A dream come true!

Sabanitas outside Colon. Saturday evening, 9 pm.

Colon has a proud history, this part of the world have played an important part, from the Spanish “gold-era” to the building of the canal. Now it is more famous for crime and violence, and a lot of poor areas. What a fantastic moment it must have been for the people of Colon last year, when Irving Saladino won the first Olympic gold medal ever for Panama!

We were supposed to meet at Rey, and we got out of the car. We didnt really blend in, one head taller than everyone else and white as a sheet of paper- even in my runners clothes I scream “Money” to the surrounding. It felt a bit secure knowing that the police station is on the other side of the street, 30 meters away, but I can not say I was 100 % comfortable in the crowd.
I called Carlos to see where he was. Carlos and the other guys from the runners club went to get a cup of coffee, and we tried to coordinate ourselves. Then a middle age lady came forward- recognition! The friendly lady from the restaurant from two weeks earlier when Ida and I did reconnaissance of the route! Hugs and greetings. “Your friends are in the café”.

Armando, whom I met on my first race here last year, that introduced me to the club. The two brothers from Ecuador, Juan Pablo and Federico- two runners with an amazingly smooth flow in their steps. Luis of course, the really crazy guy training for his 100 miles later this year. And Carlos- the doctor with an eternal smile on his face.

After we had signed our names at the police station and exchanged a few words with the police escort, we headed back for the ocean. A few seconds of panic at the police station, when we checked the map. “Lago Gatun” it said on our starting spot. What! The damned lake?!? Not the ocean?? After some thinking, and double check with Luis we realized that the map at the police station was actually wrong. We would run from ocean to ocean, not from some sea to the ocean.

Picture 1: the start at the Atlantic. From left to right, Carlos, me, Armando, Federico, Juan Pablo and Luis.

Off to the start, parked the cars and walked down 50 meters to the ocean. Neighbors watching, wondering about the police car with blinking lights and some crazy guys in white shirts.. A few photos by the water, sorted out the last details and then off. Running? No, walking up to the police car, sorting out who goes first and then- running!

10.08 pm. What an amazing feeling! Six guys running in a nice smooth pace, police car behind us with blinking lights, a few more support-cars and full nightlife on the streets! Starting in a steady 6.30-pace (6.30 minutes per km), taking left on Transistmica after 1.5 km. Next: 7 km steady uphill, almost 140 m difference in altitude.

We slow the pace to around 7 min/km, talking and joking ourselves through the first hour of running. A lot of traffic going out of the city, but already after an hour the traffic is almost gone. Most of the sound comes from restaurants, where the full Saturday night parties are ongoing!

After 4 km comes a pretty steep section of the hill, and Luis says: “don’t worry, we are almost at the top, I recognize this”. Yeah, right! 10 minutes later we are still struggling uphill, Luis quiet with me and Carlos teasing him. From now on, every uphill we started with the by now famous words “don’t worry, we are almost at the top..”. Poor Luis.

After 12 km, approximately 1.5 hour, we got a steady downhill, and the pace went up a little bit. Everyone was feeling very good, and there was still a lot of chatter among the runners. Not much traffic now, but the evening was young and the parties plenty. Maybe we should stop by for a beer…?

Picture 2: still feeling good. Me and Carlos.

25 km, 3 hour, and we all started to feel a bit sleepy. Just after 1 in the morning, and the parties were still plentiful. No traffic though, and the sounds from the surrounding djungle were amazing. Full moon giving some light to the surrounding. Fantastic! The talking and joking have turned into silence, and everyone is contemplating their own thoughts. Knees starting to hurt a little bit. Not much, but together with the realization that there is around 6 more hours of running.. Not a pleasant thought.. But it feels very good to have Ida in the support car, always supporting, cheering. Giving energy.

33 km, 4 hours, and we are now crossing River Chagres, the most important river in Panama, feeding the canal with the water necessary to handle all the ships going through. Knees are a bit painful, but I knew that would come.
Armando thinks that 4 hours of running is enough, and settle for the bus. Probably the smartest guy in the crowd.

