PLEASE NOTE THAT SOMETIMES WHEN I HAVE INTERNET ACCESS I UPDATE MY ” COLOMBIA DAILY LOG ” (PLEASE SCROLL DOWN A COUPLE OF POSTS BELOW) EVEN WHEN I DONT POST A NEW BLOG. PLEASE CHECK THIS FOR MY LATEST DISTANCES.

11/2/2012…………LATEST TOTAL FOR 355 ROAD DAYS = 15,303KM  =  9,509 MILES!

15,000km, the toughest 15 thousand of the run so far, no doubt about that. I needed just 40 when I set out from Supia that morning. I had to work hard for it, very hard as the first 23 were all uphill in the Andes foothills.

THE PROLOGUE FOR THE ANDES!

There will be tougher to come, that’s for sure but this was a brute. Huge lemons scatter along the side of the highway. The dogs are getting uglier and even more bad-tempered. They continue to bark for no reason flashing their long sharp fangs. Sometimes the owners just stand by and watch as I squirt them with my precious fluid should they get uncomfortably close. One or two dozy dogs just licked the water up off the road! Thank God dogs are not as smart as cats, they give a warning, that is except a few German Sheppard’s over the last year.
I often wondered what a dog would do if you fell down a deep hole and couldn’t get out! He probably would jump down, lick you to death and then starve trying to get back out. I reckon a cat would round up his mates and have a party on top!
Just before the top of this climb I got into a nice flow. About 3km before the top I came to a village. I just ran through without looking either left or right. I was afraid of spotting an ice cream refrigerator, I think I would have buckled and gone all wobbly-kneed and lost my rhythm. The downhill was nice, but it never seems to be even. No matter what way one approaches a mountain it always seems to have less of a downhill.
When I got to km 10 that was my 15,000 km for the run.

15,000 AND COUNTING!

After about twenty unsatisfactory trying to photograph myself in front of the km marker I just went over to a house and asked a real nice man called Adrian to take the photo. I think he thought history was being made, so delighted was he to take it.
Another 5km took me to Anserma where I made the last bus back to Supia with just 5 minutes to spare. Close thing since an old running friend from Ireland called Paul Mahon and his girlfriend Hilary were due at my hotel that night.

HILARY AND PAUL

They are on holidays in Colombia and looked me up on the road for a couple of days! It’s great to be running with runners again. I don’t get lonely, except for other runners.
During their three nights and two days they very generously paid for my hotels and meals,
thanks Paul and Hilary for sponsoring me. Anyone that wants to sponsor a meal/hotel night which cost just a few dollars will be mentioned in this blog, sponsor details on the right side of this page.

It’s a pity Paul and Hilary missed my big day yesterday, I was thinking I should have held off with a kilometer to go for the next day.
Anyway the day started with Hilary taking all our bags on a bus to La Virginia while Paul and I ran the entire 50km there. This 50km puts Paul on the leader board for the longest run with me in one day. Hilary got back in time to run the last 20km.

One the way Paul told me of his Guinness World Record.
” I was part of a twelve person team to run up and down Croak Patrick hill in Ireland twelve  times.
” It was the same as up and down Everest and we were shattered at the end. ” He told me.
” Fair play to you Paul! Was the training hard? ” I asked.
” Yes but not as hard as my other world record attempt! ”
” What was that Paul? ”
” Using only one hand to open as many women’s bras with one hand in one minute. They were all lined up and I was supposed to go up the back of their tee-shirt! ”
I wondered why he said ‘womens!’ bras.
Just then a couple of trucks flashed by and we moved in further onto the gravel. Also some long sugar cane trucks which can have up to five trailers.

SUGAR CANE ROAD TRAIN

Not letting this one go by I asked.
” So Paul how did you train for this? ”
” Very hard but I used my experience too, ”
” How many bra openings in a minute would you say is the record? ”
” Fifteen? ” I said.
” No. Thirteen. ”
” Did you break the record? Come on I am dying to know! ”
” I didn’t do it! ” He disappointed told me.
” Ah! Shucks and all that hard training went to waste. ”
” Then I met Hilary and broke another record… ”
” How many times did you open Hilary’s bra? ” I asked.
” No I mean she went out with me for a year and that was another record. ”
” I am not surprised! ” I laughed.

When Paul is not busy opening women’s bras he earns his living as a race director having over twenty races. His biggest and most popular race is the ‘ Run A Muck ‘ race. He is also a very competitive adventure racer. Here he also got some of the ‘ where is your bicycle ‘ treatement from the locals.
We made it into town stopping for a well earned ice cream and then went out to dinner.

COOL DOWN IRISH STYLE!

Next day Paul brought my bag in a bus to Obanto and checked it into Hospedaje Iskidara. He drew out a map of the road ahead saying where my water points would be.
My bag is in room 5 on the bed and paid for, the note said.
On the road Hilary ran 14km with me as they have to head north to the beach this afternoon before flying back to cold Ireland in 10 days time.

She was telling me about her ironman events and encouraged me to train for one. I have always loved running and cycling and would have loved to have competed in an iroman except I can’t swim properly, something to do before I turn sixty I said, putting it on the long finger!
She has her own pottery buisiness when she is not adventure racing, but does not race on Paul’s team.

” I value our relationship too much! ” She said.
Each adventure team which usually comprises of four members must have at least one female athlete. The format is running, biking and sometimes kayaking, swimming and climbing. They must all stay together, helping each other in a true team sport carrying their own supplies and emergency gear as they go.
There were so many cyclists out that sunday, it was incredible, literally thousands. Colombia is easily the most sports active country of my Latin American run so far.

CYCLE CRAZY COLOMBIA

I was sad to see Paul and Hilarly go. They helped me so much and have offered to assist with my workload in the future. It is always a joy running with other runners, this was fun! Thanks guys, 50km yesterday and 46 today, you have been a wonderful help.

SONG FOR PAUL PRESS HERE

LORD KNOWS, I WANT TO BREAK FREE!

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