theworldjog.com – blog » Blog Archive » Planned route for the World Jog which will be run in an east to west direction.

Planned route for the World Jog which will be run in an east to west direction.

I tried very hard to plan this run from a west to east direction. There were so many visa issues especially with Russia, Kazakhstan and China in particular.Regarding China, a visa agency and my own research told me that they generally issue an inadequate 1 to 3 month visa which has to be applied for before leaving home in Dublin. Then to complicated things further this Chinese visa may be difficult to extend and has to be activated within 3 months from the date of issue!

I understand that it is much easier to get said Chinese visa from Hong Kong with a longer stay duration as an added bonus.So by traveling west I will be approaching China from the ‘right direction.’

Kazakhstan is huge,one of the largest countries in the world. The standard visa is for just 30 days with no extensions.There is a shorter route through Kazakhstan through a series of about 5 former Soviet Bloc countries commonly referred to as ‘ the Stans ‘ into Turkey and then into Europe.

The Stans are a notorious bureaucratic nightmare even for a cyclist or backpacker let alone a plodder like me.

These countries have visa validations from 14 to 30 days with no possibility of an extension and often a wait of a precious week for this vital passport stamp is necessary.So that is a risky route.

Many of the Asian logistics have still to be worked out but my hope is that by the time I arrive things may be more straightforward with a more open society. Perhaps I will have made some vital contacts or other routes may open up to my feet? (eternal optimist)

I also want so much to depart on Marathon Monday, 25th October from Dublin. My projected pace would have taken me into Russia around January or February. Not a warm thought. I know I will have some very cold weather at the start of the world jog in Canada and the USA but I don’t expect it to be as bad as a Russian winter. It is so difficult to cover all factors.I also wanted to be traveling through the USA and my former home, Gods Country, Colorado towards the end of the world jog as opposed to near the start but as I have said its so difficult and compromise is necessary.

As soon as I resigned to running in a westerly direction my route immediately fell into place. Whereas,no exaggeration, previously I had chopped and changed my route in my mind over 200 times over the last 20 years or so.

My main aim with the route is to make it look as continuous as possible on a world map..I mean I could easily have gone from Ireland to say New York, D.C. Orlando or Miami, Florida and not many people would have raised an eyebrow – but for me that is not what I want.That is why I chose Dunquin as its the most western point in Ireland and Cape Spear,Canada as that is the most eastern point in North America.I envision the only gaps in this trip will be due to factors such as the road running out,visa refusal,ordered off the road by police or unforeseen dangers.

USA footnote: The 5 towns I lived in Colorado are: Fort Morgan,Brush,Gunnison,Crested Butte and Lake City just have to be run through. Heaven on earth I intend to take the scenic route through this state also visiting Estes Park,Aspen,Silverton and Leadville which is the highest town in continental USA around 3,500mt
From Colorado I head for the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and San Diego.

I intend to take a couple of ‘timeouts’ of about 2-3 weeks during the world jog.The first on will be at the end of the North American leg (Dublin- San Diego 8,252km)
I have already booked a flight from LA to Dublin for June 19th,you see U2 are playing in Anaheim on the 17th and 18th…Timing is everything!
I will then return and continue from the exact spot I left before.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 12:01 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.

2 Responses to “Planned route for the World Jog which will be run in an east to west direction.”

theworldjog.com – route » Blog Archive » Proposed route for the World Jog which will be run in an east to west direction. Says:
September 6th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
[...] I understand that it is much easier to get said Chinese visa from Hong Kong with a longer stay duration as an added bonus.So by traveling west I will be approaching China from the ‘right direction.’ Read more [...]
theworldjog.com – blog » Blog Archive » Some older posts. Says:
October 15th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
[...] Planned route for the world jog which will be run in an east to west direction. [...]

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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...