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I survived the race and the 4-day hike and I am excited to be back.

I stumbled across the finish line and my legs nearly gave out. I completed the 21.1km Longtom Half Marathon in 2 hrs 8 minutes which was pretty good given the conditions. I had run only 3 times in the previous 7 months and it was a hilly course; brutal but beautiful. The really crazy people ran the ultra marathon which was 66 km and is considered the toughest road race in South Africa.

The landscape of the Giant's Cup hiking trail was amazing (if you want to see the pictures send me an e-mail and I'll send you an invite to see the pictures). I hiked with 11 other volunteers an average of about 10 km/day up and down mountains, through valleys and streams, and stopping for the occasional swim or taking in the landscape. We got lost a couple of times but with my navigation skills learned in Boy Scouts and the assistance of some of the other volunteers we prevailed and made it out alive with only a few minor injuries.

I finished up the trip with a few days in Pretoria to recover from the travel before heading back to site. The great thing about vacations which are supposed to be an escape from the village, they sometimes wear on me and always make me excited to get back to site and start my work again.

I got back to site yesterday and haven't wasted time in getting started. Last night I met with the board of directors for the old age home I am doing a project with and was intimidated by the chairman. I felt like I was picking up a date for the high school prom and he was the father interrogating me: "what are your intentions with my daughter (organization)?"; "how long do you intend on staying with my daughter (working with this organization)?"; "What makes you think you're good enough for my daughter (what are your qualifications)?"; etc. By the end of the meeting I think he was impressed and he wished that God look after me and was happy to have met me. I have made a ton of phone calls and may have finally be getting my drawings. I have several meetings left this week and will be hosting a volleyball and frisbee event at my tavern to get my community involved in sports. Lesson learned: Bring new ideas to people through their current activities.