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choose not to do what I do. I understand the great City2Surf run is on
in Sydney this coming weekend. Well, to put what I'm doing in per-
spective, every single day I run
six
City2Surfs.
I'm embarrassed at the enthusiasm I'm receiving from the Mexi-
can people. I know I'm not a superstar, but they are making me feel
like one. The mayor of every town I've run through has been on the
road to welcome me, and the crowds wave at me and cheer. They take
my photo and want my autograph. (I hope it's not because they're
intimidated by my armed escort!) The publicity here has been good,
and word is passing along the route. The excitement is the greatest I've
experienced on this run. Sadly, though, there is no real mechanism to
direct donations to the Mexican Red Cross. Email, phone and the Red
Cross website are rudimentary and unreliable.
Entering the city of Tampico, I ran under the big '
Bienvenido
' sign
that stretches across the highway. Some people ran with me to the Red
Cross headquarters, where, in front of a phalanx of TV cameras, one of
the officials declared, 'The money you have raised for the International
Red Cross, Pat, will help the Mexican Red Cross and its citizens, espe-
cially those who have less. This noble action of running thousands of
kilometres for the Red Cross is something worth recognising, and the
people of Tampico welcome you in our city.'
We had a big setback this week: we've lost the sponsorship of the
SOC Exchange. They had paid one $75,000 instalment of their total
commitment of $300,000. There won't be any more support from them.
They pulled the plug because they were disappointed that I didn't
mention them in every interview. I simply couldn't: newspapers and
magazines cut plugs from their interviews. Losing the SOC Exchange
plays on my mind; we certainly could have used their money. But
there's nothing I can do about it. Onwards and upwards.
august 12
I reached the city of Veracruz today. Nowadays, Veracruz is a busy port
with cars, trucks and industry, but it has a romantic past. Hernán Cor-
tés landed here in 1519 and plundered the gold of the region. Pirates,
also attracted by the gold, have made nuisances of themselves here
through the centuries. Veracruz has also been attacked by France and
the United States, and there is a western film called
Vera Cruz
, about a
