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Archive for April, 2012

IMPORTANT LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FOR RUNNERS PLANNING TO RUN ACROSS A DESERT.

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

TUESDAY AND WEDNESS REST DAYS AS I GOT TO MAKE A SIDE TRIP TO LIMA. NOT SURE ABOUT THURSDAY.

TOTAL TO DATE AS OF MONDAY APRIL 29= 17,808KM/11,065 MILES (MILES ARE APPROX) FOR 424 ROAD DAYS.

PERU DAILY LOG HAS BEEN UPDATED PRESS HERE TO VIEW DAILY DISTANCES

Monday 30 April2012 Today a good 43km from km 196 to km 153 in Huaura.

Sunday 29th another wonderful day, I finished strong and ran 54km and allong the way some of my fastest kms in over a year 5:40s and many sub 6. readers will know I dont mind pace a lot but its still exciting after the energy crises in the Andes. Tomorrow Monday last day in desert and then its back to the mountains on route 18 towards Cuzco

SATURDAY I RAN A WONDERFUL 46KM FEELING REALLY STRONG AS THE MOUNTAINS ARE OUT OF THE LEGS,. THAT GAVE ME A WONDERFUL CONFIDENCE BOOST FOR THE FUTURE

I am enjoying the desert. Will be out of it in a few days. Meeting really wonderful people. Sunday after running I expect to make a side trip to Lima for a couple days. Then it´s back to the mountains! > PS JUST FOUND OUT MON AND TUES ARE HOLIDAYS HERE ( FEAST OF THE IMMICULATED CHICKEN ) SO MORE THAN LIKELY I WILL LEAVE THIS TILL TUES EVENING. THIS KIND OF THING IS TYPICAL HERE WHEN ONE WANTS TO DO URGENT BUSINESS THATS WHY I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF ARRIVING ON THUR OR FRIDAY. SIMPLE TASKS IN LATIN AMERICA CAN TAKE DAYS!

I tell you Hollywood movies have a lot of answering to do! They will show us visions of snakes everywhere.. Naw, only see about one a month. You call those snakes? Bare footed asparagus pickers spit them out for breakfast, real men!

YOU CALL THOSE SNAKES TONY? WE SPIT THEM OUT FOR BREAKFAST

Yes you read that right. Asparagus growing in the north Peru desert where the only rainfall is from June to August.

Then they will show you visions of a poor hapless wanderer on hands and knees crawling along through sand dunes on all fours.

No need to buddy just get in your car and drive!

But this is the desert are there roads? Sure and they are built in record time… You just flatten out the road and throw some tarmac on it.

But how do you flatten out the road?

That’s the easy part… You just become elected mayor of your oasis town get in a truck with a giant speaker and tell the assembled townsfolk that there is a chicken ban for a full week. Then you drive off followed by the pounding crowds of enraged citizens.

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! HEAR YE! WE HAVE FROZEN THE CHICKEN TILL YOU LAY THE ROAD

So Are they slacking up? Not doing a good enough job for the engineer? Well you just up a couple of gears by shouting into your speaker its going to be a full chicken less month.

NO MORE CHICKEN

This should compact the sand even more.. Still the engineer is not happy? Well go into full gear and tell the angry pounding mob it’s going to be a year, a whole 365 days without chicken and to make things worse this is a leap year. Then tell them all they got to do is throw some tarmac on the trail and you will change your mind.

But you could always drive in the sand? Why would you do that when all you got to do is pay your tolls?

PAY YOUR TOLLS OR YOU DRIVE ON THE SAND!

Then Hollywood throws up visions of said bewildered wanderer gasping for water!

Why would he do that when all he has to do is throw a bottle out a window while commuting?

WATER DELIVERY, THE ONLY HOT DRINK IN PERU IT SEEMS!

I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others.. Not my own, so please listen up to this especially if you are planning to crawl, run or walk across your nearest desert in the near future..

Please read this carefully as I will only say it once.

Yes and the famous mirage? Is that really ice cream?

When you are crawling through your local desert please have your money ready BEFORE you stop the ice cream man because if you don’t, well the ice cream will rapidly melt while you are fumbling for change because the vendor will have an outstretched ice cream dripping hand. If you do not want to lick the back of his hand off you will just have to buy a second ice cream. Serious lesson here.

A MIRRAGE?NO MIRRAGE! MEET JULIO HE WORKS THE DESERT SHIFT FROM 10AM TILL 4PM AND THEN CYCLES HOME! JULIO,JULIO.. WHERE ARE YOU GONE?

I GUESS HE JUST WENT TO WASH HIS HAND AFTER BEING LICKED SO MUCH?

Do you think I could learn from this serious act of carelessness?

No, not all all, 50 metres further on up the road I stopped at a shop… Yes a shop in the desert. Hollywood will really hate me after this

So what did I buy after my ice cream? I bought of all things CHOCOLATE! And yes before I could pay it was melted.. The last one in the shop.

CHOCOLATE CRAVINGS, I JUST CAN'T GET GOING TODAY!

So Please, please learn from the mistakes of others, not your own mistakes before setting out on your next desert toddle.

THE WANDERER

THAT'S THE PACIFIC OCEAN IN THE BACKGROUND

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ALMOST HEAVEN, OLMOS NORTH PERU, COCKROACH HEAVEN.

