Less than 1,000km to Dublin!
Thursday 14th Taking a rest day in my German friend Jurgen and Irish wife Bernadette’s house in Sankt Augustine. Thanks to them for making me so welcome and I have met my tea drinking match in Bernadette! Jurgen used to live in Dublin and we were great buddies playing football, drinking pints in the Brazen Head among many other places for many years. His English is so good he is an English language teacher having perfected his linguistic skills in Dublin. A massive fan of music not to mention a Monty Python fan! His favorite sketch being ‘ the smack on the head ‘ episode, indeed back in Dublin for many years he kept reminding me of this, teasing me and reciting those immortal words when I mentioned I got a smack on my head from Hungarian gypsies on a previous cycling holiday!
He met Bernadette in Dublin, they married and a few years later they moved to Germany.
So I had a nice restful day goofing off from all the work I planned to do here.
I have committed myself to being in Calais about 435 km away on evening of 24th. I travel to Dover, England on 25th. Dublin port is about 970km away. I will arrive in Dublin Port from Holyhead on September 13th at 12.10pm Hoping you can be there!
I will take a rest day in Ealing, London to see another old friend, a friend since I was 19, a man called Louis Brady who I have not seen since 1986. Now married with a family, so I look forward to that visit also.
Thanks to Stena Line for my complimentary passage to Dublin from Holyhead which Kevin Scanlon helped to obtain from the friendly Stena staff.
A man called Theo Wells who has been a follower of the blog and has emailed me many times with encouragement and even arranged a few pairs of sponsored shoes during the run from John Buckley Sports in Cork. Thank you John and Theo for this.
Theo lives about three and a half hours away from where I am staying now and tomorrow evening will drive over to Jurgen’s place to pick up Nirvana.
Early Friday afternoon after Jurgen’s English language classes Jurgen will return me to where I finished yesterday, about 27km east of here. I will run with a pack as far as Bornheim, a bit more than a marathon away.
Theo has booked a hotel there for us and will crew me on Saturday, What a man, thanks Theo.
He has contacted a few runners in Belgium, so I look forward to running with them. I am very surprised there was almost no response from the huge German ultra running community.
I have about three more days on the road in Germany and then countries 36,37,38 and 39 will follow all within a week! That is Holland, Belgium, France and England. Ah Yes England I am especially looking forward to that and all the fry-ups
Theo is also going to see if he can get Nirvana transported ahead to Calais.
In Dover I will be met by Siobhan Clifford and her husband Billy. You may remember Siobhan’s Blue Bubble marketing company are going to be arranging my lap around Ireland and the associated logistics involved, So thanks to Siobhan and Billy for organizing some of their camping holiday around my run through the UK. I look forward to running with Billy who I am told is a very fast runner! And drinking lots of tea. They will then transport Nirvana back to Ireland in their camper, so that’s the plan.
Press HERE for my route to Calais
And my UK route please press HERE
Total to date 47,397km in 1,085 road days.
970 kilometres to Dublin
August 15th, 2014 at 2:51 am
great update tony. that is surprising about the lack of runners in germany. hopefully that will improve in the coming weeks. the more people who help along the way, the better. i think even getting out on the road and running with you for a few hours will help everyone. keep it going. kevin
August 15th, 2014 at 8:33 pm
Hi Tony,
thank you for having me on the run and answering all my questions. Running with you today was a dream come true. As we discussed on the road, I am just an armchair-worldjogger, but am really excited to meet a legend and run with you for a few km. And a little ashamed, I couldn’t do more to support you.
Any runner in germany, netherlands, belgium, france, england: come out and help this modest man! If he – with the tired body can live the dream, so can you! Or help him make it happen!
Go Tony! Go!
Benjamin
August 15th, 2014 at 9:29 pm
Less than 1000 kms to Dublin, you are nearly there. Take care -:)
August 15th, 2014 at 10:01 pm
your freewheeling now tony,not much more to go now.
is the the last 1000k the hardest or the easiest of your run?
best wishes john
August 15th, 2014 at 10:21 pm
Thank you Benjamin for running with me today it was wonderful I really enjoyed it Also thanks so much for your kind help You went off to supermarket came back with delicious goodies!
very thoughtful of you.
I was also pretty amazed of your knowledge of my run also Jesper Olsen’s!
incredible you are so well read on the subject!
Good luck with your own running and live your dream
August 16th, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Leave it up to the krauts to bail out—-sorry I am half German myself—-anyway–who needs them–you are ready to slide into home with great fanfare
Good running–Greg
September 12th, 2014 at 9:35 am
congrats tony on your mag. run,will c u tomo
cheers adair
ps now for the amazon