Help! Help! Help!

In article said:

More in hope than expectation, I'm asking you smelly little rec.runners to provide an answer to my
search for 'My Race of '04'.

The following criteria must be met.

1. It must be in a desert, high desert, or an attractive wilderness location, other than that I
don't care where. Oh, that's a lie. I don't want to have 1,000 vaccinations simply to
compete, so make is somewhere without Rabies or Yellow Fever.

2. I'm thinking multi-day here, perhaps staged rather than continuous.

saharamarathon.orgrace.htmlOpen ↗

... Ultra runners will continue on during the next two days running an additional 140 kilometers
south to Dakhla. ...

Not sure whether that's any good by your high standards or not. The time of year may be a problem --
you'd probably have to leave it till '05.

Quoted message said:

Don't tell me to use 'Google'.

found it on google (-;

I bet Dot could name at least one good ultra in Alaska.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Donovan Rebbechi said:

The time of year may be a problem

'May'????

You didn't read the exam question properly, did you? How the hell do you fellows ever graduate from
University? Yankee degree are probably equivalent to the tests we expect our pets to perform before
we consider them housetrained.

Quoted message said:

I bet Dot could name at least one good ultra in Alaska.

I don't class Alaksa as 'an attractive wilderness location'. It's a bloody desolate tundra.

Thanks for trying.

In article said:

Donovan Rebbechi said:

The time of year may be a problem

'May'????

You didn't read the exam question properly, did you? How the hell do you fellows ever graduate
from University? Yankee degree are probably equivalent to the tests we expect our pets to perform
before we consider them housetrained.

Ok you whiney brit, here's an the ultra calendar for Australia if that helps.
coolrunning.com.aucalendar.shtmlOpen ↗

Most of these will be too "short" for you, but there is a 6 day race in November. There are several
"attractive wilderness locations" in Australia, and there are some harsh, barren desert flatlands --
so if you're after the picturesque, you'll need to find out a little about the details.

there's another calendar at runnersworld runnersworld.com0,1300,1 75 138Open ↗
4573,FF.html?site=RunnersWorld

races include the 190km "desert cup" (single stage, sorry) organised by an outfit called "dream
chaser outdoor adventure club" dreamchaserevents.comdreamchaserevents.comOpen ↗. On this webpage, you'll find
information about the Marathon Des Sables (multi stage but in April) and the Jungle Marathon (multi
stage, 125 miles, September, Brazil)

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 19:42:14 +0000 (UTC), Donovan Rebbechi
<[email hidden]> wrote:

See? You can be *very* useful when you try.

The Aussie ultra site is EXCELLENT, many thanks. I'm ploughing through it right now, before the
internet goes down tomorrow - thanks to some more of my friends :-)

OK, I was just joking. I have NO IDEA who these bad people are.

And your wish is...?

TopCounsel said:

Quoted message said:

I don't class Alaksa as 'an attractive wilderness location'. It's a bloody desolate tundra.

Now who's uneducated? Not that you're wrong about American schools, but Alaska is anything but
desolate. You haven't been there or wouldn't say so. It is "tundra" only above limited elevations
or in the Arctic Circle way up north. Most of the rest of it is beautifully-forested timberland as
far as the eye can see, and the coasts are the most spectacular you could ever see anywhere.
During late spring and summer, the inland streams are simply teeming with salmon and other fish.
The state is normally quite temperate May-August. Ruling it out is shortsighted if there's an
otherwise attractive event there. Did some wonderful trail running there.

shhhhhh. That's our secret. We've got too many touristi as it is so we try to present the appearance
of barren waste land where we live in igloos and use honey buckets.

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

TopCounsel said:

Quoted message said:

shhhhhh. That's our secret. We've got too many touristi as it is so we try to present the
appearance of barren waste land where we live in igloos and use honey buckets

It is incredible how many people think AK is just vast stretches of flat ice and snow all year
long. It's like they read fictional accounts such as "To Build a Fire" or "Call of the Wild" and
think they know the place! The Yukon Territory gets the same short shrift. Well, so much the
better for those of us who appreciate these awesome places.

It's been funny. I've been kinda keeping an eye out for potential races or running campes to do some
day. I read most of the ones on r.r, ultra list, and RW trail/ultra forum, and don't get excited
except for a coupple on the ultra list (usually characterized by few runners, no roads). Then I
stumble across races in the Yukon and Nunavut that just seem to call me. I musta migrated to my
natural habitat 🙂

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Achtung! Spitfire! said:

More in hope than expectation, I'm asking you smelly little rec.runners to provide an answer to my
search for 'My Race of '04'.

