No support driver this morning. I am glad I didn’t wait around for the driver. Let’s just call this an unfortunate misunderstanding. Actually I think now I prefer to do it on my own!
With my early start I shuffled out about 20km before I stopped at a farmhouse for water. I was feeling a bit better today.

Ten men seemed to be working on installing an electric fence around the property. I was invited in for breakfast of scrambled egg and rice, sweet tea and a large chunk of bread. They had cooked it over an outside fire.
Apparently they had bought the house from the previous owner and were doing it up. The house had no furniture what-so-ever, only a few mattresses leaning against the walls and some old blankets thrown in a couple of corners. The house itself was very roughly built but serviceable. Its the kind of place which would have been a Godsend had I been stuck out on the highway at night, for I know they would have granted me shelter should I have asked. I wondered why there were no women about, perhaps it was one of those community efforts where friends help friends. The longer I run the more I appreciate my really good friends. What is life without sharing to be able to help out. I think in the future I would also like to do some community volunteer work to help out people in need.

Breakfast stop: The man outside is cooking breakfast over an open fire

Back out on the road even though it was tough again today I was enjoying myself. It wont always be hot like this. Surely the best plan is for total night running in hot countries which are safe to run in. A problem about night running is that I wont have the same interaction with the people. I need my people drug. Water is also a big factor as there are less houses and shops etc open, even though I consume less water while running at night.
I often wonder why I don’t just keep running at the end of a day. I mean why sleep for half a day? I could run as long as I can till I find a place to stay either in a barn, shelter or in my bivy by the side of the road in a ditch for a few hours and then go on again. Just like in competition a short nap and run on. I know I can run longer days but would have to retrain my mind. My mind has gotten a bit lax, not as sharp since the end of my competition days. Should I finish as planned with the Dublin Marathon on October 27th 2014 I will need to run the second half of the world in so called running terms ‘ negative splits ‘ meaning the second half, which is usually a race faster than the first half! Imagine that… Running around the world in negative splits  :)
Sometimes I ask what do I really need to carry on the road, how light can my baggage be made to survive. Yes the ipod is great but lately I have not been using it.

 All small weight with their cables and chargers soon add up to kilos. Also the food, again all the bits add up. The backpack system is great for congested areas like South America where there are a lot of villages close to each other for food water and shelter, but then when there is a gap of 70, 80km that can be an effort though not impossible. Previously I have described the effort of running with a backpack as ‘ compounding effort ‘ that is easy for a while till eventually the ever present physical and emotional burden becomes just that. Perhaps everyone is different. I have heard of journey runners running with loads of 12/14kgs and even 20! To me that’s astonishing. My backpack load was generally around 3kgs with an additional 2 in my fortified Irish Confirmation pockets! My strength at lifting heavy loads, arm wrestling competitions etc has always been very poor.
In non threatening summer weather all I need to survive is a summer sleeping bag, a bivy, light weight tights and top for changing into. A warm sweater for the evenings and sleeping in but most important of all good health for a tough time and lots of luck. Keeping dry, avoiding rain and staying warm, picking up food and drink  is what it’s all about. Wash both me and the quick dry clothes whenever possible.
My original route for Australia was to run along the east coast from Sydney to Townsville to Darwin. A much longer route than my dreamed of route Melbourne/Alice Springs through the outback and onto Darwin. As mentioned before I have a support driver, Michael Gillan who has kindly offered to crew the pioneer ‘ right through the center route ‘
Michael will never know how grateful I am for that offer, thank you Michael.
No I was not missing the support driver here in Fiji! In fact I was relieved because now I can leave the road instead of looking out for him. Alfred said he would send on my bag in a courtesy bus to my destination for tonight,The Warwick Resort.
These are the kind of day dreams I have when running along the road, sometimes I dream way beyond my capacities, are we only limited by our own minds?
It didn’t take me long to get thirsty again and when I did stop at a house I was invited around to site in a shady area and drink a coconut, which first had to be cut. Do you think I trusted myself to cut this!

More heat, a burning inferno. I am wearing the running top my friend Ash from Runways gave me to keep me cool. Thanks Ash, I am cooler but it’s still hot! I wondered if I wore half a dozen would I die from hypothermia! Ha! Eternal optimism will some day be my downfall!
A little further on another water stop turns into a water and corn cob stop! And some more for the road, what people! And all the way I am Bula’d down the road.

Speaking of all this water I am still trying to figure out why on the Fijian Customs declaration form  one of the questions in there with all the usual ” Have you got any… Fruit, seeds, plants, meat, animals etc.. ” What do you think one of the questions was?

” Have you got any Holy Water to declare? ” Please can someone advise me what that one was all about or did I just dream it up on my super early morning flight?
Eventually after 46km I make it to the Warwick. 50km yesterday means I am half way across the island.

I had a wonderful night at the Warwick

At the resort I was made feel so welcome. The staff took photos and my package has arrived from the Uprising Resort.
Kala the manager authorized a Tex-Mex buffet dinner and a 3am room service breakfast. Thank you so much Kala and staff. yet another wonderful show of hospitality and another showing of wonderful people all along the highway.

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