Running in Guyana

"The contents of this [blog] are personal and do not reflect any position of the US government or the Peace Corps."



How to run in Guyana:


Okay so I shouldn't complain. I have an awesome job working in a department that right now I spend my days instructing yoga, doing aerobics, and playing cricket. It will get harder once I have to promote sustainability and get others to do what I'm doing but for now it is really fun. Also, here's the good part of where I have been stationed: I have running water(albeit not potable), I have a two bedroom apartment(albeit one that is infected by ants). I live in a town where I can get anything that I want from home(albeit for about half of my monthly allowance). It never rains here(albeit supposedly there is a rainy season).

Okay, I realize those are pseudo-positives, In reality, It hasn't rained once and I'm the only runner on the road. However, I do share that road with donkeys, cows, goats, pedestrians, fast-moving taxis and cars. In addition, with the humidity close to 100 percent, running at all is pretty difficult. My mileage so far has suffered as well as my speed. I probably should not have signed up for marathon only a month after coming to Guyana.

What is done is done. I have signed up for it and am starting my training. Most of my runs have been under 30 minutes. Not due to lack of time but because pure and utter fatigue due to the heat. Plus, I am not totally motivated by the two choices of direction that I have to run.

Okay negatives aside!!!!

• It hasn't rained yet!
• I run faster than I would anywhere else. Solely because of the constant-why you go so slow, white boy? from the peanut gallery.
• If I had some Infit nutrition, I probably could make it another mile... haha. Sponsor plug. But True in that they provide awesome well-balanced electrolytes. If only my friend, Rich Lavers, had used them during Bear Brook...
• I love that I can go running whenever and it's the same temperature- this is also a curse. It's 80+ degrees at 7a and 80+ at 6p. So go whenever. As long as you finish in the daylight.
• You get to see more birds that you have ever seen. So this is a real positive. There really is so many bird species that I have never seen. I wish I knew more about them because some of them are beautiful. Either way: worth it.

The real best part of running in Guyana? Once you get out of the coast(where I live) nobody is there and you can run where-ever you want for as long as you want. I cannot wait to get out and see the hinterland(as they call the areas way from the coast).

Until then,

My best,

Danny