Part of my job (really) is to look far into the future, and try to figure out the world needs, how people will live, the GIGA forces that will shape the human environment. Looking far provides clarity and perspective, and also the space to assume nothing is impossible. In these games, the year of 2050 is often used as a year where global leaders and governments aim with their long term roadmaps. I just realized that this is also the year that I will be 86 years old. And if I do get there (alive…) it means that I outlived my father who passed on January 4th 2020.

When I came back from the Gobi March race in August 2019, I had this deep feeling of unrest. It was not too long that I realized that global sustainability is this bug behind this unrest. Later that year I started working on packaging sustainability strategic projects, to be followed by renewable energy strategies, then food waste reduction initiative, and recently also sustainable sourcing roadmap.

As I was thinking about 2050, and becoming 86 years old some day, it just hit me that people often ask: “what will be left for our children? what world are we handing over to them?”. Then I realized, that I am fortunate. Fortunate to actively contribute to the future of my grandkids that were not even born yet…

So below are some photos from my runs, to celebrate the beauty around us, and to remind us to keep this planet viable and beautiful for us the generations to follow.

See ya on the trails…

Covid-19 is reshaping so many things in our lives. Society, economy, relations between people, security, confidence, all (and more) are shaken in a way most of us have never seen before. Truly, its magnitude is enormous, more of a new world war – just different battle fields. It makes you reconsider so many things in your life, what you really value? what’s important? what should i do in the future? would there be one?

During quarantine time I found running as the best relief. Since I live in the countryside, I was fortunate enough to be able to start the trails as close as 100 m from my house. Escaping from the turmoil for 1-2 hours was a true pleasure. It forced mt to cut down distances, but also to be creative and run trails close to home, that I have never run before. Having said that, my mind was distracted often, and I bet I twisted my ankle more than I could imagine. The peak was missing a hiding snake in the low grass, that bite me… luckily it was a “dry bite” wit very little venom and the effect was very local, some blood clothing, and 2 weeks of local pain.

As the quarantine was lifted, distances became longer again, and two great things happened. First, I started combining running with writing. Lilach started an “online” poetry writing group, which I gladly joined. I often find myself “writing” poems in my mind as I run, stop to record line on my mobile, hurry home to write them down. That with photos from my runs become great memories.

Then came the new challenge. Since flights are practically off, and no races, my brother talked me into taking a new challenge, here in the Negev desert. To run the “Makhtesh Ramon Circular Trail”. It is a ~125 km trail with approximately 3,500 meters climb, as a stage run in 3 days. Shortly after it became a “friends run” mini event, and it seems that at the end of September 2020 there will be over 40 of us on the trail.

Ramon Crater is a geological feature of Israel‘s Negev desert. Located at the peak of Mount Negev, some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the land form is not an impact crater from a meteor nor a volcanic crater formed by a volcanic eruption, but rather is the world’s largest “erosion cirque” (steep head valley or box canyons). The formation is 40 km long, 2–10 km wide and 500 meters deep, and is shaped like an elongated heart. The only settlement in the area is the small town of Mitzpe Ramon (“Ramon Lookout”) located on the northern edge of the depression. Today the area forms Israel’s largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve.

Running this trail is the new challenge – to be completed September 24-26th.

Till then, see ya on the trails!

That quote of Geoff Roes (2010 Western States 100 champion) caught my attention last night…

The past few weeks have been ultra intensive. Four weeks ago I got the phone call, appointing me to run the COVID-19 crisis management team of the company. Setting teams across the globe, playing a whole new ballgame that was never played before, with its rules changing by the hour, sometimes by the minute. No working hours, just a long trail of minutes, minor, medium, big decisions. So many aspects to the crisis, beyond words. Protecting the people was always and still is the key. Safe, protected, healthy and calm people make societies win such battles. Business is not different.

