theworldjog.com – blog » Blog Archive » Flagstaff reminds me of the blackhole of Calcutta.

Flagstaff reminds me of the blackhole of Calcutta.

So people warned me about Flagstaff and I guess I took it lightly.

I arrived in the city and went to McDonalds to log onto their wifi. I also needed to charge my ipod so plugged it into a wall socket in the childrens playroom. I watching it carefully from a distance of about 20 meters.

I should have been suspicious when an adult couple started playing the childrens video machines. They were obviously waiting their chance, and they found it when the unpluged the ipod along with my wall charger.

I know it was my fault and in my annoyance I couldn’t help wishing them to go deaf on AC/DC!

Forever more when I hear the name Flagstaff I will be reminded of other unsavoury places such as the blackhole of Calcutta and even Tangiers.

But I guess if this is the worst thing that happens to me on the trip I will be lucky!

I never felt safe in the city especially when I had to run under a road underpass tunnel. I had a screwdriver to the ready. Not wanting camp near the dump I got a discounted room in Super 8 motel which is the only good thing I can say about the city.

As I mentioned before we are all ambassadors for our countries and cities. Perhaps we don’t realise the small thing we do and say to strangers may be quoted for years to come.

These people have let Flagstaff down and I will always remember it for the wrong reasons.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 at 7:56 pm and is filed under jogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Flagstaff reminds me of the blackhole of Calcutta.”

Ann Says:
May 14th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Ah thats awful about your ipod Tony, I know how much you enjoy your music, but as you say if thats the worse thing that happens you can handle it. Take care Ann

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...