Ticks after the Kick - Adventure Run in Manitoba

The Manitoba Rock Lake Nature Trail Run - June 6, 2009

This is the sign of a newly developed nature trail, on the west side of Rock Lake, Manitoba. I was invited to speak at a Men's (Fishermen's) Church Retreat at the CEFC, on the east side of the Rock Lake. After my two speaking meetings, and a great meal of Jackfish on Saturday night, and a great breakfast on Sunday morning, I was off and running. Running the short Nature Trail of Rock Lake. The trail was beautiful, and after the 50 minute run I came back to the van, only to find wood ticks on my running tights and in my shoes. About 8 ticks showed up, in the van, on my legs, and some crawling out of my shoes. You see, I don't do ticks very well, because several years ago my wife's life was threatened (very sick) when she was infected by a Manitoba tick - infecting 3 major organs (lungs, liver and the back spine). So I tried to KICK at the end of the run in order not to have any ticks latch unto me. Well I did discover 8 ticks, one at a time, so I stripped down to nature level, making sure no tick would have a chance to stick.

The following photos are of the Rock Lake Fisherman's Retreat - Rock Lake & the Nature Trail.

The shoe where it was temporary housing for the 4 ticks

Rock Lake, a nice place to relax and fish - the fish bite good

Mr. Jackfish - The long one is at least 65 cm long - not bad for a meal or two.

Good training steps - some 50 steps - only too short

Should we go canoe-ing

Lets go for a boat ride

Waiting patiently for a Pickerel to bite

Nature Path

Glenora - have you ever been here?

Cattle on many hills

Start the run here

No time for a picnic

Yield to your left - turn right ahead

The eggs - where did Mama go? Is this a Robin family?

A shelter in case of bears?

Wild Strawberries - flowers that is - along the path

Look out Traffic signs ahead - two of them - there were only 5

Nice and green

A horse farmer in the area.

STONY BROOK STRIDERS - RUN FOR MOM

    

         In 2006 and 2007 I called several running friends in Steinbach and area in an attempt to organize a running club.   Actually I had originally planned to organize a club of runners that would meet regularly to go running together.  We did go and run a few times on Saturday mornings.  Very little interest was obvious as only 2 or three runners showed up.  I had attempted this running club in view of planning a runner’s club as well as a runner’s Bible study.

      

                                        

Finally about 13 runners showed up for a meeting that I called in 2007 at the Day’s Inn conference room.   From here on, I steered the runner’s interests into planning an annual running event. The club we then called Stony Brook Striders and the running event would be Run for Mom, an event to promote running, namely health and fitness in the community.  I then called regular monthly meetings of those “listed members” of our new club to solely organize a run (5km walk/run and a 10 km run) in Steinbach.  We met about 5-6 times before the run. It was decided that we put on this event on Mother’s Day.  Any surpluses generated from sponsorships and surpluses from runner’s fees would be designated to a local charity.  This Charity is and was decided (on an annual review/decision basis) to be Anna’s House in Steinbach. 

     

 

Our first Run for Mom took place (Start and Finish) at the Eastman Educational Center on Loewen Boulevard on Mother’s Day 2008 with approximately 310 runners.  It was deemed a great success in that it brought out so many runners for the first inaugural race.  It was further considered a success in that fitness and health was promoted as well as $5750.00 given to Anna’s House as a donation from the Stony Brook Striders (Run for Mom 2008) event.

Naturally we got together again for a 2009 Run for Mom event.  2009 was our second successful Run for Mom with about 360 runners and promoting running (fitness and health) in our community.  Anna’s House was again chosen as the recipient for the surplus of the run, ($4000.00).  Sunshine and beautiful weather was enjoyed in 2008 and 2009.

                       Men’s winners of 2009 Run for Mom

              Albert Martens

              Run for Mom

              Race Director

              May 23, 2009 

 

 

 

       

THE FLOODED SAHARA DESERT 2009

The Flooded Sahara Desert

The Marathon des Sables 2009 

The Marathon des Sables is rated as one of the most brutal foot races in the world.  It takes place in the Sahara Desert of southern Morocco.  The race is about 240 kilometers in distance and is run in seven-day stages.  A new course is mapped each year.  Each runner brings his/her own food and supplies, which are carried, in his/her backpack.  Only water is supplied by the organizers.

“Turning Sand into Water” was the caption of my charity project – my purpose for running the Marathon des Sables 2009. This project was all about raising funds for water wells in Benin, Africa. We would run in the hot, dry sands of the Sahara Desert to help people receive clean and fresh water for health and agricultural purposes.  Little did we expect or know that the Sahara could change its character, its scenery and terrain to one of water and floods.  It could turn into a mucky sandbox.

When it is raining, accompanied by lightning and thunder, parents don’t normally let their children go and play in the sandbox.  Here we were, 840 runners converging on the desert – a normally hot, dry desert that had turned to muck and water.  We flew into Casablanca from 35 different countries. Then we all got transported by Air Maroc to our next small desert city of Ouarzazate.  It was during this last short flight that I noted flashes of lightning on the horizon. It was late when we landed and by the time we arrived at our hotel it was 1:00 in the morning and we were scrambling to get to our rooms.  We were dead tired and the hotel organization was not that of a 5 star accommodation.  We ended up with 5 people in a room meant for three.   

It had begun to rain during the night, and after our breakfast we boarded the buses with our backpack plus one suitcase to head out into the desert. In our minds we were still heading into a hot, dry desert.  However, the rain continued and after a three hour drive we came to a raging river shooting across the road where we were suppose to drive.  The water was a dirty beige colour and it was racing right over the road, about 150 meters wide and 30 – 50 cm deep. The convoy of vehicles came to a stop. 

