Tales of an Ultimate 300K xRUN…

Sharing with you my fellow runners ;D…

This is the Tales of my Ultimate Adventure 300km Xrun, Operation code name Matthew 3:16 from DPRK/Dandong China Border to the Dalian City known also the old Manchuria Feb 13-17!…

 

 

 Feb 13 – Day 1: Lost in Translation

at starting point : River dividing DPRK North Korea/Dandong China

My non-English speaking & last minute replacement driver brought me to the starting line using the 260km expressway vs 316km+ country road i plan to run. My e-bag supplies ended up in the remote areas & not marked my sleep over hotel..erk..also at the starting line, I felt that my clothing is not enough to combat the cold…ulk ..more challenges came as I became lost…..in translation, mostly, but was able to find a good hotel at my first pit stop for day 1 at 40K mark…

Feb 14 – Day 2: Wrong Turn : Expressway vs Country Road

Knowing that my e-bag is now somewhere in the expressway and most of the stores are closed for the holiday, I headed to the expressway but ended up not finding it…more blah blah…i trekked back to the country road by crossing a mountain I took pictures of a while ago, not thinking that I will have to cross it later to find food & shelter. Day 2 at +64K mark (104K mark).

Feb 15 – Day 3: Mind Game : Think, Evolve and Survive

 
After a good night’s sleep in a clean& beautiful, but cheap hotel, I continued running through the country road. This time, the cold started to overwhelm me. In less than an hour of running, my canister & hydration pack tube got frozen. Despite wearing my gloves, my finger started to numb up to what felt almost like a frostbite. Luckily, I found a store nearby, where I saw a saleslady wearing a good thick wool gloves. I even tried to buy her gloves, but thank God, they had a spare, which was large enough to wear over my gloves. I bought a packaging tape, as my instinct told me that it maybe useful later. I ran and ran again, as it became colder and colder. I finally i decided to wrap myself up w/ a heatsheet, which I got from the NYC marathon as a blanket to warm finishers. Despite my situation, I managed to reached my next destination. I found an open seafood restaurant in a nearby hotel. People in that resto either were staring at me because of what I was wearing then or for what I ordered. The waiter was surprised, as I ordered food good for three people! It was not even enough for that I tried to also order what I  saw the people in other table were having. It was  a good-looking spicy chicken wings they were eating, but the chef said that they ran out of supply. Those folks in the other table knew i liked it, and were kind enough to share with me their delicious spicy chiken wings.:) It was a highlight of my day 3 at +64K (168K mark).

Feb 16 – Day 4 : Miracle in the Death Cold

As I learned from day 3, I cut my heatsheet and with the help of the tape I bought, I was able to make an instant added upper thermal long shirt sandwiched inside my other upper garment before I began my final leg.

improvise.think

improvise..evolve

improvise...survive

Based on the feedback I got, there was no available hotel nor was there a nearby town i can stay in within the last 148K to Dalian. I then decided to head back to the super highway to finish this last leg in 24 hours, where roads were properly marked and where there was less traffic hazard. While there, I again hoped to find the remains of my e-bag of supplies. At first, my added insulation worked fine, but as I became weary & tired and as the weather became colder and colder, my mind started to switch to panic mode. I tried controlling my mind by singing and chanting and by praying that I find my e-bag as I could use the plastic there to insulate myself more and combat the cold. I suddenly became so religious and prayed to God to send me a plastic bag, as i became hopeless.

 

improvise thermal clothing : NYC marathon heatsheet + plastic bag : a Miracles saves my Life in cold 😉

Before darkness engulfs me,  a big & thick plastic bag showed up on the road side. I can’t believe that in such a desperate situation, miracles do happen! I immediately grabbed it, made 3 holes on it and despite the cold, removed my upper clothing, wore the plastic and put my clothes back on. At last, I felt warm again!:) I felt stronger and more confident to run again, as I believed that God was with me and was watching over me that day in the snow. Halfway in my last leg, around 9pm, my front ankle joint started to feel pain. This is the time I started to do a real slow march-walk and run. I was too slow to the point that the cold started to win me over again. As my body temp started to drop and as the dark cold night turned extremely cold, I became disoriented and I felt like collapsing anytime soon to die in the cold. I thought of using my emergency help line to call for help/rescue, but I was ashamed to bother my friends. They tried to warn me against doing what I wanted to do, but I was stubborn. I prayed for another miracle. I prayed for a shelter. Then in the horizon, out of the darkness, far ahead,  I saw huge lights. Is it heaven? or is it an illusion?? Or was it the answer to my prayer? As I walked closer, I realized that, indeed, it is! It was a gas station in the middle of nowhere at 65K (233 mark). Another day, another miracle for this stubborn runner.:)

at a distance of 1K+...i saw, i hear him coming...a Whirl Wind of Blizzard of Snow : There's no way to escape but to Brace Brace Brace for Impact...This Guy claims hundreds of cars,trucks & buses crashed ,more than i ever see in my entire life...

