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: 2010-01-16 2010-01-18 Africa

2010-01-17:

31
Distance today: 35.0 km (Accumulated: 19989.0 km)
Elapsed time: 03:05:33
Country: Africa

Start 08:32am. at cross of rd.56 to Kokstad & N2 to Cape Town, ca.2km outside Kokstad city on the N2 to Cape Town. 18c, o.c.and l. wind. Finish 12:27 At blue rd.sign "N2-20, 42", 40km S. of Kokstad on the N2 to Cape Town. 24c, and same.

Today I began the part of my run wich during the next 10days leads through the Transkei region of South Africa. Transkei is an area quite different in nature from the sourroundings: it most of all reminds of Northern Norway (where this, my second world run, began 1 1/2 years ago); large open valleys w. short green grass boxed in by gently sloping hills wich turns steeper and into mountain 'walls', framing in the big horizon to your left & right as you run through the valleys. (This type of landscape is, in Arctic Scandinavia where I started, shaped by the movement of the ice during the last great ice-age, carving out the mountains as the km-thick ice moved forward. What shaped the same kind of landscape here in Africa I am curious about ;-)

But Transkei also holds a part of S. Africas political history; it was one of the "homelands" strictly reserved for black population during the apartheit-period. Even today, where people can move and settle as they want in this beautifull contry on the tip of Africa, there are more or less only black-africans in the Transkei region wich has a clearly lower standard of living/housing, agricultural development, infrastructure etc.

I have been warned almost daily since I entered S. A. ca. 600km of running ago from the border of Swaziland, that the risk of theft & violent crime would be very high as I run through Transkei. Luckily I again today had great company by the runners from Kokstad just North of Transkei who daily trains in the area I run through. Very very enjoyable company wich meant that the kmalso today seemed to 'fly by' as we ran through the amazing landscapes together :-)

The supportcar was driven by my host Dion, also from Kokstad, who has given me an interesting glimse of the "Afrikaans" culture (white-africans) during my two day stay at his home in the farmlands after the daily running. Much appreciated !!

Btw.. 11km into tomorrows run I should reach the 20 000km point of world run 2. I must admit that its a far more emotional thing than when I reached 20 000km in world run 1 (in North America, on the Canadian prearies) - since I in East Africa came much closer to giving up than I ever were during world run 1; on occation even surviving was not a given thing - but that is difficult to explain, luckily ! :-)

Nb: Reg. my personal impression of the political situation in South Africa I will wait to write untill I have had much more inputs/experienses to base my views on. Sufficient tosay now: it seems a Much more complex situation than the media portraits it - atleast as its done up in europe :-)