  One Landrover jeep had attempted to cross the water and it got washed downstream, 95% submerged in the water, stuck among the rocks in the water. We never did hear what happened to the driver.   There were more jeeps in our convoy and some of the drivers were out of their vehicles dancing and singing to some rhythm in the middle of this rainy desert.  TV camera crews were busy filming and runners were shooting photos and videos.

The convoy consisted of 18 buses carrying the 840 runners, 3 huge food trucks (food for the crew, not the runners), a truck filled with bottled water for the runners, military trucks carrying the tents, TV crews, 44 doctors plus all their medical supplies and equipment…it was an impressive line of vehicles.  We were parked.

After a three hour wait, one of the bigger trucks attempted the crossing and he made it through.  Then we were asked to collect our backpacks and suitcases from the luggage compartment of the bus and bring them into the bus.  They left the luggage doors open as the buses proceeded across the raging river.  The water flowed right through the luggage compartment. It was quite suspenseful – would we make it or would we also be washed down the river?  All the buses made it through safely, as did the rest of the convoy.

We were on our way once more, energized to run this world-famous African race.  We were on our way to the middle of ‘Nowhere’ – to the start of the race where we would now be sleeping on the ground under the Berber tents (I say ‘under’ because the tents consist of poles with black jute suspended over the tops – no sides).

          We did not end up where we thought we would; we were taken to a small city called Erfoud.  (The first 150 runners had carried on to the first site of the Berber tents – to find it awash from the rain, some tents were washed away and the rest were standing in water.  No one could stay there. These runners were also brought back to Erfoud.)  Erfoud hotels accommodated 1200 guests at the spur of the moment.

          The next day it continued to rain with lightning and thunder.  Communication about the race was poor.  The organizers were scrambling to make sense of all this.  Late in the day we got word that the first stage of the race was cancelled.  Would the whole race be cancelled?  How would 1200 people be able to change their return flights?  What did Plan B look like?  There was no Plan B.

          The following morning there was an official announcement from Patrick Bauer at a Kasbah Hotel.  His options were to cancel the race entirely, or improvise day by day with problems.  We had received the official Road-book of the race – this book was now invalid and totally useless. 

          We spent three nights in Erfoud in the various hotels. Logistics Day, normally our first day in the desert, was a day in Erfoud and each of us had to bring our ‘stuff’ to the hotel where our equipment was checked. Here we received our salt, flare gun and start numbers.

          Day Two – became Day One, and our race started with the Sand dune day, 33 kilometers of which 20 kilometers would be the beautiful dunes of the Erg Chebbi.

          By this time some of us had picked up a bug from the food or water in the hotels.  Several runners were already ‘out’ before the race ever started.  I was able to complete the first day’s race, enjoying the beautiful sand dunes.  But I also realized that the bacteria were churning up a storm in my guts, and I was losing energy very fast. 

That night, our first in the desert, temperatures dipped to 5°C and my sleeping bag was totally inadequate, causing me to lose even more energy.  One of the German runners had an extreme case of diarrhea all night – and there were no washrooms for him. The open desert is your home.  At first the runners wandered out 150 meters from the tents for their WC, after 4 days 5 meters was sufficient because the survival mode was more important than modesty.

All runners are aware that the MdS is a run of suffering and pain. The next morning I was fighting this intestinal bug, asking the doctors for some advice. Since I was not running a fever, they said go for it and report in at Checkpoint One.  I took their advice and started running with the crowd.  Every step became a struggle - getting weaker with seemingly each step as I crossed a high mountain range.  We were still 3 kilometers from CP 1 when I began to weave left and right.  My vision started to get blurry.  I sort of sat down.  Dale had now disappeared in the horizon- ahead of me. 

Shortly after I went down another runner came up from behind and stopped.  He asked if he should shoot off the flare gun (each runner gets a French military flare gun issued to them at the start)?  I thought, “Why not?  “Shoot at Will” I thought.   I am in need of some help here.  What else can go wrong?  George (an American soldier who had spent some time in Iraq) took my flare and walked a few steps away from me. This had now become my battlefield of my guts vs. the Sahara.  By now more runners had arrived where I was lying.  One of the runners asked, “Are you Albert Martens?”  I wondered how in the world she recognized me but she said she had read about me in California!  She knelt down so we were on the same level; she wanted to ask me some questions!! At this point I didn’t want people to recognize me. The timing was not the greatest.  

 Meanwhile, George was busy with the flare gun and when he pulled the rope, it ignited (and something else DID go wrong) - about 10% shot out the bottom, burning his a hole in his T-shirt and giving him a decent cut on his stomach. It was a faulty gun with water in it.  Fortunately the rest of the flare did go up and within 7 minutes the first doctors arrived.  While we were waiting for help to arrive George asked me “Should I shoot up another flare?”  His wound was on the outside - mine was inside.  Two doctors arrived on a quad from CP 1 and another two arrived in a jeep from the opposite direction. We still all were able to laugh about everything.

       The doctors checked my blood pressure and it was rather low.  I still felt fairly clear-headed and was trying to remain friendly even though I was concerned.  I was still smiling and I thought there were some lessons to be learned – like decide not to let disappointments to ruin my whole life. The doctors got an IV going and ran two 500 ml bags.  They wrapped an emergency blanket around me because by now my body was shaking.  I was going into shock.  One of the doctors rubbed my arms and shoulders – a very compassionate and sympathetic doctor – very nice of him.  After the two bags of IV I was helped into the jeep and taken to the temporary medical tent at Checkpoint One, where they ran another two bags of IV.  My body was still shaking.  To my surprise they asked me whether I wanted to continue in the race? “Sure, why not?” - but wisdom kicked in and I knew that I should quit.  They took me to the main camp to the main medical tent and put me down on a stretcher and proceeded with another 4 bags of IV.  By now I was wondering where 8 bags (4 liters) of IV solution end up. Is there a special tank somewhere in me where it gets stored? Had I turned into a camel?  

They told me they would keep it going until I was able to pee.  It’s been many years since anyone was this interested in my bathroom habits.  But eventually my system began to function.  Wow, was I glad – exciting to pee – no radiator leak.  Meanwhile the doctors did an Ultrasound of the main vein to the heart and told me it was ‘flat’.   I was not sure what that meant – should it be flat or not? I was not too sure whether something had been lost in translation from the French language, or whether this was really a condition due to dehydration.  By now there was no question in their minds whether I would continue the race.  I was done.  They also patched up my feet and I could go and find my fancy black tent.  

The race was over for me.  However, I was not leaving the desert and I was not leaving my team members.  My role had changed. I had decided not to be miserable.  I needed to be there to help and encourage other runners, especially Dale and Walter who had come with me as AIA team members. 

The next night I was alone in our tent since this was part of the two-day leg of the race.  They covered 91 kilometers in two days and a night.  It was during this night that reality and disappointment number two set in.  Yes, there were tears.  I accepted the reality, turned around and faced the future.  I was happy that my team members were still in the race and I knew they were hurting.  So I needed to get past my own disappointment and cheer them on.   

       

  When one drops out of the race, I decided that I would donate my left over desert food to the organization that then in turn donates this to the African needy people.  Now I could eat with the crew and in fine French dining.  I was in their eating area when I spotted Lahcen Ahansel, the 10 times winner of the MdS, the MdS King.  He had terminated as well; he told me he had lost motivation.  We were now dining together in the tent under the name known as “Quitters”.  The French signage seemed harsh but in a way also amusing.  We were labeled as “Abandons”.  You have half killed yourself in an effort to run this race, and now you are out and are labeled.  The positive side of this was the food, French bread, cheese, yoghurt, chicken, potatoes, coffee, wine, soup…and on and on.             

Success – what is that?  Defeat – what is that?  There are lessons to be learned here.  This was my fourth time in the Marathon des Sables and there were lessons learned each time.  

The project of water wells continues. The children in Benin still need fresh water.  The Sahara desert defeated me, but I learned from this and still want to use this to help others less fortunate than myself.  The Marathon des Sables is 24 years old and this was the first time they had seen rain in its whole history.  Our project theme was “Turning Sand into Water” but we never dreamed it would happen as literally as it did.  But in the final end we want to turn poverty into health in Benin through the Global Aid Network - Water for Life project.   

Albert Martens  

Email: aemart@mts.net

  

