Utah and running up to the Independence Pass (12,095 feet)

It’s now 4:31am, and team Yellow is driving to a hotel, somewhere in New York state after our 9pm-3am shift. It’s been a while since I wrote a blog. It’s getting long out here, but soon we will be there. Soon we will have run around the world.
Last 4 weeks of running across America went by pretty fast. Much has happened, but in comparison to the whole run around the world, not that much has happened. The two highlights for me has been running in Utah, and running across Colorado.
I have to say that from the whole world, Utah was the most beautiful place. It was simply breathtaking. Siberia was vast, the Gobi desert in Mongolia was magnificent, Japan was delicate, but Utah was simply from another world. I have been to Arizona and Utah before, but seeing the beauty up close from backroads and from running perspective, I was overwhelmed by nature’s way of showing its best.
The second highlight of the run across the US was running over the Rockies. I was lucky to get the leg into the Continental Divide in the Independence Pass. What a thrill!!! Running 10 miles, all uphill, climbing to the elevation of 12,095 feet. Wow, that was definitely one of the best runs of the whole trip. Originally I was supposed to run only 5 miles to below the summit, but when it was Emmanuel’s time to do the last 5 (we both would then run another 5 on the downhill), we discovered that we had guest runners joining us, and since I knew they would not be able to match Emmanuel’s speed (not many people in the world can), and thus him slowing down for their pace, I decided to continue running with them up to the pass. It was 5am as we were climbing the final miles… surprisingly, the elevation didn’t affect me much at all. It was probably my excitement of covering the highest point on our world journey that kept me going. After all, the highest point in the Czech Republic is 1,609 meters (Mountain Snezka), and I just RAN to about 4,000 meters. That certainly was something to write home about (well, I actually called home instead). It was great running it together with Emmanuel, the future winner of the New York City marathon. Once we got about half a mile from the peak, the rest of team Silver (Shiri and Mary) joined us and we all ran together to the top. The sun was just arising when we arrived. I was standing on the top of the world, beyond myself, in disbelief that I just ran, with no sleep, 10 miles uphill, into 12,095 elevation, and that this feat could actually help someone get access to safe drinking water. Water is life, and life was good in Colorado.
I would like to dedicate this blog to all my colleagues at Miami University in Ohio. Because of their spirit of teamwork I was able to go on this 3-month long journey, and keep the peace of mind of knowing that I can come back to my work and home in Ohio.

Coming to America

We’ve made it. We’re back in the US of A. It’s kind of surreal. We’ve run the whole Euroasia, from Ireland to Japan… and now we’re back in the States, where we’ve started. Did it really happen? Did we really run through 14 countries? Did we really run through 8 time zones? Are we really now in the country where it all started? Just like in running, often you arrive at the same place where you began, yet you’re not the same. It is the journey that matters. It is the journey that changes you.
The flight from Tokyo was pleasant. I sat by a college student who just spent 4 months studying abroad in Tokyo and was coming home. He had actually heard about the Blue Planet Run and was very interested in talking to me about it. I enjoyed his energy. I also enjoyed talking to him about Japan. Although I spent only 4 days in Japan, it totally captured my spirit. Japan was amazing. It seemed to me as a place where East meets West. The services and infrastructure were impeccable, yet the country was radiating respect, culture, and history. That is what I miss sometime when living in the States. As a European living in the US, I miss the cultural heritage and history I am accustomed to from growing up in the Czech Republic (just as an example, the Charles University in Prague was founded in the 14th century). As a partially-American visiting Czech Republic, I sometimes lack the customer service and infrastructure I am so accustomed to from living in the States. Japan had it all. One of my personal goals for the Run was to develop a list of possible futures for me. I added living in Japan (for a year or two) to my list.
Last two days we’ve been running in the Bay are of San Francisco. Today we had a big exchange point at Jack London Square in Oakland. Shiri was running in, and I was running out. Before she came, Emmanuel and I got on the stage for about half an hour and entertained the crowd. It was good times. We talked about the water crisis, about our experiences from running in Asia, and tried to get the audience involved.
I would like to dedicate today’s blog to my best friend Bill. Running and driving around Oakland reminded me of our times here last year. He interned at a school for autistic children near Oakland, and I came out and visited him. He has been a great friend for the last 10 years, and especially supportive in the stresses of applying for the Run, as well as in the preparations for it. Thank you! It is great people like him that make me humble and appreciative of all the good in humanity. Water is life, and life is good in Oakland.

P.S. I found these videos on youtube last night, and wanted to share them with you. They very nicely capture the reason why we run.