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Still in northern Peru I moved to a strange town called Olmos on Good Friday as my new base.

Strange town indeed, Olmos is far from Olmost functioning!

Olmost Heaven, north Peru! No Olmost ready to hold the Cockroach Olympics! Honestly I have never seen so many in all my life. The bastards jumping onto my shoes and running up my legs as I walked through the town of sorts for three nights looking for an internet connection. No service I was told night after, no signal. It seemed there were no lights in half of the town as the place had a dark glow to it at night.

There were 3 hotels in town. One that looked like a nice clean one but unfortunately was closed for the holidays. A second which was full and mine where I secured the last bed in a place I called Cockroach Hell!

They were running under a gap under the door, onto the bed, up the walls. I sprayed the place with my insect repellent but only with limited success. I became good at aiming my shoe and knocking the slimey pests into la la land!

To make things worse I was directly across from the bathroom which had a toilet that overflowed and didn’t flush down properly. So you can only imagine the stench of it. Running is the easy part.

The shower was so filthy that I just had body washes in the sink for the 3 nights I was there. Yes I remember my athletes feet problems from Nicaragua. No matter how light I travel I will always pack my shower flip-flops. I don’t know why I didn’t take a single picture in the town.

This blocked toilet issue was a huge problem in Central America. I never mentioned it in the blog but most times in cafes, restaurants and smaller hotels when one went there was no water to flush it.Ofen no water to wash hands. The etiquette is to fill up a bucket from a water barrel outside and to pour it down the toilet.

I don’t know why so many Latinos have a problem with connecting up pipes, which just about anyone with a maintenance mind can sort out in any other part of the world. There is a huge laziness streak here, a manana mentality. Ah it will do till tomorrow, now go away and let me watch the football or a ‘ we got talent ‘ show. Sometimes there is a water supply as there is water in the sink but not for the toilet.

As I mentioned before it does not seem to be the culture to complain about bad service, they just put up with it. I have been in Latin America for about ten months now and have yet to see anyone hand back food for being too cold or for some other reason. I am always doing it here. In this town at a burger joint I handed back the same plate of fries back three times till they were heated enough! The next night they improved as I had to only hand it back twice. Now stone cold potatoes or fries or rice may be the culture to some but if the customer specifically request it hot… what is the problem? Coffee and soups are always on the cold side of luke-warm.

One place refused to heat coffee up for me and they were charging a dollar for the coffee. I think a dollar is a lot for a coffee from a roadside shack in Peru. I remember how the women in Guatemala were out selling small bags of pineapple slices for just a few cents from early morning till after dark. And here it seems that once they get a licence for a shack in a corner of a village that they can do whatever they like! I have no problem with people earning a decent living but in a country that has an average wage of $400 a month I am amazed that a pizza costs the same here as in the USA and many other items like shampoos are even more expensive.

Anyway that Good Friday I crossed the plaza and am not exaggerating there were thousands of dead cockroaches and just as many cannibal cockroaches all over the plaza and no sign of any city maintenance services. They just crawled in and out of pharmacies and banks, people just treated them like pets. How come that a few kilometres down the road there are none? I pity the poor people that have to live here, I can just run out anytime I like.

There are many small towns and villages all over Latin America which are barely functioning. A mayor in another country told me that this is often due to corruption. In his town the previous mayor just put the money in his pocket. When he became mayor, suddenly the whole town was cleaned up and painted. Crime then went down. Why are people not marching and protesting about the open drains, broken side walks, bridges, rubbish all over the country. I can understand people burning trash if there is no collection. But I wonder why children are not taught about littering in schools, after all if they can learn the rules of football, surely this is not beyond them?

Many police officers in much of northern Peru stop cars and search the passengers bags for anything that looks ’ finable ‘ the people just pay up, usually a couple of soles, just less than a dollar. On much of my commuting in the area I have noticed drivers getting out and reaching for a few coins. I have seen the coins handed over. Then the driver drives off and gives other drivers a hand up signal telling them they have to pay a fine a bit further on. It’s just accepted, like a toll. No wonder there is so much petty crime on this coast. This is one of the reasons police forces around the world are paid a decent wage.

Mexico and Colombia, though still not perfect fired a lot of the corrupt police and hired more honest cops. It has always been very tough for the cops that wanted to be straight there as they were often threatened by gangsters with violence against their families. The saying always was…

’ So what do you want… Lead or silver? ‘

I went out to the highway to commute back to where I finished the day before. Really I should have taken a rest day as there was little traffic. Eventually a man brought me ten kilometres back down the road. I was a bit worried about getting stuck there in no mans land until a truck driver called Julio came along. The next 35km took an hour and a half as he crawled along up the short steep hills, stopping a couple of times due to his truck engine over heating. One of these times we stopped in a restaurant, so I bought the refreshments. Eventually I made it to my start at km 158. I managed only 12 kilometres before I had to head back, that’s what I mean, I would have been better to have taken a rest day. I got a lift back from a very nice couple, I did not catch his name but his wife’s name was Carmella. They had a sheep in the back of their Toyota Corolla which was asleep.