101 Reasons for Thankfulness by Albert Martens

Run101 - Reasons for Thankfulness

1, for Mother’s love and care for her children
2, for Mother’s all her hard work for me
3, for Mother’s many prayers daily for me and all her other family members
4, for Mother’s peaceful and loving heart
5, for Mother’s good and clean (dry) sense of humour
6, for Mother’s great example of endurance
7, for Mother’s devotion and commitment to her Lord Jesus
8, for Mother’s wide range of activities
9, for Mother’s “out of the box” thinking
10, for Mother’s very creative mind and hands
11, for Mother’s leadership in the home
12, for Mother’s heart for charity
13, for Mother’s special plum jam
14, for Mother’s very special pancakes (with lots of smoke, smell-able half a mile away)
15, for Mother’s artwork
16, for Mother’s special sugar “Platz”
17, for Mother’s patience and understanding
18, for Mother’s special embroidery work
19, for Mother’s warm quilts that she made
20, for Mother’s letters she wrote to us in Europe
21, for Mother’s management skills in the big family household
22, for Mother cleaning the house often – all those windows to wash
23, for Mother’s chicken noodle soup
24, for Mother taking care of the farm, milking the cows
25, for Mother changing my diapers several thousand times
26, for Mother’s changing of my siblings diapers, so we could have a pleasant environment (there were 6 older brothers and 4 sisters) = which equals about 60,000 times in total
27, for Mother’s quiet times reading her bible by her bedroom window
28, for Mother teaching me to pray, sitting up in bed before going to sleep each night
29, for health care when I was sick with flues and fevers
30, for Mother giving us an orange when we were very sick, as a treat
31, for Mother and Father enduring in an often difficult marriage
32, for Mother’s content and positive outlook on life
33, for Mother’s Borscht
34, for Mother’s strong stand on her faith in the Lord Jesus
35, for Mother’s good judgment and good old fashioned common sense of right and wrong
36, for Mother’s values
37, for Mother’s principles
38, for Mother’s great interest in geography
39, for Mother’s open mind to other people’s views
40, for Mother’s variety of interests
41, for Mother’s acceptance of others
42, for Mother’s ability to take criticism
43, for Mother’s ability to receive unfair treatment
44, for Mother’s allowance for her children to grow and develop in their interests
45, for Mother’s wisdom
46, for Mother’s discernment in difficult times
47, for Mother’s stamina, physically and spiritually and emotionally
48, for Mother’s gifts she gave to me
49, for Mother’s pleasant approach to life’s problems
50, for Mother dressing well and respectfully
51, for Mother taking care of herself
52, for Mother’s example of doing Charity work-Ladies Sewing Circle Auction sales for Humanitarian purposes
53, for Mother’s advice and counsel
54, for Mother’s opinion
55, for Mother’s good cooking with very little amounts of store groceries
56, for Mother’s home made pies, even when they were cherry pies with stones
57, for Mother’s home made big loaves of bread
58, for Mother’s wake up calls, even if they were with hitting the ceiling with a broom
59, for Mother’s warnings and cautions
60, for Mother’s spanking with a piece of firewood, right on the “buns”
61, for Mother’s sense of protection
62, for Mother’s helping hand in learning (even though homework was not seen as very important)
63, for Mother’s encouragements
64, for Mother sewing clothe for us
65, for Mother’s hard garden work, seeding & hoeing the big garden
66, for Mother’s treats of strawberries and home made ice cream
67, for Mother’s teachings
68, for Mother’s encouragements
69, for Mother’s fixing our clothes, patching pants
70, for Mother’s jam sandwiches for school
71, for Mother’s forgiveness and love even when we as brothers were up to bad things
72, for Mother’s carrying the water to the house for us to drink
73, for Mother’s helping in the food preparations when we had to slaughter pigs for food
74, for Mother’s canning of garden fresh food for the winter
75, for Mother’s ability to bake creatively with little food staples
76, for Mother not complaining in her old age
77, for Mother’s peaceful and content heart in her old age
78, for Mother’s attitude about her growing older
79, for Mother’s dusting and cleaning the house
80, for Mother’s discipline
81, for Mother’s home decorating with limited resources
82, for Mother’s beautiful Gloxinias on the window sills
83, for Mother cutting my hair
84, for Mother crocheting doilies, even though I don’t like doilies to this day
85, for Mother allowing us to make homemade butter
86, for Mother’s forgiveness when my butter pail lid flew off (guess where the butter went)
87, for Mother’s great gooseberry moos
88, for Mother’s Vreneki
89, for Mother’s great Rollkuchen with watermelons
90, for Mother’s raising chickens for eggs and meat
91, for Mother’s washing the cream separator
92, for Mother holding the pillows against the windows during the hailstorm
93, for Mother sending us to Sunday School a mile away from home
94, for Mother getting food on the table, even during the year we were hailed out
95, for Mother’s open house to her children’s friends
96, for Mother’s liquid embroidery artwork
97, for Mother’s nutritious meals
98, for Mother learning English, to read, speak English
99, for Mother’s good stewardship
100,for Mother’s absolute trust and hope in the Lord Jesus
101, for Mother’s acceptance of her lot in her life.

Run 101 - 101 km from Niverville to Altona, May 3, 2008

The Start at midnight at Rat River Landing-May 3, 2008

The never ending lonely parairie roads

The famous Post Road, near Emerson, Manitoba

The feet are totally messed up agin with 5 blisters

Nearing Altona, a dog feels for me.

The finish is here - wow what a relief

Dale, Paul, Walter and Albert

The Run101 crew, runners, and the "Queenie" my mother

Run 101 Life’s Long Journey
May 3, 2008

Run 101 was a celebration run for my mother, 101 kilometers for the 101 years of my mother 101 years.
On Friday, May 3rd, Dr. Paul Piplani arrived at the Winnipeg Airport dressed in his light-weight running clothes, but oh my, when he felt the shock of the cold Manitoba air he realized he had left Phoenix, Arizona behind him.
The runners, Walter Unrau, Dale Wohlgemuth, Paul Piplani and I, together with our crew all met at the Rat River landing at 20 minutes before midnight. What an eerie feeling. There is no night lighting at this point along the river. After initial introductions, I gave the runners and their crew member’s instructions on basic road running etiquette, as well as a few more instructions on handling the long battle ahead of us. I prayed just before midnight, trying not to think too much about what lay ahead of us.
Reflectors and head lamps, filled water bottles, full of energy and excitement, we started, heading east along Fontaine Road. This road quickly became a grassy path with deep ruts. Running with more feeling in the feet than actually seeing anything, we made our way towards Highway 59, about 13 kilometers. Fortunately no one sprained an ankle on this uneven terrain, and just after passing the area where the original Shantz Shelters had been located, we arrived at the 59 Highway, turning south. The Canadian true north winds soon register with all of us. It was a biting, cold wind. The wind cut right through several layers of sweaters, jackets and running pants.
Near Tourond, a pickup truck stopped and the driver rolled down his window, “May I ask what you are doing?” This was around 2:00 a.m. I replied, “We are running to Altona.” He answered, “Aren’t you on the wrong road for that?”
Just south of Tourond Walter took off; he left us without saying good-bye. We did not see him again until the finish in Altona. Maybe he thought the Canadian wolves were after him.
Paul, Dale and I stuck together for the rest of the journey. Nearing St Pierre, we heard the birds chirping, it was so quiet. I stopped on the bridge to listen to the river. Turning around, we saw the Northern lights displaying their colourful show.
We had also heard dogs barking at us at various locations.
At St Pierre the RCMP came to check out the action. Three vehicles with flashing lights, and runners on the left side with headlamps and lots of reflective clothing were enough to attract their attention.
The dawn light was slow in coming even though we remarked how short the night was. By the time we reached La Rochelle we no longer needed the headlamps. The sunrise was beautiful with the red and orange colors, but cold. The cold did not stop the frogs from singing however.
The cold wind was creating a huge challenge for all of us. We had water bottles strapped to our waists, and the water in the bottles froze. I ran out of clothing, so finally grabbed a big towel to wrap around my head and neck to keep warm. My running tights were totally inadequate protection for minus 9° Celsius. My right thigh muscles ‘froze’ so that I needed help. Jacquie wrapped a heat pad around my leg and I had to take a ride for about 4 kilometers.
We regrouped at the site of the St Malo deer. The three runners stayed together, Walter was long gone.

