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: 2009-12-30 2010-01-01 Africa

2009-12-31:

3
Distance today: 0.0 km (Accumulated: 19363.0 km)
Elapsed time: 00:00:00
Country: Africa

Rest day in Mkuze celebrating New Years Evening and resting after yesterdays stage, running 51km pushing the runningstroller across the border from Swaziland and into South Africa - my last contry to run through untill I have completed running step by step from the top of Europe, North Cape, to the tip of Africa, Cape Town.

The 19 000km wich has been covered so far wouldnt have been possible if it hadnt been for the grand support; in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark; through Eastern Europe, the Middle-East (where Syria was unforgettable as it took me completely by surprise with its Full Scale support from runners and athletic federation each day and moment of my run !! :-), Africa (where especially Sudan turned out not to be the main difficulty of the run wich I had feared, but instead revealed itself to be, in fact, one of the most friendly places I have seen in 1 1/2 run around our globe ! Food for throurght when you compare with the main media coverage.. !)

But all this running wouldnt have started if I had not had company through the first crucial months of the run; and now again in the last bit of Africa where I was very near to beeing streatched too far by stress, fatigue and simply a long-lasting culture shock from living the rural clay-hut life while struggeling the daily stages through East Africa and the weakly deceases it brought.

- The company through these decisive parts of the run has been Sarah Barnett from Adelaide, Australia. Already one of the absolute top female extremerunners in the world. But by now proven herself to also be made of material a bit harder than hard ! :-) I wonder whom else would have insisted in pushing her equal share of a stroller filled w. 30kg of supplies and water and weighing in at a total of 40+ kg with its solid frame and kevlar tires. Running and pushing nearly her own weight in front of her, strongheadedly keeping to changing pushing-duties every hour. Not many I guess !

Today was her last day in this stint with the world run, departing early this morning on a bus to Johannesburg where she will catch a flight back to Australia. Very kindly Francis from the Ghost Mountain Inn where Im staying in Mkuze helped us find a transport for her !