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.