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The ‘ Indian ‘ Family And The Other Two.

 

Ah Yes that’s more like it. Out of the blocks running on my last road day in Fiji! I ran about 30km almost non stop save for short stoppages for food, water, sun block and toilet. I felt good too, each day a little better. I am now running up along the west coast of  the island. The demographics are changing rapidly. Now there are more and more temples of various religions I have never even heard of along  with a large Hindu and even Hare Christina denominations.

I get my first water refill from a shop, then construction workers. Running down a hill I come to a shady junction. There is a lady standing there waiting for a bus. This is about 20km before Nadi.

I ask her where a good place to stop for water is? She points and suggests  one house further on up a lane way and off my route. Then she turns and points to another house saying also there but the first place is better as … ” The people living there are Indians. So best go to the other house”

I ask what is wrong with the Indians, Nothing I am told. So I walked into their garden shouting ” Bula, Bula!” to announce myself.

A young 12 year old girl smiles when I apologize saying I must be an unusual sight!

” She is well spoken. In fact she is speaking the most immaculate English I have heard in many a long year. She would fit in well in Dublin’s Blackrock College or even working as a newsreader, seriously! Her grandmother is standing beside her in the doorway holding an aunts 14 month old boy who is sprouting two new front teeth while I sit outside talking to them.

I make a water stop and talk with a very nice family

I ask them are they from India and am told no Fiji, that all the family even the grandmother were born in Fiji. They are wearing Indian clothing.

Before I go I ask the young girl what she wants to work at when she grows up.

” I want to be a lawyer. ” She replies. Very interesting I think to myself. then I find out her father is a construction worker in town while her mother works in a shop.

I refill for a third time, sort of camel up and run on wondering what indeed is wrong with the Indian family. What a wonderful ambitious young woman, so refreshing.

I run on more noticing less and less bulas. I do well when I can string two or three km together but its the long stops that are a killer. I am still running all the way. I want to run it all today.

This is rugby country

I stop at another Indian house, they just hand me my water and don’t even ask me a question. Not sure if it’s indifference or if they can see I am very tired. Then almost identical reaction at a third house.  All three families told me they were not Indian that they were indeed Fijian.

Some people have told me that many people from India don’t want anything to do with that country (yet they dress in traditional Indian garb)

In recent years Fiji changed its constitution to amend that anyone born in Fiji irrespective of their migrant history to be classed as ‘ Fijians. ‘ Opponents have claimed that even some 4th generation Fijians of migrant descent do not understand what it means to be Fijian.

Though I have no right to expect it there was no offering of even a scrap of bread from any of these three Indian homes which was most unlike the rest of my route on the island, it was just very noticeable. There are no shops around and I am starving now for I have eaten all my road food.

Finally after some more stops under shelter I made it into Nadi. Just as I arrived the Heavens opened, so I jumped into a cafe where I had an early dinner while waiting an hour and a half for it to ease off.

At the far end of town I met my support driver Pau for that first day. He offered me a ride back to my hotel which would have been nice and convenient but I decided to stick with my planned beach finish even if it was really irreverent where I finished on the island.

Fiji has been run!

It was about 4km to my finish in Fiji on Wailoaloa Beach.

 

That’s it, my first country of three in my third continent, Oceania has been run. the 17th country of the run and 25,337km in 600 road days.

On the way back to the hotel I hitch a ride  from an Indian family. They are very friendly and delighted I have been to ‘ their country ‘ as they called India even though they were born here in Fiji.

Some people ask me why I am running, well I think I am getting an interesting insight even if I don’t  understand everything in this complex world.

Keep on running

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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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