Day 5: 100 Miles Down

Day 5
November 7
17 miles
6,500' up to 7,500' to 6,500'

We had a great meal last night. It was like home cooking. It was the first time I'd seen salad in a week. Plus we finally got some meat. I was tired of eating Dal, rice and potatoes. I can see why the people are so skinny. There isn't any food for them. We were lucky that where we were staying they were also farmers so we had salad last night. What a treat!

This AM I was awoken again by the monks. They started really early today as I was up at 4:30. I was eager to let today be a good day. The race started where we ended yesterday. So we took a long bus ride 13 miles to the end of the road which took over an hour. Does that give you any idea of what the run is like?

It was a 8 mile climb then rolling and a good downhill. I saw Cam at the start of the race and suggested that we run together today. It would be good to have some company. Even though we ran together, she didn't speak much. That surprised me as when we hung out during the day, she was always talking. For some reason I thought it would be like that when we were out there. It didn't really matter if we spoke much, it was just good to run with someone.

Over the 17 miles, you can hear the sounds of the river and the insects. These must be very small insects as they made loud noises. Even though we were on the road, we didn't pass thru any villages until we came to the finish line.

We crossed the finish line together hand in hand. The race made a circle and we finished right where we started on Day 1. I was glad the race was over. My health still wasn't great, but it was the best I had felt all week. I enjoyed today's run. It reminded me of home. I was happy to see that I was one day closer to going home.

After the race, we had a long bus ride back to Mirik where I could have a hot shower. The second one all week! The hot water didn't last long...5 minutes, but I was happy to have it. I even washed my hair.