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: 2011-02-25 2011-02-27 Argentina

2011-02-26:

25
Distance today: 99.9 km (Accumulated: 23471.9 km)
Elapsed time: 09:12:18
Country: Argentina

Start 05:47am, 15c, no wind, night. At estacio gate/ "Cierre La Tranquera" [see gps-coded start pic. for exact location] at road 2 to Choele Choel & Neuquen.
Finish 18:45pm, 32c, a few clouds and no wind. At estacio gate/ "M2 CH3" at road 2 to Choele Choel, 5km S. of Choele Choel [see gps-coded finishpic. & endomondo tracking for exact location].

100 :-)))

After the setback w. the supportcar and the unintended no-progress day yesterday, I didnt feel like letting go of the new scedule and the shoepickup from Ecco 8d. up the road - So I decided to push it a bit.
Up at 3am. Drive to start at 4:30am. Start 5:47am. Finish 18:45pm.

Result: 100km & ahead of scedule by 1 day instead !

(The time of 9:12h. is pure running time. Time incl. all, rest&water/food stops, navigation etc. is 12:58h. Not impressive - but the art is to be easy on the body and keep the legs fresh for another 18-19 000km.. :-)

More about the impressions & the stage in tomor.s report ! Now Shower & Rest !!

NB: in the endomondo live-coverage todays track is divided into two segments: 26.7km & 74.1km since I accidently reset the tracker at 27km; beeing 15pct. asleep and 85pct. awake I must have taken a 'quarter nap' ;-)

ps: 100km is the longest normal stage in wr 1 & wr 2 so far. Previous longest was 95km at a very enjoyable day in Syria ! (During wr1 & wr2 I do take part in competetions, and have as longest done 211km at the Berlin 24h. race, 1.place, when I was running through Europe in 2008/wr2 and 756km in 6days when running across Australia in 2004/wr1 / but that is not "forward distance" towards my goal - and those distances is easier to do, as there is other runners and a complete race-service w. food, water, etc. So I dont count that as world run stages. Those are my "days off" and not running forward).

At the data-field of todays report you will notice that the distance is 99.9 - this is due to that we never expected me to run 100km in one day when designing the website and its technique ;-)) So 99.9 is the biggest distance that the system currently can accept as daily distance !

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Detailed report:
(written 27/2 2011)

Here follows the impression from the 100km stage, after I had a delicious dinner at a local restaurant in Choele Choel followed by a good nights sleep :-)

... To my luck Jamie Fullbrook, my english supportdriver & cameraman, was in on the plan to "attack" the stage early. This meant for both of us to get up quite early. And for Jamie, a working day of more than 14 hours (!). No surprise that you can see him taking a nap at one of the pictures from the stage (go to "browse reports" and choose todays stage).

As we rolled out of our city of accomodation during the last turbulent few days of car repair we both listened eagerly to the sounds of the engine. We had an approximately 90km drive up to the location where I finished my 47km run two days ago - and where the car subseqvently broke down. To my horror ... The car did begin to make strange noises just as we were trying to look for the small farm gate that was the starting point. The oil-pressure gauge once again dropped to zero within a few seconds ! Obviously all my concentration and focus that I had build up during the last 24hours to be able to hopefully do a 80-100km run - was gone within the same few seconds.

Thourghts of what would happen to the run ! To try to get the babystroller shipped out in order to continue the run ? The finance wouldnt be there for another car repair; it had all just been spend at the quick but expensive repair in San Antonio.

Would the run be able to continue at all ? The prospect of pushing the babystroller with my 30kg of equiptment, food & drinks; knowing that there is at present up to 200km between villages with shops (water) and a temperature between 20 and 39c at daytime. After that, then the Andes Mountains with a 4000m. high pass to run over. To push 30kg in front of me while doing that. Not likely.

- What happened was that when I ten minutes later started the run, after some searching in the darkness for the elusive gate.., I had the Easiest 100km I have ever run !!

Why ? Who knows !

Those who are familiar with ultrarunning will understand that a mental "warmup" like that is nearly the worst possible. You need to focus strongly, think positively, be able to overview your task in front of you; and most of all not be distracted but commit yourself 1000 percent to what you are doing.

The situation obviously had become anything but that. Yet I am guessing that the old (Scandinavian ? :-) stubbonness came into action: "I am NOT going to be stopped once again by outside obstacles !!", along with the fact that becoming distracted - and keep worrying about the cars condition during the first 40km of the run - meant that I didnt have a chance to worry about wether I would be able to physically do the 100km ahead of me. I would simply Have to do it.

While the day unfolded another aspect came into action which also made it far easier to do the stage. The scenery changed more within those 100km of running that it has done during the first 1900km from Punta Arenas at the tip of South America to my present location !

As you will also see from todays pictures the landscape went from the huge open Pampas with is rough dry grass and low scrubbery into inviting farmlands; green with grass (I havent seen proper green soft grass in months !), yellow with crops of corn and wheat, textured in lines and rows by the occational growing of wine; blue with the colour of flowing water :-))

I had reached the Rio Negro province.

During the day I ran across the Rio Negro itself, crossing its Southern branch, and from it a large system of irrigation canals were spread out along the road. Good for the growing of all kinds of farm products - and for a runner to cool down in beyond the 70km mark where the temperature had gone up to 35c.

Suddenly it was like beein in Southern France or Italy by harvest time: people busy in the field, tractors moving about, huge stacks of hay piled up at roadside, peasants having "siesta" in the shade of tall trees or selling oranges, tomatoes, peaches at small wooden stalls nearby.

For Jamie it was perhaps a harder day !
He lost first his hat. And later realised that also his flip-flops were gone. Eagerly wanting to return to recover both as they are essential to his calm english way-of-life. (The flip-flops were forgotten in San Antonio, 180km back). The hat was found back on the road, driving back to search for it while I was running. Lets not mention the flip-flops..

And so the stage was done :-)
Before I really realised it, the longest stage in world run one and world run two had been completed. And besides a bit of sunburn, there were no major tiredness to detect ! Surely it will come in a few days, but I enjoy the sweetness of accomplishment untill then ! Life is to be enjoyed when it goes the right way :-))

... Was there not anything difficult about todays long run ? Well; the traffic in Argentina is always difficult, beeing the most dangerous I have experiensed, even compared with Africa or Russia, the drivers in Argentina is by far the worst in relation to taking care not to hit eachother - or an occational runner. But its good exercise for the neck muscles. I get to turn the head and check behind me for each and every car that approaches. Thats also life; atleast as long as I have energy to take care ;-)