J115 – 4/11/2006

114 days, 00H31′ and 200 marathons at the 60th kilometer

Sunday we had thoughts for all the runners who participated in the Paris marathon.

In spite of the morning’s coolness (3° Celsius), the sun quickly heated up the air so the temperature reached 35° Celsius in the middle of the afternoon.  A lot of you have asked why Serge is still running with pants and gloves on.  They help prevent sunburn.  To answer some other questions we have had, Serge has already used up 8 pairs of shoes and his heart beat rate ranges from 95 to 97 beats per minute, whether it is warm or not.  And lastly, to speak of his morale, it fluctuates from one moment to the next, from one day to the next.  The Paris-Tokyo race makes its demands, which are sometimes difficult to stand, especially when fatigue and even weariness take over.

Serge was stopped by two men who seemed to be policemen and he wasted 15 minutes trying to talk to them, using hand language.  The vehicles were in front and didn’t notice the little shack on the outskirts of the village so Serge had to manage on his own.  We will reach Bukhara at the end of the stage.  This city is an architectural jewel, of which we have just seen the minaret of Kalon and the blue cupolas of the Kalon mosque.  This is the way the Paris-Tokyo takes place, there is no time for idling or sightseeing, our days are run on a tight schedule from dawn to dusk.

Our guide, Barchilo, notified the local TV in Bukhara “Boxoro Tv” about the race and Serge was interviewed.  He was happy with his day and he is getting his rhythm back, in spite of some latent cramps which he felt during the morning.  The cure was to salt the water and just testing the saltiness of our mixture we wondered how Serge could drink such a liquid.  His response: “when you must, you must.”