one. The internet cafe is closed and when I enquire at a restaurant next door a friendly man named David tells me I can come over to his bike shop and use his computer. First I settle down to breakfast in the restaurant. Well restaurant may be stretching it as its just a converted garage at the back of someone’s house.

So I spent the rest of the day happily clicking away in Moto Sur. David’s son Fernando tries to unsuccessfully find a program to retrieve mysteriously encrypted data from my USB stick. Somehow Windows Microsoft attacked my Wordpad and now all I got is a series of ‘ Y’s ‘ everywhere. All I want to do is run around the world, but I am supposed to be a techno wizzard too.

DAVES IN HIS MOTOR SUR SHOP.

 I often wonder would an illiterate person be taken seriously if they wanted to do a run like this and obviously couldn’t do much of the logistical work. We are cursed in this sport by people trying to make a name for themselves by cheating, exerations, making false claims, so this is a difficult one. I think there is a case for the runners credibility and competitive background to be considered.

I had such a massive Chinese dinner that night, so enormous  was it, it would have taken a team of world runners a night to eat a corner out of it! I ate enough for about three of these runners and packed away the rest of my mixed speciality plate into the hotel fridge. Not bad for 10 dollars.

Next  night after my 51.5k I sent in the demolition crew in the form of my impatient teeth and a loving smile to finish off what the slacker left behind.

Not before another wait of well over an hour and more help  to stop  another bus as another gringo shy bus driver whizzed by no doubt his windows and dashboard displayed the usual Jesus loving signs.

Then on the way to Las Hormiga, a trot of some 56km I stopped for a break at an eatery and got talking to Luis a security guard. There was also a policeman there playing with his daughters who were obviously a school going age. I asked Luis why the girls were not in school as they were about ten years old and Honduras does have free education. His answer was shocking, yes education is free but some parents can’t afford the copybooks and pens. But the children of a policeman should surely be able to afford this,I thought.

I also noticed that so few people smoke here and was told it was because of the severe poverty

So bad are the potholes here that children actually get out on the road with shovels and fill them in with loose gravel from the side of the road. Then they ask  drivers for money for this. Just like some construction workers I know in Ireland these kids have made a career out of filing in holes. They probably shovel the gravel out again later for the next days ‘work’

FILLING IN THE POTHOLES

There was one hole which was easily a meter deep. It was almost in the middle of the road and had a huge boulder in front and another behind to warn motorists!

My feet have been a bit sore these last couple of days, I don’t know why.

I am just a few kilometers away from the Nicaraguan border now.

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EL SALVADOR AND THE HOT DOG SELLER WITH THE CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER

Friday, October 21st, 2011
  
A shattered runner ran into El Salvador after only 27km with his pack.
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua I have discovered have some kind of a visa cartel of their. When you get a visa in one it’s good for all of the four. 90 days, I will be long gone before then. Costa Rica and Panama which are slightly larger countries and will take about 2-3 weeks each to run through have their own partnership.
No maps anywhere to be bought I have to make do with my hastily printed out google map from the route page. God love Google Maps… It’s a great concept but needs some refining. Sometimes they give a list of villages that I never come across.. Especially at border towns. Perhaps one reason is that I don’t always know where I am as often there are no village or town signs. Just about every bridge all the way from Tecate in Northern Mexico has two signs proudly proclaiming it but for some reason some places remain nameless.
Anyway I decide to use Playa Mizata as my base for about 3 days. No reason, perhaps because it’s a nice 70km away and with a bit of luck and some very helpful people I manage to get an early evening bus, great that will save me valuable daytime tomorrow as I just have to find one bus back to the border to continue and not there and back and the finding of a place to stay.
With the change of bus this journey takes the best part of two hours. I move from the left side of the bus to the right side just to study the hard shoulder. It’s great here 2 meters wide all the way through the country (same in Honduras) I also want to jot down any potential rest places and decide there are many and no need to  record the km numbers. If this was a minibus in a sparsely populated I could even toss a drinking bottle out a window at an obvious marker for the return. The first time I did this I got carried away and threw it too far off the road.. We live and learn…Or die of thirst :(
I get talking to the man behind me. His name is John-Henry.
He told me he lived in the States for seven years. He was an illegal and used the coyotes, or a band of shady organized people to get him over the border. 7,000 dollars is the current rate. how do you know they will get you across and not abandon you as many of these people have done in the past, I asked. Apparently you pay half before and your family pays the other half when you get there… Seems a bit risky to me.
John-Henry tells me I can get a cheap hotel for about 40 bucks as the place is crawling with gringos, they love to surf all along the beautiful coastline.
I nearly throw up! There is no mistaking it 40 American dollars, El Salvador’s currency is the American dollar.
John-Henry works a couple of days a week in a hotel as an entertainer. He is on his way to Playa Mizata also. He tells me he is going to sleep with  his girlfriend, Christy and his future in-laws, Celio and Mabel. All of Latin America is strictly Catholic. I muse over what he has told me, I reckon something got lost in the translation.
A phone call is made and I am invited too.. To stay, I mean!
Celio drives his own mini bus as an airport shuttle. They also live at the back of their simple shop. They are warm hearted kind people who instantly give me an energy drink and give me some egg and beans on tortillas.
They are very religious and tell me how much joy they get from going to church every evening, everyday except Saturday, that’s their day of rest. Yes I am sure something did get lost in that translation even though John-Henry and Christy will be getting married in December.
Christy’s sister got married in the summer. A voluntary group built an affordable home for them and will do so for John-Henry and Christy. Cost 85 dollars a month for 13 years.