A few time it awoke up wailing as if having a nightmare, almost like a child screaming. I got the fright of my life every time it wailed. The couple just laughed their heads off telling me they were going to eat it.

CARMELLA AND HER HUSBAND

For tradition reasons, not religious reasons I don’t eat meat on Good Friday, don’t ask me why, I figure it’s only one day in the year. I would have thought it would have been the same here in a religious country like Peru, but no the poor chicken doesn’t even get a break on Good Fridays! To keep things simple I told the hamburger seller I was a vegetarian and didn’t eat meat! That I just wanted a veggie burger and fries with an egg. If I was really a vegetarian I would have been sickened as she cooked the egg smacking it up against someone else’s chicken pattie while using the same utensils.

The next day I returned telling her I was not a vegetarian anymore!

The third day operating out of Olmos I ran a glorious 50km enjoying every step of the way, well I tired at the end but it was still great.

That was Easter Sunday. I awoke in Cockroach Hell to Easter Sunday mass from the Vatican. The television was blaring at 6am from a room just up the corridor from me. This was the same television which was blaring porn just a few hours before, a lot of double standards here.

This is something else about the culture in Latin America, the constant blaring of music and televisions at anti-social hours or even at anytime, almost as if they want everyone to hear what they are listening to. Not to mention car and truck horns for almost no reason.

When I was on the road today a pick up truck with a speaker that even Iron Maiden would call excessive was blaring out an advertisement for a store in Olmos that sells ‘ lovely water ‘

There were four of them in the pickup driving up and down the road, one on a laptop, the driver, motor mouth, and another man. They drove by me about four times shattering my ear drums. Eventually I turned around and said…

” Hey I got ‘ lovely water too! ”

And sprayed them with my water bottle! They said nothing!

HEY I GOT LOVELY WATER TOO!

Thank God I am out of here tomorrow. My next base will be Chicalayo. With a name like that I have visions of chickens laying eggs on the highway!

Before leaving here I saw a mototaxi as the motorcycle rickshaws are called here with a sheep tied to the rear luggage carrying rack. It was not obviously secured properly as the poor sheeps head was almost touching the ground having a painful shave as the mototaxi sped along. I saw a young lad running after the mototaxi.

MOTOTAXI. I HAVE SEEN THESE FOR SALE BRAND NEW FOR $2,200. I WAS IN ONE THAT HAD 7 OTHER PASSENGERS. THEY ARE ALSO USED FOR TRANSPORTING HUGE LOADS OF CARGO AROUND SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

He looked like he was just out walking and took up the chase. This was the fastest I have seen anyone run in about two years. Fair play to him I hope he caught up as they were soon out of my view.

Yes I am delighted to be out of Cockroach Heaven, Olmos Hell.

And finally I wish a very happy birthday to my mam Sheila who taught me my first steps and is celebrating her birthday on Monday 23rd April.

I love you mam and dedicate my Peru Desert crossing to you.

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BIRTHDAY IN THE PERU DESERT

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

I AM TAKING A REST DAY/OFFICE DAY TODAY SATURDAY 21ST.

THE PERU DAILY LOG HAS BEEN UPDATED. PRESS HERE TO VIEW DETAILS OF EVERY DAY SO FAR IN PERU.

I STILL GOT SOME CATCHING UP ON THE BLOG BUT THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BLOG THIS NOW.

*******************************************************************************************************

April 20th I woke up early. I had wanted to make an early start but like so many days it’s so hard getting out of bed. It was 4am.
I love what I am doing running around the world, I got to treat this like a job, like a professional otherwise it wont get done.
No matter how much I love this it doesn’t get any easier.
Now I am a year older. I was asleep when the clock struck my 55th birthday. This is my second on the road. Last year I took a rest day in Telluride, Colorado. Next year I should be in Australia, then the following one close to Europe. Two down and two to go, looks like I am making progress on this crawl around the world.
I lay in bed for another two hours and when daylight shone through I looked out my hotel bedroom window, out across the glorious promenade over at the beach. I had first sighted the Pacific coast about four days ago.

: THE VIEW FROM MY HOTEL BEDROOM WINDOW

Yes it would be nice to take a rest day but then I remembered how I had dreamt of getting into the hard-core part of this run, I had dreamt of this for over twenty years. I gotta spend at least one birthday on the road, the road of dreams. So it has to be today.

Yesterday I finished at a shop in Choa, just before kilometre 501. The lady there had told me that the next village was about 30km away. I asked if the buses stopped between the villages on the road. No she had told me. The drivers are afraid to stop to pick up passengers.
A late start and an energy sapping hot, humid desert run. 18km was all I had to show for that day. The nice lady in the shop had given me two bottles of water and refused payment. As I was packing away my sun protection gear, my sleeves, bandana, desert hat, gloves I felt like Batman making a costume change. Just about everyone, especially the children continue to stare and laugh, like I am a clown.