Going west on Highway 201 a vehicle stopped offering us a ride. We declined, and then another person came and asked our crew to give him a ride. We came past the Roseau River First Nations Reserve, and crossed the green bridge spanning the Red River.
At the bridge another police car came and took a look, but did not get out to ask any questions.
Just west of the bridge we came to the junction of the old Nr 14 highway and we headed south again. We were back on gravel road, which our blistered feet did not appreciate. By now we were feeling some of the warmth of the sun. Farmers were out in full force with their huge spring seeding equipment.
These farmers must have wondered why we were not out their getting our crops into the ground.
Coming past Fort Dufferin was meaningful in the historic route, knowing that some of our ancestors arrived here and stayed at this location awhile. The North West Mounted Police were also stationed here and help the settlers, as well as the British engineers who came here and began surveying the land from this point to establish the 49th parallel to be the border between USA and Canada.
Just south of this Fort there is a farm with white fencing containing oxen.
As we approached and ran through Emerson, we were met by Arvid Loewen from Winnipeg, who had come out to greet us. Arvid has also been challenging the elements as a biker and will be competing in RAAM (Race Across America) this summer, cycling across USA in 12 days. Arvid has become a good friend to me and we like to encourage one another.
‘West, go west young man’, along the famous historical Post Road for 6 miles. By this time Arvid had left us and both crew vehicles had taken off. We were facing the second half and the wind was still icy, the road was gravel and I was fighting blisters.
Edna (my wife) called me, and I told her I was in pain. She had no sympathy, “Bite the Bullet, I have fought pain for the last 3 weeks – go for it.” I spent time thinking about my wife and her post-op knee complications and this weighed me down. I felt a blister on one of my heels pop. I knew I had 5 blisters by now and didn’t know what to do. Sit down on the gravel, take off socks and shoes and look at them, or take some more pain killers and carry on. My brother Bill and sister-in-law Grace had arrived, Grace is a nurse, so she took a look at the foot and patched it as good as she could.
A local farmer had recognized me and came to greet me and watched the surgery on the feet. He told me he lived right there and I was welcome to come over and use one of their beds.
Another person stopped Dr Piplani and asked him where Greg Penner lived. Paul told him that he came from Phoenix so did not know where Mr Penner lived.
We got a call from Walter; he was 20 kilometers from the finish and going strong. We were still battling the Post Road gravel.
We turned north into the wind along the Halbstadt road. This road ran past my sweetheart’s home farm when I dated her. Some warm feelings went through me at these thoughts. A few kilometers north we came past the site where the famous Halbstadt store and Credit Union had been situated. After a few more kilometers we turned west once more onto Hwy 421, pavement and going towards Sommerfeld and Neubergthal.
Another low point when my phone rang and my brother Bill told me he was set up, ready to start frying fish. He was suggesting that we abandon the run, get driven close to Altona and just finish the race. I knew there had been measurement errors, and Paul, Walter and Dale had a 5 kilometer credit. I had already used mine up back when I had the muscle cramps.
I proposed to Paul and Dale that we move in closer and run in. Paul objected vehemently, “They can eat, I flew here to run, I have suffered this far and I will finish the 101 kilometers.” We did however, leapfrog far enough so that Dale and Paul would do 101 kilometers and I would have a deficit of 4 kilometers.
As we headed north once more, with Altona in sight we picked up the pace. I had a sudden adrenalin push which took away all my blister pain. “The horse was smelling the barn”. This was truly exciting and we experienced a huge high. The rewarding and mixed emotions after 18 hours of struggling cold, wind, muscle pain and blisters is beyond description.
What a feeling to see the end, when one has endured to the bitter end.
Walter had come in after15:01 hours. He really had a tiger in his tank all the way.
Paul came in at 18:15:01 and he ran on crude oil – he had been staggering and weaving near Neu Bergthal due to nutrition deficiency and fighting sleep.
Dale was running on empty. He had run right out of energy. He came in at 18:15:02.
I was running on flat tires. I had blisters. I came in at 18:15:02.

Run 101 was a tough run. My blistered feet and the cold wind had been my biggest challenges, even though blisters had been worse in other races.
I struggled as much as ever mentally, tempted to give up several times. At one point along 421 I was thinking of lying down in the middle of the highway and cry, waiting for someone to come pick me up. But my wife told me that when children pout and cry, we close the door on them and leave them for awhile. That was exactly what I was afraid of.
At the finish we were rewarded by a smiling mother. We were rewarded by being met by 40 family members and friends. We were happy for chairs to sit down. What a joy to be surrounded by loving people. What a feeling, hard to describe. I knew here was a family that was supportive.
My brother Bill together with his wife Grace had prepared a tasty fish fry for the whole gang. What a celebration. We had set up a flag display together with a 4 ft x 8 ft painting red rose for mom. Run 101 mugs and t-shirts were presented. Photos were taken with the runners and mom. My mother was so honored by each runner that came to greet her.
Dr. Piplani said, “This run had much more significance than running kilometers, it was about honoring a person that has reached this venerable age with dignity. It was about mother and all that she had done for her big family. It was about her example of peace, contentment, love and care. She has lived to be 101 due to her hard work and her strong faith in her Lord. There are few people and families like this in the world.”
Dr. Paul Piplani’s name for her is the ‘Queenie’.

Albert

OTTAWA MARATHON - PRESS ON TO THE GOAL

OTTAWA MARATHON

27.05.07

PART TWO

IT’S ALL ABOUT PEOPLE

Not just to run a marathon

Not just to run for a medal

Not just to run…but to run with a different motivation…a different purpose

“Running” beyond the finish

Running as an avenue to reach out to people

Using the gifts you have, the talents and the abilities to serve Jesus Christ. In all things, acknowledge and honour Jesus.

Runners are often alone and feel alone. How to relate to other runners? As a Christian we also want to use this aspect to reach out to other runners, to help others and to relate to those who do not know Jesus as their personal Saviour.

I have been asked by other runners, “Albert, how do you use running to serve Jesus, to glorify Him?” My primary purpose is to reach out to people and raise money for charity.

Here are some ‘stories’ about the Ottawa Marathon weekend.

Edna had taken mw to the Winnipeg airport quite early on Friday, since she was scheduled to work just when my flight was leaving. So, I spend a few hours in the Winnipeg airport. I had time for some pre-race anxieties to set in – flights, ride to the hotel, how I would feel during the run…

During the flight I was quiet (unusual for me), but as we came closer to Toronto I started talking to the lady sitting beside me. I mentioned to her that I was headed to Ottawa for the marathon. Three guys next to us overheard this, and at the Toronto terminal they came and introduced themselves, they were also heading for the Ottawa marathon. My whole attitude changed and I looked forward to the race. Just that brief connection had done wonders.

Upon arrival in Ottawa I needed a ride to my hotel. The Airporter bus driver offered me a ride for $14.00. I thought the price was high, and asked him some more questions. He told me the return trip was $24.00. So I said, okay, take me to the Econo Lodge Hotel on Rideau Street. During the 20 minute drive he played beautiful classical music, always turning down the volume at intersections. He was a good driver and we chatted quite a bit during the drive. I told him he was a good driver. He said, “Many people say that.” I thanked him for his services and gave him a Bible along with the payment for the trip. I told him that I love the Lord Jesus, and he told me he would read the Bible. He was from Colombia. What a joy to meet new people.

It was quite late by the time I got to the hotel, and I needed to get some food. I inquired at the desk and they recommended the Swarma restaurant across the street. The menu did not offer the Mennonite sausage or borscht; rather it was a Lebanese restaurant offering pita, kebabs, Greek salad with sheep cheese and olives. It was great food. There were also a variety of people in this restaurant – Lebanese, Africans, white, black some with turbans, some with kerchiefs…I enjoyed getting to know the young people in the restaurant.

Eventually I got back to the hotel and to my room…OH NO!...this was a smokers room and it stank! I told myself I could handle this and turned on the air conditioner fan. I grew up with second hand smoke, my dad was a chain smoker all his life, so this was nothing new to me. I had just been away from it for 37 years.

Just before I race I usually spend quite some time in prayer, asking God to help me physically and spiritually. To allow me to do my best and to use me to His honour and glory. I sensed His presence for my spirit became more peaceful, relaxed and more confident. I usually try to memorize scripture for my long races, and also I pray for many of my friends during the running.

I had trained and so now all I had to do was run the race and enjoy it.

In the last 5 km I was smiling at the people along the route, and I notice that when you smile at them, they smile back. It sends a message and it is contagious.

I got to watch Catherine Ndereba run the Nordian 10 km race. Some of our AIA staff personally know her. She spoke at one of the pre-race events on Friday, but I as not able to be there. I had been in touch with our AIA staff in Ottawa and they organized a greeting to her with a gift. Ryan was able to meet her personally at the place where she spoke and hand over a card and gift from AIA.

Ray Zahab lives only 10 minutes from Ottawa. He had been in touch with me after he crossed the African desert. He ran 4000 miles from Senegal to the Red Sea across the Sahara Desert in 111 days together with 2 other extreme ultra-marathoners. He was also speaking at one of the pre-race events, but then flew to Saskatoon that same day to speak at a pre-race event there. So I was not able to meet with him as we had hoped to do. However, he and I do want to meet and get to know each other better.

Coming back to Winnipeg after the marathon I hung that huge medal around my neck. This was a conversation piece, beginning right at the security people in the airport. When the security personnel was about to frisk me, I warned him that I had just completed a marathon and had not had an opportunity to shower. This opened up a conversation and we both laughed.

“Did you win in the Olympics?’

“How long is a marathon?”

Sitting in the plane, there was a man next to me who needed to share his life story. My medal opened the conversation and he told me he was normally shy and did not talk to people he did not know, but this medal intrigued him.

The conversation went on from there and he shared his life story – a broken relationship, pain and sin and failure.

He was hurting badly and was about ready to cry. I listened. He told me he was 39 years old and needed to clean up his life and start over. He said he now knew why he sat with me. How could I help? I suggested some things to him, gave him my email address and promised to pray for him. I directed him to Jesus, the only one that can help him to ‘start over’.

How can we, as runners, help? The same way as anyone else, to love people, to listen to people, to point them to Jesus, to pray for those that do not know Him, to be there for them, to run the spiritual race, to endure and bring honour and glory to Jesus in all that we do.