Moving through extreme contrasts between operational and psychological aspects became a new normal. A time of uncertainty is probably the most challenging in human mental states.  As we applied one procedure, the regulation changed again and again. Supply chain; setting new routines and guidelines; addressing our management and board questions and concerns; as demanding as they are, these are technical “to do” things. I found managing peoples confidence and resilience to be the most challenging part. To sum it up shortly, I can describe this task as: i. Major in psychology could be useful; and ii. crisis management is like barbecue with friends… it hot… your fingers get burned… and yet there are at least three guys giving you advise…   

To keep some sanity in the process, I tried to keep most part of my training plans for the Namib Race 2020. Some of them, performed in the middle of the night, were interrupted by urgent calls. More than once of found my self sprinting home to make sure things do not go out of control. Although it was naive, I kept the belief that the race will not be cancelled. That hope died when I was notified that my flights were cancelled… That day, I committed myself to run my own solo equivalent race on the same dates here in Israel. However…

A few days later I got this from Racing The Planet team:

“We have considered cancelling the event… but we feel during this time of challenge and darkness, it is important to have a light at the end of the tunnel, a goal to work towards as athletes, adventure seekers and also as global citizens… The Namib Race 2020 will be rescheduled to Thursday 5 November 2020…”. 

Thank you guys for this light!  Together we can go through the low points and move on. Hope to see you then!

Till then… see you on the trails!

This weekend runs were all about what goes on these days, the global turmoil, real or not – this is how life around the globe look like for most of us. I was thinking what I can take from running to help me go through this period of my life. Especially since it appears this COVID-19 time is a once in a lifetime experience for most of us. First thought was that we got used to live in an “instant” environment, where everything is literally at the tip or our pointing finger… we learn, consume, interact, communicate, buy, entertain, all in a split of a second. In a 20min net time of a digital episode, we get the background, go into a mega crisis, dive into bottoms and then in 30 sec we gain strength, fight back, and in 19 min “problem is solved” and we still have a 45 sec for a happy ending and credits… Well, reality as we know it is a bit different. It is not only a disappointing realistic observation, it is also a source of dissonance when we face a major challenge: no script, no pattern, no secured happy ending, unknown time frame… a land of uncertainty.

Personally, I do not believe in ‘concurring the fear’ rather in managing it and channeling it into productive activities. So, what was I thinking about while running? I thought about the long journey from anxiety to fear, and how to turn it to determination and action.

Some definitions for a start? Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Panic is a sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. All of us may have a fine mix of those as we experience current happenings. Very similar to feeling we may have during preparation, start line and all the way in a long trail running race.

Next, what can I/we do? There are many papers written about managing fear, and in theory they are probably right. I picked those suggestions that I understand how to build upon and resonate with my experience in trail running. This post is probably a reflection of the first suggestion: “Embrace it”. Do not fear the fear. It is there to help you direct your actions, so let it in, its fine. Then “take the time”; life is not a Netflix episode, so take the time, stop for a minute, consider your options, plan, and pace yourself based on the changing reality. Understand the fear, what are your main concerns, and literally write them down. Think long term but break your long-term goal/distance into shorter, measurable and doable actions. Learn, prepare, practice; get as much information about the challenge and reduce the unknown part to minimum. Then, prepare and practice, one step at a time, learn from others (someone else who has accomplished it before? someone written a book?). Stay positive, keep on pushing as if anything is possible. Do not focus on the finish line, visualize success. I find it elevating during stressful moments. Don’t be shy, get help from fellow “runners” with you on the trail, as well as the volunteers at the aid stations. There are plenty of people willing to help, use it, let them reach out for you, you are not alone. And do help others, it will help you face you own fears.

And one day, after we collectively cross the finish line, we will wake up the day after. Our muscles sore, body aces in organs we were not aware of their existence. But we will look back with pride, how we faced our fears, embraced them, got help from known and newly met friends, and helped others. It will become yet another precious moment in our past. We will try to relive moment after moment of that journey and realize how we evolved and grew stronger from it.

And remember “The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer” (George Santayana).

See ya on the trails!

Eyal

.

It is almost a month since my father closed his eyes for the last time. My beautiful father. This post is a bit different, not much running, more about memories and what’s important in life. So this is what I wrote and read in the funeral:

“On the way, driving, I heard a song saying “Abraham, do not touch that child…” and I asked too, but it did not work. A so, like king David, you went out to the yard to open the gate, and he found you there. David.

