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IMPORTANT LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FOR RUNNERS PLANNING TO RUN ACROSS A DESERT.

TUESDAY AND WEDNESS REST DAYS AS I GOT TO MAKE A SIDE TRIP TO LIMA. NOT SURE ABOUT THURSDAY.

TOTAL TO DATE AS OF MONDAY  APRIL 29= 17,808KM/11,065 MILES (MILES  ARE APPROX) FOR 424 ROAD DAYS.

PERU DAILY LOG HAS BEEN UPDATED PRESS HERE TO VIEW DAILY DISTANCES

Monday 30 April2012 Today a good 43km from km 196 to km 153 in Huaura.

Sunday 29th another wonderful day, I finished strong and ran 54km and allong the way some of my fastest kms in over a year 5:40s and many sub 6. readers will know I dont mind pace a lot but its still exciting after the energy crises in the Andes. Tomorrow Monday last day in desert and then its back to the mountains on route 18 towards Cuzco :)

SATURDAY I RAN A WONDERFUL 46KM FEELING REALLY STRONG AS THE MOUNTAINS ARE OUT OF THE LEGS,. THAT GAVE ME A WONDERFUL CONFIDENCE BOOST FOR THE FUTURE :)

I am enjoying the desert. Will be out of it in a few days. Meeting really wonderful people. Sunday after running I expect to make a side trip to Lima for a couple days. Then it´s back to the mountains! > PS JUST FOUND OUT MON AND TUES ARE HOLIDAYS HERE ( FEAST OF THE IMMICULATED CHICKEN :) ) SO MORE THAN LIKELY I WILL LEAVE THIS TILL TUES EVENING. THIS KIND OF THING IS TYPICAL HERE WHEN ONE WANTS TO DO URGENT BUSINESS THATS WHY I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF ARRIVING ON THUR OR FRIDAY. SIMPLE TASKS IN LATIN AMERICA CAN TAKE DAYS!

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I tell you Hollywood movies have a lot of answering to do! They will show us visions of snakes everywhere.. Naw, only see about one a month. You call those snakes? Bare footed asparagus pickers spit them out for breakfast, real men!

 

YOU CALL THOSE SNAKES TONY? WE SPIT THEM OUT FOR BREAKFAST

Yes you read that right. Asparagus growing in the north Peru desert where the only rainfall is from June to August.

Then they will show you visions of a poor hapless wanderer on hands and knees crawling along through sand dunes on all fours.

No need to buddy just get in your car and drive!

But this is the desert are there roads? Sure and they are built in record time… You just flatten out the road and throw some tarmac on it.

But how do you flatten out the road?

That’s the easy part… You just become elected mayor of your oasis town get in a truck with a giant speaker and tell the assembled townsfolk that there is a chicken ban for a full week. Then you drive off followed by the pounding crowds of enraged citizens.

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! HEAR YE! WE HAVE FROZEN THE CHICKEN TILL YOU LAY THE ROAD

So Are they slacking up? Not doing a good enough job for the engineer? Well you just up a couple of gears by shouting into your speaker its going to be a full chicken less month.

NO MORE CHICKEN :)

This should compact the sand even more.. Still the engineer is not happy? Well go into full gear and tell the angry pounding mob it’s going to be a year, a whole 365 days without chicken and to make things worse this is a leap year. Then tell them all they got to do is throw some tarmac on the trail and you will change your mind.

But you could always drive in the sand? Why would you do that when all you got to do is pay your tolls?

PAY YOUR TOLLS OR YOU DRIVE ON THE SAND!

Then Hollywood throws up visions of said bewildered wanderer gasping for water!

Why would he do that when all he has to do is throw a bottle out a window while commuting?

 

WATER DELIVERY, THE ONLY HOT DRINK IN PERU IT SEEMS!

I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others.. Not my own, so please listen up to this especially if you are planning to crawl, run or walk across your nearest desert in the near future..

Please read this carefully as I will only say it once.

Yes and the famous mirage? Is that really ice cream?

When you are crawling through your local desert please have your money ready BEFORE you stop the ice cream man because if you don’t, well the ice cream will rapidly melt while you are fumbling for change because  the vendor will have an outstretched ice cream dripping hand. If you do not want to lick the back of his hand off you will just have to buy a second ice cream. Serious lesson here.

A MIRRAGE?NO MIRRAGE! MEET JULIO HE WORKS THE DESERT SHIFT FROM 10AM TILL 4PM AND THEN CYCLES HOME! JULIO,JULIO.. WHERE ARE YOU GONE?

 

I GUESS HE JUST WENT TO WASH HIS HAND AFTER BEING LICKED SO MUCH?

Do you think I could learn from this serious act of carelessness?

No, not all all, 50 metres further on up the road I stopped at a shop… Yes a shop in the desert. Hollywood will really hate me after this :)

So what did I buy after my ice cream? I bought of all things CHOCOLATE! And yes before I could pay it was melted.. The last one in the shop. :(

CHOCOLATE CRAVINGS, I JUST CAN'T GET GOING TODAY!

So Please, please learn from the mistakes of others, not your own mistakes before setting out on your next desert toddle.

THE WANDERER

 

THAT'S THE PACIFIC OCEAN IN THE BACKGROUND

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3 Responses to “IMPORTANT LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FOR RUNNERS PLANNING TO RUN ACROSS A DESERT.”

  1. kevin scanlon Says:

    great post tony……you’ll need another pocket in your vest to hold spare change for the ice-cream man!!!! keep it going.

  2. Ann Says:

    At least you had the sense to buy a second ice cream. Sorry about the chocolate. You will just have to collect the parcel with your Easter eggs and chocolate in it. Hope the customs havn’t eaten it. Great blog :)

  3. stewart cochrane Says:

    hi tojny…great read…again!!!!!!!!
    we had troy adams ( cross canada runner) with us for one nite…he is now somewhere in nova scotia
    we can’t commit to jasper ( the other runner)
    it looks like i’m going to be away alot for the summer …but can’t say just now ….once i know… you’ll know….
    please e-mail an address to send some tunes to you….i remember that i still owe you …i have an 8gb jump drive to send

    take care the desert looks awesome

    stewart and bernie cochrane
    newfoundland

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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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