Kevin Tiller

I slept well and got up at just gone 7am. No headache and felt heaps better. Everyone is talking about the hartal and there is a big demonstration in Dhaka so it seems like no-one is going to be interested in sorting out the support crew as there are hartals planned until Tuesday which is when Chris goes away.

Photo of “Million Man March” that happened today:

I guess the reality is starting to sink in that the run is over. Pretty disappointing.  However that’s what can happen in places like this. It’s a good opportunity to just let it go. Non-attachment as the Buddhists teach. I can’t change the situation and just have to move on as dwelling on it will just make it worse.

I had 2 great days running by myself from the Kolkata megalopolis through the Bengal countryside. I ran until I could barely stand up straight – I fed the rat (see here for what this means – my running buddies knows it’s one of my favorite phrases):

“every year you need to flush out your system and do a bit of suffering. it does you a power of good. i think it’s because there is always a question mark about how you would perform. you have an idea of yourself and it can be quite a shock when you don’t come up to your own expectations. if you just tootle along you can think you’re a pretty slick bloke until things go wrong and you find you’re nothing like what you imagined yourself to be. but if you deliberately put yourself in difficult situations, then you get a pretty good idea of how you are going. that’s why i like feeding the rat. it’s a sort of annual check-up on myself. the rat is you, really. it’s the other you, and it’s being fed by the you you think you are. and they are often very different people. but when they come close to each other, that’s smashing, that is. then the rat’s had a good meal and you come away feeling terrific. it’s a fairly rare thing, but you have to keep feeding the brute for your own peace of mind. and even if you did blow it, at least there wouldn’t be that great unknown. but to snuff it without knowing who you are and what you are capable of, i can’t think of anything sadder than that.“

I should just remember the good things about the run and I knew something like this could happen.

I am totally confident that with a crew and without carrying my pack I would have been ok to make it.

We had breakfast then me and Chris went to the supermarket by Gulshan-2 (weird name for a suburb – sounds very sci-fi) and checked out some of the antique / curio stores there – totally fascinating  – bits of old ships, clocks from russian submarines,  old tea chests, just so many interesting things. Didn’t buy anything though. Chris has a driver who took us from the “diplomat enclave” where he livesand back.

Afterwards we went to the American Recreation Club and went swimming and had lunch and met Al and Nick (country manager for Cathay Pacific airline) and some other teachers & guests. Quite a nice expat community.

We came home and I had some quiet time reading & writing with the oldest boy whilst Chris and Shiela went out. The we went to probably the best coffee shop in Dhaka, probably better than anything in India (http://www.northendcoffee.com).

We came back home and chilled out reading,  chatting, writing, dinner etc.

I shot some video of Chris talking about the Bangla-Dash run: