777 Run For Sight- Mission accomplished!

Today July 11th about 12:58pm Switzerland time I crossed the finish line of my last race in the 777 Run For Sight. Las stage was 27K long, with the same altitude that the previous days but instead of taking four hours I finish in under three, I felt like Forrest Gump on his movie where he is been chase by the bullies and he literally run from his leg braces, all of a sudden the heaviness of my legs lifted allowing me to run and run.

I wasn't the only one, all around me people where smiling and running faster than we had run before. Rob Fransen run a perfect race today, he crossed the finish line smiling and feeling amazing, hard to believe he just run 350K, couldn't tell but looking at the way he was moving.

I was worry that because I was running the shorter distance it was going to be anticlimactic, but through the 3 hours of my run, the last few months played on my head like a movie, sleep depravation in Brazil, the pain in Namibia, the laughter in the tent in Gobi, the amazing moments I have experience, it was sure to grand to ignore. i arrived from Geneva to Basel 7 days later forever changed, I am still the same mom worry about her son who has an incurable eye condition but instead of feeling despair I am now full of hope.

Here are some stats of the last 7 months

Total distance run officially- 1272 Kilometres
Weight before the race 110.8 lbs- after 104.9 lbs
Number of tonails lost- 7
Number of running shoes used- 14
number of Honey stinger bars eaten- 74
Number of gels- 103
distance traveled- 48,425
Number of hours spent running- 283

I have spent some time with the most amazing people in the world and they have expanded the boundaries of what's possible, Benat Zubillaga of Spain is one of those friendships I have form, even among endurance athletes there is a breed that is different that the rest, some are just content in trying to improve their time on their current event of choice like a stage race or a 100 miler, then there is people like Benat, who is here for the adventure, we spent hours talking about different events that we both wanted to participate, I was hesitant at the beginning not knowing if this was the end of the road for me and if I was going back to my former life, then Benat notice the sparkle in my eyes when i talk about my dreams and hopes for next year. he said that I can never go back, that I am one of them now, like the Twilight series and I am now a vampire.

Nicola Fontanesi was at the end of the finish line and I was so glad to see him, not many people at the race knew who I was or what I had just done, i liked it since it allowed me to run the race without distractions, at the end how ever it was nice to have somebody that knew what it all meant to me. I spent the rest of the day trying to be in the moment, after all I have dreamt about this moment for so long wondering how I was going to be feeling. We are off to Italy for a few days, I much needed vacation before I embark on my next quest.

The overwhelming response to 777 Run For Sight show to me that like me there are many people in the world are looking for a more meaningful life. And of course you might be wondering what's next. I am planning 777 Climb For sight, I will be climbing all 7 highest peaks on 7 continents and it might happens as soon as March 2010, I will be aiming for 7 months, the unofficial record is 7 months by UK adventurer Annabelle Bond, but out of safety I will finish at a time that is safe for me. I am teaming up with Adventure Consultants to accomplish that, as well as climbing I will be also running a marathon before each climb.

Of course my family was a bit hesitant when I told them of my plans, after all when my mom showed concern when I started running ultras I told her not to worry, that it wasn't like I was climbing mount Everest or something like that. At the end they understood that I was going ahead but as usual I was checking my ego at the door, I have really nothing to prove, this is just a way for me to do everything I can to fight global blindness.

At the end, somehow instead of feeling like is the end of a story I am left feeling like this is the beginning of something wonderful.

To be continue...