MY GREAT EL SALVADORAN FRIENDS, CELLIO, JOHN-HENRY, CHRISTY AND MABEL

So Celio fixes a bed for me in the small modest living room. He hands me a bottle of bug spray that his American friends gave him.
” For the mosquitoes. ” He says.
So I spray it on my shirt,
John-Henry laughs and tells me to spray it on my skin. I tell him that I always thought I should spray it on my clothes as it sweats off skin.
So before I could stop myself big mouth Mangan spurts out, to much laughter…
” So are you and Christy don’t sweat this off and…..and the mosquitoes…They don’t.. They don’t…
I am digging a big hole for myself now and getting confused… Eventually as everyone is waiting for me to finish I spurt out…
” What I mean is…Are you saying the mosquitoes don’t bother you and they go for the clothes at the end of your bed! ”
Tony, that’s the dumbest thing you have said on the entire run… I put it down to foot impact on my brain.
On I run out of one persons life, just as fast as I ran into it.. This is life on the road the hardest part… meeting great friends but I know I gotta travel on.. They have played their part in making the run a reality.
The last few days the mornings have been hot, then in the afternoon and just like a fan it cools down and rains around 4 pm. It would be a good idea to get started earlier and off the road, sometimes I can, sometimes not, sometimes it just rains all day long.
A man called Oscar and his family stop for a chat. He tells me when I get to San Salvador I can stay with him.. He is surprised when I say I am not going there, too dangerous and besides it’s not on my route.
My camera stops working, rain damage the 3rd of the run.
Everyone stares, even the cows, horses and dogs stare. I am only ignored by the chickens. Yesterday I ran thru a small town. They had a marching band playing as they sat in the garden of a bar. The whole band stop playing, it was the real gringo stuff of spaghetti westerns.. I haven’t shaved in a few days , I haven’t seen a mirror in two countries  and  I swear if someone lights a match off my stubble  and says.. ” So you think you are tough gringo punk! Well you just keep on running outs town …” I will just faint. Kids stare right up into my face. People move from one chair to another for a better view. Out on the road I can hear the scooters slowing down and just like clockwork I count one,two three,four,five,six,seven, eight, nine ten, yes go do it now, they always look back after ten, and then again..
I am very worried about my Spot tracking device as I run thru these countries. What if someone whips it off my arm? An old man in a shop has his eye pressed against it, he asks me what it’s for. I lie and tell everyone it takes pictures of everything just like Google and if I have a problem the police will know who to come looking for as they have been notified.
Then there are the dogs, everywhere, all the way from Mexico I have been hounded, sorry didn’t mean that! by them.. I think even an animal lover would be fed up with the constant yak-yaking.. They are almost hoarse and barking for the sake of it. Almost starved, I think some of these countries should have dogs on their flags.
My dog deterrent is constantly in my hand, ho to keep it dry, yes even in a plastic bag this rain is penetrable.. If anyone makes a suspicious movement on the road I reach for the dog deterrent, they don’t know what it is and I would bluff it as a weapon if needed.
A lot of the dogs just go running from me when I let a roar out… ” Cerra la boca!  ” They don’t know I misspell that when I tell them to shut their mouths!
With the big ones I have to be fast on the draw as I look for the first thing I pack every morning. I mind that and the Spot tracker more than my passport…  And that’s true.
I never mentioned what happened in Baja as I was still in the territory. Now I am out so what the heck…
Well it was a hot afternoon and I stopped for a refreshment at a ‘ quiet restaurant ‘ Quiet because it was locked up. There was a little terrier on the doorstep. I look at it, nice dog I am thinking as he hasn’t even barked or growled. I go to turn the doorknob and the little bastard without warning jumps up and nips my left leg. Without warning, I never heard anything like that. I remember the article I got in my bag, I printed it off the internet. Ringing in my ears were the words.. A bite from a rabid dog is ALWAYS fatal, the treatment at least would mean the end of the run. A few people have since told me this is not entirely true but then I did not know, I still don’ know for sure but then I went into a rage. I wanted to kil the mutt and nearly did, I won’t tell you what I did, he was fast enough to get away and I am sure he will not bite again!
Later I discover much to my relief that Baja is Rabies free. Now I will not tolerate a dog in a rabid area anywhere near me, no matter how innocent they are.
At a town near Cuyultitan I lose my mind in a rare supermarket and eat a huge Sunday lunch of Chocolate, bananas, biscuits, yogurt, sweets, a liter of juice and other goodies. Not surprisingly I get stomach cramps on the road and later that night thank God for the miracle of Imodium. Like an idiot I don’t drink much water that night to properly rehydrate after my poor 23km today.. If I keep this up I will loose my job as a journey runner. So next day a touch of dehydration, the old Baja rusty nail water.. 33km today… Tony get your act together!