My father, a child on the laps of a Romanian girl in the village. On a wagon, deported. Walks along the room walls to avoid his dead grandma. Runs with grandpa between the bombs, seeking shelter in the trenches. Hiding in the toilets with Ezra your brother, to eat the cake grandma sent. Crossing the continent after the war by train just to catch the buns at the window in Amsterdam railway station.

Excited to see Haifa harbor lights after a week at sea. Charming mother by the water fountain in the steaming Beit Shean valley. Firing a “fiat” rocket in your army training, and remembering Leibowitz hat floating in the river as you crossed it. Building your home in kibbutz Tel Amal, work night and days out in the fields, saving young gazelle hiding in the growing wheat.

Celebrates and happy with his children, mourns the loss of his first boy, so young… over fifty years ago, seems like today. Leaves the kibbutz, build a home in the city,  a warm and hugging family nest, with diverse neighbors, and kids with bread and jam on the grass. Hikes and travel with us across the country, knowing every farmer in the fields and the mountains. Teaching me to know each soil, row and furrow. 

You, who came back from this horrible war in 1973 and sworn not to shave until peace comes. That when Sharon entered our home with her head shaved, and mother stood there jaw dropped, you said: “you look great”. That let us fall a rise and respected our will to be independent. That welcomed your guests wearing gallabieh and serving steaming coffee. You, that kept complaining that the painful back stands between the head and the bottoms, but agreed with me that the alternative is sanitary questionable. That somehow, Afula was the center of the world for you, and that your eyes shined when you talked about your grand and grand-grand children. That they remember with love how you said that each person is born what he is, and so do gay people, so why making such a big deal about this.  That of all the things you could tell my daughter when she traveled to see the camps in Poland, you asked her to contribute to the society and the community.

Dad. That I was smart enough to start telling you how much I love you two years ago. So here, one more time: I love you.

Kisses and a big hug. Rest in peace.” 

And all along this week, this touching song of James Blunt played again and again in my head.

“Monsters” by James Blunt

Not a psychologist or therapist, but as most long distance runners know – mental strength is definitely part of the game. Recently, during my long runs, I started thinking of the depth you reach in while competing in a long race. Particularly, I was trying to recall specific thoughts and classify them. Being an engineer, the urge of putting things in some logical order is impossible to control.

First, I tried to think of the axes along which the thoughts align. Many ideas came up, but I made the choice to define them based on my thoughts rather than reading other papers that may fit many people. This is because it is important for me to define these for my future personal experiences. The axes I chose are time and “positive-negative” scales. For simplicity I divided these axes to minimum number of categories. Time scales goes from “past” to “future” through “here and now’. The “positive-negative” scale is even more simple and split to “negative” and “positive”. Now that there is a map, it was time to place the thoughts on this matrix.

Placing the thoughts on the map seemed to be easy when they came up as I was running, but as I set in front of it in my living room the thoughts were hard to find and recall… not giving up on the concept, I did collect examples and placed them on this matrix. Figuratively I think it could look like this:

Now that I got my thoughts in some kind of logic order, my question was: where do I find myself spending more time? which part of this matrix works better for me? Honestly, “future” thoughts are not very productive for me, fantasizing on the future during the run put long term goals that I find often very useful during training are frustrating me during a race. Here and now – this is a very operational part of the race, helps me to be functional, overcome here-and-now problems and crisis. Surprisingly (or not?) what works best for me are thoughts that take me to the extreme: bring me to tears OR make me burst laughing. Deep dark memories, traumatic ones, may pop into my thoughts and somehow drive my run. Similarly, on the very end of the “happiness” scale (just invented it now…) I find laughing so helpful. This relieving laugh comes many times when I try to fool/cheat myself by thinking “it is almost over”, and then thinking how stupid I think I am…. Oh, and one that I really like is simply telling myself jokes…

And how about you?

If you got all the way down to this end, share with me: What are your thoughts? what helps you during the race?

Till then: see ya on the trails!