It is normal for security guards to follow me around supermarkets when I arrive wearing my costume of bulging pockets. Even some shop attendants jump out from behind their counters to see what I want, and sometimes I don’t even know what I want myself, just something sweet.
So I commuted the 66km back from my hotel in Chimbote back to the shop this morning. Unfortunately the nice lady was not there, she had asked me how old I was. Then when I asked her if she meant today or tomorrow, we laughed and she had wished me a happy birthday, I don’t know if that’s why she had given me the water.
Peru is the first country I am buying water in. I am told that unlike all the other 12 countries I have run across that the locals don’t drink the water. The water pipes are infected. Unfortunately Peru is also the dirtiest and most polluted country on the run. That’s a story for another blog posting.
Another late start and the next village of sorts where I can expect a bus to stop at days end is about 45km away.
Right from the start it was a hot humid slog, this desert running is tough stuff. To my left and right there are dozens of sand dunes and mountains in the distance. The road I am running is almost flat. I was told this was a lonely, quiet road! Well not exactly, there are almost as many trucks here as in Colombia.
I still got my two metre shoulder. I need it as the headwind and the trucks are blowing me back onto the gravel and sometimes even into the sand.

I KEEP GETTING BLOWN ONTO THE GRAVEL BY THE STRONG HEADWIND AND TRUCKS

At least when it was windy it gave me a break from the hot sun. Trucks keep blowing my desert hat off, eventually I put my headphones over it, that keeps the hat on.
After 3km I meet Martin from eastern Germany.

MARTIN FROM GERMANY

Martin has just started a short cycling trip from Lima to Venezuela, about three months. We chat for about fifteen minutes. He asks me if there are any restaurants or shops in Viru. He has a decent map which he brought from Germany. He is surprised when I tell him there is a small town only 3 km away, not on his map. This doesn’t surprise me at all, Latin America seems to have gotten a raw deal when the map Gods where creating them. I don’t bother with them as most of my routes are just straight ahead. When it gets a bit complicated I just make a quick sketch with the aid of Google maps for about a week on the road, confirming it when I am online. Besides you cant get them here, the last map stand I saw was in Mexico City.

THERE IS SOME IRRIGATION IN PLACES. I CAME ACROSS SOME SUGAR CANE FARMS AND A VINEYARD!

The going is really tough now, real energy sapping stuff. I drink frequently and pee fairly clearly almost as much. I am also taking High 5 Zero Salts electrolyte hydration tabs. Other than whacked I am feeling on top of things and there are no danger signs. I am carrying a waterbottle in each hand and a couple more in my satchel, plus 3 small 200ml bottles in my pockets.

I don’t know what the temperature is, I guess the high 30′s C, it doesn’t matter that’s just a number, the humidity is the real killer.

On I go and within that first 16km I have picked up a couple of bottles of water I placed by kilometre markers yesterday.

’ Placed ‘ not exactly what I did, I threw them from the bus window when commuting from Chimbote. When I do this I like to get on my running side of the bus right at the back and throw discreetly.The problem with this method was trying to place them accurately as the bus sped down the desert highway. Lesson learned here is to tape the caps on as some cracked or just popped off on impact with a rock or hard gravel. I then wrote down on a piece of paper which kilometre markers I did that at, also the bottles location in relation to the km marker, left, right, behind etc. More important when there is grass around but here it’s just sand so they were easy to see. It’s tough and challenging to run around the world without a support vehicle!

I was getting ready to do this last week when I saw a woman toss wrappers and plastic bottles out of the window. What did I do? I tapped her on the shoulder and asked her why she did that as it was a dirty thing to do! Then I realised what I was about to do!

How could I explain without being a hypocrite? I have made a pact with myself that for every bottle that goes astray, (about 30-40%) or that I cant find that I carry out at least two of someone else’s discarded bottles. Sort of my carbon footprint of sorts.

So after only 16km I decided to finish up for the day, I was worried about spending my birthday sleeping behind a sand dune. Within about fifteen minutes I managed to stop a bus. The driver called Manuel and his young helper Vincent told me they saw me on the road the day before and wondered what I was up to. Surely if drivers are afraid to stop they can see I am no threat, especially if they have seen me running on the road before. Here as in most of Latin America I have had drivers pulling over for me only to take off again. Thankfully these guys had more common sense than other drivers.

They offered me their lunch which I declined. I told Manuel. ” Today is my birthday and tonight I am looking for a big…..”

” Peruvian woman! ” He interupted.

” No more important, I am looking for a big steak restaurant tonight. ” So he got on his mobile phone and called a friend. They recommended a place called Recu Tecu.

MANUEL GETS ON HIS MOBILE LOOKING FOR THE ADDRESS FOR A GOOD STEAK DINNER. THEY OFFERED ME THEIR LUNCH WHILE I SAT IN THE CAB. I GOT ENOUGH FOOD AND WATER IN MY RED SATCHEL.

So after washing all the sand out of my hair I took a taxi over there. Closed! It seems restaurants, at least the plush ones close around 6pm or earlier. I ended up having a nice combo meat grill in a place called Titanic and sunk into my delicious meal. It was not a let down.

Yes it was a Happy Birthday, living my dream.

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QUICK UPDATE/planned route for next couple weeks

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

THIS IS MY PLANNED ROUTE FOR THE NEXT WEEK AND A HALF. PRESS HERE TO VIEW.

