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Favourite country

Hi everyone

Still running Bulgaria and will cross to to Serbia in a couple of days. I am putting the final touches to my Bulgarian blog.

The Bulgarians are so nice even if their roads are terrible!

I have been asked many times which country is my favourite country. Well it is between the USA and Iran. I can’t separate them and I don’t want to.
However the feedback from Siobhan re last blog on the interest my homecoming is generating is very exciting to say the least.
She and her Blue Bubble Marketing Company are working so hard. There are lots of offers coming in from runners that both want to run and give me a place for a night. It is possible I am told I may not run a single step on my own running around Ireland! Amazing

My charity Aware are coming on board and we plan a huge nationwide collection for them. I am so delighted that at long last I will be able to fund raise properly for them and at the same time being an ambassador of sorts for this wonderful charity.
It is possible Ireland may be my favourite country when this is all over in four months time!
Just to clarify anyone can come out and run anywhere they like with me announced or unannounced as in my mission statement but for specific offers of help and to take the pressure off me and especially all the communication involved we ask to go through Siobhan.
Readers will be amazed that it can take in the region of 20 emails communicating stuff like
When exactly time and day will you arrive?
What you eat?
And I had exchanges like…
What way you want your steak cooked ?

And I’m thinking won’t I be there..!!!
Salad dressing??
Drink??
Allergies???
Etc etc!
I am simple a sleeping bag on a floor or a couch and I am happy
No special treatment necessary!

See you soon. Got to run towards Siberia sorry I mean Serbia!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2014 at 7:29 am 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.

8 Responses to “Favourite country”

Ann Says:
June 25th, 2014 at 12:00 pm
I can sense your excitement about the finish Tony. Glad Siobhan is such a great help to you -:)
Fergus Says:
June 25th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Good Man Tony, Yes, the prospect of getting back to Ireland is so exciting. We will get you to revise your opinion as to which country is your favourite after the Dublin City marathon at end of October !! Well done and congrats on progress across Bulgaria.
Greg Havely Says:
June 25th, 2014 at 3:54 pm
Tony—back form vacation–good time with Max and family—-anyway–glad to hear that the Yankees treated you so well!!!—-says some good stuff about the US for sure—-seems a long time ago–but then again, it was a long time ago—-Great info about the Blue Bubble company picking up on your return to Ireland—-I think a grand celebration is most definitely in order!!!!!—and hopefully will be there to join in

Cheers and good running old friend–Greg
kevin scanlon Says:
June 25th, 2014 at 7:42 pm
nice words tony. maybe its the smaller countries and closer boundaries….but you seem to be moving a lot faster…….keep it going. my american wife and i are arguing over the best country. no one will win that one!! kevin
Serena Says:
June 25th, 2014 at 11:11 pm
Ireland of course will be your favourite! Great to see do much interest and support especially for such a great cause. Keep on trekking to Serbia! Stay safe! 4 months…when I read that it almost seemed surreal after almost 4 years! Just a month over a season! Serena
Brendan Curran Says:
June 27th, 2014 at 2:58 am
Tony, We’ve been keeping track of your whereabouts as your trip has wound on, and Sandie and I are so happy that you’re back in Europe. I remember so well watching you run off from Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, Maine, pushing the buggy with your big mittens on and snow piled up on the side of the road on a cold December morning. And now you’re just about a whole world away. You are awesome! Great work, Tony! We’ll stay tuned. Enjoy every step, all the way home! May the winds be at your back, Brendan Curran
Tony Says:
June 28th, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Hi Everyone!
I crossed over from Bulgaria to Serbia this morning. I met a couple of nice Serb cyclists who helped me get some chores sorted. One of them runs a hostel and I decided to take a half day trying to finalize my European mainland route,
I have decided on the route below, please click on that link.
But as always this route is likely to change. I am now thinking of arriving in Dover, UK around 25th August. This date should not be set in stone! Because what will I do if I arrive in Calais a couple of days early? You can bet your last dollar I wont be sitting around there for a couple of days! So you see how this effects a schedule. As readers know I don’t do schedules, just rough estimates. My estimates are fairly accurate. Ireland is the only place I am willing to schedule myself. The day I arrive in Dover determines how many road days, daily distances etc to Holyhead, where I absolutely have to be and will be on September 12th
Please click on the link below for my route from where I am in Zajecar, Serbia to Calais which is the end of mainland Europe for me. I am not happy with the Netherlands route as I would have liked to have run further north towards Breda but this would have involved a ferry or too much extra distance.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Zajecar,+Serbia/Novi+Sad,+Serbia/Budapest,+Hungary/Bratislava,+Slovakia/Mistelbach,+Austria/Brno,+Czech+Republic/Prague,+Czech+Republic/Sankt+Augustin,+Germany/Maastricht,+The+Netherlands/Calais,+France/@47.1099761,3.2661109,5z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m64!4m63!1m5!1m1!1s0x475474850e3afebf:0x8443a917506c39d!2m2!1d22.2774171!2d43.9204783!1m5!1m1!1s0x475b10613de93455:0xb6f7d683724fe28!2m2!1d19.85!2d45.25!1m5!1m1!1s0x4741c334d1d4cfc9:0x400c4290c1e1160!2m2!1d19.040235!2d47.497912!1m5!1m1!1s0x476c89360aca6197:0x631f9b82fd884368!2m2!1d17.1071373!2d48.1458923!1m5!1m1!1s0x476d2363ab414f57:0xb859fd44f6a78dd3!2m2!1d16.5722!2d48.56743!1m5!1m1!1s0x4712943ac03f5111:0x400af0f6614b1b0!2m2!1d16.6068371!2d49.1950602!1m5!1m1!1s0x470b939c0970798b:0x400af0f66164090!2m2!1d14.4378005!2d50.0755381!1m5!1m1!1s0x47bee73f5c2f8a87:0x42760fc4a2a7da0!2m2!1d7.1875786!2d50.7694775!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c0e9ec5841069f:0x53eb957bccbea86e!2m2!1d5.6909725!2d50.8513682!1m5!1m1!1s0x47dc3f75d7f1e363:0xacbed9e08cd279f4!2m2!1d1.858686!2d50.95129!2m1!3b1!3e2
Ali Zolfaghari Says:
July 6th, 2014 at 9:28 pm
Hi
I am Ali from Iran(Kerman, Anar) And, We visited each other in Kashan(Iran) Do you remember me?. You slept that night at that mosque
how are you? I hope You be OK. I wanted to ask about how you are in other countries. And I am at your service. And, this is my gmail: alizolfaghariupm@gmail.com. would you please give me your email, gmail and etc…
Best Regards
Ali

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...