Back at it on day 7. We were up early and running just after five, with today’s route taking us a little over 27 miles in to Port-au-Prince, a relatively flat section that would be busy with traffic.

I knew early the rest day had done a lot of good – I felt really good and had to hold back all day. Early on I thought about trying to hang With Jase, Dan, and Matt, but decided better of it. 28 miles is a long ways and we have a quick turn around. We will depart from The Eucalyptus Village by midnight and start the final 52 mile push shortly there after.

I didn’t takes as many photos today, but here are a few:

Sunrise over the mountains.

Burning trash – something we’ve seen a lot of!

Some government housing:

So after Jase, Matt, Dan and I finished, they put us four in a truck to head to The Eucalyptus House, which is a bit of an Oasis in Port-au-Prince. Sort of a dorm style retreat. We’ll be here until midnight or so and then take the buses and trucks a bit out of PaP before we start running.

Photos from Duy Nugyen:

Today’s been pretty emotional. After sleeping in until just before six :-/, we had a leisurely morning of good coffee and then breakfast. We soon piled into the bus and vans to Menelas, the community Work supports.

We actually started in the community of Truitier near (in?) the landfill near Menelas, where plastic bottles are recovered and turned into fabric by Threads, Works sister company.

Viv took some time to explain the history of work and some of the programs they offer.

Two thousand people live Truitier in/near the landfill. And this is Haiti’s only landfill, which explains why we’ve seen so much trash everywhere – there just aren’t any trash services.

Here are some of the recovered bottles. Besides Threads, HP buys the recycled plastic for ink cartridges.

These are some of the homes either on the landfill property or right next to it:

The community came out and knows why we are there and spent time with us:

Right across from the landfill, Work is helping to build this classroom to help support the community:

From there we drove the few minutes to Menelas, where we got to see the home of Giordani and meet his family. He took the time to explain how Work has helped him. He will graduate this year and become a tap tap driver. He used the money he earned on last year’s run to build a new foundation next to his current sheet metal home, which currently sleeps 11!

This shows the tight quarters:

This shows his home, bathroom, and the new foundation:

After that, we went to the local school, went to the roof, and were able to see the entire area, which gives a sense of the scale. Rather than look at the problem of poverty and say it’s just too big to solve, Work solves the problem one family at a time in the community they have chosen to support.

Before we left, each runner and crew was given a pin from someone Work supports, in the outline of Haiti, with our running route marked, and a heart over Menelas.

Tomorrow we start early for what looks to be a tough 28 – we drove all of it today on the way to Menalus. Then we’ll have about 12-13 hours at a guest house, before we take off on the final 52 at midnight.

Photos from Duy Nugyen:

Today was another 5 a.m. start, with 20 miles of rolling pavement (and sun after ~ 7:30!), but the destination is something we’ve all been looking forward to – the resort Wahoo Bay! That, and the fact that tomorrow is our one rest day. Much needed for all of us.

I started at my usual conservative pace, coming in to the 10k near a large group. From there we started to spread out, and I ended up on my own for most of the day. From around mile 13-14 on, I really felt a lot of fatigue in my legs. Expected after 100+ miles over 5 days! I finished in a little over three hours.

I didn’t take quite as many photos today, but here they are.

(Insert video of me finishing)

(Insert video of Ange finishing)

Here are some shots of the resort. I’m sure I’ll take more later and will updated this post then.

This is the first hotel where I’ve actually seen other guests. The beauty and cleanliness of this area shows how much potential all of Haiti could have with the right economic development, clean up, etc.

Shots added later, some Duy Nugyen, some me.

We all knew today would be tough. Thirty four miles, mostly exposed once the sun came up, and extremely hot. By the end, I was calling it “trail runners hell” — 34 miles of pavement in the sun, with one small hill, having to dodge and avoid cars/motos most of the way, especially in the busy towns.

I ran the first 10k with Josh, and we talked music and HRCA and many other things.

I spotted a couple of abandoned wrecked cars, hoping this wasn’t a sign of future carnage on today’s run for the team.

At the 10k, I picked up with Jalyen and Jacque for a few shared miles. I saw this cemetery which reminded me of the one Kelly and I saw in Barcelona.

And also this mural on a random wall.

At the 15k, I picked up with Dan and Ozzie and we shared at least fifteen miles running in a strong pace line. This section was the infamous rice paddies, which truly seems to go on forever. And this is when it started to get really hot – still with 30k to go!

Long and flat and straight and hot:

The three of us eventually separated, with Dan in front, then me, then Ozzie.

Here I am at the top of the lone hill around mile 29:

The town was pretty busy and I found myself walking some – but I might have used the busyness as an excuse! I was so ready to be done! After about 3 miles in town, I got to the finish where Dan, Matt, and Jase had come through ~10-12 minutes before me.

I sat in the gutter and immediately these guys came out to say hello:

Jase and I opted for omelettes and fries, which took a long time to come out, but they hit the spot!

We are in a pretty nice hotel, and like most of the hotels we’ve stayed in so far, we seem to be the only guests! We are able to climb the 4 floors to the roof for this view:

Tomorrow is another 20 miles, when we reach Wahoo Bay, which I’ve heard is really nice. We’ll then have a rest day from running, but we will go in to Menalus to meet the some of the families that Work is supporting.

Photos from Duy Nugyen:

Today was another 5 a.m. start with a 20 mile rolling net downhill in front of us. I tried to take it out easy and for the most part succeeded. At least I felt easy, but many of the miles were 8:15-8:30. We were soon greeted by the sun and some beautiful vistas.

I saw this mountain top prayer spot. A woman was climbing it and singing. I’m not sure how much of her voice will come through on the video.

We reached a smaller town and this was the first time I’ve seen more children in school uniforms. But then again it is a Monday. However, in much of the rural communities I’m sure not many children are able to go to school.

I had picked it up a bit around mile 10 and came up on Ozzie, Jaylen, and Jacque, around mile 15, and jumped in line for the madness that was to come. We had about 4-5 miles of intense traffic and the moto, bike, car, and people dodging that comes with. Ozzie was dropping some sub 7:30s in, but I wanted to stick with the group as that’s the safest.

We had crew direct us for a few turns which was much needed – there was no way we would have made it otherwise. The four of us eventually came up on Jase, Matt, and Dan, as they hadn’t found the finish. I called Viv as the others took off down the road, and she confirmed that we were heading in the right direction and it wasn’t much further, so I took off after them and a few minutes later we were done.

I’m hoping that today’s effort at the end doesn’t hurt too much tomorrow, which is a ~34 mile day! It will be very hot.

The hotel rooms weren’t quite ready, and this is what all the bags look like piled up.

Now it’s time to relax and recover. Tomorrow is a long long day.

Photos from Duy Nugyen: