World Run II / Reports

The map shows the position of which the pictures for the day are taken (if any). The start and finish markers are placed at the first and last valid registered position. This is not nessesary the actual start and finish position, if GSM or GPS signals was not available.

Goto: 2009-03-08 2009-03-10 Africa

2009-03-09:

8
Distance today: 42.0 km (Accumulated: 11251.8 km)
Elapsed time: 03:51:15
Country: Africa

Start 10:18am. At km-marker 243 to Khartoum. 30c and hwy. wind.
Finish 14:58pm. At km-marker 201 to Khartoum. 39c and same.
The prophet's birthday !
Today its prophet Mohammads birthday; one of the main celebrations in the Arab world and coincidently the day I re-start the forward running where I stopped, 243km North of Khartoum. Perhaps not the worst day; the same day that the Arab calender begins :-)

The reason to wait inKhartoum was not religious obstacles and certainly not the people of Sudan who are among the most friendly I have met across the continents that I've run in my career. It was 'political caution' in the afterwake of the ICC arrest ordre of the Sudanese president. Luckily I never fealt any danger or hazardduring the 7days in Khartoum, waiting the reactions out. At most, just far away voices and whistles from demonstrations.

My stay provided time to prepare logistics for East Africa - wich was overdue - and in many ways proved to refuel' my motivation for the road ahead :-)

Those days allowed me to experience Khartoum during my daily 20km maintainance run and it has become a place I will rember and cherish for its diversity, rythm of fast busy city-life blended every 500m or streetcorner w. the tranquility of dusty backstreets, quiet prayer and slow trading. Ceartainly also my host, Line, showed me how to appreciate this city that in most peoples mind probably stands for unrest & troubles. It is much more than just that; in fact often the opposite.