Be yourself – in Jesus, and He will allow you to shine and sow the seeds of hope and salvation. It is not in vain. The Lord will bring about the results when the race is over. My TIME at the race was much greater than the clock time of 4.22.25.Take some time for other people, listen to the, Be genuine and care.

Albert No.3105

THE MANITOBA MARATHON, Paul & Albert

World record marathoner Dr. Paul Piplani of Phoenix was in
Steinbach last week staying with ultra marathoner Albert Martens

by Carillon News Sports Writer
Terry Frey

Perhaps the most noteworthy achievement of all at this year's Manitoba Marathon, an achievement that went unnoticed by most was that by 60-year-old Dr. Paul Piplani of Phoenix, Arizona.

Piplani is an acquaintance (by reputation and email) of Steinbach ultra marathoner Albert Martens. Piplani spent a couple of days in Steinbach last week, hosted by Martens, as he prepared to run in the Manitoba Marathon for the fourth time. Sunday's Manitoba Marathon was his 801st he has completed.

Running 800 marathons around the world is quite something in itself, but what makes is so astounding is that he ran his 800th marathon on Saturday in Duluth, one day before the Manitoba Marathon. Oh, one more thing, he ran marathons 798 and 799 last weekend on the west coast. That's right, he ran four marathons in one week.

It's not that Piplani, a part-time university professor, has been running marathons all his life, thus accounting for the 800 marathons. The native of India, who first moved to Phoenix in 1996, only ran his first marathon in 1993, and has averaged 60 or so marathons a year since that time.

He ran his first back-to-back weekend marathons in 1996, as he did this last weekend, and now makes it part of his running agenda. The most number of marathons he has run in a year is 103 in 2004, which is also when he ran his 500th marathon. His personal best time is 3 hours, 22 minutes in 2000.

In an interview in Steinbach last week, prior to driving to Duluth in a rented car, he said "my short term goal is to run #1000 in 2010." He hopes that will be the famed Pikes Peak Marathon, dubbed America's Ultimate Challenge, which was also his first marathon in 1993.

Although Sunday's marathon was only the 38th for Albert Martens, the two are in many ways kindred spirits. Both have run two of the most difficult races known to man, Badwater in California's Death Valley and the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert. Piplani has also run the The Great Wall of China among many other unique events.

Along the way, Piplani has run marathons in all 50 U.S. states and all Canadian provinces and territories. Not to be outdone, he has also run ultra marathons in 45 U.S. states. He has also crossed the globe running marathons in 25 countries and every continent.

As if his accomplishments aren't enough, his outgoing and engaging personality makes him quite a character. In describing his love for running, "after I first got the bug, I just keep on doing the same thing, one foot after another."

Dr. Paul Piplani says he "runs with a purpose." He is a Christian and lives his life in the manner in which M.K. Gandhi once said," Be the change agent which you wish to see in others and live daily to make the world less difficult for others."

The 2007 Father's Day Manitoba Marathon

The Manitoba Marathon, Winnipeg, June 17, 2007

The Finish was more than welcome, on this Father’s Day in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The start was cool at 7.00 am and then I went at what I thought to be my Ottawa Marathon pace, however at the half way mark of 21 kilometers on Portage Avenue, I soon realized that something was not going as well as in Ottawa 3 weeks ago, where I had a 4.22 chip time. At mile 19.5, Dale W caught up with me and greeted me and I told him that I was having problems, namely pain and heavy legs. I had another 11 kilometers left. I got a bit dizzy, so at that point, I figured there is no point in pushing it to a point of injury. I felt my body well, and I knew from experience what to do. I slowed down a bit, and realized that there was little “gas in the tank”. I then resolved just to finish it and still smile somewhat. I did finish in 4.42, and soon I realized that others had also had problems, so then I knew it must be the humidity in the air, even though the temperatures were not very high.

It was a highlight to be able to host Paul Piplani, from Phoenix, who ran his 801^st marathon. You heard right. He ran the Grandmas in Duluth on Saturday, the day before the Manitoba Marathon. He is a great guy running and teaching chemistry in Phoenix, Arizona.

Of course the big reason to get up early, I mean early at 4.00 a.m. was that Edna and I had to be at the 6.30 a.m. start of my 4 Grandchildren. Cameron and Timothy ran the Super Run ( 2.5 miles) and Kenley and Theresa were signed up for the Mini Mites, ages 2 and 4. Kenley got overwhelmed at the loud noise at the start and forgot to run, but rather cried in fear. Theresa just stood there at the start. Edna, said she was afraid of a DNS (did not start). However Judy came to help and they did start and they managed to NOT have a DNF (did not finish).

Patrick did a great job of running two stages of the Relay Race and he caught up to me at about km 16.

What a wonderful Father’s Day, packed with excitement and wonderful people and lots of exercise that created sore muscles.

Ottawa Marathon

OTTAWA MARATHON REPORT

MY 37th MARATHON

PRE-RACE ANXIETIES:

I had been to Ottawa before and had run a good section of the marathon route when I was there in 2005. However, I was still a bit anxious the night before the marathon, which is probably the case for most runners. I had booked a hotel room on Rideau St. quite a ways from the start of the marathon. The day before the race I checked with the Quality Hotel, whether I could drop off my bag at their hotel, which was close to the finish point of the race, so that I could just walk over there after the finish and catch the Airporter bus to the airport from there. They were very helpful, and so at 5:00 on Sunday morning I had my muffin and some coffee and made my way to the Quality Hotel to drop off my bag. I had checked to make sure the Power bars and Gels were in my pocket, made sure I had the race plan, the computer chip and the race bib attached to the appropriate places.