I WILL THEN TAKE A QUICK SIDE TRIP TO LIMA HOPEFULLY SUNDAY NIGHT BUS TO ARRIVE ON MONDAY MORNING (30 APRIL) TO PICK UP PACKAGES. I WILL THEN RETURN TO THE EXACT SAME SPOT TO CONTINUE RUNNING TOWARDS CUZCO

Total 17,440km Sorry dont have the road days and details as log book back in hotel. Will update in Peru log soon.

Wed. 50km finish in Viru

Tues 53km Finish in Trujillo

17,337KM TO DATE.

SATURDAY 34KM

SUNDAY 36KM

MONDAY 52KM. TODAY I WAS FLYING, FELT VERY STRONG I FINISHED BETWEEN PAIJAN AND CHOCOPE, THEN COMMUTED BACK TO PACAMAYO.

TOMORROW I HOPE TO REACH TRUJILLO.

EVERYTHING GOING WELL, MET A LOT OF NICE PEOPLE TODAY.

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FIRST DAYS IN NORTHERN PERU

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

I crossed from Ecuador into Peru waving goodbye to the friendly Ecuadorian guards who had just taken my exit photo.
When I asked the Peruvian guard to take an entry photo he declined, can’t do that we provide a service here!
So I asked a gummy man sitting beside him.
” Si 5 dollars Gringo! ”
” No deal ” I replied and also to the bargain deal of one dollar! Eventually a friendly young man took it.

Peru normally issues a 90 day visitors visa. I asked for 120 days and got it no problem.

People often ask me about visas. Well South and Central America are the easiest to obtain after Europe. In Europe by road most of it you just cross from one country to another without any land borders or passport control, just like driving across US state lines.

In Latin America you get the visas at the border, most are free. Australia is not the walkover many people assume, the advice is to apply for a visa before making travel arrangements. Asia is complicated, often you need to get visas from the embassy in a previous country. Other countries have short durations and many restrictions like places you can go, need to apply for the visa in your own home country and then a limited amount of time to activate it. I can make my unbroken lap around the world without going to Africa, just like Asia, problematic, even more so with many borders closed due to neighbouring disputes etc.

I changed some money at the border from a juice seller.

A DELICIOUS JUICE, CHANGE MONEY AND A CHAT BEFORE SETTING OUT ACROSS PERU

It’s always best to know the rate of exchange in advance, preparation is my key word, fail to prepare prepare to fail, same with route and everything else. However I have always found these traders to be honest to the nth degree, I guess they wouldn’t get permits to trade if they weren’t anything but honest or passed on forgeries to unfamiliar travellers.

I am very happy with how things are panning out. 17,000km and so far every single problem has been anticipated and dealt with by the huge amount of planning that went into the run. There may be some issues with the Asian route in two years time, right now I have my friend Greg, a very experienced traveller working on an alternative route just in case.

Australia in a years time is also up for another round of scrutiny very soon. Nothing will be left to chance, no stone unturned.

I had decided to make Las Lomas my first base in Peru as it was just 50km from the border. It would have been nice to have gotten an early start the next day but I didn’t and by the time I returned to the border to start from where I left off it was too late for my 50km that day, I managed just 37, a wasted opportunity that day. I want to run at least one 50km in every country. Except Singapore.. If anyone thinks I am going to make about 5 laps around that small city country, well they got another thing coming!

April Fools Day I finished in a place called Santa Rosa. All the way people kept calling me Gringo and Loco Gringo.
Just a little too much of hissing the Loco and Gringo as they drove by me or as I ran by their houses.
As I write this ten days later I can say very honestly this most northern part of Peru is not one my favourite part of the world. I am not a great fan of the people in this part. It’s always sad to write something like that because no matter where one is in the world there will always be a lot of smiling, friendly people that greet me as I run by their houses or meet them on the road.

EVEN IN UNFRIENDLY PLACES YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND DECENT PEOPLE

I feel when I make a statement that I am not a fan of an area that in many ways I am betraying the good peoples friendliness in that same area. There are only a few places in the world that I have said this about.

They say there are good and bad people everywhere. Usually that statement settles most conversations, but what about percentages? Here there are more rude and unfriendly people than anywhere else on the trip. Before this region I had only encountered two rude people. Now I have lost count. I never felt threatened, just sad for them. I ran on keeping my mouth shut. What’s the point getting into a conversation. Sadly many people here just lack ambition. Perhaps it’s despair. It seems all everyone talks about is getting married, having babies and eating chicken.

A little further south, the insults eased off and I warmed to them again.

There was one day when suddenly the road ran out, about six or seven times! It was more to do with poorly planned infrastructure as the bridges were barely higher than ground level. In some cases it looked to me that they just concreted across river beds instead of building bridges!

A couple of times some of the crossings were just stones piled high and flattened. The man responsible for ‘ constructing ‘ this bridge of sorts then rightly collected tolls!

Once when there was no other way across I took off my shoes and socks and waded through, only ankle deep.

Just as I was putting back on my shoes an ice cream man of all things appeared! A second time I just didn’t bother taking my shoes off.
This was the only day I had this problem. I guess swimming will have to be allowed into the mission statement! I had been thinking that if the bridge situation got more serious that I would have to get a reel of rope from a hardware store, then somehow get it across and tied to a tree or something. And then pull myself across.

ALL BECAUSE THE MAN LOVES ICE CREAM!

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THE SUNDAY TIMES ARTICLE.

