Ah, Finland! Home of Nokia and, well, Finns. Mike from Austin is right - they manage to string together more letters than any other nation on earth here. Spelling tests in school must consume reams of paper...but anyhow, I digress.
The day started inauspicious with heavy rain as we were eating breakfast. We started the race on
the Swedish side of a river, and crossed directly into Finland. The rain poured, the wind howled, thunder and lightning boomed. Everyone was cold and drenched - sheer bloody misery for the first two hours.
Gradually it eased up, and as we left the main highway to cross a mountain range via a smaller road, the skies turned blue and the sun put in a welcome appearance. My running felt good today, helped in part by the knowledge that we only had 40 miles to cover, but also thanks to less painful feet.
Today's bombshell is that women's race leader Hiroko from Japan abandonned. (She also had to abandon after 44 days in the last 2003 edition of this race.) She has had bad leg problems for days, and finally was forced to quit. Again, this is so late in the game to have to drop out - very unfortunate. She's being a trooper, but is clearly very upset, especially because she was holding a huge lead over second place on time.
So, just 6 days to go for the rest of us, but 4 of them very long. Norway tomorrow, hopefully with kinder weather? But I'm less than hopeful - it's just started to rain again outside.
20 comments:
Glad you got a night in a hotel with a hot shower. Sounds dreamy after reading all of your posts. Only a few more days to go and you're done -- what an amazing accomplishment!
Having drinks with Craig Lakey tonight.
~amy johnson brotman
You are almost there, Russell!!
Way to go!! Texas BBQ is waiting for you and a whole lot of people too!!!
Hang in there, you're almost done! It's been so much fun following your journey!
As sad as it is about those other folks, this is not about them. It's all about you. Get it done. Time to put on your big boy panties, Russ.
{and a *hug* to soften the tone of voice}
Wow, 6 more days! You've got to be thinking...I can do anything for 6 more days! {When we mortals use that mantra, it's usually at the end of a marathon...I can do anything for 10 more minutes} days, minutes, eh, what's the difference?
Hang in there through the days to come. You can do it!!
not to sound demanding, but we didnt get a wildlife count today.
; )
it's like i can see and hear you much more chipper after these runs that sound like they've been better than the less than stellar ones you had a couple weeks ago.
Can't wait to hear about tomorrow's adventure! Watchout for those norwegians, they like to put crossed out zeros in the middle of their words!
finally, I googled: goodnight in finnish, and surprisingly a website has those exact words in 240 languages. so I say to you in Finnish:
Hyvää yötä
(what a weird language!)
You are in the home stretch now Russ!!!
Hang in there Russell,
It's not even a week anymore and even the thoughest rainy days will be over then.
Keep on running
Markus
Dude...amazing what you have accomplished, so far. It must be exhilarating to be in single digits and know the end is near. Here's to calm bouyancy as you complete the journey.
Echoing all the below comments - keep on going you absolute legend
Raife
SIX MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!! This is exciting as hell! Goooooooooo Russ!
What everyone else has said...WOOHOO!!! You're almost there.
I hope you didn't have Monty Python's Finland song stuck in your head today! That could make any stage that much longer. On every run that feels hard this summer, I think about what you are doing on that day and manage to pull myself through. Thanks, Russ! :)
Wowie Zowie...you are so close to being done and it sounds like your feet are holding up well. That is great news. I am excited to read your upcoming posts as the finish line gets closer and closer. Way to go!
Hey Russell,
I've been following your blog, and thinking of you even more. I brag to everyone I know about you!! I'm SO impressed by your hard work and commitment. Keep it up! I know you'll do great!!
- Adele Plunkett (Brian's daughter)
Simply amazing Russell! Only 6 more days of hard work ahead, and then it is pizza and sodas on the couch for you. (Yeah, right)
Cheers,
David Phillips
Your running friends @ Hoovers are cheering you on from Austin, where it is not raining and Hot as Haitis.
We are so proud of you, keep it up.
Blisters and aches will heal, you have this as a memory forever!!!
Wow, you are so close to the end! Just keep your eye on the horizon for a few more days and you'll finally be there!
My heart breaks for Hiroko, who I feel like I know thanks to your thoughtful writing.
Spelling bees don't really exist in Finland -- the pronunciation and spelling tend to be very self-evident, unlike English with cough/though/through/thorough etc.
Long words, that's what we get with our love of agglutination and compound words.
Sad to hear about Hiroko...
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