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: 2011-06-28 2011-06-30 Peru

2011-06-29:

36
Distance today: 42.0 km (Accumulated: 26735.0 km)
Elapsed time: 03:55:20
Country: Peru

Start 14:25pm., 30c, cloudy and l.wind, at the border between Chile and Peru at the Chilean borderstation. Finish 19:22pm. [18:22pm. Peruvian time], 10c, dark/past sunset and l.wind, at green traffic-board "Lima 1290km" on the Pan American Highway, in Peru.

Saying Goodbye to my father, and hello to Peru

We have now tried all options - bringing the proper papers to the border customs in chile; instead driving across via Bolivia - the borders up there were on strike and the car also refused the steep passes in the Andes Mountains; we tried to convince the customs in Chile who also in other ways has made many problems for the run and shipments from sponsors; we tried to have a chilean citizen help us, also that didnt work. So, later today we have an appointment to sell the car here at the border city in Chile, so I can run by foot into Peru hopefully in the afternoon and get permanently out of chile.

But, sadly this is just minor problems compared to family matters. Late in the night I got news that my father had died a few hours ago. We started running together back in the 1980'ties in the early mornings before he went to work and I to school, in the first hour of the day while the sun was rising over the local lake. Later we both joined the local recreational running club and he helped as I discovered a talent for long distance running, and drove me to many many races over the years; some of them to eventually win - but always insisting that it didnt matter where I placed; that this was not the important thing in life (I was stubbon enough to always put all my strength to try to win, ofcourse :-)

I think I was lucky to never have any pressure at all in sport; maybe I would have become tired of it elseway !! And I have enjoyed both training and competing, later on in ultrarunning and later on yet, on international level for about a decade, lastly culminating in the two world runs which took/takes all I had learned in 25y. of running. He joined me on training runs as long as he could himself and in later years he would follow on mountainbike when I visited my parents house in the provinses and ran on our old favorite trails along the lake and through the forrest..

I think he would like me to finish what I have started: my last long run, the world run two; also despite all the coutless obstacles and setbacks. Sometimes life is about overcoming the setbacks raughter than the smooth ride.

I will find out how to get to denmark for the funeral, but owe it to the run, to the sponsors, to the many runners and people who has helped along the way - and to him and to myself and all the running we shared - to return to the route after the funeral to continue the run and hopefully be able to finish it and 'close the book' on the first's of world running, East-West and North-South !

I would very much have liked to share a last run with him, but it was not to be that way. Perhaps best that we never knew which run was our last run !

PS: Added later - I did a classical marathon and coincidense had it that I finished almost exactly at the time he usually ran, 3:55h. The first 40km's of impressions of Peru was very positive. They come across as more 'latin american' than Chile and Argentina (not so surprising perhaps, since those two contries mainly is settled by europeans, while Peru and the contries ahead in dominated by the indigious people and the long cultural history dating much futher back than the spanish settlers). This also came through in the helpfullness that I experiensed almost immideatly. While I ran past a field where pesants were working (apparently a collective; its more socialist here!), the workers stopped and applauded as I ran past ! Later, after finishing in Tacna city, people fast found a way for me to have a supporcar atleast the immideate next two days of running, and adviced me of ways to find an inexpensive rental car. So things might work out afterall :-)

NB: The gps even started functioning again and I tracked the entire run (forgot to swich it on the first km though, as my thourghts was elsewhere). Now I will look for a local simcard so I can upload the track to the website. Hopefully that should be in place in a day or two.