Updates!
 
"Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow."
These words from Henry David Thoreau , American author, poet, and  philosopher, sum up the past 100 days.  Every morning at 5 am I join Mark, my running partner, on our morning run. We have set ourselves the goal of running six out of seven days of the week for a year (2012). 

In the wisdom of Thoreau, Mark and I get on the road – and we talk. Our conversations range from the deeply serious to the hilariously irreverent.  There have been moments when we have addressed the problems of the word - we have
solutions for corruption, for Microsoft, for Toyota and for coping with ageing.  There have also been moments when we have laughed our way through conversations on bee-stings, sprinting the last 100 meters of the Comrades, and King Henry Vlll’s attempts to find a wife.     

Thoreau was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change and natural decay. Well we have faced it all. While the past 100 days have been the summer days of the year – so most mornings have been a cool prelude to hot days – of late we have become aware of the mornings gradually growing darker and the air getting crisper. We have moved from a simple T-shirt to a more recent introduction of gloves and a “chill-cheater”. I expect that shortly we will replace our caps with “beanies” to keep our heads warm. The one great exception in this gradual cooling off was the Two Oceans Marathon, where we ran through six hours of pouring rain.  

Natural decay is the other great challenge: the human body is our greatest challenge! Both Mark and I have had to deal with injuries, fevers and the constant inclination to “just plain laziness”.  We both readily admit that if it was not for the other person we would not get up in the morning. We also have had to run through various aches and pains, nursing sore muscles and joints until they improve. We are committed to running at least 300 days of this year – so we are not afraid to have moments on the run when self-preservation for the long haul demands a spot of walking. Our one golden rule is, however, “we run downhills”.  
 
To sum up the past 100 days: In the words of running writer John Bingham “we learn through running to take what the days gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate." 
 
 
 
75 today!
Mark and I are preparing for the Two Oceans marathon in Cape Town next Saturday (Easter Saturday). I have always thought it appropriate that the 56km race is run on the day when we as Christians are asked to remember the suffering of Jesus - it helps me to get some perspective on my "suffering".

Having to run 6 out of seven days in the week has helped to get me fit. Mark, on the other hand, is naturally fit and he generally floats along nonchalantly. He ran a 32km race at Midmar last Sunday. He spoke of running very slowly - finishing it in three hours! What a biscuit.
 
We both have had to cope with the physical niggles: Mark has a nerve and I have a hip - but we do not talk about them. Instead we talk rubbish, joke and laugh about the weather, the road, and other runners. Mostly we find loooong stories to recount so as to make the road shorter.

And we are grateful for our health and strength.



 
 
50 Days – of running with Mark Duncan. 
Mark is a comedian disguised as a runner. He has a fund of stories, impersonations, and jokes; he manages to turn a minor incident into a major news  event; and he is always unfailingly positive. This makes him the perfect running  companion –because running with Mark will turn any distance into a happy  adventure.  And I have had the  privilege of his company for 50 days.
 
On the 1st of January 2012, we started our challenge in order to raise the levels of awareness around street children in Pietermaritzburg.

"Join" us as we embark on this adventure :-)