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DON’T QUIT

less than 14 hours till the start of the marathon and 18 till the start of my around the world jog.
Everything is packed, just bought the travel insurance..Nothing else to do just rest,sleep and wait..
Less than 20 hours after more than 20 years waiting…

This week felt like Christmas to me as I opened all the boxes of equipment from Great Outdoors..Then there was the rushing around the shops, last minute just like Christmas.

Then my younger sister Ann handed me a good luck card with a laminated message for me to take with me.

Immediately I burst into tears, I can hardly read or see the keyboards as the emotion has just gotten the better of me… The message could not have been more stark, more apt. It read:

Don’t Quit.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And when you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with it’s twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the cloud of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
IT’S WHEN THINGS SEEM WORST THAT YOU MUST NOT QUIT.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 24th, 2010 at 6:22 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.

2 Responses to “DON’T QUIT”

GRAEME BEST Says:
October 24th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
If you need help in New Zealand.Email me and I’ll be glad to help.
Good luck!!
theworldjog Says:
October 24th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Thanks Grame!

Looking forward to seeing you. Am sure NZ will be a straightforward visitors visa for about 6-8 weeks..Crew always welcome..May need a bit of help/advice with Os but Phil is the main man there and think that will be a 6-8 month visa so need to be careful thats covered properly. Its too far away a good year and a half at least… Please stay in touch and email me personally..Thanks again… Viva ultra running… The most sporting sport! Tony.

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...