Next day as I ran towards Usulutan I improved the average with a 53. It rained like Ireland every step of the way as I ran ankle deep in puddles, waited an hour after the bus driver changed his mind about stopping for me. Eventually one did and I sat beside a broken window, frozen with my legs cramped as I was sitting over a wheel covering of sorts, what a ding place to sit I smiled as I was rattled back to my hotel in the stinking clothes I haven’t been able to dry out in about 3 days now. How am I going to try and dry them if I wash them tonight I wondered.. Last week I had the luxury of a portable fan in my grubby room, I stuck the chair on the end of my bed overnight, hoping not to knock it off the bed as I slept as I had my clothes I washed in the sink hanging on the chair legs hoping the fan would dry them overnight… It worked but hard to sleep with a noisy fan. living the dream, nobody knows how tough this is.
All the forums will tell you a run like this gets easier as the run progresses. Yes it does that’s the easy bit, recharge the batteries…
Then there are the cold showers, the biting ants that are always waiting for you there, the mossies and how I have to scratch and rub my skin bone dry to get rid of the itch before I massacre about 200 ants for the third time before I go to sleep with a chair and fan up against my bed.
This is a great dream, isn’t it Tony? The way you thought it would be? Sure is, that was an easy day, every day has a different challenge, love the dream, it’s part of you.
The next day has a different challenge. I look at the map that Celio gave me, a rare map, It shows a short cut from Usulutan to San Miguel via San Jorge. I would knock about 15km off this day.. You know when the guide books tell you to stick to the main roads? Well I now I will forever believe they are telling you not to go to San Jorge, El Salvador.
I got stared all the 8km there, kids ran inside called out for their friends to look at the loco gringo.. An eerie feeling. Then a man went inside for his two dogs. He appeared to bring them out to greet me, I just looked at me and smiled as the dogs sniffed and barked closer and closer to me. The dog deterrent suddenly in my moment of need decided not to work. Rained out I discovered later. I threw one of my water bottles at one of them and managed to get away.
I have been told many people have been deported from America. Everyone assumes every gringo is American. Someone made this comment to the blog a few weeks ago, I never replied because I knew it would come up in the blog. Some people here hate the Americans, back on the coast they love them. What a contrast. If you are white you are American. Nobody stops to wonder could you be from a different country. When they are in America, Americans assume they are Mexicans. I also remember a hot dog seller telling me it was not wise to be running here as so many people have been deported from the States. He was angry that he was deported and now sells hotdogs and earns $3 a day. Other than these people everyone I met in El Salvador were so nice and helpful.
I stop at a police station to ask for an escort as at the local shop I am told it’s very dangerous further on. There are not many houses and not much traffic.
The cops in the station are not enthused. I am assured that it muy tranquillo here!
I ask them how are they going to explain to their mayor if something happens to me after reporting the dog incident. The tell me they cant because of the rain! What about me and the rain.. I am not asking them to run, just drive behind me for a couple of hours.
They are more interested in their lunch, I can tell as they keep looking over at the cooker with a stew in the pot. I waste an hour and tell them to stop asking silly questions like my age and leave. I leave my website card on their table for them to digest. Ten minutes later three of them catch up with me on the road. I am assured they just had to go and change. I wondered if they changed into their bullet proof vests.
On I ran but like the morning it was all uphill, some shortcut, just as well I don’t have Nirvana. Flooded roads in the torrential rain as I ran on and on and eventually downhill. It was hard going as I had to constantly keep changing my stride and route through and around the puddles, pot holes, around downed cables, garbage and dead dogs and even a horse that stank as the vultures hacked away at it’s loose skin. They always start to hack at one presumable loose spot on the animals body and you can guess what leaks all over the road.
Then the missing man hole covers that some council worker thinks is ok to leave off if he marks the area in yellow paint! Well what about the rain!
About 4km before I get out of this dump my shoe lase opens. I know if I stop to tie it they will be gone but sure, it’s too dangerous to run with it open. Sure enough the 3 overworked officers make their way back to their stew.
I make it to San Miguel and next day to Honduras. I see on the television and read about the storm running through Central America. Selfishly I worry about my run and road closures, it’s only a run but these people have to live through it, they are rooted here, no escape.
There go I but for the roll of a die I think and thank my lucky stars I was born in Ireland and not here. Does Ireland have more rain or do we have better drainage I wonder

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GUATEMALAN DUBS SUPPORTER!

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

OVER THE BRIDGE AND INTO GUATEMALA

AFTER MORE THAN 3 MONTHS AND ALMOST 4,000KM IN MEXICO THE ROAD LEADS TO GUATEMALA

Road day 269 ended with me running into Guatemala after almost 4,000km in Mexico. Just one decent days running short of that grand total.

Not without the Mexican immigration trying to squeeze another visa fee out of me! I stood my ground and refused.

He said I didn’t have a receipt for my visa and didn’t like it too much when I asked him how I got the visa without paying!

I told him to go read my blog from the 3rd week in June and how I was worried I might get kidnapped in the town of Tecate as I made my way to the bank to pay the $25!

He made me wait over an hour while he emailed Tecate!

I don’t know why Mexico doesn’t just scrap the visa fee, just like Guatemala, a much poorer country. I felt the reason for getting the tourist to produce a receipt is to stop their immigration officers from pocketing the money. Why hassle the customer?

So only 21.8km run to the Guatemalan border town of  Tecun Uman. I celebrated by having a lovely chop suey in a Chinese restaurant.

The next day was also a bad day only 27 as I sheltered from the rain too long, better get used to it Tony, it’s monsoon time in Central America. I also missed my last bus after the run to my hotel and paid for a second hotel.The busses usually finish around 5 or 6pm due to robberies.

 This commute business is expensive but not as expensive as paying for a vehicle, expenses and a driver.

 Lots of crazy drivers and potholes. Things haven’t changed since I was here many years ago.. I wonder are they the same pot holes.

Some of the construction workers dont even have high-viz vests or safety equipment. The construction companies are so poor they don’t even have the red cones. Road lanes are closed off using a series of painted rocks and cut off-branches. Sometimes when they go home in the evening they leave the branches out on the road.

Another day I had to abandon the day as they would say in football, only 10.5km run.. I started at Puente los Ninos after a late start. The rain steadily got heavier and heavier and heavier. To my left in the hard shoulder were some of the drains I mentioned in another blog. Rebar protruded out of some of these meter deep uncovered drains. The road was flooded, ankle deep. Getting mega splashing was the least of my concerns… Abandon match. It is early afternoon. I find a hotel and start stitching extra pockets onto my cycle top to best distribute the weight around my being. I get the great idea that the pockets should be made from a cut up high-viz vest. I tried to count the pockets I got and loose count, no exaggeration, at least 20! It weighs a ton, especially when wet, It’s also loosing it’s wick-away properties, but it’s a monsoon, so worry about that some other time… When Tony gets a crazy idea, he has to do it!

Back on the road next day, what did I have? Do I have to keep talking about it? Lets just say… Guatemala is as green as Ireland and guess why!

LOVELY IRISH RAIN!

Oh.. I got stopped by the cops.. I have noticed they are up and down the road these last few days. Then they park and wait for me to pass till another comes the opposite direction.. I also ran the full 43 with my backpack today, very hard, gotta lose some more of it.

Anyway back to the cops.. I had been told this area as I run towards Escuintla and towards eastern Guatemala is very dangerous… Mucha violencia!

Next day I stopped the cops and asked were they looking out for me and I was told…. ” Si. ”

Then on the police radio in their patrol truck just as I happened to be standing there… I heard… ” El hablar Inglese? ”

THANKS FOR KEEPING AN EYE ON ME!

This is not exactly tourist area and I would imagine it was the first time the question ” Does he speak English ” was ever uttered over their airwaves!

Before I entered Guatemala, I emailed the government asking could they give me an escort, got spoilt in Mexico!

They ignored my email but it seems their undercover operation is not exactly discreet!

I felt great an with the help of an early start ran almost 64km.

To slow me down the next day the rains washed away a bridge. There was no sign and as Guatemala is a poorer version of Mexico I reckoned they couldn’t afford it. I should have known better as the road suddenly became quieter, Ah! well 2km each way without any credit and a long detour over a rough road. A week later when I am in El Salvador. I heard this border crossing was closed due to flooding, so I was lucky to get through. I understand there was also some serious flooding, damage and deaths.. So my thoughts are with those people. 

I thought of the man I met who was actually wearing a Dublin shirt! Did he know that Dublin are as the Americans would call it ” The World Champions ” in Gaelic football from a few days back!

He told me his name is Hector ( I never met a Hector till I came here and it seems to be a popular name!) His wife works in Dublin as a maid I think he said… It puts things, the flooding and all on a different level when I think of the Dubs shirt.

Hector and his friend Armando know the people that own the Super 24 gas station. There is an armed guard on duty with a rifle and a belt full of cartridges. That’s not unusual here in Central America as there is so much so much crime. Almost every half decent business have armed guards. When they change shifts I have seen them get off the back of their friends scooter with their rifle in hand. I have seen them in fast food restaurants and travelling in the back of beer and coke trucks! This is one of the reasons the buses finish so early as the conductor collects the money they are often targeted.

A GLORIOUS DAY!

  I am allowed to sleep with the mosquitoes around the back on some cardboard. I will cross into El Salvador tomorrow. I am just about out of Guatemalan money. The currency is called something like Quetals which sounds like the Spanish for ‘ Hi ‘ I have been spending a week asking how many hi’s does something cost! 

Anyway as I was saying I am all out of ,as we would say in Dublin… ” How ar-yes ” I discover they allow me to use my credit card and have a gorge… I over did it…. Read this carefully, you will never ever see this ever again,! You did what Tony? I left food behind! :(   Sin a shame!

Well not exactly food, it was a half gallon of water.

Speaking of gallons… Petrol and diesel are sold in gallons and costs about the same as in the USA. It’s the same throughout Central America.

I am now out of the two countries most people were worried about…. Yes this gigs gonna happen!

I LOVE STOPPING AT THE ROADSIDE EATERIES AND TALKING TO PEOPLE

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THE GENESIS OF THIS WORLD RUN

Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Almost one year now since I started running the Dublin marathon. Thankfully I am still running, perhaps it’s about time I gave an  ’overview ‘of how the idea to run around the world developed.
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In Tapachula, Mexico I shipped Nirvana my trusty jogging stroller and companion for almost a year  off to Buenos Aries, Argentina. I was a bit sad to see her go as we have been through many an adventure together, but this run has to change, to be modified by the ongoing challenges I face on the road.
Having travelled this road in 2002 on a 10 week backpacking trip I remembered bad roads, tight bends, the overgrown hedges growing out onto the road making it very unsafe for me to run towards the traffic. I also remembered that in much of Guatemala there is little or no hard shoulder.  I remembered the crazy drivers, especially in Guatemala, with its bad roads and how they would move out and overtake often straying into the opposing hard shoulder, right up behind where I am now running.
If I’m honest I will also say that now I am worried about my security should I push her through Central America, through some of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, at least thats what I have been conditioned to believe by many a traveller that never got to know the area properly.
 Perhaps that fear was exaggerated, who knows. I remember on my world bicycle trip in 1978-79 when I cycled through Afghanistan and Pakistan how well those poor people looked after me, even though they had almost nothing.
It was probably in Pakistan that the genesis, the seed of this run entered my subconsciousness.  I specifically remembered saying to people that even on a bicycle  I felt I was traveling too fast and wouldn’t it be lovely to slow it down and walk with my bike across even just one country. I considered  walking across Pakistan, but didn’t, I just cycled on. Then I became an extreme runner so walking was out! It had to be a run.
Now I look back 22 years, before I ever heard of any journey runner, before jogging strollers which could cart my baggage were even on the market.
And then when they did come on the market and any time a decent one like the Chariot stroller passed me in the street my head would do a compleete u-turn. I laughed once as I was in the company of my girlfriend at the time and she said smiling…
” What you looking at Tony, Do you want a baby? “
” No I just want the stroller without the baby! ” I thought.
That’s probably why my relationships never worked out. I feel I was put on this planet to run around the world and that’s what I will do, even if it takes my very last breath.
As I run through the Americas I often reflect on how I got this idea to run around the world. I remember so vividly writing… ” Today I felt so strong, I felt I could run around the world! ”  into my training diary after I I returned from an endorphin-filled long run in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
There was no template for this sort of thing!
The very next day I thought it was a great idea. It never left my waking mind for more than a few hours in over 20 years.
I considered how I could logistically run with a pack, how I would dry my clothes and even before I heard about bivy light-weight tents I was cutting up my tent, discarding the poles and pegs. I experimented using the strongest fishing line I could find to tie my modified, smaller, lighter tent to trees. I planned to use rocks I would find on the road to peg the tent, of sorts down!
Let’s just say I would never win a design or stitching award.
As you can see I really want to go give the ’ purists ‘ way a shot and run some of the run this way. There will be many problems re: water and services but I have at least 3 back-up plans I can call on.
It is now or never and besides Central America is serviced well with many buses which I can commute on whizzing all over the place as this is the only form of transport to many people that cannot afford their own vehicle.
I have to emphatically emphasis here that when I mention buses it is as a commute option before and at the end of my run as I make my way to the previous days finish or return to a lodging after my days run. I am committed as strong as ever, even after one year to running every single meter of this world run.
So with Nirvana sent off to John Boyle in Argentina, my laptop which is just a bit too heavy to carry and other non-essentials sent back to Ireland what did I discover?
I discovered it was not going to be as easy as I expected. I wonder sometimes if my eternal optimism will someday be the death of me!
I discovered that even when a town is only 30-40km down the road that a commute plus a wait can sometimes be up to 2 hours.
There are often small towns which are off my route which the buses use as terminals or a hub, so a change of bus and another wait plus a slow ride as we plod on stopping every couple of minutes in old, slow discarded American school buses. I discovered  that when I arrive in an strange area, and even country, and due to the unavailability of maps I have to be pretty sharp at orientating myself, not only on routes but timetables. Many Central American bus drivers are racist and do not stop for this lone gringo at the side of the road. When I tell the next driver they just laugh.
This may be controversial statement to make, but as you will read in my blog when I eventually catch up on it, these forever-stopping buses have failed to stop on numerous occasions for me .
Three times in a 6 week period I have missed my last bus. Once I just ran the 10km back which was not counted in the total, once I phond a friend and once, well I just paid for another hotel as it was late and I was about 25km away.On many other occasions I have had to get locals to stop a bus for me.
Clearly without a support crew and vehicle bus commuting is not an ongoing way to run around the world, perhaps occasionally. It’s so time-consuming. I have had to finish running earlier than I wanted, just in case.
So why all this talk about buses? Well despite my reduced baggage weight including sawn off toothbrush and even comb I found it difficult to run with a backpack and a bottle bag around my waist. It will probably take a bit of getting used to but for now  it’s problematic. On the plus side, when I was running with just a light day pack and returning to my hotel the running was always a joy. Another downside to the commute method was that I was committing myself to return to a hotel or wherever I left my bag and loosing out on any invitations that may arise on the road.
I knew I had to reduce my baggage weight even more. A spare pair of running shoes is a luxury I can now ill-afford to carry. I will just have to buy them on the road and risk imitations and injury as a result, or mail them on ahead. 
So what was I doing in Central America 9 years ago on that backpacking trip?
I was living in Colorado at the time and spent a week travelling on these very buses down to a town called David, Panama right on the Costa Rica border. I planned to run from there right through Central America all the way to the Mexican border. I planned to do this 3,000km plus run in about 2 and a half months as a trial run for this world run. I called the trial run the ‘ Reconnaissance Run. ‘
I never made it to the start line. I think it was Nicaragua, where I am now as I write this. I got out of the bus at the wrong place I intended and ended up staying there that night.  I want to say Ciudad Neillly. I went to a restaurant for dinner that night. On my way back to my hotel I tripped and fell into one of those open drains they have everywhere here. I really don’t know how the blind and disabled survive here. In just about every town, village or city now I have my head firmly down looking for these horrendous almost pedestrian landmines. I never step where I can’t see, so bad things are with huge manhole covers missing from even big town streets.
 If I am honest there was also a little alcohol on board that night! I ended up with plantar fasciitis which resulted in my return to live in Ireland. Plantar fasciitis in one of the biggest fears of any runner. Typically it takes 6 months to recover from this injury. The first two weeks the pain was excruciating as I put foot to ground. It is still my big fear. Every morning I put my foot to ground and thank my blessings I am still in good shape.
This is one of the reasons I don’t drink alcohol now, the other is for security reasons. Imagine having a beer and then a second and then looking for a place to pitch a tent around the back of some cantina?
I don’t believe the ‘ special occasions ‘ drinking works. It has to be ‘ all or nothing. ‘ In fact I don’t believe any serious athlete should drink alcohol, there is plenty of time to indulge when you are retired. If you are serious about your sport I believe you need to give 100%, no less. It is 5 years now since I gave it up, not that I was ever a heavy drinker but within 10 weeks of giving it up I broke the world 48 hour indoor record in the Czech Republic.
This world run now has to be, and is the most important thing in my life.
The one thing I have learned in the last month or so is the commute doesn’t work. It would be so good to go from ‘ door to door, ‘ In other words, where I finish running with my pack and without a commute to just continue running on the next day.
The only regret I have  of this whole expedition is the domain name  I chose for the run. I wanted to be a bit more inclusive with the ordinary ‘ Sunday runner, ‘ that’s why I called it the world jog. Now I feel that perhaps this has back-fired and I have not been taken seriously by the media or sponsors.
Lets see how the dream develops over the next few months as the first anniversary of the run looms on Tuesday.

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THANKS TO THE NORTH POLE MARATHON FOR THEIR COMMITTED SUPPORT

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

MANY THANKS TO THE NORTH POLE MARATHON : THE WORLD’S COOLEST MARATHON FOR THEIR ONGOING LOYALITY AND SUPPORT FOR MY WORLD RUN. THEIR RECENT DONATION HAS MADE LIFE MUCH EASIER FOR ME :) PLEASE CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE HERE

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NICARAGUA DAILY LOG

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I crossed into Nicaragua on Tuesday. Here is my planned route. Please click HERE  for map and details.

Oct 19th total to date is 12,798.5 km = 7,952 miles in 290 road days.

Oct 18th 2011. From Las Hormiga, Honduras I ran 13km to the frontier, crossed into Nicaragua. $12 visa at the border. Here route CA-03 started at km 205 so I ran to km 180 for 38km today. Pastor Martin stopped me at his church ” Finca Belen ” which is under construction and invited me to stay the night. Today I managed to run comfortably with my pack and did not need to commute.

Oct 19th 2011. From Finca Belen at km 180 to km 140 Villa Santa Catalina. Today as everyday for the last 3 weeks more torrential rain. This storm is raging all the way thru Central America and has devastated many communities in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,Nicaragua and Costa Rica killing hundreds. I understand in Honduras 140,000 people have been displaced from their homes. The road today was partially flooded in places and at one stage there were also 1 meter deep potholes with a huge boulder on each side (in the middle of the road!) to warn motorists.

Brenda invited me to her family home for the night but soon after Kelly, Jackson and many other American volunteers from the Amigos For Christ organisation arrived and invited me to stay in their compound where I was fed,washed (saw my first mirror in 2 countries!) laundered and a bed for the night by these wonderful people. They are rebuilding whole communities, helping the poor. They also have some doctors that are treating and performing operations on many sick locals. Padre Martin stopped me today as he was transporting roofing tiles to his church in his tractor trailer. He gave me coffee and his hat when he heard I lost mine. I have a bit of a foot swelling problem going on at the moment and have been told it could be due to water friction. I MAY ease back in the next day or two :(

40km today. I ran all the way with my pack today. I am enjoying the purist way to journey run. Sorry the daily log has turned into a bit of a diary, I will try to catch up on the last 3 countries also! A bit dis-jointed for now. I am about 8km north of Chinadenga and commuted here with the volunteers.

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since Tony began his World Run on 25th October 2010

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About Tony

I have always considered myself to be an average runner. In school, I was even bullied for I was a sports wimp. Through hard work, dedication, perseverance, self-belief and a strong mind I succeeded in not only running around the world but breaking four ultra running world records during my competitive career. Having previously cycled around the world I didn't start running until I was almost 30. Then I had a dream of running around the world. For many reasons, I waited for over 20 years. One reason was to establish my pedigree as an endurance athlete. I started and finished my world run as the current World Record-Holder for 48 Hours Indoor Track 426 kilometres (265 miles), a record I have held since 2007. I also broke and still hold the World Record for 48 hours on a Treadmill 405 kilometres (251 miles) in 2008. When I retired from competition, more pleasing than any of my world, European or Irish records I had the respect of my fellow athletes from all over the world - in my opinion, sports greatest reward - an achievement I am most proud of. Then I finally put myself out to pasture, to live my ultimate dream to run around the world! This blog was written on the road while I struggled to find places to sleep and to recover from running an average of 43.3 kilometres or 27 miles per day for 1,165 road days. There were many nights I typed this blog on a smart phone, so fatigued my eyes closed. Many journalists and endurance athletes have referred to my world run as the most difficult endurance challenge ever attempted. During my expedition I rarely had any support vehicles, running mostly with a backpack. In the more desolate areas I pushed my gear, food and water in a cart which I called Nirvana, then I sent her on ahead to run with my backpack once again over altitudes of almost 5,000 metres in the Andes. I stayed in remote villages where many people had never seen a white person before. I literally met the most wonderful people of this world in their own backyard and share many of those amazing experiences in this blog. My run around the world took 4 years. There were no short cuts, I ran every single metre on the road while seeking out the most comprehensive route across 41 countries, 5 continents, I used 50 pair of running shoes and my final footstep of the run was exactly 50,000 kilometres, (almost 31,000 miles) I eventually finished this tongue in cheek named world jog where I started, at the finish line of my city marathon. I started my global run with the Dublin Marathon on October 25th 2010 and finished with the Dublin Marathon on October 27th 2014 at 3 05pm! Thank you for your support, I hope you can share my unique way of seeing the world, the ultimate endurance challenge! Read more...

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