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

WELCOME SUNDAY TIMES READERS!

MANY THANKS TO RICHARD OAKLEY,SUNDAY EDITOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES IN IRELAND FOR PENNING A GREAT ARTICLE. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS PIECE FOR A MONTH.

I WAS IMPRESSED BY RICHARDS PATIENCE ALSO HIS PAINSTAKING RESEARCH OF THIS WEBSITE.

NOTE: AFTER DOWNLOADING PLEASE SELECT ZOOM LEVEL THAT BEST SUITS. 100% SEEMS TO BE GOOD.

PRESS Running_Man TO READ RICHARDS ARTICLE IN EASTER SUNDAYS TIMES

ANIMALS ARE A BIG PROBLEM ON THE ROADS IN PERU

THE PERU DAILY LOG HAS BEEN UPDATED TOTAL TO DATE AS OF FRIDAY 13TH! = 17,215 KM FOR 409 ROAD DAYS. FOR FULL DETAILS PLEASE SEE THE PERU DAILY LOG A COUPLE OF POSTS BACK, I HAVE ALSO INCLUDED MY PROPOSED PERU ROUTE MAP AND PERU INFORMATION.

I HAD INTENDED TO PUT A BLOG POSTING IN ADVANCE FOR IRISH FOLLOWERS IF THEY WANTED TO BUY THE PAPER BUT I COULDN’T AS MY BASE IN A PLACE CALLED OLMOS HAD NO INTERNET SERVICE OVER THE WEEKEND.

JUST A SMALL CORRECTION. I AM NOT DOING ANY ‘ ROUGHING IT, SLEEPING UNDER BRIDGES ETC HERE IN SOUTH AMERICA AND MUCH OF CENTRAL AMERICA AS HOTELS ARE MORE AFFORDABLE THAN IN THE USA OR CANADA. I ALSO NEED TO HAVE A BASE TO STORE MY STUFF SAFELY WHEN RUNNING AND COMMUTING AND ALSO FOR REST/RECOVERY AND SAFETY REASONS. MANY FOLLOWERS HAVE SPONSORED THESE NIGHTS AND IT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW YOUR HELP HAS PAID OFF, ALSO WITH YOUR MUCH GRATEFUL HELP I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STAY IN SAFER HOTELS WHERE I DONT RISK MY DOOR LOCK BEING SLIPPED!

MANY THANKS TO ALL.

ALSO FOR ANY NEW FOLLOWERS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES THAT MAY BE WONDERING ” WHY OH WHY! ” I HAVE PROVIDED THIS LINK TO A BLOG I POSTED LAST OCTOBER WHILE RUNNING IN CENTRAL AMERICA

A BIT DATED BUT FOR SOME ANSWERS TO THE WHY QUESTIONS PLEASE CLICK HERE ON Y

A GRAVEYARD

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WELCOME TO HIGH5 SPORTS NUTRITION AS A NEW PRODUCT SPONSOR

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

ON A RUN LIKE THIS. I AM SURE I COULD HAVE PRODUCTS THROWN AT ME LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE HAD I CHOSEN TO!

FREE PRODUCTS DON’T INTEREST ME WHEN THE SUCCESS, SAFETY OF THE RUN ARE AT STAKE, NEED LESS TO SAY MY HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY AND EVEN LIFE DEPENDS ON MY PRODUCTS.

HIGH5 AT THE EQUATOR IN ECUADOR!

AFTER MY PROBLEMS IN THE BAJA DESERT OF MEXICO (DETAILS >>HERE )

I DECIDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON HYDRATION SALTS. I BOUGHT SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES DURING MY DECEMBER TIMEOUT IN IRELAND.

I QUICKLY CAME TO A CONCLUSION THAT HIGH5 ZERO HYDRATION SALTS ARE THE BEST I HAVE EVER TRIED. I HAVE NOT HAD ANY FURTHER DEHYDRATION PROBLEMS SINCE TAKING THEM.

I APPROACHED HIGH5 AND ASKED THEM TO BE A PRODUCT SPONSOR OF THE RUN.

THEY AGREED, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO USING THEIR FANTASTIC PRODUCTS ON THE RUN

Posted in jogging | 4 Comments »

PERU DAILY LOG.

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

CARRYING THE HEAVY BAG INTO PERU.

PERU

PLANNED ROUTE FOR PERU PRESS > HERE

INFORMATION ON PERU PRESS > HERE

HISTORY OF PERU PRESS > HERE

MY ROUTE SO FAR FROM IRELAND AND ACROSS NORTH AMERICA.

I AM NOW IN PERU HAVING RUN THE NORTHERN PORTION OF SOUTH AMERICA. I HAVE RUN ACROSS THE EQUATOR. PLEASE VIEW MY ROUTE SO FAR, WEST AND SOUTH FROM THE FLAG TO MY CURRENT LOCATION IN PERU. MY PROPOSED ROUTE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE RUN IS AS OUTLINED ON THE MAP.

FINISH IN DUBLIN, IRELAND AT THE FLAG. PROPOSED FINISH DATE OCTOBER 28TH 2014.

PLEASE WAIT FOR MAP TO LOAD AFTER PRESSING > HERE TO VIEW.

