End in sight but not all going according to plan
Luckily the running part if my expedition continues without too much extra pain. No matter how you approach it running over 55km a day for 20 plus consecutive days is going to take its toll but its nothing I can’t handle at the moment. I am currently in a town called Barrancas and have about 390km to get to Buenos Aires. This is assuming that I can run the most direct route. So far that has not been the case as today the road I was running on and following on a map disappeared and I had to take a detour to mother road. I only have 9 days to make it to the finish line in BA before I fly back for the final stage in London (date TBC) and I would love detours to be kept to a minimum!!!
The wear and tear element is starting to get worse. I am not going to say which bits of equipment are failing because they have all supported me faithfully for 16,000km as I ain’t going to name and shame, that just wouldn’t be fair. But when you have come to rely on something then its just a little irritating when it goes wrong. I have duct tape and super glue so everything can be fixed!!
The press are starting to take an interest. Yesterday it was local radio and today it was local television. This can really help with motivation as people know who you are when they drive by and they interact more. It’s always nice when someone stops to take a selfie with me.
Today I ran about 60km and arrived in small town. I had been told about a hotel and was excited about a bed and a shower after a sweaty couple of days (temp hit 43 C yesterday) and a sticky night in the tent. Alas when I arrived I was told that the only hotel was fully booked… I thought I would pop to a restaurant for some nourishment but only found a small bar with ham and cheese sandwiches, fizzy drinks and crisps. Hardly the athletes ideal meal.
I am now chilling before I make a decision about what to do tonight. There is a fire station across the road so it might be camping there if they allow it…. I am praying for a hotel cancellation!!!
