Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and without mercy. I yelled as he dug his steel fingers deep into my
sinews. For all the pain, though, he did me the world of good, and
afterwards I could move much more freely. He has agreed to give me
another going over before I get too far south.
Ultrarunning is an extreme sport. A run-ending fall, from stum-
bling on a gutter or pothole or just an uneven surface, is always on the
cards. There are also real dangers to avoid: in the Arctic, I was wary of
polar bears; here in the United States, it's semitrailers hurtling by me,
or side mirrors on cars and vans that can clip me and knock me down.
Still to be encountered on this run are bears, wildcats and snakes,
kidnappers and bandits in the Darién Gap and deep crevasses in the
Antarctic snow. I could contract food poisoning or a serious disease.
There'll be blisters, sprains and bruises, maybe stress fractures. I've yet
to have anyone throw objects at me from passing vehicles. I'm serious:
it has happened to me many times in Australia. When I was running
around the country, some galoot threw a beer bottle at me, and it hit
me on the buttock and caused such deep bruising that I was laid up
for some time.