I think it is now we pass a cement factory. The air is a dense fog with cement particles, making it difficult to breath for a few km. The headlight shows millions of particles that wants to enter and destroy my lungs- and there are houses here! I feel so sorry for the people that have to live in this environment. I don’t even dare thinking about what their lungs would look like. This is poverty showing its worst side, when people are forced to suffer, to try and survive in an environment that eventually will break them down. I am just a passing guest, suffering for a few minutes. This is their home.

After 5 hours we reach Chilibre. 41 km, and now everyone is hurting. Some more, some less. But from now, pain is everyones companion. My ecuadorian friend also decides that this is enough. He started running 1 ½ month ago, and now he is running a marathon!!! We are so impressed, incredible!

Now we turn into the pitch dark djungle, the road towards Gamboa. The djungle is creeping closer, and even though we have our support cars, they are mentally so far away- in another world. The link is there, when I handle over the empty bottle to get a new one, to grab a sandwich or a snackbar. But the car is really another planet, another universe with the arm being a wormhole through space.

Thoughts are now getting a bit incoherent, and I stop taking photographs for the blog. It is simply to difficult a task to do, requires too much thinking. All thoughts are now focused on moving the feet forward, one step at a time, and the 5 minutes of walking we do twice an hour (the so called 25/5-method, 25 minute running, 5 minute walking etc) is a true reward to fight for. I am repeating my new mantra, “it is only pain”, to sort of persuade the body that it is only pain, and that I will not break or get injured. And if it is only pain, I can “think it away”. To my surprise, it actually works. Well, at least a little bit..

After 6 hours we pass the road up to Gamboa after 49 km, and my mind somehow registers relief- its less than 20 km left. Constant pain now in both knees and feet, in particular the uphills- they are real killers.

7 hours, some light at the horizon in the early morning hours. We are met first by three runners from the runners club. This is what it must have felt for Christofer Columbus when he was crossing the ocean, seeing the first birds indicating land somewhere ahead of him- a smell of land, in this case a smell of the finish line, or rather an ending of the pain.

Picture 3: getting support from Agapito the last few km.

More runners meet up, and we are soon 15 runners or more on the street. Tired Panamanians look at us when we pass, now knowing what they should make of it on an early Sunday morning. What a bunch of crazies!

I can hardly run in the uphills, each step painful. 6 km left someone says, but he could have said “only 10 hours more”. No difference to me. 6 km, an eternity. The only thing I know is that I have to keep my feet moving. 4 km. I can hardly keep my tears back, a mix of pain and excitement. I actually gonna make it- and with a fantastic support from the surrounding runners!

“You look good!”, someone says.
“Mentiras (lies)!”, I mumble. Everyone laughs.
“Yes, but it makes you feel better anyway”.
How true it is. 2 km, and I can almost see Amador now, the finish. Eyes with tears now, met by a wonderful crazy swede in a yellow shirt- Henrik!
“Here is some coffe. I didn’t know which beer you prefer, so I have both Balboa and Corona when you get to the finish”. That’s a true friend! Rounding the corner for the last 100 meters, Carlos and Luis waiting. “We wanted to wait for you, to finish together”. Oh my, I don’t believe it. Well, we made the journey together, and I am so happy to finish together as well.

Picture 4: Me, Carlos and Luis a few hundred meters from the finish.

Picture 5: supporting runners at the finish!

I can actually finish running and I cant help smiling, a sea of yellow ahead, colleagues and friends, applause in the air. The rest is hugs, photographs and thanks to everyone that helped me fulfill my dream. This was a journey within but also a journey with friends and family.

Picture 6: Pacific Ocean. Puentes de las Americas in the background, bridge of Americas crossing the canal.

Picture 7: Carlos, me, Luis and Federico. Four happy companions.

I have realized that I can do so much more than I think is possible, and that if you have friends to do it with- you can do even more (and have some fun on the way too).