Time to follow the next dream, time for new fears, new gaps in the knowledge, new doubts, time to re-find the inner strength, time for a new search. No worries, I am not quitting my great job, only choosing my new running adventure. A couple of months ago, I decided to challenge myself with a second “4 Deserts” race, this time in Namibia. A “yellow-brown” race, unlike the green horizons of Mongolia last summer. After building the base, December 1st marks the beginning of the “official” training period for the start line on April 26, 2020.

The more I think of it I understand that this race is a completely different challenge. The more I understand this – the more I am excited to confront the challenge and test myself again. I remind myself that the best moments of running in pouring rain is spreading your hands while running through the howling wind and the thunderstorm!

This one will be different for several reasons. The first is the new territory, the unknown terrain, climate, people.  Second is the training. Now I know what it takes, I know the pain, appreciate the dedication required and the sacrifice; will I find it again? Third, I am more experienced, I know better the food and the equipment that I need… am I? did I learn what really matters? is it relevant to this race?. And then… the race itself. I learned and experienced how a “racing the planet” race goes, but also how tough it can be, remember the small victories along the way, but also how deep I had to dig in to overcome it – do I have what it takes to do it again?

So I re-embark upon this journey, to find the answers to my doubts along the way. And for sure I will.

Till then, see you on the trails.

  (English below) שנה חדשה, יום הולדת, החלטות חדשותככה יצא שראש השנה התערבב עם יום ההולדת שלי ובלי לשים לב המחשבות על השנה החדשה מתערבבות עם המחשבות על השנה ה-56 שלי על הכדור. יש מן נטייה כזו לעשות סיכומים ומהם להתחיל לדבר על העתיד, אבל אותי זה קצת פחות מעניין. יש לנו עיניים בחזית הראש, ולכן טבעי יותר להסתכל קדימה. אז מה קדימה?

ללא ספק האתגרים האישיים והמקצועיים מתערבבים, כי קצת קשה להפריד ממה שמרכיב בסופו של דבר את מכלול החיים. קשה לי גם קצת להפריד בין השניים, כי גם ברמה המקצועית אני עובד טוב יותר כשיש מטרה (purpose). בזמן האחרון אני מוצא שהחיבור בין האישי והמקצועי מתחדד ומתעצם. בעיקר מתוך האהבה לטבע ולמרחבים שמוציאה אותי החותה לשטח לשעות ארוכות. ההערכה למה שיש סביבנו, ההכרה בחיבור בין בני אדם לבין עצמם, ובעיקר המשפחה. ועם אלה מתחזקת ההכרה שצריך לעבוד יותר קשה ויותר מהר כדי להפוך את העולם שלנו למקום קצת יותר טוב. משהו מאד יהודי לטעמי – תיקון עולם.

משימות כמו אוכל טוב יותר ליותר אנשים, וקיימות במובן הכי עמוק שלה הופכות להיות מרכזיות. ומכאן המשימות המרכזיות להמשך:

הראשונה היא דווקא המרוץ הבא. שעות ארוכות בשטח שמזכירות לי בכל פעם את כל היופי הזה שמסביב, עד כמה אני אוהב אותו ורוצה לשמור עליו. ובאותה מידה מזכירות לי בכל פעם כמה שביים אנחנו, ברי חלוף, רק חלק מאקוסיסטם אחד ענק. אנחנו אולי היצור הכי מתקדם בעולם, אבל אנחנו תלויים מאד בכל היצורים שסביבנו. והמרוץ הבא, בארץ שלא ראיתי, בתנאים שלא חוויתי, יהיו עבורי פרק חדש בהערכה לטבע.

השנייה היא האישית והמקצועית. אוכל טוב, בזבוז מזון, אנרגיה, אריזות, כולם רכיבים של קיימות שאני נוגע בהם בעשיה היומיומית המקצועית שלי. השנה הזו מסמנת עבורי משימת על שמחברת את כולם. כל אלה הם בסופו של דבר משרשרת מעגלית שבמרכזה האדם וסביבתו. אלה יהיו רכיב מרכזי בחשיבה שלי השנה, מתוך ההבנה שאסור לחכות לכך שמישהו אחר יחוקק, יבצע, יציע – אלא צריך לעשות מעשה. כל אחד בחלקתו הקטנה או הגדולה.

