Vancouver Bound

It seems like quite some time ago since we have logged on and updated the faithful followers – so I thought this is well due. To everyone who is still checking back once in a while on the website, we thank you. Keep your heads up for a new total on our donations (some still are coming in slowly), and the anticipated video from the run. Thanks for all your continued support and we will talk again soon.

Click here to listen online.

If you didn’t run but would like to get a shirt you cna order Desert Run T-Shirts through our website. 

We are not sure exactly what next year will look like but hope to have a similar event where you can join us for a run!

Thank you so much for a being a part of this charity run.  Thousands of lives have been saved and changed through your joint efforts.

If you wish to see pictures of the 10km run come back in a week as we will post them or go to the facebook group to see them.

the desert run team

WOW! We were literally left speechless for a few seconds (Johnny kept his mouth shut for a record amount of time) at the welcome we received this afternoon. Since those few silent seconds we haven’t been able to stop talking about it! I guess we should tell you what actually happened. As we ran past our old stomping grounds (Richmond Christian School) we were greeted by 500+ students and staff holding signs and screaming encouragement. Hands that were once sweaty were quickly dried from high fiving tons of kids and legs that were sore seconds before suddenly felt like a million bucks. There was even a band playing for us! (we’ve been hoping since day one that a marching band would meet us somewhere). Needless to say, we were floored – students and staff of RCS  – THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

As promised, here are the highs and lows, best and worst of our trip:

TIM

BEST / WORST DAY: Worst day – Day 3 when my knee hurt so much and I realized the number of kms that lay ahead of me. Best Day – talk to me Sunday, but don’t call early, I’ll be fast asleep.

FUNNIEST or BEST MOMENT: Funniest moment – Not entirely sure of the day but it was well into my limping days and Phil was running beside me and we were talking and when I say talking I mainly mean Phil was making fun of me. Phil was obviously trying to get me to pick up the pace when I looked over at him and he was mocking me with a walk that was faster than my run. We laughed and I limped just a little faster and harder. Best Moment – So far its been today. The stride felt great, the sun was shining, the coast mountains were amazing, I got to return the favor and walk beside Phil, RCS came out in full force, and the end was in sight.

MOST LISTENED TO SONG: Free – Zac Brown Band

PARTING WORDS OF WISDOM: As cliche as it sounds – don’t quit.. Even when everything in you is telling you to.  It feels so good to beat that.

MATHIAS

BEST / WORST DAY: best – 1st day. lots of adrenaline, lots of talking, lots of excitement. worst – 2nd and 7th.  i was MUCH sorer than i thought i would be and got scared. the 7th day had 15km of downhill and it was terrible. some found it easy, my knees found it excruciating. mentally i was good, physically i was done.

FUNNIEST or BEST MOMENT: one of the nights when johhny had to run by himself. with the end in site, we drove up beside him and cranked the volume on his favorite eminem (rap) song. He instantly busted out in some sort of ganster dance/rap. He went nuts. I could barely keep the car on the road i was laughing so hard.

MOST LISTENED TO SONG: Fireflies: Owl City

PARTING WORDS OF WISDOM: God is good.

Johnny

BEST / WORST DAY: Best day was Thursday went i got to run with all the guys it was finally nice to have people to talk for the 6 hours that it takes to run the 35km. the worst was today knowing that we had only 28 km left, i thought that the day would have gone by a lot faster then it did and both my kankles were hurting.

FUNNIEST or BEST MOMENT: When Matty and me started fighting on the side of the road as we were running to Hope.

MOST LISTENED TO SONG:I was the only one who didn’t have an ipod so i didn’t listen to music as we ran, but almost every morning we would listen to Enya which was the Best!

PARTING WORDS OF WISDOM: Advil is your best friend if you are planning on doing something like this. Lots and lots of Advil, and maybe some horse rub that we got from a friend.

PHIL

BEST / WORST DAY: Best: Day 6. My best man and friend Steve joined us in Manning Park. It was cloudy but not rainy and Conroy and I took off the last 3 kilometers as fast as we could. Worst Day: Day 12. The day before, my quads had started to cramp at the end of the day, and it only got worse on the last day. It was by far the toughest thing to not stop, especially when I knew how far we still needed to go.

FUNNIEST or BEST MOMENT: Having said that, on Day 12 we ran past Richmond Christian School. The whole school was lined up on the sidewalk and cheered us on. It was the best moment of the run, because i went from being so down and sore to not feeling any soreness at all. Funniest moment was when I was walking beside Tim trying to encourage him to pick up the pace. I was walking beside him and he looked at me and said, ” Well see… screw you…” and hobbled away.

MOST LISTENED TO SONG: It must have either been the whole Kings of Leon album or Sonne by Rammstein. Thanks Jer for all the tunes, they pulled me through.

PARTING WORDS OF WISDOM: You can do much more than you think you can. Most things you may doubt only because you have never tried. Go for it. Just try it. Also, something like this is achieved one small step at a time, from the planning to the actual running. In summary, to go at it with a cheery resolve. To smile in its face and tell it that you will conquer it.

CONROY

BEST / WORST DAY:  Worst day was day 3. Felt like i could just hardly move after day 2. Everything hurt and all i could think was if it gets worse everyday i will never make it! Best day was day 7 when Phil and I ran the end really quick.  I felt great and felt like i could have gone further.

FUNNIEST or BEST MOMEMENT: Best moment is going to be tomorrow finishing the run. Funny was when matty would all of a sudden yell cause his knee hurt and then randomly be all fine 2 seconds later.

MOST LISTENED TO SONG: listened to alot of Coldplay and on my best day listened to Rob Thomas “this is how a heart breaks”

PARTING WORDS OF WISDOM:  if you can win the battle over your mind you can do almost anything. I have discovered how amazing God made the body and how much it can actually do.

This picture is not from today but still a classic

Day 11

Although this run has been exhilarating and at times fun, we are all ready for it to be over. Each day we come back thinking we couldn’t be any sorer but sure enough, the next day we arrive “home” walking a little slower and a little more gimpy. I think we all turned the volume a little louder on our ipods this morning, hoping it would make the run go by quicker. You need to realize that the term “quicker” is a very relative term. At this point the word “quick” is no longer in our dictionary, instead having been replaced with words such as “plodding” or “hobbling”. We had a late start this morning as our faithful stallion suffered a puncture wound but due to the quick thinking of Karl Grohmueller we got her fixed up and off to the the start line – serenaded the entire way by the beautiful Enya. Tim’s hobble disappeared today, replaced by a normal and confident looking stride. That, along with some brilliant sunshine and timbits helped us conquer langley & aldergrove. We ended with our fastest 7km yet, aided by a bet with Driver Daniel that we could finish the last section in less the 45 minutes. We won and now Daniel owes us an ice cream. Tomorrow will see us run only 28km and finish with 10 more on saturday – with you all hopefully! Check out tomorrow ’s blog for each runner’s “highs and lows, best and worst” of the run. Until then, we bid you a good evening.

Statistics:

KM left – 38

Timbits consumed today – 40

Number of muscles we never knew we had but are now quite sure we do – plenty

Number of people signed up so far for the 1okm run/walk/skip – 28 (there’s still time!)

Number of minutes taken thinking of more statistics – too many

PS.

We (more specifically Mathias) have a small request. When Arno and he originally thunk this idea up, we always imagined running over the finish line to Fix You by Coldplay.  It would be awesome if someone (or two or three) could have this song playing when we get to Garry Point on Saturday. Ipod speakers, boombox, the actual band Coldplay…it doesn’t matter. As long as the song is playing (loud), it would only encourage the goosebumps.

The most notable natural disaster in Abbotsford’s history was a flood in 1948. The second occurred today. We flooded the town with our stunning good looks and fine running form. After a bit of a late night encouraging Johnny on as he powered through the 35km that he missed because of work in a record breaking time of 3 hours, we got off to a slightly later start. Ten days staight behind the wheel has gotten to Daniel so he took a well deserved break and slept in this morning, but would meet up with us several hours later to cheer us on. Lets just  say Abbotsford didn’t stand a chance as we navigated our way through backroads and over highway 1, twice. The weather held out for the most part, starting with a slight drizzle, and not hitting hard till the end was a few kms in sight. Another day in the books, and it still seems surreal that two more solid days of running will get us through the lower mainland and into the city of Richmond. We can’t wait…

Special thanks to Henry Epp, aka ” the man with the golden hands” who made his second appearance on our run as he worked his magic on us in Princeton and again yesterday afternoon. It was a little bit of a challenge to see who could make the least amount of noise as he worked out the pain and labor of 315kms in our legs. Lets just say Matty is a bit ashamed of his showing hence him handing over the reigns for todays update. He is still recovering. Thanks again Henry, for going out of your way and making time for us – we owe you big time.

For anyone interested in coming out and supporting us tomorrow we will be on Fraser Highway the majority of the day starting just after Mt. Lehman and working our way through Aldergrove, Langley, and Surrey.

Well thats about it for today, dinner at the Friesens and some much needed rest to get ready for our last full 35km day.

Statistics:

Number of kms: 350

Number of Aspirin/Tylenol taken: approx 250

Number of mayors out to greet us: still zero

Number of angry honks (boy we got a good story to tell):  4 today

Missing: One black North Face zip up hoody, Size M, Ninja Hood – I’ve looked for it everywhere, I guess that is what happens when your bed/living space is the kitchen table  in the rv.. If found contact Tim.

So this is what it feels like to get old. We’ve started to browse craigslist for canes and walkers – we’ve found some great deals! 7am – We set out under the snow-capped mountains of Chilliwack and headed out into the fog. Today’s run was much quieter as chit chat Johnny was absent due to work. He should be arriving any minute now at which point we will once again get acquainted with Chilliwack, Johnny running and us eating dairy queen in the van behind him. There isn’t much else to report from today’s run, we got up a little later than usual, hopped in the van, got into a groove and once again slowly knocked of km after km till our ever-skinnier legs were about ready to fall off. Tomorrow: repeat. Oh wait there was  big news! We actually caught Daniel listening to something other than Kings of Leon! Not for very long though as he switched his driving shoes for running ones and was soon sweating alongside us. Fred, Carlos and Courtney Ekkert also made extended cameo’s during today’s jaunt. A steak and potato salad feast was waiting for us when we got back, courtesy of Conroy’s grandparents. We tackle each day with a holistic approach: in the morning we exercise our legs, at lunch & dinner our stomachs and after that our lungs when we hop into the ice bath. As the sights get more and more familiar, we can already smell the gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston – only four more days!

Statistics (sorry for the absence of them yesterday)

Number of km’s – 315

Number of banana peels used on Mathias’ nipples – 4

Number of ice cubes in yesterday’s ice bath – 2 cooler fulls

Number of major highways ran on – 4 (3, 1, 7, 9)

Pump up tunes of the day on the drive to the starting line:  Same as it is every morning – the entire Enya cd

Hold on. We have a good reason why there have been no updates the past couple days. It’s a long story involving bears, amputations and an angry park ranger so to save time let’s just say it was because we had no internet connection.

It’s quite simple to sum up the past 3 days: rain. Hence we give you the pros and cons of running in the rain.

PROS:

- don’t need sunscreen

- get to look forward to getting hot chocolate from the Manning Park Lodge part way through the run

- just add soap

CONS

- the blisters

- getting the hot chocolate and having it taste like water mixed with dirt

- burning tongue

- not being able to work on your tan

- clothes weighing ten pounds

Needless to say, running in the rain is not so enjoyable. Winter decided to come early and most mornings have been bitterly cold - it’s colder outside than it is in our motorhome freezer. The aches and pains are becoming numerous and it’s kind of like the wheel of fortune. Spin the wheel and see which body part will hurt today. We have stooped to the point of using horse medicine to soothe our ailments – alas, we still see ourselves using canes much earlier in life than expected. All is well though – Valerie has been keeping our stomachs full and spirits are high. We blew through Hope today (again, no mayor) and might just be coming to a neighbourhood near you! We had lots of people join us for the weekend and for the run today. It makes the runs and free time much more enjoyable – you guys know who you are. THANKS A TON! We’re staying at  Reinhardt and Leona Grohmueller’s place in Abbotsford for the next couple days. If you ever need some pigeons – hit up Reinhardt, he has the best. We’ll do our best to get some video up in the next couple days, in the meantime you’ll have to do with a mental image of Phil sitting have naked in a bathtub full of ice. 

You can still sign up for the ten km run on Saturday! Trust us, keeping up will be no problem.

See you soon!!

Failure made a move last night. We found him waiting for us outside the motorhome when we got up this morning. No problem, we kicked open the door and squashed him (or her) against the side of the vehicle. We decided that each of us should write our experience so far in our own words. So that is what we will do. First of all, a huge thank you to Harold and Erika Ekkert for coming along for most of today’s LONG run and providing us with ice cream, candy, watermelon and a good excuse to take breaks. Thanks a ton!

Conroy:

the first few days were the most painful on the muscles and joints. Since then its seems like i have been able to win the mental battle convincing my body that it will be ok. Its almost like the body is giving in saying ok to whatever i tell it.  its been a tough slog the last two days. yesterday was really cold with thundershowers as we started running at 5:30am and today just seemed to drag on forever.  After tomorrow its halfway!!

Tim:

When asked to sum up my experiences the one word that came to my mind was a struggle. Despite how hurting I feel and how sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other is a challenge in itself, I am so glad I am doing this. Taking it one day at time, one kilometer at a time, and enjoying the few moments when I feel good and stop to realize what we all are doing and why.

Johnny:

I would have to say that the run so far has been good in a hard way. I am finally enjoying the company of the four other runners, it makes the running a lot easier when you can put your head down and just follow the pair of shoes in front of you. The best part of the day is getting back to camp and sitting in the cold river to relieve the knees and ankles and other sore parts.

Mathias:

I find it somewhat amusing the number of times our group laughs during the runs. Most of the time running sucks and we’re sore all over but we still find things funny…hysterical alot of the time. The biggest challenge for me is worrying every night that my body won’t recover enough in time for the morning…once the run starts the legs kind of just keep going. So far so good – every day my confidence grows.

Phil:

At the end of day 5, this is how I feel: If it wasn’t for my ipod, I wouldn’t be here. From the time we start running I immerse myself in music. I enjoy the moments when parts of a particular song come on right when I’m in the zone. Some parts of the day are harder than others, but I find it easier to go on when I force a smile on my face and remember why we are doing this. Thank you to Jeremy Neufeld for putting tunes on my pod.  Also to my wife, for giving me the ipod.

We hit manning park today and are heading for Hope! Must go now as we have been invited for dinner to Peter and Debbie Thiessen’s place. Before that though we have to wash the motorhome. We made a mess when we squished failure this morning.

Statistics:

Number of km’s – 175

Litres of water – 8 (we decided to switch from gatorade as our urine was becoming rainbow coloured)

Number of honks/waves/thumbs up – 58

Number of dead animals on the road – 1

Amount of food brought up today – Enough to get us to garry point and back. (not that we will…)

Number of great solutions to chaffed nipples we’ve received – 1 (will let you know how it goes tomorrow)

Number of spare body parts found: Still 0