More work to be done

Tonight, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Dr Sanduk Ruit from the Tilganga Eye Centre in Nepal. Dr Ruit is continuing the dream and work of Fred Hollows and it was inspiring to see how far the Foundation and the Tilganga Eye Centre came in the last 20 years. Over a million patients have been attended and over 73,000 eye sights restored – thanks to donations from all over the world. There is much more to do, as every 5 second someone in the world goes blind although 75% of blindness is avoidable! Think about this next time you watch a great movie with friends or enjoy a beautiful sunset with your family.
www.Run4Vision.com is helping to make a difference the world can see.

Slow but steady

We enjoyed an nice day for our 45 km race between Lorne and Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road. 2 hrs of great fun and 2 1/2 hrs of pain, guess I must get older and slower - 4hrs 36min finishing time. One thing I learned: it is almost as hard to race slow than to race fast! If I want to be able to run 30+ km a few days in a row I need to manage my speed better. I had started too fast (sub 5 min/km for the first 10km). I'm happy with the outcome though, tested various energy bars, gels and drinks along the way as well. Congratulations to my buddy Denis, who finished in excellent 3hrs 48min. He prepared the race with Swiss precision by putting out 7 drink bottles along the way, and he managed to miss 5 of them (that's the Irish approach, I guess.) Just as well, I was happy to enjoy his drinks on my way to Apollo Bay!

Ready for the Great Ocean Road

Two more days to go. After about 1500 km and 200 hours of training since January 2007, I am quite keen and I'm looking forward to running the beautiful stretch of road between Lorne and Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road. Last year, I ran in ideal conditions (ideal for Vicoria that is; we enjoyed sunshine, ice cold winds, rain and overcast skies), and it took me 4'21hrs to run the 45 km. Let's see how it will go now that I am a year older ... www.greatoceanroadmarathon.com.au

A Fred Hollows Team for MdS 2008

Great news: Josh, my old running buddy from Brisbane, has decided to join me in my adventure. We had a great time together training for and racing the Comrades in 2003 in South Africa. With his help, we will now be able to not only raise more funds for the Fred Hollows Foundation but also run as a team in Morocco next year - The Fred Hollows Team!

Visit to the Rotary Club of Balmain

I'd like to thank the Rotary Club of Balmain for the opportunity to present my project at tonight's meeting. After a very entertaining speech by Michael Cleary AO, the president of the Rotary Club introduced me to attending members and friends. Even though I was no match to Michael's sporting achievements, I believe I nevertheless was able to raise some interest when I explained the objective of the Run 4 Vision fundraising project for The Fred Hollows Foundation. My planned 3000 km of training runs and the 7-day race in the Sahara desert next year prompted some curious questions. It was a great evening and I met some interesting new people who will hopefully become new Run 4 Vision supporters. My thanks also go to Andrea, a work colleague, who made this meeting with the Rotary Club of Balmain possible.

Mothers Day Classic - Fight Breast Cancer

Today, I used the Mothers Day Classics to get my last sprint training in before my ultra marathon next Sunday in Victoria (www.greatoceanroadmarathon.com.au)

A nice, sunny Sunday morning in the Domain offered a great run with beautiful vista of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

With all my long runs lately, I was not used to a sprint race anymore and finished the 8 km in 38 minutes. I used this race to wear my run4vision.com t-shirt for the first time, and Uli was out there taking plenty of photos.

Planning a Pilgrimage of Pain to the Sahara

In today’s age, it is not uncommon to be asked to sign a waiver acknowledging a long list of risks involved before indulging in everything from drinking a hot cup of coffee to bungee jumping or SCUBA diving … Rarely do we read these waivers in detail, but once in a while one pops up that gives us a pause.

Any event that requires a compulsory snakebite kit, flares and survival blanket but also an insurance for funeral expenses means that you are up to something serious – which I am since I signed up for the Marathon des Sables in March 2008!

Considered as one of the first modern adventure races, the MdS was founded in 1985 by a Frenchman called Patrick Bauer and has become an annual event, covering roughly 230 km of some of the Sahara desert’s harshest terrain.

Over 7 days running 6 stages, I will have to carry all my food, gear and water, sleep in two-sided Berber tents with 7 other people and endure temperatures as high as 50 degrees during the day and as low as 5 degrees at night.

The mental preparation is as important as the physical training – heat, sand dunes, salt flats combined with serious sandstorms create ‘The Toughest Foot Race on Earth’.

Something else to focus on while getting ready for Morocco, are the 3,500 AU$ entry fee which do not include neither equipment or airfare nor all the costs involved in months of training and racing.

I can think of more comfortable ways to spend money and time, but just like most of the 700 other runners who make this pilgrimage of pain to the Sahara, I decided to dedicate my time, training and race to a good cause.

My goal is to get to the finish line of the Marathon des Sables 2008 but more importantly to have saved as many people’s eyesight as possible by raising money for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Did you know that every 5 seconds an adult person goes blind, and every minute a child goes blind – but 75% of the world’s blindness is preventable!

If you believe that my effort is a worthwhile one, and you like to be part of helping me to reach my goal then please visit www.run4vision.com for more information and help me to help others.

Thank you and happy running!