I arrived at the start with 40 minutes to spare. I did some stretching and concentrated on the long run ahead. The gun went off at exactly 7; 00 a.m. – (the gun start and my chip time were 3 minutes apart.).

There was a field of 3600 full marathon runners – each one had trained to run the distance.

THE ROUTE: started north along Elgin St. and we saw the War Monument, then turned left and ran as proud Canadians as we passed the Canada Parliament buildings, the tower and the Terry Fox monument. The Supreme Court building was next along the route. WOW! What a start to the race.

Soon we were heading north across the Ottawa River, into Hull, Quebec. Here we zigzagged back and forth, mainly north and east along gently rolling streets. The French Canadian spectators of Gattineau were friendly, funny and encouraging as they cheered for us. Some wore huge, colourful hats or clown suits. They were happier than we were. I did not see any runners dressed in funny clothes or juggling as they ran.

It was quite a cool morning, and having dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt, I needed to push it to stay warm – or to get warm.

There were serious runners. 113 runners came in with times of under 3 hours.

After about 8.5 kilometres. We headed back into Ontario across the high Alexandria Bridge. At km 9 we turned left onto Sussex Street, passing our Prime Minister’s residence. A few more kilometres and I noticed a runner veer off to the front yard of a house to shake the hand of the man standing there – it was none other than our former Prime Minister Chretian.

The race continue along Princess, Mariposa, Beechwood and MacKay streets which was a beautiful residential area. Soon we were back into the city center and at the half point of the run. Ottawa is a beautiful city.

Now we headed south and along the east side of the Rideau Canal.

I had been pushing myself and took note that I was keeping a pace of 10 km per hour, stopping only for water at the aid stations.

I was feeling good; my stomach was in good shape so I kept the pace. Between km 30 – 40 I was forced to slow down some when pain developed on my right side. I slowed and did some deep breathing and eventually the pain disappeared.

The number bibs assigned to us had our name printed on it as well as our number. At first I was surprised when spectators would call out my name to cheer me on…until I realized the name was right on my chest. But there was a psychological boost when you were cheered on by name. I had never experienced this in other marathons. It was really a neat thing.

Somewhere around km 23 the half-marathoners joined the full marathoners. This created a bit of congestion, and I heard one half-marathoner complain to a full-marathoner that we should not block the road for them!!! The full-marathoner was quite upset at this comment. That was not a nice thing to say.

I guess conditions are never perfect. The half marathon runners had started 1 ½ hours after the full marathon runners, so when we joined, they were still fresh and going a faster pace since they were also only covering half the distance. After about 5 kilometres, the two categories separated again with the half-marathon runners veering off to the left and the full-marathoners to the right.

The route itself was great, comprised of country, city and town atmosphere. The aid stations offered water and Gatorade. In all my Canadian marathon experiences I note that any Power bars or Gels you need along the way, you need to bring with you. I compare this to the European marathons I have done where the aid stations usually have the dextrose, orange slices, banana slices, tea, and sometimes even beer. A ‘full-course meal” compared to just water and Gatorade offered here.

At about Km 35 a little 4 year old boy jumped up beside me and yelled “Go Sens Go! Go Sens Go!” His mother looked a bit chagrined and told me he was a Senators fan! How did I guess? I interpreted that to mean “Run Albert Run!” Really, his Ottawa Sens spirit encouraged me. I pretty much became an Ottawa fan as well, when I watched the YOU TUBE video clip of Elgin Fraser. Check it out

at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z25OVDG_E9g&mode=related&search=

(Copy and paste the link to your browser.)

We were now heading back north along the Rideau Canal, on the home stretch. Almost there! “Only 2 kilometres” “You can do it”, “You look good” were the cheers from our spectators.

Last year 14 elite runners got lost and were disqualified. (Apparently a motorist moved a barricade). This year the route had been changed a bit and was well marked. There were km signs uniformly placed, at the same level, same color so were easy to locate.

Towards the end, with 3 – 4 km to go it began to rain, which was not a problem at this point.

THE FINISH: I was thinking about the finish and expecting it would be a bit of an anti-climax since I knew nobody there. What a pleasant surprise when Terry S showed up with 750 meters to go. Terry had connected with me via the Internet, but we had never met. He showed up to encourage me, and cheered me on. He ran alongside right to the finish. WOW! That was great. I chatted with him for about 10 minutes in the rain after I finished.

The organization was running out of the alu-blankets since people needed them in the rain. So I tried to get out of the recovery area as quickly as possible to keep warm.

The Ottawa Marathon was a great marathon, a truly wonderful experience, measuring up to many of the larger marathons I’ve done in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The medal we received was beautiful and HEAVY. The t-shirt is a good quality running shirt. The fans and spectators in Ottawa were great. Thank you Ottawa marathon board, organization, volunteers, and police for a great event.

The winner of the men’s marathon was David Cheruiyot from Kenya with a time of 2.10.35. (I got too much lead in my pants for that speed).

I was also privileged to see Catherine Ndereba from Kenya run the Nordian 10 km race on Saturday. She is the fastest woman in the world and holds the Women’s marathon record at 2.18.47.

PS Just for the record, a full official marathon distance is 42.195 kilometres, it is not 42.2 km. In miles it is 26.21875 miles, not 26.2. (it is 26 miles and 385 yards).

When ‘gun time’ and chip time’ become so crucial and timing is down to 100th of a second, it is important that the distances are also given correctly.

Albert

No. 3105