ובתוך כל אלה המשפחה שלי, הקרובה, הרחוקה, החברים, המכרים… ולכולם מגיע טוב. מקום טוב יותר, עולם טוב יותר. נאיבי יהיה לחשוב שהרע יעלם, אבל בלתי נמנע לדעת שידו של הטוב חייבת להיות על העליונה.

אני יכול רק לאחל לעצמי שהשנה הקרובה תהיה התחלה טובה לבאות אחריה. שנה טובה!

New Year’s, birthday, new resolutions.

So, it came out that Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) had mixed up with my birthday and the thoughts of the new year mixed with thoughts about my 56 year on earth. It is common to make summaries and from them to start talking about the future, but for me is a little less interesting. We have eyes in front of the head, so it is more natural to look forward. So, what’s going on?

Undoubtedly, the personal and professional challenges have been mixed up, because it is a little difficult to separate the components of life. I also have a little difficulty separating the two, because even at the professional level I am better at the point of having a purpose. Lately I find that the connection between the personal and the professional is being strengthened. Especially from the love of nature that pushes me to the hills for long hours. Appreciation for what we have around us, recognizing the connection between people and themselves, and especially the family. And with these, the consciousness that we need to work harder and faster to make our world to a better place. Something very Jewish – “Tikun Olam”.

Hence the main tasks are:

The first is the next race. Long hours in the field that remind me every time all this beauty around, how much I love it and want to keep it. And as much as it reminds me every time that we are only a part of one giant ecosystem. We may be the most advanced creature in the world, but we are very dependent on all the creatures around us. And the next race, in a country I have not seen, in conditions I have not experienced, will be a new chapter of appreciation for Nature.

The second is personal and professional. Good food, waste of food, energy, packaging, all elements of sustainability that I touch in my professional daily doing. This year marks a mission for me for connecting them together. All of these are ultimately from a circular chain centered on the people and their surroundings. It’s going to be central to my thinking this year, out of the understanding that we can’t wait for someone else to be doing it, to offer. It is up to us to get it done.

And within these, my family, the friends… and they all deserve well. A better place, a better world. Naive would be to think that the evil would be gone, but inevitably knowing that the good must be on top.

I can only wish that the coming year would be a good start for the years to come. Happy new year!

I have no air, my head turns, and it feels like almost fainting. I’ve been fighting every step for the last 15 minutes. It cannot be that after only 20 km I will be the first to withdraw from the race… On the other hand, I have a family to get back to,  and what is this race anyway? Sit, relax, try to figure out what’s going on. So I sat down, face to the valley from which I came and the contestants who were passing me one by one. I quickly realized I didn’t take food on time and I had a severe sugar drop. Pack of candies, 20 minutes to let the sugar be absorbed, get up, slowly, and start to climb up slowly over the steep slope. This is how my iconic event appeared in the race, and this is probably why I also finished.

In fact the affair with the running started at the age of 8 but on this a few words at the end… My serious romance with running started about nine years ago. At first several kilometers in the Ramot Menashe, and slowly I went out to the hills. With the enjoyment of running in the area comes the appetite, and from there the way was short to the marathon. There I realized that me and urban running is not a love story, and what really fills me up is the time in nature, on the trails, day, night, and so on in the rain and mud. Here I discovered the world of the ultramarathon – hours on the hours of nature, of a personal challenge, of exploring the physical and mental borders. As “smart” said “running long distances 90% is mental and all the rest in the head”.

A year and a half ago I sat down for coffee with a Pano Koter, and told him about my idea of running the Gobi-March, a 250 km race consisting of 6 stages, 4 of about 40 kilometers, one of 70 kilometers, and 10 kilometers at the end. A significant challenge for amateur runner and not particularly outstanding as I am. The format is self-supported so you have to carry everything on your back. The route in Mongolia passes through a variety of mountain and flat landscapes, forests, rivers, dunes, when the weather can move below zero to over 50 degrees centigrade. The competitors only get water, a tent at the end of the day, and a bonfire. The race is part of The 4 Deserts Race Series: Gobi in Mongolia, Namibia in Africa, Atacama in Chile and Antarctica. At the end of the conversation, he said to me, “sounds absolutely possible.” Just like that, my coach says.