Feb 17 – Day 5 : Homecoming in Winter Blizzard : A Heavenly Welcome!

last 33K,..at start of lite Snow Shower it was fun but later turns out to be ugly...

I resumed early after a warm sleep over at the gas station, where i begged for mercy (but paid the guard:) to be allowed to stay for the night. With ankle joint injuries, I can only do march and slow run. The weather started to be okay, but upon reaching the last 40K to Dalian, light snow began to fall. At first, I felt a sense of excitement and joy thinking that I will arrive in Dalian in a white carpet and with a grand ticket parade of snow. Although no medal nor cheering crowds awaited, I imagined the snow shower as God way of giving me a heavenly welcome. Afterwards, the wind blew stronger and the snow thickened by the hour that no more vehicle passed the road.

at a distance of 1K+...i saw, i hear him coming...a Whirl Wind of Blizzard of Snow : There's no way to escape but to Brace Brace Brace for Impact...This Guy claims hundreds of cars,trucks & buses crashed ,more than i ever see in my entire life...

As I slowly reached Dalian, the snow shower turned into a blizzard! Shaken by its roaring mighty sound as I saw the whirling wind gusting so hard, there was no escape but to brace for impact. The blizzard was short , just like me in my long distance journey, but it claimed hundreds of cars, truck, & buses . They were wrecked and crashed, as they piled up along the highway going to Dalian. As I passed them all by, I tried to humor myself by thinking that I was able to overtake lots of vehicles, even if I was only doing a slow march-run due to pain in my ankle. Anyway, I know I’m not  supposed to joke about it or to make light of the misery of others. Yes, I survived the blizzard, but after the miracles, I should not mock the blizzard’s victims, but, rather, be thankful for the graces I received along the way. My last 25K was a painful one. At 23K, I can no longer run and I almost can’t anymore walk properly. I reached out for my phone and draft a message for RESCUE HELP, but again,  I was too proud to send it. I said to myself that this is it. This is where I stop. After a while, I was able to run slowly again, but on my last 3 km I had to just walk. It felt like it’s the longest walk I ever did in my life. 500 meters to the toll gate , I even got pissed with the one who placed that signage, as by then, my pain made it feel like it was still very far. Finally, I reached Dalian Toll Gate boundaries and marked the culmination of my adventure by calling friends in shivering cold sound. I was ready to be picked up at ~300K overall total distance.

 

In  conclusion, the total distance travelled ~ 300km plus/minus 1% error polar foot pod distance tracker not 316km as planned but still from DPRK/Dandong border to Dalian between 4-5 days & if compare with a well known organized 250km ultramarathon in 5 multiday event is _ O _ ;D

ACTUAL ATTACKED : 40K,64K,64K then tried finishing 148K in the 4th day (24 hrs) but almost kill me in death cold nite..miracles happen as i survive and alive to tell the tales 😉

 
Yes, I ran without on-site aid support, but i still want to acknowledge my co-workers, friends and loved ones for believing that i can do it. I would like to thank the following special people: Steven, a local chinese student work as intern at Intel who plot my course and served as my on-call interpreter; my Best Friends in DL Bruce & Linda for their constant monitoring of my condition along the way; Jim & Britton, with whom I had my last dinner before this journey and my welcome dinner when i came back.; Loren, Aaron thru Courtney, for picking me up in Jitshitan Dalian Toll Gate,  where my mind stopped believing that I still can go home on foot; my virtual pacer Jaja & Joshua whom I txt for prayers and who replied from the Phils and to my girlfriend Jehn who made a multiple calls to strengthening me and check my status. And most importantly, to my Lord, Jesus Christ, who was with me and who never ceased to guide and support me throughout my journey.:)
 

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him”

Operation Matthew 3:16 is now complete : A Stage 1 – The Beginning of many more miles to take….
…watch out for the next Operation : Code Name THE TWELVE APOSTLES : Dalian to Beijing 1,200km

Operation Matthew 3:16 is complete (300km) ; next is The Twelve Apostles (1,200km)