Running up and close in Russia

Whoa, that was one amazing run. This morning I woke up at a hotel in Moscow around 5:15, met my team in the lobby at 6, and then we took off driving for about 2 hours east of Moscow. After a short warm-up, I started my 10mile run a little before 9am. Very soon, I fell in love with this run. The conditions were challenging, but since I was feeling good, I challenged them back. It was on. I was running on a busy highway, two lanes of traffic both directions. Running facing the traffic, sometimes there was a shoulder, sometimes there was not. I would run on the very edge, often on the dirt, or occasionally on a path that would appear by the road. It finally felt like I was in Russia. It was great. At least half of the vehicles were big heavy trucks, most of them with the name “Kamaz.” I made it a game to spot as many Kazens as I could. The noise they made was the one I always imagined it would be like at a busy highway in Russia. At one point, I ran by a house in front of which was a loose dog. It made an effort to bark at me and to kind of run towards me, but it was too lazy to do anything else. In a weird way, I was a little disappointed. I was ready for the challenge. I was ready to either sprint away, yell at it, or in the worst case to use the baton to defend myself. It would be kind of ironic… I can see the headlines: “Baton meant to spread water-crisis message used as a weapon for self-defense.” Fortunately, none of these techniques was needed, since the dog just casually barked and then just kind of stared at me with a look that was saying something like this: “Ah, this crazy runner, why is he bothering me in my home? Running around the world, huh? Doesn’t he have a bone to play with?”

After the dog encounter, it started to rain. I was about half an hour into the run, and I actually welcomed the rain. I was getting my runner’s high, and the rain enhanced it even more. You know, the tougher the conditions you’re fighting are, the tougher you feel and more chemicals get released into your brain, making you feel even better. So here I am, 6miles into my run, fighting the heavy traffic with its noise and fumes, negotiating the muddy side of the road, rain dripping down my face and making my clothes heavy and stick to my body, and having a great time. Then I pass through this small town, watching people sell blueberries on the side of the road, women walk to the grocery stores, locals waiting at the bus stop… What a sight. I felt like we’re finally doing it. We’re running around the world. Yes, Western and Central Europe were great, but it was not all that much different from the U.S. Today’s run was a nice awakening. I could not have this run anywhere in the States. A little over an hour into it, my runner’s high started to wear off, and my tiredness, sleep deprivation, and slight dehydration started to settle in. The last 2 miles were a little tough, but hey, this is not a supposed to be a rose-garden walk. We’re not running to sightsee, but to help address the water crisis, because water is life, and life is good in Russia.

Quick "HI" from Moscow

Greetings everyone!
We've made it to Moscow!!! Sorry for the lack of news, but this is the first time I got to the internet in about a week. We've successfully crossed Poland, Belarus, and entered Russia. I visited Auschwitz in Poland, had some interesting night runs in Belarus, and today took some professional BPR pictures at the Red Square in Moscow (check the www.blueplanetrun.org website in a few days for those). It's getting a little harder, but you know me... nothing I can't handle. Today I ran my 10miles on a busy highway some 30miles away from Moscow. Police car was right behind me, shielding me from the trafic (normally we don't have police escorts, but in Belarus and so far in Russia the local authorities insist on it). I am not sure what the internet connections will be like from now till Japan, but I'll try my best to check-in every few days if possible. Okay, I need to go to bed now so that I can get up at 5am (in 4 hours) for our 9am-3pm shift. I think I am running first on our team Silver, thus I should be hitting the pavement for my 10miler at 9am. Water is life, and life is good in Russia.

Amazing run through Prague, and the media frenzy (Monday 6/18)

What a day! Monday (6/18) was so far one of the craziest days for me. After spending the day with my family on Sunday and going to an exchange point in the afternoon to meet a mayor of one of the Czech towns north of Prague, I got in only about half an hour of sleep before I took the tram from our apartment in Prague to the hotel where I met up with the crew of the communication vehicle at 1am. We took off driving for the 3am exchange point, from where I was to run through the whole downtown Praha. We got to the exchange point at around 2:15am, “nowhere even a foot” as we say in Czech, meaning that no one was around. Soon the Czech PR representative came, then an online journalist, and finally the Czech Television (Ceska Televize). My parents also arrived, so the crowd was already growing. The online journalist made a quick interview with me, then I changed and ran off into the woods to get rid of access fluids. Soon Richard ran into the exchange point, and we did the water ceremony while cameras flashing and the TV shooting. It was great having water in so much spotlight. We did the message first in English, and then Richard did it in English again, and I repeated in Czech. Then I took of running, with the TV shooting from a van, my dad biking nearby, the pilot vehicle right behind me, and Kelly on the support bike. Quite an entourage. It was a cool summer morning in Prague, a little after 3am. Soon I was running by the Prague Castle (Prazsky Hrad) and got on the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most). That’s where things got interesting. The Bridge was totally empty, which surprised me. Yes, it was about 3:30am, but I still thought some tourists would be there. It was just me, and the 14th century bridge. I ran by the Czech Tv cameras, and then all of a sudden heard a lot of huffing and puffing. I looked back, and the TV cameraman, the online journalist, and our own video and photographer were trying to keep up with me. It was kind of comical. I saw their heartfelt struggle, so I slowed down. They were totally out of it, so I stopped, ran back to the beginning of the bridge, and ran by them again. They must have been amazed by the beauty of Prague (who wouldn’t be, right?) because they tried to run with me even after the bridge, into the small and windy streets leading into the Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti). It was in these streets that I witnessed the great fall of our court photographer Chris. I look on my left side, Chris running in his flip flops and trying to take a picture of me, when all of a sudden he starts flying in the air. In an attempt to protect his camera, his flips in the air, and lands on his back. He was okay, but I am sure his back is hurting now. Once I got to the Old Town Square, the TV cameraman was there again. I stopped, posed some, and then got going to the Wenceslas Square. Soon after I ran by the apartment where I grew up, and then away from the downtown. I finished my leg with a hill, where I ran away from Kelly who was accompanying me on a bike, and I handed off the baton to Mellisa. It was just after 4:30am, and my day was just getting started.
After I stretched, we went back to the Charles Bridge where we took some pictures of me running back and forth across the bridge. Then I went home, took a shower and had a breakfast, and at 7:30am had to be at the office of our Czech PR agency, where my media marathon continued. First I had a live phone-in radio interview, after which we went to a nearby coffee shop where I was interviewed by Prague’s daily newspaper. Then we took a taxi to another radio station for a live studio interview. I liked this one the most. If felt just like talking to somebody about the Run. Well, that’s what I pretty much did. My last interview was with Czech Television again, which was at Jin’s (the BPR Foundation founder) hotel. At around 2pm we left Prague for Austria. It was an exhausting day, but a great one. I got to share the message of water with many people. Through my interviews, a lot of Czechs got to hear that water is life, and life is good in Prague.

Team Silver at our apartment in Prague

After a few days of running in Germany, it was time to drive home, the Czech Republic. At last! I was very excited as you can imagine. We left Leipzig on Saturday morning, and in early afternoon were already making our way though the streets of Prague (Praha for us Czechs). Since we were driving close to our apartment (the one where I grew up and where my family still lives) on the way to the hotel, I had the team quickly stop there. My sister wasn’t expecting me that early and was just in the shower when I rang the bell. She was very surprised to see me. I loved it. It was first time in the last 10 years that I didn’t come home by plane. I just showed up home; pretty cool. I ran up, talked to her and her boyfriend, dropped off my laundry, and went back to my team Silver downstairs.
We drove to our hotel, settled in, got massages, and then the whole team (Shiri, Mary, Emanuel, Francesco, and I) took the tram back to our apartment where my sister made us a great dinner. It was excellent. My dad and our dog Laska (“Love” in Czech) were there too, so it was pretty much a big party. The only person missing was my mom, who wouldn’t come back till Sunday morning from her trip in Croatia.

After the great food which I actually didn’t have much time to enjoy between translating constantly, we went for a walk through the city. From our apartment we walked to Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti), Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti), the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most), and the Prague Castle (Prazsky Hrad). We pretty much saw the best of Prague in this evening, and the whole team was in awe of the beauty of Prague--and righty so. It indeed is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. After the 3 hour walk we all were quite tired, but still remembered that water is life, and life is good in the Czech Republic.

Goofing off at a late night shift in Czech

Don't worry, Shiri did make it out okay... we're nice to people in Czech

Velmi hezky clanek v Cestine a fotky z Prahy (very nice article in Czech - click just to see some pictures)

http://www.zena-in.cz/rubrika.asp?id=5&idc=31380

About David in Prague

Written by Danielle, PR person for the Blue Planet Run:

Prague is known as the City of 100 Towers, and also as the home town of Blue Planet runner David Christof. The City of Prague welcomed the Blue Planet Run, and its hometown hero, with open arms. Media anticipation for David was so great that fellow runner Mary Chervenak joked that she expected to see billboards of him as she
entered the city!

For David, the Run, and the media interviews, started early. Czech Television arrived in downtown Prague at 3:00 a.m. to capture Prague's most famous runner accept the baton and run through his hometown streets. A flurry of media interviews followed - from a reporter rendezvous in a café to a television interview with Blue Planet Run Founder Jin Zidell in a hotel lobby.

With David's help, we were able to saturate the press with the Blue Planet Run message. We hope that Czech citizens are more aware of clean water issues - and will want to be a part of the solution!

The Run is now making its way through twisty, hilly roads towards Vienna. Everyone is exhausted, but also elated. One of the goals of the Run is to raise awareness of this important issue, and today feels like a home run.

Team SILVER drying clothes in Germany - quite funny

Emmanuel talking in Kiswahili in UK

THE MESSAGE

We run like water. We run FOR water.

We run to bring news to every person in every town we pass through—urgent news of a crisis that affects one in five of all of us on this earth.

We run to remember the sons and daughters, the mothers and fathers, the 6,000 human beings who die every day because they lack safe drinking water.

We run because time - and water, essential to our existence - is running out for all of us.

We run to tell a story that begins with suffering but ends with hope.

We run to include you in the story. You are the solution. Commitment is our only obstacle.

We run to tell a story that ends like this: twenty years from now we will have joined together to bring water – to bring life – to 200 million people around the world.

We run because, in the words of the Iroquois thanksgiving prayer printed on the baton we carry with us: "Water is life."

"We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms - waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of water.

Now our minds are one."


---------------------------------

At every exchange point, every 10 miles (16km), we recite this message as we pass on the baton. This message was read at the United Nations on June 1st and will arrive there on September 4th. Day and night, rain or shine, the message goes on, bringing hope to those who thirst. Come to any of the over 1400 exchange points to hear the message for yourself. Water is life, and life is good in Hamburg.

Splendid picture from London

This picture is from the event in London where I was the outgoing runner. I am talking to the crowds...
Also, thank you for all your comments on the blog; I really appreciate them all. Sorry I've not been responding recently. I'll try to respond in next 2 days; just check by your comment for my replies.

The Fabulous Five - Team Silver

Greetings from Germany!
Sorry that I've not checked in for a few days... it's been busy...you know, running around, driving for hours, sleeping at crazy times, the usual :-) The internet connections have not been the best. Anyway, life's still good, and we're progressing through Europe. So far I've run in every country we've been through - Ireland, UK, France, Belgium, and Holland. As we left the land of Rudy (teammate from Holland), and entered the land of Heiko, I am increasingly excited about the fact that in 5 days we'll enter the land of David (yes me!!!).
I would now like to write a few words about some special people that deserve my appreciation and recognition - Team Silver. We've been together for the past 13 days, almost 22 hours a day, running, spending countless hours in the van, eating, thinking, living... And let me tell you, these people - Mary, Shiri, Emmanuel, and our driver Francesco, are amazing. Despite the physical tiredness and mental exhaustion, they've been respectful, pleasant, and overall a very enjoyable company.

I appreciate them specifically for this:
Mary, for always being the calm presence and voice of wisdom. I also admire her toughness and courage with which she tackles every challenge.
Shiri, for always having high spirits and cheerfulness, plethora of energy, and enthusiasm for life. Her drive and passion for life is admirable.
Emmanuel, a Kenyan hero who can run a marathon 1 hour faster than me, for always remembering why we're in this epic run, and busting out extremely funny comments.
I also can't forget our driver, Francesco, the Italian splendor. I appreciate his positive yet realistic outlook on life, and his love for humanity. He puts up with all of us with grace and often brings pieces of wisdom only someone who traveled the entire Silk Road (from Islamabad to Italy) can.

These 4 profound individuals always help me remember that water is life, and life is good in Germany.

LIVE video from a run in UK!

Running out of London!

On Thursday morning, I was given the running leg that started at Trafalgar Square right in downtown London. That was very exciting news not only because I would get to run trough the whole downtown, but also because we had a big event planned to promote BPR, and many people would get to watch me.

Ah, what an experience. We had a podium set up right on the square, BPR banners, big screen TV imaging the water crisis, and several of my colleague runners promoting the Run. They introduced me on the stage, and then we did a countdown to Paul’s arrival. Paul was the runner running the last 10mile leg to London, and he met up with his daughter a few miles up the rode and then they ran to the square together. It was pretty cool to see the crowd watch them run around the square and then run up the stage. We greeted, and then together read the message we bring along around the world, reciting every 10miles on exchange points: “We run like water. We run for water. We run to remember…” (the whole message elsewhere in my blog). I greeted the crowds, and exactly at 9am off I was.

Whoaa, what a run. I ran pretty much by all the sightseeing attractions of London: from Trafalgar Square I ran to the Big Ben, then along the Thames River by the London Eye, all the way to the Tower of London. Then I cross the Thames via the Tower Bridge, and continued toward Greenwich Village. As I passed the museums in Greenwich, I thought about-- time. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is often referred to as zero, and all other time zones count from that. And there I was, running. There was a sense of serenity in this. What is time? We all use it, misuse it, waste it, enjoy it, take it for granted… But really, time is not. It is a construct that we humans invented to keep track of ourselves. It has no substance, no meaning, no inherent value. It is us humans that give it its significance. Without us, time could not be used, wasted, or enjoyed..

Time is running out for humanity. Water is life, and life is good in London.

Video just before 3am run in Ireland

New pictures

After my 3-4:30am run in Ireland

Sleep deprivation... the real challenge

Wow, sleep deprivation seems to be the real enemy. After two nights of running and one 5hour time change, sleep is becoming a problem. Today at dinner our Team (consisting of Mary, Shiri, Emmanuel, and myself) were pretty much out of it; we were totally silly, and one might even say delirious. The last 2 day combination was a killer. on Sunday after being up from midnight and running 3am-9am, we drove back to the hotel, showered, packed, and drove to Boston where we had our first big Blue Planet Run event. That was at noon, then the entire team met at one of the hotels in Boston and we all then drove to the airport for our flight to Ireland, which was at 7:15pm. The five hour flight wasn't actually too bad, but then we arrived in Shannon a little after 6am local time. I can't sleep much on transportation, so of course I didn't. After having a breakfast at a hotel where most of the teams are sleeping tonight, out team Silver got into the van again and drove about 2 hours to a different hotel, since that's closer to where we'll be starting at 3am. I was navigating so of course no sleep again. Anyway, I just got back from dinner and am pretty exhausted. It's 6:20pm, so I'll probably get to sleep from 7 to midnight. Whoa, 5 hours sounds pretty good. Only 2 more nights of this night running craziness. It is, though, a lot of fun. For example, hanging at 4:30am in Providence in Rhode Island while waiting for Emmanuel to finish his 10miler and see him hand it over to Shiri, but you know, it's tough.

However, I do have to mention my excellent run on Sunday 7:30-9am (before picture below). As described, I was pretty tired by then, so I drank a can of Red Bull, put on a new jersey and shorts, toasted with Mary with water (and shared "the message"-more about this in later blog entry), and off I went. And it was amazing!!! Running though these picturesque New England towns, road winding up and down, the lead vehicle leap frogging by me... It was great. Plus, on the end of my run, I was greeted by a crowd of about 30 -my team, the new team that was taking over, about 10 locals, and some people from our PR agency and the foundation... they all were cheering me on as I finished. Quite exhilarating.
On Wednesday morning I'll have the 4:30-6am run and I'm planning to bring my digital camera along to shoot some life videos and pictures during this sunrise run. I'm looking forward to it. It's amazing what I get to do... Water is life, and life is good in Ireland.

Running through New England

This picture was taken just before I ran my 7:30-9am shift on Sunday morning.

Video po mem prvnim behu (video after my first run- in Czech)

Video just before my first BPR run

I ran my first 10 mile leg!

I can now officially say that I am a Blue Planet Runner!!! This morning from 6am to 7:20am I ran my first 10mile leg :-) !!! It was mostly through the streets of Manchester in Connecticut,and the nearby hills. Good times. I made a short video in English just before my run, and short video in Czech just after the run. I'll try to post them tonight if all goes well (if not tonight then soon). In the meantime, enjoy this BPR commercial. I love it.
We're running the same shift tomorrow (Sunday) morning, from 3am to 9am, and then in the evening are flying over to Ireland. I am pumped, let's do it!!! Water is life, and life is good in Massachusetts.

The BPR is on!!! My first run at 6am on Saturday!

It happened!!! It finally happened!! This morning at 10:30, Mary started the Run of hope. She ran from the United Nations in New York City, and started a 15.200 mile long journey of hope, one that will bring safe drinking water to millions of people.
Her start was preceded by speeches by Hillary Swank (the super nice actress, whom we got to meet in person the night before), the CEO of Dow (our gracious sponsor), and Jin Zidell, the amazing visionary who started it all. Many photographers and cameras were present at this special moment. I have to admit that my eyes got watery. As you can imagine, it was a big deal. I don't think it all sunk in yet, the fact that we just kicked of the first ever around the world relay, and hopefully one that will help everyone on this planet look at water in a new way.
After Mary took off, the rest of the runners got into their respective vans and drove up the route. My team Silver (officially it's team grey, but we like Silver better) drove up to Connecticut, about 110miles up the route. We just got into our hotel a few hours ago. It is now just before 6pm, and I need to get to bed soon because we're getting up at 1am so that we are at our first exchange point well before 3am, when we take over. From then, we'll cover running the next 6 hours of the relay, each of us running 10miles (approximately 90 minutes of running). Shiri goes first, then Mary, myself, and lastly Emmanuel. Yes, I will start running at 6am, after being up since about 1am. Whoaa. Good times. I bought some Red Bull, so hopefully I won't fall asleep running. We have the same routine on Sunday morning, and after that we fly over to Ireland. I can't wait to get started running; it's been a lot of preparations, and now it's time to go, because water is life, and life is good in Connecticut.