PERU DAILY LOG.

5TH MAY UPDATE….TOTAL TO DATE: 17,869KM FOR 427 ROAD DAYS.

MAY 5TH 2012. FROM KM 31 ON ROUTE 18 TO KM 46 IN SAYAN THEN TO ROUTE 1NC AT KM 0. AS FAR AS KM 15, NOTE SPOT TRACKER DID NOT UPDATE THIS LAST SEGMENT. 30KM TODAY.

MAY 4TH 2012 FROM KM 153 ON PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY AS FAR AS JUNCTION 18 (EAST TOWARDS MOUNTAINS AND CUZCO) ROAD HAS NO SHOULDER, JUST 2 MTS OF ROCKY,UNEVEN GRAVEL. I RAN FROM KM 0 TO KM 31 = 31 KM TODAY.

MAY 1-3 IN LIMA FOR BUSINESS.INCLUDING PICK UP HEAVY BAG/RESEND TO HUANCAYO, AND PARCEL FROM HOME. ALSO A VISIT TO THE IRISH EMBASSY.

PM MAY 3RD TRAVEL BACK TO ROUTE FOR RESTART TOMORROW INTO THE ANDES TOWARDS CUZCO.

APRIL 30TH 2012. FROM KM 196 TO KM 153 TO FINISH CLOSE TO JUNCTION 18 TOWARDS SAYAN. 43KM TODAY, FELT GOOD, TRAVEL TO LIMA. STAYING IN HOSTAL TROPICAL.

TOTAL 17711 KM FOR 423 ROAD DAYS.

29/4/2012. FROM KM 250 TO KM 196 (BARRANCA CROSSROADS ON PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY) LATE SLUGGISH START AND LATE FINISH. GOT A POLICE ESCORT TO FINISH. 54KM TODAY, GOOD DAY, I MANAGED TO RETRIEVE 3 OF MY 4 WATER DROPS ON THE ROAD,THAT SYSTEM WORKING GREAT! HEAVY TRAFFIC/GOOD SHOULDER. AM NOW 11 DEGREES BELOW THE EQUATOR.

28/4/2012 FROM KM 296 TO KM 250 IN GRAMADAL = 46 KM TODAY. FELT STRONG AFTER A SLUGGISH START.

TOTAL 17,665KM FOR 422 ROAD DAYS.

27/4/2012 FROM KM 330 TO KM 296 = 34KM TODAY. LATE START,AM STRONG THEN PM VERY STRONG SAND STORM SAND BLASTING MY FACE EVEN THOUGH COVERED UP IT STILL GOT IN! ALSO MY LOWER LEGS AND SHOES KEPT FILLING UP, REGRET THROWING AWAY GAITORS!

26/4/2012. FROM KM 364 TO KM 330 = 34KM TODAY. STRONG HEADWIND, HEAVY TRAFFIC.

25/4/2012 FROM KM 401 TO KM 364 = 37KM TODAY, FELT STRONG.

24/4/2012 FROM KM 425 TO KM 401 = 24KM TODAY.

23/4/2012 FROM KM 457 TO KM 425 = 32KM TODAY RAN THRU A SMALL TUNNEL NEAR CHIMBOTE.

22/4/2012… 28KM TODAY..FROM 485 TO KM 457 ON PAN AMERICAN HWY.

TOTAL TO DATE 17,476KM FOR 416 ROAD DAYS.

SAT 21/4/2012 REST/OFFICE DAY IN HOTEL PLAYA, CHIMBOTE.

FRI 20/4/2012. FROM KM 501 ((CHAO) TO KM 485 ON PAN AMERICAN HIGHWAY. ONLY 16KM TODAY. SHORT TOUGH DAY. FINISHED EARLY BECAUSE 1. TOO FAR TO NEXT VILLAGE TO SECURE COMMUTE AND 2. TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY AND I WANTED A TOKEN RUN ON THE ROAD. I HAD THOUGHT ABOUT 55KM FOR 55 YEARS BUT NOT TODAY, I GOT A LIFE!

THURS 19/4/2012. FROM KM 519 IN VIRU TO KM 501 IN CHAO. TOUGH, HOT,HUMID 18KM DAY. STOPPED EARLY AS BUSES FOR MY COMMUTE DONT STOP ON THE ROAD AND TOO FAR TO NEXT VILLAGE AS I HAD A LATE START.

18/4/2012 FROM KM 569 IN TRUJILLO TO KM 519 AT VIRU BRIDGE. TOUGH DAY, A BIT TIRED, I WONDER WHY! TRUCKS AND HEADWIND BLOWING ME OFF THE SHOULDER.OH! AND 50KM TODAY

17/4/2012. TOTAL TO DATE: 17,215 KM FOR 409 ROAD DAYS.

17/42012 FROM KM 622 TO KM 569 IN TRUJILLO = 53KM TODAY. GOOD DAY, LOTS OF STOPS AND VERY LATE FINISH.

16/4/2012 FROM KM 674 IN SAN PEDRO DE LLAC TO KM 622. VERY SLUGGISH START BUT RAN STRONG AFTER 10KM. HOT AND STRONG HEADWIND AT TIMES. 52KM TODAY.

