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UPDATED TEXT AND PHOTOS> Headwind Into Cordoba.

Tuesday 25th Taking a rest day in Cordoba. Spent the whole morning being interviewed by the Irish Examiner. Details of the publication date at a later stage,

Monday was a tough run. But a pleasurable run. Sunday I had a glorious 48km day with a tailwind for most of the way. I was a bit disappointed when I finished early in Jesus Maria as such tailwind days are rare and I was still full of running-  there was still more daylight time – and wouldn’t have minded an extra hour or twos running.

Just before Jesus Maria town I stopped to take refuge at a bus shelter and put my feet up for a while as it was pretty hot that day.

Today, I didn’t get started till very late as the woman in the hotel I stayed in  in Jesus Maria didn’t turn up this morning till 11.00am. The trouble was I had washed my clothes which she had hung them up to dry for me in a locked off area! She neglected to tell me that she didn’t live there!

Maybe she hit the bottle after helping me up the stairs with Nirvana. I knocked over her flower pot and then told her the soft drinks were on me! Then I asked her if she would be here in the morning to help me down, what a nerve, what a gentleman.

No worries... The soft drinks are on me!

 I think I will get a compact canvas hold-all bag for taking the heavy stuff up stairs to lighten Nirvana for going up stairs in future. Also I can use the empty bag as a body liner for Nirvana when I am on the road.

Once out on the road I ran almost the whole 55km into a very strong headwind, so strong it was even blowing over fences along the highway.

The wind was so strong it blew down fences! Argentina doesn't do hard shoulders as you can see!

 There was very little decent shoulder  for me to run on, mostly gravel and grass. The traffic on this section of road to Cordoba was incredibly hectic, perhaps one of the busiest sections of road on the entire world run. I battled on pushing Nirvana as I went. Most of the earlier hours seemed to be uphill  slightly, hard to tell running into such fierce wind.

The day was cool, pretty cool even cold at times, I would settle for that anytime.

On I ran, running almost non stop except for a very late lunch at a nice comedor. Steak, eggs and chips. My progress was slow, but progressive. I am enjoying the running now so much, more now than in the last year. I am now very much motivated for big, big days. The body is holding up well, I feel I can up the tempo anytime I want. Things are just nice now. Eventually I made it across the Siquia river and on into the heart of  Cordoba, Argentina’s 2nd city, a city of some 1,300,000 inhabitants, many of them Italian immigrants.

Cordoba is very much a rugby area with some 20 rugby clubs. I spoke to one man wondering if Cordoba was a famous wine producing area… We are famous for wine he laughed, but not for it’s production, we are famous for drinking it!

While I was waiting for the lady this morning I checked out the backpackers hostel on hostels.com which Clayton from my last blog recommended to me. It was full. So I booked another one, a really nice place called Che Salguero Youth Hostel near the bus terminal. The beauty of booking it was that I knew where I was going tonight as it was so late when I arrived that the last thing I would have wanted would have been trying to hunt down a place to stay. From Googlemaps I drew out my map on the back of a business card. It was very easy to find, just about an hours run down J.B. Justo avenue across about 40 city blocks, the hardest part was getting Nirvana up and down so many pavements. I ran on the road when it was safe in the busy city.

These backpacker hostels are usually full of interesting characters, so nice to speak English again with someone other than myself :)

There is always a very friendly spirit, I can relax for a night knowing my possessions will be safe as I  have never heard of anything been stolen from a backpackers hostel, despite people leaving their laptops and mobile phones etc lying around. Also the cost is very competitive and I would have been expecting to pay double had I stayed elsewhere. Often breakfast is included along with free wi-fi.

55km run today. Total: 21,864km for 524 road days.

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3 Responses to “UPDATED TEXT AND PHOTOS> Headwind Into Cordoba.”

  1. Mark Says:

    Hi Tony, well done on the 55km today you are doing great. glad you are finding it easy back on the road and finding hostels to stay in. You are doing magnificently well since you returned,well done tony keep up the hard work!

  2. Mam Says:

    Glad too see you have settled back well into your running again and have nirvana along the way with plenty of supplies. Take care of yourself Tony and stay safe. God bless Mam :)

  3. Ann Says:

    Great read Tony, we are doing some catching up on the blog tonight. Glad you got nice hostel and enjoying the English speaking company. Pity about the strong headwind. Enjoy :)

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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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