The preparation for the race was physical, material, and mental. Pano split the preparation into two parts: 9 months of base and nine for the race itself. The first part was done with 66km in the “Sovev emek” race, and two weeks later, another 90 on the Carmel-Trail route along with Orna Altman. The focus of the material preparation was the choice of equipment. Each runner is required to carry a mandatory list of 35 items. This significant part of the preparation ended in my backpack with 9.2 kg before water. The mental preparation was constructed naturally by long training hours on the legs and countless back-to-back runs. Also, my goals in the race have proven itself: 1. Stand on the starting line, 2. A healthy finish with a smile, and 3. For the ego – not to be last…

To Ulaanbator, the capital of Mongolia, where the gathering and briefings are held, I arrived two days before heading out to the area on a flight through Moscow. I used the time for walking tours in the city, to know it, but also to reset the biological clock. At the same time, I arranged the backpack according to the race program – the food was divided into days from the bottom up, the electrolytes in the side pocket, the clothes equipment and the gear in the back pocket. The sleeping bag and the mattress have been compressed in turn to another the side pockets, and the warm clothing above the food in the main pocket. Then, on Saturday morning the race process began to roll.

In the morning we gathered for the briefing, all looking right and left to understand with whom they will spend the next week. Some are familiar from past races, jokes, hugs. Then a careful inspection of equipment, boarding six small yellow buses and heading out towards the first camp race near the KHAR BUKH BALGAS fortress. Like rookies we went through the red camp gate with the sign “GOBI MARCH 2019”. Then we met the tent partners. Tent 14: Beth from Kenya, Nicolaj of Hungary, Nuria and Albert of Catalonia, the American Libby from Seoul, and me. First night, irregular sleep, crazy stars, then morning comes. Quiet alert of organizing, final briefing, and underway!

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

The first part started great and just at the pace I imagined. The road is half sandy half-white, low bushes and a strong scent of lavender in the air. Around us endless spaces and sky in depth and unperceived width. I’m passing through a Mongol nomads tent and a local family waving peace, crossing a stream and advancing. After 15 km begins pain in the right shoulder – “It’s probably not sitting well, I’ll straighten up” I’m conning myself. I am way ahead the “cut-off” beyond the 20th kilometer to the beginning of the great ascent. Then all of a sudden, the air, the fall of sugar, after I chew candies, I remind myself to listen to the body and like any other ultra race to adapt to the track and its demands… Getting to the end line of the day is happy, and I am sitting to eat with Renzo, the oldest participant – 71. I eat freeze-dried food, and the experienced veteran, like a good Italian, prepares for a tortellini with fragrant sauce and Parmesan cheese… Only the wine was missing.

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

To the second day, we wake up after a rainy storm and crazy winds all night. It’s cold, wet, but they’re all smiling. A rough day of meadows and countless climbs . Rain almost nonstop throughout the majority of 45 kilometers with fierce winds. With mild hypothermia I reach the finish line at the opening of a big Gerr camp. How good it is to make a night in a warm gerr. From here every morning I was taping  the fingers that were suspected of developing blisters.

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

The “warm-up” at the beginning of the third day comes in the form of climbing about 2 km up a steep bolder ridge. From the summit, there is a lovely single in a blooming landscape that looks like a Japanese postcard down to the monastery of Erdene Khamba. The second aid station I am asked to take extra water as we go into the dunes. How beautiful and blooming they are. As I entered them unfocused, I lose the calm in the dunes. After almost seven kilometers and a moment before I “Lose it”, I threw the backpack over a bush and stopped to refocus myself and reset it. The exit from the dunes was easier. I completed the part with a great sense of relief. At night in the tent I planned the next stage strategy, the Long March.

