Leaving Japan tomorrow

July 31, 11:20am-sitting in a van, one hour before my last 10miler in Asia)
Tomorrow afternoon we’re leaving for the States, and the international part of our Run ends. I have not blogged in the last 10 days, since we left Russia. It’s time again to start. I’ll provide a quick summary, of the last few days, and hopefully soon I can provide more details.
We left Russia with a car accident (all okay… the front axle in our van broke), enjoyed Ulan Bataar (capital of Mongolia), had another car accident on our way out of Ulan Bataar (again, miracously all okay… this time hit by a drunk driver though), spent two days in the Gobi desert with amazing desert running and camping one night and staying in local gers the second night. China was very interesting, with many cars and Beijing being extremely crowded. After flying to Japan, I found myself, at last, in peace. I love Japan. It’s beautiful, respectful, and artistic.
I want to mention that I appreciate all your kind comments to my blog. The last two weeks in Russia were tough… it was getting to me, and my spirits were down at times. Your comments really helped. The good news—my mobile phone will once again be working in the US. Feel free to give me a call (513-255-5880). I am anticipating that I’ll run out of minutes soon, so preferably call between 9pm and 7am when it’s free. Any time in there is fine, since I might be on night shifts again… and I’ll just turn the phone off when I go to bed. If you don’t know me and still want to communicate, feel free to send a text message.
We’re about the start the last third of our Run around the world. I would like to dedicate this entry to Asia. Seeing Mongolia, China, and Japan has opened my eyes to new horizons. New spark has been ignited in me. Water is life, and life is good in Japan.

Bajkal

Thursday 7/19, 5:04pm – in the van on the way to Ulan Ude
Greetings from the deepest lake in the world, a reservoir containing one fifth of the world’s fresh water – Ozoro Bajkal (Lake Bajkal). When entering Russia, I really wanted to see two things: Moscow, and Bajkal. Yesterday I swam in Bajkal, today I ran by Bajkal. Both were majestic experiences. At one point, Bajkal is one mile deep. It is a true wonder. Surrounded by mountains, it is truly breathtaking and humbling to see this jewel. Running through Russia has been long, exhausting, challenging, at times boring… but seeing Bajkal was a great reward. As a ten year old boy back in Czechoslovakia, I saw a documentary about this lake. It was fascinating. To this day I remember the narrator’s deep voice saying: “Nejhlubsi jezero sveta, jezero Bajkal” (“The deepest lake in the world, lake Bajkal). Tomorrow we are crossing to Mongolia. Unbelievable. Mongolia! This is the country I was most excited about before the trip. The Gobi desert! Almost four weeks in Russia are over. I believe we have endured the hardest part of the trip. In the next 12 days, we’ll run through Mongolia, China, and Japan. And on August 1st we’ll arrive to San Francisco and start the month-long trek across the U.S. On August 1st I’ll be able to call many friends and family, have familiar foods, maybe see a movie, I’ll be able to read the alphabet, use a regular toilet… Ah, the wonders of life. We’re doing it, we’re running around the world, because water is life, and life is good at Bajkal.

The last week in Russia

Since last week, we have not had access to the internet. I had 2 cold showers, and one day a swim in a lake instead of a cold shower. Diarrhea, once considered an enemy, has now become more like the disliked relative—unwanted, but ever-present and accepted—as most of the runners have experienced it at one point or another. It affected me for 2 days. Once shy about using the woods, the long call (as my Kenyan friend calls it) in the bushes is no longer a problem for me. Neither is stopping mid-run, telling the police escort “5 minute toilet pausa” and running off to the woods. After running through half of Russia, priorities shift a little. Access to the internet is no longer expected, and hot showers are a nice luxury. Toilet paper is a number one priority, and a toilet seat is a pleasant surprise. Yeah, good times running around the world.
Tuesday was a special day for our guide Arina– we were in her home town: Irkutsk. We got to drive by her university, and go bowling. Wednesday was her birthday, and we bought her a cake and had it at one of the exchange points on the side of the road. Our guide Arina and driver Alexej have been great. Without there help, running through Russia would be extremely difficult. They both are very good people, and I am glad had the opportunity to share the last four weeks with them. After running in the flats for last week or so, the countryside now has more variety, which makes the running more interesting. Water is life, and life is good in Irkutsk.

This blog entry is dedicated to my sister Tereza, who has been my guardian and mentor for the last 28 years. It was her who helped me with homework, gave me advice on girls, and even researched for me for which countries on this trip I need visas. Thank you!

Tento blog je venovan me sestre Tereze, ktera byla muj ochrance radce poslednich 28 let. Byla to ona kdo mi pomahal s ukoly, radila o holkach, a dokonce mi nasla pro ktere zeme na teto ceste potrebuji viza. Diky!

Questions anyone?

Greetings BPR supporters :-)
This morning I had yet another beautiful run, at 3am floating through Siberia. And, as it always happens on great runs, I had a great idea. I realized that I have not been communicating with you much one on one, and that you probably have questions about the Run. So, please ask away. Post questions/comments after my blog entries. Feel free to ask anything. I know you are out there (I see the number on my page counter growing), so don't be shy. Any comments/questions always lift up my spirits. It gets lonely and longsome over here, and knowing that people are reading from far helps me remember that water is life, and life is good in Asia.

A European, in Asia, missing America...

Friday, July 13th – 2:48am
I’m sitting in a van, somewhere past Novosibirsk in Russia. It is pitch dark outside right now. About 20 minutes ago, Shiri left for her 10miler. She was the first one from out team. We’ll be out here until just before 9am. I have the last leg of our team. We are waiting at approximately 8km (5mile) mark of Shiri’s course…
…… 20 minutes later. An interesting idea just crossed my mind. I am a European, right now in Asia, and I miss America. Isn’t that strange? Our Russian van driver just put in his portable DVD a US movie, and we watched some. It brought back memories of America. It was odd hearing words like Cincinnati and Kentucky, hearing the southern accent, seeing an old diner. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. has become my second home. I owe many things to the U.S. It is disappointing being abroad and hearing bad comments about the States. Being European, the people often are much more open with me when talking about the U.S. I wish they could meet the people I know in the States. I wish they could meet the people that care about humanity deeply...the Schichtels, the Steeds, the Aunt Sally’s, the Mrs. Quinns… Unfortunately, they can’t. All they can often know about the States is its foreign policy, and some of the culture that has been exported through the media, often filtered and distorted. It is my sincere hope that the heartfelt, sincere, caring people that we meet along the way on the Run could meet and talk with the caring, sincere, and heartfelt people that I know back in the States. Those that have helped me along my last 10 years.
It is 4:24am now. Shiri has finished her run, and Dot is out there right now. It’s still somewhat dark, but an amazing sunrise is on the horizon. Siberia is looking very beautiful at this moment.
I’ve decided to start dedicating by blog entries. Appreciation is an important value to me. Vast majority of what I am and what I have done is because of those before me.
Today, I want to dedicate this entry to my parents, Dasa and Milan. Without their positive outlook on life and adventurous spirit, I would most certainly not be running around the world. I know it’s been hard on them last several years with me living in America. Thank you for all your support. Without you, I could not say that water is life, and life is good in Russia.

Dnes bych rad venoval tento blog mym rodicum Dase a Milanovi. Bez jejich pozitivniho nahledu na zivot a dobrodruzneho ducha bych urcite ted nebezel kolem sveta. Vim ze to pro ne bylo tezke tech poslednich par let co jsem v Americe. Diky za podporu. Bez vas bych nemohl rici ze voda je zivot, a zivot je dobry v Rusku.

BPR Video from Prague!!!!

Hello all! I just found myself a birthday gift. About 5 minutes ago I discovered that the BPR videos were put on YouTube, thus I can share them with you all right here in my blog. Here is the one from Prague (the first minute or so, then it goes to Austria and Poland). For more vidoes from the run, go to youtube.com and search for BluePlanetRun user.

