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: 2011-04-16 2011-04-18 Chile West

2011-04-17:

14
Distance today: 24.0 km (Accumulated: 24808.0 km)
Elapsed time: 02:07:35
Country: Chile West

Start 11:30am., 18c, clear, l. wind. At blue km-marker "km 228" on hwy.5 N. Finish 14:03pm, 19c and same. At blue km-marker "km 252" on hwy.5 N.

!

After a beautifull first kms along the Pacific Ocean in bright sunlight and a cool autumn breeze the supportcar finally gave up functioning. I got a call on my cellphone which I run w. to gps-track the stages & take the documentation photos - it was Alex, my good american supportdriver from Sun City in Idaho, who told me that he couldnt get the car started after my last supply-stop at 20km.

Alex has struggled w. the car since he took over the cameraman & supportdriver work a week ago and has done great keeping up the spirit for both of us ! But the car simply was in too bad a condition w. too many problems. Its easy to be rational afterwards but evidently it was not a very good purchase as a supportcar - I have experienced more mechanical troubles w. this one than w. all supportcars in wr1 & wr2; including the cars that supported me in hard conditions while I ran the 7500km streatch across Siberia in wr1 & 1500km through Sudanese Sahara in wr2.

Now the main challenge is to try to find, fast, a better and more reliable supportcar as well as not least the budget to buy it !!

- The best place to do this is in Santiago, the capital of Chile, 250km South of our present location; so that is were we are headed. A Very sad day for the run since as a runner you want to run forward; not move back on the lid of a towtruck :-( But part of the challenge now is ti make the Best of the situation, even if it at first glance looks miserable. Santiago offers the option to supply up on many items which we cant find out on the remote streatches, to try to get the runningshoe packed through, solve logistics issues on the road ahead as well as use the hopefully only 2-5days to rebuild the motivation & mental strength which has been under very heavy press during the weeks of increasing problems w. almost any other item than the legs themselves.

In its own way its a heartbreaking situation, but its at the peak of troubles one has the chance to prove stronger than defeat !