HI ALL,

I HAVE JUST BEEN OFFERED A POSSIBILITY OF A SUPPORT VEHICLE OWNER/DRIVEN BY A SOUTH AMERICAN. HE HAS ALL THE PAPERWORK IN ORDER. HE HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS KIND OF THING HAVING WORKED ON PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS. IT COULD MAKE OR BREAK THIS TRIP

ANY CHANCE IRISH PEOPLE COULD START LOBBYING IRISH RUNNER MAGAZINE TO START A KIND OF CAMPAIGN TO TRY TO GET SOME SPONSORS ON BOARD, ATHLETICS IRELAND, THE IRISH LOTTO, ANY CORPORATE CONTACTS TO HELP COME UP WITH THE ALL IN FEE OF 1,500US$ A MONTH FOR 4 TO 5 MONTHS.

FOREIGN PEOPLE NEVER CEASE TO BE AMAZED THAT I HAVE NO HELP BACK HOME.!

I JUST DID AN INTERVIEW FOR OUTSIDE MAGAZINE WHICH IS A HUGE AMERICAN OUTDOORS PUBLICATION, SO PERHAPS THE RUN MIGHT GET MORE EXPOSURE.

MY INTERVIEW WILL BE IN THE FEB. 2012 EDITION.

THANKS

TONY

NOTE THIS LOG NEEDS TO BE UPDATED WHEN I GET A CHANCE!

TOTAL TO DATE 26 NOV FOR 323 ROAD DAYS = 14,106km.

SORRY TO MY AMERICAN FRIENDS FOR NOT GIVING TOTAL IN MILES ALSO. MY PHONE IS BROKEN AND WITH IT MY CALCULCATOR!

TO CONVERT FROM KM´S TO MILES PLEASE DIVIDE KM BY 1.60934

Nov 26th From La Chorrera at km (Protection Civil office) to Via Centenario km9 (outskirts of Panama City) = 26km today.

Fri 25th From San Carlos km 93 to La Chorrera at km 35. = 58km Today. Just 35km from Panama City now!

This is a tough week as I am trying to get to Panama City by Saturday afternoon = km 0 as my host in the city, Stephen has asked me to address a meeting there with his friends. Stephen has been just unbelievable in helping me with so many local issues including picking my new Spot tracking device. More on this later. So it should be an easy 35km tomorrow!

Thursday 24th Nov From west of Penenome km 154 to San Carlos km 93. Today I ran 61km.

TOTAL TO DATE 23 NOV FOR 320 ROAD DAYS = 13,961km

SO 61KM ON THURSDAY WHICH I DEDICATE TO: ” HAPPY THANKSGIVING (THURSDAY 24th) TO ALL MY AMERICAN FRIENDS, HELPERS AND FOLLOWERS! ”

WED. 22ND NOV. FROM DIVISIA KM 213 TO FLORIDA NIGHT CLUB! NEAR PENENOME KM 154 = 59KM TODAY……

 MOSTLY GOOD WEATHER BUT PRETTY HOT AROUND NOON. RAN A LOT ON OPPOSITE SIDE OF ROAD AS THERE WERE A LOT OF SHADY TREES. 3 DAYS IN A ROW NOW I FINNISHED VERY STRONG cOMMUTE BACK TO AGUADULCE. AM STAYING IN THE CIVIL PROTECTION COMPOUND, GREAT PEOPLE. THEY HAVE OFFERED TO SEND MY BACKPACK ONTO THEIR OFFICE IN LA CHORRERA WHERE I EXPECT TO BE IN 2 DAYS TIME, SO THAT MEANS NO DOUBLE COMMUTE TO COLLECT BAGS, I CAN RUN FROM DOOR TO DOOR! I WANT TO ARRIVE IN PANAMA CITY (PC) ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON. SO I NEED ANOTHER COUPLE OF MASSIVE DAYS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY!

HERE IS MY ROUTE TO PANAMA CITY.. PRESS  HERE

MY FRIEND STEPHEN COLLECTED MY NEW SPOT TRACKER FROM A DEALERSHIP THIS MORNING, FOR ME TURNING THIS ON WILL BE LIKE TURNING ON THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!

TUESDAY 22ND FROM GALVISON TO DIVISA = 56KM TOTAL = 13,902KM FOR 319 ROAD DAYS.

MONDAY 21ST FIRST LOG ON IN 5 DAYS. AND THEY ARE CLOSING UP! TOTAL IS NOW

13, 846KM FOR 318 ROAD DAYS.

51KM TODAY, MONDAY FINISHED 22KM WEST OF SANTIAGO IN PLACE CALLED GALVISON OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!

I KEPT UP MY 50KM IN EVERY COUNTRY, EXCEPT IRELAND RECORD WITH 51 TODAY. I STILL GOT THE STOMACH BUG, ONE WEEK NOW!

THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND THE LADS WORKING ON THE WEBSITE ISSUES FOR ME!

TONY

WEDNESDAY 16TH NOVEMBER  13,579KM RUN TO DATE.

Panama: FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PANAMA CLICK  HERE

Canoas (Costa Rica border town),David,El Piro,Santiago,Aguadulce,Rio Hato,Panama City,Chepo,Torti,Santa Fe,Meteti,Yaviza.

The road runs out at Yaviza because of the Darien Gap jungle.

For some amazing stuff on the Darien Gap please read this HERE

It will be necessary to get a ferry or a flight from Panama to Colombia. My aim is to run around the world. I cannot go further than Yaviza unless Iwant to spend a month in the off season bushwhacking my way walking and taking ferries. That would not be running around the world. There is nothing I can do about this this is why I am resuming from Necocli, Colombia as it is further north than Yaviza, Panama.

I expect to be in Colombia in about 3 weeks or so.

ON THE MAP BELOW PLEASE SCROLL A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT TO SEE MY PLANNED STARTING POINT IN COLOMBIA, NECOCLI, WHICH OF COURSE WILL BE THE START OF SOUTH AMERICA !

CLICK  HERE FOR MAP AND DETAILS OF MY PANAMA ROUTE.

HI ALL

SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES LATELY.

I AM ABSOLUTELY BOGGED DOWN WITH ISSUES. 2 WITH SPOT.

THEY HAVE DECIDED TO GIVE ME MY REPLACEMENT IN PANAMA CITY WHICH IS ABOUT 450KM OR A WEEK AND A HALF AWAY FROM WHERE I AM NOW IN A CITY CALLED ” DAVID ”

I ALSO MENTIONED A FEW DAYS AGO THAT THE LOVELY GOOGLE MAP IS ABOUT TO BE PULLED BY THEM AS THEIR OPERATING SYSTEMS HAVE CHANGED.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF FRIENDS WORKING ON THIS FOR ME BUT MAY NEED MORE HELP AND IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO CHANGE THE MAP FROM A GOOGLE MAP TO ANOTHER TYPE OF MAP. THE MORE HELP THE MERRIER.

THERE ARE MANY OTHER THINGS GOIMG ON. TONIGHT JUST LIKE LAST NIGHT I HAVE BEEN ON THE COMPUTER FOR 5 HOURS BEFORE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO PULL UP MY OWN SITE!

MANY THANKS TO GREG HAVELY FOR HIS HELP WITH COMMUNICATING ON MY BEHALF WITH SPOT!

JUST QUICKLY,

MONDAY 14TH I RAN 36KM TO THE INTERNATIONAL PENSION WHERE I STAYED JUST 2KM INSIDE PANAMA JUST PAST PASO CANOAS. I CROSSED FROM COSTA RICA TO PANAMA, MY 10TH COUNTRY ON THIS WORLD RUN.

TUES 15TH I HAD A STOMACH BUG PROB DUE TO A DODGY KEBAB AT THE BORDER ON MONDAY! I ONLY MANAGED 12KM AS I HAD AN ENERGY CRISIS AND THE FINAL STRAW WAS WHEN THE TORRENTIAL RAIN CAME!

WED 16TH STILL HAD THE BUG BUT NOT AS BAD AND RAN 36KM TO THIS TOWN DAVID. IT WAS HERE THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO START MY TRIAL RUN FOR THIS WORLD RUN IN 2002 AS MENTIONED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. PLEASE SEE THE GENESIS OF THE WORLD JOG.

TONIGHT AND LAST NIGHT I AM STAYING WITH A MAN CALLED NORMAN. NORMAN IS FROM COVENTRY IN ENGLAND AND HAS BEEN LIVING HERE FOR 10 YEARS. HE IS VERY KIND AND HELPFUL TO ME. IT HAS BEEN GREAT TO EAT HEAVILLY BUTTERED SPUDS AND TETLEYS TEA! I HAVE ALSO HAD A MUCH NEEDED CHANCE TO UPDATE MY MUSIC COLLECTION…ITS AMAZING HOW YOU GET THRU 5 DAYS OF MUSIC, SO LOOKING FORWARD TO SOME NEW TUNES.

ANYWAY JUST GOING BACK TO THAT TRIAL RUN THAT I MENTIONED IT WAS IN 2002 WHEN I LIVED IN COLORADO THAT I SPENT A COUPLE OF WEEKS TRAVELLING DOWN TO DAVID, SELECTED BECAUSE IT WAS JUST INSIDE PANAMA, THE FIRST CITY. IT COULD HAVE BEEN PANAMA CITY ITSELF.

YOU MAY REMEMBER I DID NOT GET TO RUN THAT CIRCA 3,000KM/2,000MILE ” RECONNAISSANCE RUN ” AS I CALLED IT. I WAS NOT TOO FAR FROM HERE. IN CIUDAD NEILLY WHERE I RAN THRU ON MONDAY. I MENTIONED THAT I GOT OUT OF THE BUS AT THE WRONG PLACE THINKING I WAS AT THE BORDER TOWN OF PASO CANOAS. I ENDED UP STAYING IN CIUDAD NEILLY. I FELL INTO ONE OF THOSE HORRENDOUS OPEN DRAINS THAT THEY HAVE HERE AND ENDED UP WITH PLANTAR FACITIAS.

PF IS VERY SORE, ESP THE FIRST 2 WEEKS WHEN IT IS SO PAINFUL.

I ACTUALLY SAT OR MORE CORRECTLY LAY IN A VERY POSH HOTEL CALLED THE GRAND SOMETHING OR OTHER FEELING DEPRESSED AND SO SORRY FOR MYSELF. I DRANK MY SELF SILL AT THE TIME. ON MONDAY I THINK I RECOGNISED THE DRAIN AND PERHAPS THE HOTEL I STAYED IN THAT FATEFUL NIGHT IN CIUDAD NEILLY.

IT WAS A BITTER SWEET AFTERNOON I SPENT THERE, IN A WAY A REMINISE.

THIS WAS, THOUGH UNKNOWING TO ME THE TURNING POINT OF MY ULTRA RUNNING CAREER.

IT WAS QUIET POSSIBLE THAT HAD I NOT HAD THAT INJURY THAT I WOULD HAVE STAYED IN COLORADO, WHO KNOWS TILL PROBABLY JUST BEFORE THIS WORLD RUN, I DON’T REALLY KNOW.

INSTEAD I FOUND MYSELF FORCED TO RETURN TO IRELAND FOR TREATMENT. THIS IS TYPICALLY A 4/6 MONTH PROCESS TO RECOVER FROM PF. BY THIS TIME I WAS BACK IN THE FLIGHT OF THINGS IN IRELAND AS THE ” CELTIC TIGER WAS IN FULL SWING ”

I HAD SOME GOOD PEOPLE AROUND ME AND MY ULTRARUNNING CAREER BLOSSOMED.

I REALLY DOUBT IF I WOULD HAVE BROKEN THE WORLD 48 HOUR INDOOR TRACK RECORD IN BRNO IN 2007  HAD I NOT RETURNED. ALSO THOSE TREADMILL RECORDS. SO AS THEY SAY EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING AND THEN THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD WALK, OR RATHER RUN AWAY FROM COMPETITION THEN, SO THIS DELAYED MY DEPARTURE TILL I FELT I COULD GO NO FURTHER IN COMPETITION.

NOW IT’S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO STOP AND TAKE A BREAK TO RUN FOR FUN AND NOT HAVE A JAPANESE RUNNER BREATHING DOWN MY BACK WITH OVER 400KM IN THE LATTER MOMENTS OF A 48 HOUR RACE.

IT WAS ALWAYS FUN, EVEN THEN WHEN IT WAS DEADLY SERIOUS, BUT SOMEHOW I AM ENJOYING THIS DREAM MORE!

IT’S NOW AFTER 1AM SO I GOT TO GET SOME  SLEEP! THIS WAS A VERY RUSHED POSTING, I AM SORRY, I STILL HAVE PLANS ON HOW I CAN CATCH UP. I KNOW I HAVE WRITTEN NOTHING ABOUT NICARAGUA AND LITTLE ABOUT COSTA RICA BUT I GOT MY NOTES..

ANYONE GOT ANY GOOD CLASSIC ROCK ON THEIR COMPUTERS PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE, I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF!

total to date. 13,495km.

Sun 13Th Nov. 53Km finish in Rio Claro, 34km from Panama.

Sat. 12Th 34 km. Finish 7km east of Palmar Niorte.

Fri 11th Nov update…13,508km run in 308 road days. About 140km from Panama.

Fri Nov 11th 2011, From Domical to Ojochal 34km. I planned to run 14km more but the rain was so torrential that I stopped at a hotel called Adelante Hotel. On the way I remembered that Ireland were playing Estonia in a vital Euro Championships play off soccer match.

Nov 10th 2011 from Roncador to Domical. 37km Slept in local restaurant/bar. Rained a lot last hour. Drying my clothes is a major problem for me now. Every morning I pull on damp clothes. I figure it will be cooling anyway as its hot by 6.30am.

Nov 9th From Parrita to Roncador. 36km, still on route 34. Very late start after a crazy commute and lots of time lost. Ran well with pack.

Daniel at the Restaurant Club Roncador brought out a mattress and blankets for me to sleep in the back of the restaurant. Thanks Daniel and staff.

Yeah Mangan, who’s doin yer talking!

I had a couple of days over the last weekend when I actually asked myself if I was enjoying myself as much as I should be. If I was surely everyone was right and I needed a couple of screws tightened. What with sweat  dripping down my body like a slow tap running as I ran in blisterin heat, circumstances and lack of time forcing me to run right through the hottest time  of the day. I wondered if it was a mistake sending Nirvana onto Buenos Aries, Argentina when I have another friend in Equador that offered to take delivery  of her and obviously  nearer than BA.

You see I am having serious trouble running with my pack in this heat. When I experimented with this in Mexico I coped reasonably well.. But just like pushing Nirvana in the first days  of the expedition, when I was so fresh  that I could push her with just one  finger Well these things are compounding, compounded effort leads to serious fatigue.. Right now I am running myself into the ground.

There were days when running with the pack that I felt as strong as a horse then the following day it was a long slow  plod..

Perhaps other factors came into play here, like not enough sleep , nutrition, recovery time due to the commute  I mentioned a couple of weeks ago.

My total baggage was about 4 and a half kilos. Now its about 2, I will explain later in this posting.

If you remember I  mentioned  a couple of weeks ago that I finished my days running that without a support vehicle I had devised a system of commuting back and forth to my previous days finishing location. Sometimes this worked like a peach for example it I was running along the highway and a bus came towards me going back in the direction my hotel or place I left my bag… Life is easy I could just stop it and the next day continue running  from the  previous kilometer marker..

Well, that was not as easy as it sounds as many bus drivers  simply didn’t stop for the gringo on the roadside.. Best to finish in a town and besides if I finish on the road in the middle of nowhere that’s  exactly where  I  have to return to the very  next day, to continue running towards the town but then with a heavy pack. Also a 45km commute can sometimes take a long time..

Sometimes I think I must suspend the ‘ eternal optimist ‘ in favour of the realist.

I have since heard another reason  the bus drivers  don’t stop is the perceived language barrier, they just couldn’t be bothered.

Last night I waited an hour and a half for my bus from where I finished running  in Parrita to where my hotel is in Jaco, where  I finished on Sunday.. This is crazy, a total of nearly three hours including travel and a 25 minute walk from the bus stop.. I try to be accepting of this, listening to my music, but there is a limit as I need to rest,eat and recover as best as I can, also this is one ot the reasons my blog is suffering due to my lack of time.

At the end of every day I am wiped out. And for a man that never had any trouble getting up in the mornings, now I often hit the snooze button for over two hours before somehow managing to venturing out of bed.

ONE AFTER 909

Don’t get me wrong the motivation is still cast iron, I’m just more tired. some days I feel as though I’m in the 40th hour of a 48 hour race again.

I mentioned in the log that at the end of Sundays run I discovered this lovely hotel, The Beatles Hotel owned by Roberto. Roberto is a very decent person. At first he told me the beautiful spacious luxurious suite I am staying in now would be $50 a night! A bargain for the large amount of gringos here but out of my league. I told him about the world run and it didn’t take me long to bargain the Beatles fanatic down to $20, still a bit steep for me but I am delighted with it and felt I deserved it.

Much of this extra comfort is due to the recent increased support from my main sponsor, many thanks to THE NORTH POLE MARATHON

Roberto is such a kind soul that I am sure I could have bargained him down further, but I didn’t have the nerve!

I looked around at the pictures of the Fab Four who he calls Los 4 Grandes.

Yes the Abbey Road pedestrian crossing, The White Album

Thank you Roberto you were there for me when I needed HELP!

All this while Roberto joked with me and his receptionist, the conflictingly named Priscilla (as in Presley)

THE LOVELY PRECILLA

So YESTERDAY before commuting back I said to myself ” How about a rest day Tony, you have not had one in two weeks? ” Yes I know it was A HARD DAYS NIGHT

After all Roberto is such a decent man I know he won’t mind me taking a second night.

I told myself at the start of year two that there were too many rest days last year and this year I will need to ‘ get the finger out! ‘ I now plan less rest days and less daily distance, afterall, rest days are for wimps

Actually I rarely plan them,I just take them when a ‘ gift horse ‘ arrives, like this one or the many lovely places I stayed at in Mexico.

Time to GET BACK!

I had great plans for today, no not lying on the sands of the glorious Jaco beach, only a block away. I have never availed  of even one facility when given a discount or comp.hotel. Nor was I gonna TWIST AND SHOUT.

So what was I going to do?

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET

Sorry for this torture!

I figured on doing two huge things…

Time to get back to being a PAPERBACK WRITER!

Yes I would spend about 8 or 9 hours in an internet cafe  and catch up on the blog, yes that would surely PLEASE PLEASE ME!

Well the great day dawned and

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER!

Ah! Tony

TELL ME WHY

And if I told you,

IF I FELL out of bed and into the internet cafe, that would  be a lie. Why do you lie and cry to me,as they say.. I’LL CRY INSTEAD.

I rambled down to Subway and had a foot long sub! Or 35 cm as they are known as here. Hey one reason I’m metric! Also had an apple  pie and four coffees! The whole morning gone..

Back to  checking emails, hungry again, lunchtime.

I stopped at the supermarket for the ingredients for my 4 course lunch. AND I LOVE HER!

WHEN I GET HOME

I am called into action with my favorite meal. No Tony, you are no childrens role model..

For my starter  I tucked into a half kilo bag of crisps, or chips as my American friends call them. Biscuits or even cookies for the main course.

My pharmacist and general health advisor Greg tells me to lay off Coca Cola, so I pull a fast one and wash it all down with a 3 liter bottle of Pepsi Cola

I ME MINE

Along with a 250 ml tub of ice cream. At this point I am a bit peeved off as I discover a refrigerator in my room and I could have bought e world runner tub size and not this little girl size

No tip to the waiter. He forgot the chocolate

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, yes SOMETHING makes me wonder if running around the world is an excuse for gluttony AND I LOVE HER!

So, what about the important things and I am thinking ANY TIME AT ALL.

I do what I do best, waste time..

I rush back to the supermarket, grab a cardboard box, get some tape, marker and a scissors from the lovely and agreeable Pricilla. Lash 2 and a half kilos of my gear that I don’t need… Or have found a way to survive without. What do I need a towel or hat for when I have a bandana! I will do a posting on (what’s left of) my equipment list and how every single item has to earn its keep.. How if I saw the end off anything else, toothbrush,comb,razor…well I will need to start carying a saw around with me Also gone is the nail clippets, back to being a child by biting my big toenail off, or even borrowing s scissors.

YOU CANT DO THAT!

Yes and TELL ME WHY.

I rush down to the post office catching them minutes  before they close. 

Yes I posted more than half my baggage home and instantly felt a huge weight off my shoulders, I apologize for  that pun!

Yes my arms were sore just carrying my parcel  to the post office.

CANT BUY ME LOVE!

Back at the Beatles Hotel Prisilla is trying to load me up spare pens and notepads.. Ah! Now if you keep this up I will start calling this place

HEARTBREAK HOTEL.

Gotta watch my weight The equipment I mean, not the calories.

So now hopefully I can run from door to door easier and less commuting. I mean the hotel or place I finish at I will continue the next day :

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.

Tomorrow I will return to where I finished on Monday… The LOVELY parRITA.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD..that leads from door to door.

Later I played my rarely played Beatles songs and wondered what Roberto would have reacted, had he bern here.

I’LL BE BACK!