July 9th: Looking Back

On June 1st we left New York City… 39 days later, on July 9th, we are approaching Novosibirsk in Russia. Tomorrow I’ll be 28. So far we’ve traveled through US, Ireland, UK, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, and the European part of Russia… Since NYC, I’ve run just over 300 miles (close to 500km). On a given day, I’ve run my approximate 10mile (16km) segment anywhere from 1:11 to 1:25. I have run in every hour of a day, watched both sunrises and sunsets on a run, ran in the rain and 90F (30C) heat, ran alone, with a bicyclist, with a police car behind me… I have run in America, Europe, and Asia. I’ve run in short sleeve, long sleeve, shorts, tights, with no shirt and no hair. My most memorable runs include running through downtown Prague at 3:30am (including through the neighborhood where I lived till I was 16), out of the heart of London to Greenwich Village, over the Volga river in Russia. So far I’ve had only one bad run (stomach issues), and countless of great ones. I had the opportunity to talk about water to a local, regional, and national newspapers, online magazine, prerecorded radio program, life radio broadcast, and Czech television. I got to sightsee a little bit in Dublin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Prague, Auschwitz, and Moscow. Although the Run went through a plethora of other places, because of the logistics I did not get to see at all Paris, Antwerps, Vienna, Krakow, Warsaw, Minks… But that’s fine, because I know that one day I will have the opportunity to see these places. I do not know, however, if I’ll ever have the chance to be a part of something that big and that good as the Blue Planet Run. It’s becoming hard out here…., but in a way, it’s better. The more the mosquitoes bite, the more I am tired of sleeping in a different hotel every night and constantly packing and repacking, the more I am sleep deprived from either running or being in a van all night, the more I am tired of unfamiliar foods and fuming trucks on my back, the more I miss home… , the more I can emphasize with those for whom we are doing all this. The more I am in discomfort, the more I am humble about the experiences of those around the world without safe drinking water. And that, indeed, is the point. Water is life, and life is good in Novosibirsk.

July 7, 2007: It’s all about perspective… Two haircuts in one day

On this special day, 7/7/07, we were spending most of the morning and afternoon in Ishim. To commemorate this astronomically interesting day, I decided to get a haircut. The heat and bugs have been extreme last few days, so a haircut was in order. I decided, however, to go extreme – everything off. Conveniently, I found out that there was a haircut place right in our hotel. I showed the hairstylist with my fingers that I wanted only about quarter-inch of hair left and thought that I was good to go. Hmm, some 10 minutes later she seemed to be only trimming my hair… I thought about what could have been unclear about my communication… Didn’t I show her exactly how much I wanted to have left? Then it came to me. It’s all about perspective. I was showing how much I want to have left, and she thought I was showing how much I want to have cut off. Who was wrong? Odd question, yet we ask it all the time. The answer, of course, is a simple one: neither of us. I was right according to my perspective, and she was right according to hers. Just like if you ask which way is Moskva—right now for me it’s west, yet for my parents in Prague it’s east.
I was enjoying my metaphysical contemplation, when quite a realistic thought came to me: I can just ask her to cut it shorter. I didn’t follow this thought. It seemed too simple, and too selfish. It would mean that I value my perspective higher then hers. I didn’t want to do that. I can always get another haircut, no big deal. As a matter of fact, the idea of a second haircut in one day was starting to feel exciting. Thus, I paid the 200 rubbles (130 for the haircut, plus 70 rubbles tip), said my “spasiba,” and left.
Now was time to get my second haircut. My teammates told me that there was a barber shop about four blocks away, so I left the hotel. Halfway there, a downpour caught up with me. I was pretty wet when I got there. With my limited Russian comprised of what I learned in 5th grade (after the fall of communism, Czech Republic switched from learning Russian to English or German) and some Czech words (Czech language is actually somewhat similar to Russian), I explained that I wanted it all off. The stylist smiled, and started the buzzer. Soon I was bold 
7/7/2007 will now stand in my memory as getting two haircuts in one day, and pondering about perspectives in Russia. Water is life, and life is good in Ishim.

July 4th Crossing into Asia

Today was the third day on the 3-9pm shift and the most important event of the day was crossing into Asia. Shiri ran the first leg, and on the 8th mile ran across the continental divide. To ensure quality pictures in case the picture of Shiri didn’t turn out, Chris, our photographer, took me to the monument and we did some staged shooting. It was pretty fun. I posed running across the line, jumping over the line, and sitting on the line.
Last three days running in Russia has been very interesting. After our break day, I felt so good that I took it really hard the first day. Unfortunately, it was over 30C (close to 100F) as I took off at 3pm. The run was great… I felt tough, raced the accompanying biker on the uphills, and took it hard. I felt good (relatively, of course—considering I was running hard for 10miles in the mid-day heat), and finished strong. About an hour after the run, however, my body started telling me that I had pushed myself just a little too much. I got a big headache, was dizzy, and felt nauseous. I was just laying on the seat in our van, suffering. Yep, I definitely had a heat exhaustion, or something of that sort. Fortunately it didn’t get worse, and by the time we got to the hotel around midnight I felt better. It definitely scared me though. I have to be careful in the heat. We still have about 2 months left, and a lot of miles to cover. Water is life, and life is good in Russia.