15/4/2012. FROM KM 710 IN CHEPIN TO KM 674 IN SAN PEDRO DE LLAC. 36KM TODAY. REALLY INTO THE DESERT NOW, LOTS OF SAND DUNES.

14/4/2012. FROM KM 744 IN MOCUPE TO KM KM 710 IN CHEPIN. 34KM TODAY, HOT AND TOUGH..WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN THE DESERT

13/4/2012. Friday 13th was a nice day! Entering the desert area, gradually, lots of sand dunes and sand, what else? I could see the ocean to my right. This meant a very nice and cooling but strong headwind. Still nice shoulder, no dogs barked today! Nice people today. Start at yesterdays finish in Reque km 771 and finish at km 744 in Mocupe plaza (where I located another hotel for tomorrow, so will bring my pack to start, nice and neat, wish this would always happen) 27km today. Today I was suffering with dioreah as I have been last couple days! Another late start.

12/4/2012. From km 0 in Lambayeque the road soon rejoined the Pan American highway at km 798. I ran to km 771. Tough day, hot,humid and road was very busy as I ran thru a lot of urban area including Chiclayo city which is a large city. Finished at Reque at km 771, so 27km today, also a late start. Commuted back to Chiclayo but found a nice hotel called Hotel Eden at the finish point so will bring my pack there before and return there tomorrow night, nice and neat, thats why today was a bit short.

11/4/2012. I rested properly today. Got up for breakfast at 8am in hotel and went back to bed at 9am and slept till 3pm

10/4/2012. From km 40 to km 0 in Lambayeque. 40km, a decent day, commute to new bace in Chicalayo 8km away. Hot. Very nice hotel Hotel Kalu. Clean,plush,secure bargained from $40 to $12 a night breakfast included.

9/4/2012 From km 72 to km 40 = 32km.

8/4/2012. 50km Thats more like it!From km 122 thru Olmos and 20 km beyond as far as km marker 72. Great day, felt strongest since S America start but tired towards end. Commute back to Olmos. The place is overun by cockroaches! Well named as the place is barely functioning and has no internet service.

7/4/2012 24km today from km 146 to 122. Another late start due to commute problems. Very hot and humid day, I was very tired.

6/4/2012. Locate to new base in Olmos. very late start due to not much traffic to commute back to yesterdays finish at km 158, today is Good Friday. I should have taken a rest day as by the time I ran 12km to marker 146 it was time to head back!

5/4/2012. FROM KM 194 TO KM 158 = 36 KM RUN TODAY ON ROUTE 1B COMMUTE BACK TO CHULUCANAS. FELT GOOD TODAY, RUNNING IN LOWER LANDS. NO SERVICES/SHOPS AFTER KM 2 TODAY, I DONT EXPECT MUCH FOR NEXT 70KM

4/4/2012. FROM KM MARKER 0 IN CHULUCANAS TO KM 10 AND THEN KMS RESET TO KM 205, SO RAN TO KM 194. = 21KM RUN TODAY.

3/4/2012. FROM KM MARKER 35 JUST OUTSIDE OF TAMBO GRANDE ON ROUTE 1B TO KM 0 IN CHULUCANAS. TODAY 30KM. MANY BRIDGES MISSING OR TOO LOW DUE TO POOR INFACTRUCURE, SO LOTS OF WADING ACROSS! HOT AND HUMID. COMMUTE BACK TO BASE IN TAMBO GRANDE. WEDNESDAY I WILL MOVE TO NEW BASE IN CHULUCANAS. MY STOMACH HAS BEEN A LOT BETTER THESE LAST TWO DAYS AS NOW I DONT DRINK LOCAL WATER, TOO BAD HERE.

2/4/2012. 20KM TODAY. FROM KM MARKER 1090 ON PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY TO TAMBO GRANDE AT KM 1075 AND THEN 5 KM FROM KM MARKER 35 TO KM 30 ON ROUTE 1B TOWARDS CHULUCANAS, OLMOS AND CHICLAYO.

HOT, STICKY DAY.

UPDATE SUNDAY 1ST APRIL. TOTAL TO DATE: 16,896KM/10,498.7 MILES FOR 398 ROAD DAYS.

I TOOK A REST/ LOGISTICS DAY ON FRIDAY AFTER CROSSING TO PERU.

NO PLACE TO SEND THE HEAVY BAG ON FROM, SO I HAVE TO LUMP IT AROUND ON MY COMMUTING!

AM IN GREAT FORM.

SATURDAY 31ST/3/2012. 37KM RUN FROM KM MARKER 1160 AT BORDER TO KM 1123.

COMMUTE TO LOS LOMAS BASE.

SUNDAY 1ST/APRIL/2012. 33KM RUN. FROM KM MARKER 1123 TO KM 1090. FLATISH STAGE AND FELT STRONG TODAY. A RECORD NUMBER OF PEOPLE CALLED ME ” LOCO ” TODAY, PERHAPS MORE TODAY THAN THE WHOLE TRIP PUT TOGETHER (SERIOUSLY) AND LOOK WHAT DAY IT IS TODAY… SPEAKS VOLUMES, DOESN´T IT COMMUTE TO NEW BASE IN TAMBO GRANDE

Posted in jogging | 5 Comments »

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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...