Same answer as last year: Desert Cup? Dunno if it'll be in Mali again this year or back in Jordan
(very seriously doubt it tho, considering the recent "interlude" in the area) www.darbaroud.com

Pity you can't get in April, you could have come to the "MDS" and help us hold the tent up in the
mornings :-

Quoted message said:

Same answer as last year: Desert Cup? Dunno if it'll be in Mali again

Mali? Omigod. What a hellhole. Last two times I flew out of Bamako Air France literally fumigated
the interior of the plane for flies, with us in there, after everyone had boarded and the doors were
sealed up. Even their international airport has open-hole toilets as you deplane. Mali would be just
about the last place on earth you'd want to risk sickness or injury. On the bottom 5 worldwide for
per capita GDP, etc.

(TopCounsel) said:

Mali? Omigod. What a hellhole.

Now, now, Mr Counsel, this isn't like you at all.

I could give you a lecture on the socio-political background to the country that would offer some
explanation for the relatively poor living standard you observed. But you're not stupid. You know
the reasons already.

What rattles my cage is your implication that Mali is a country unworthy of a visit. From the
incredible beauty of the Adrar des Ifoghas in the east, to the desolate splendour of the Bambouk
Mountain in the west, Mali is a veritable gem of a country. As part of the ancient Songhai empire it
has a rich cultural history, evident in the manner and bearing if its inhabitants. Sure, you
wouldn't go there if you wanted a beach holiday or to experience five-star luxury, but if you want
to experience just a little of what Conrad saw in 'Heart of Darkness', you could do worse that pick
Mali as your next holiday destination.

OTOH, you could spend your time like the rest of your Yankee chums and fly direct from NY to Paris,
there to [censored] long and hard about anything and everything.

(TopCounsel) said:

Quoted message said:

What rattles my cage is your implication that Mali is a country unworthy of a

visit. Hey, I didn't say that. What I said was:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Mali would be just about the last place on earth you'd want to risk sickness

or injury.

Thus is, by IMPLICATION, a country the prudent would not wish to visit.

<snipped horrid, biased, description of Mali>

May I ask, did you travel in Mali dressed in your western finery, using a mode of transport that few
locals can afford? Then yes, you stuck out like a sore thumb and acted as a honeypot for every
beggar within 50 klms. Sure, Mali - as are many other places in that part of the world - is a tough
place to live. You may care to acquaint yourself with the American policy on foreign aid to Mali and
it's neighbours. It doesn't make pretty reading. There is precious little use in griping about the
quality of hospital accommodation that you, as a visitor, may find yourself experiencing, if you
aren't prepared to join pressure groups trying to rectify matters.

Quoted message said:

More to the point: If Alaska is "too desolate" for you, how can the disease, flies and dust of Mali
be the "beautiful wilderness" you seek?

OK, I withdraw my comments on Alaska. It may be beautiful. I just can't say I care enough about the
place to find out. It's all yours.

Mali *is* pretty. Well, the countryside is pretty. Africa is Africa. It's harsh but soft, cruel yet
yielding, merciless and REAL. I love it. I think it's the proximity of death, disease and
deprivation that makes you realise the veneer of civilization is just that - a veneer. As a species,
we're closer to the average inhabitant of Mali than most people will ever realise.

Quoted message said:

Mali is "worth a visit" -- if you feel that you don't really know the depths to which human
existence has sunk in different places on the globe.

Or the dignity that individuals can retain, despite the paucity of their surroundings.

Quoted message said:

It is an educational experience. But pleasant it is not; nor is it a particularly safe place to
participate in any endurance event. Go to Alaska and take your chances with a Kodiak bear. Dying
as bear food is surely more noble than dying as virus-fodder. You did say something about not
wanting vaccinations, didn't you? For Mali, you'd definitely need yellow fever, Hep. A & B, and
anti-malarials. I'm sure the CDC and the US State Department have further recommendations. All
you'd need for Alaska in about May would be your "Jungle Juice" (mosquito repellent)!

Now here you stand on firmer ground. As I'm no longer current on many of my African vaccinations,
your comments have considerable relevance to my quest.

However, if I have to die, I'd rather die in Mali than in Alaska.

what a stinkhole.

"In another life, when we are both cats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

(TopCounsel) said:

Mali? Omigod. What a hellhole.

Now, now, Mr Counsel, this isn't like you at all.

I could give you a lecture on the socio-political background to the country that would offer some
explanation for the relatively poor living standard you observed. But you're not stupid. You know
the reasons already.

What rattles my cage is your implication that Mali is a country unworthy of a visit. From the
incredible beauty of the Adrar des Ifoghas in the east, to the desolate splendour of the Bambouk
Mountain in the west, Mali is a veritable gem of a country. As part of the ancient Songhai empire
it has a rich cultural history, evident in the manner and bearing if its inhabitants. Sure, you
wouldn't go there if you wanted a beach holiday or to experience five-star luxury, but if you want
to experience just a little of what Conrad saw in 'Heart of Darkness', you could do worse that
pick Mali as your next holiday destination.

OTOH, you could spend your time like the rest of your Yankee chums and fly direct from NY to
Paris, there to [censored] long and hard about anything and everything.

Quoted message said:

HELP! HELP! HELP!

One word: Lube.