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

For the 77 kilometers of the Long March, I made a decision to move very slow. Because of fatigue and because of the forecast of over 35 degrees, I chose to control my energy. After 20 km caught up with Varun that was severely limping. After a brief inquiry, he agreed that I would take care of him. I picked up his kneecap by taping and he started to walk better. The control point in the middle of the distance is celebrated by providing cold soda cans to the competitors, delight!  The endless and flat-out scenery and the sandy nature of the road make you lose the sense of time. I was very happy to get to the fourth aid station, where there were also hot water. I pulled out a personalized package of coffee and a snack, a little rest before the night. Because at night it is only permissible to move in couples, I went out with Mike and Alfonso. After 200 meters, Mike did not feel well and I helped him back to a little bit of sleep, from here on it’s just Alfonso and me. Very quickly it turns out that this fellow is a cardiologist from Sicily – “Good to have one with me” I smile. Alfonso asks that I draw him, and I agree with a smile with one condition: that we stop at midnight, turn off our flashlights and listen to “A Whiter Shade of Pale” under the stars in the Gobi. And so it was. Unaware that in Israel lilach is “climbing the walls” since the race website crashed, I was happy to finish after 18 hours and go to sleep. Tomorrow’s rest day…

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

The last long day (stage 5) consisted of multiple crossings of the Orkhon River. The Orkhon valley is full of flocks of horses galloping, and endless fields of lavender flowering. After about at third of the way, we started climbing up a river that was drenched in flowering and scattered cedar trees that became the forest at the end. Many parts of it felt like a hallucination with purple and pink flowers. After reaching the peak altitude, we rolled down towards the last crossing of the floating Orkhon river, passing the hairy yaks in the pasture. The spirit of the special race brought about everyone who had already arrived and a large part of the volunteers and the dedicated medical staff who accompanied us to the river to applaud the coming. I couldn’t help but be excited about the tears of the Anjeles, a gifted runner, with tears in her eyes when she saw the last of the runners coming.

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

The last day of the race started early. We crossed the river, and after a few kilometers of a moderate climb the village of the town of Karakorum. On the way to the end in Erdene Zuu stands Josephine the volunteer and cries of emotions, and just before the entrance gate to the monastery I also have tears in my eyes… The passage through the finish gate feels like a movie, as if I wasn’t there, as if there were not 250 kilometers between me and the starting point. With the last battery percentages I called to wake Lilach and rejoice together. Without her, it wouldn’t have happened.

(Photo by Thiago Diz/4 RacingThePlanet/Gobi March

One does not run a race like this alone. You run with the family in your heart, with the support of your friends, and a lot with yourself. And also with the poems that Lilach gave me, and mostly read to myself, but I also translated to my friends in the tent and to the staff (Abraham Chalfi was the star). I was also encouraged by the fact that I am exploiting the race to promote two organizations that are very important to me: “Yadid-Lachinuch (A Friend for education)” and the Perthes Kids Foundation. The feeling of being able is something that stays with you the rest of your life, and as a child who could not step on the left foot for three years, I am fortunate to support other children as well. Even a 54-year-old child is allowed to dream.

To the next challenge.

With love.

Eyal

*** Do not forget to support Yadid Lachinuch the the Perthes Kids Foundation

Time flies, and its time to pack, board the plane and start the final part of this journey. Nothing much to add but the excitement, butterflies in my stomach, much anticipation for this adventure. Can not wait to see the place, smell the air, feel the soil under my feet.

Along the way, Lilach “fed” me with weekly poetry for the journey, and this one came today. In respect to the original written in Hebrew – the original follows the translation (did my best…):

“Successful journey never ends,

the kilometers do.

But time in carved in you,

becomes part of you.

In the end of the journey I do not feel victorious,

rather grateful.

As if the road passed through me, not me in it”

(Abraham Halfi)

מסע מוצלח לא מסתיים לעולם,
הקילומטרים כן.
אך הזמן נשאר חקוק בתוכך
הופך חלק ממך.
בסוף המסע אינני מרגיש מנצח,
אלא יותר אסיר תודה.
כאילו שהדרך עברה בתוכי ולא אני בתוכה.

(אברהם חלפי)

DO not forget to support Yadid Lachinuch the the Perthes Kids Foundation,