NYC October 31, 2012

Flew into New York at sunset yesterday.  Wasn't delayed at all. There was a fair bit of debris on the beaches as we flew over Long Island into JFK airport, as well as some flooding. I don't know what it looked like before Hurricane Sandy so can't say how bad the damage is.  JFK  was a ghost town. My flight was one of the first to land from LA.  I was told that there was probably only a quarter of the aircraft activity there as usual, so it was a rare sight.  Also, Lower Manhattan was still without power & water so most of the skyscrapers had no lights on.  I've never seen the Manhattan skyline at night before but I was told that it shouldn't look like it did.  

I got a lift  to Yonkers. Yonkers is about 45 min  north on the east side of the Hudson River.  

Woke up to an amazing view of the Hudson and the cliffs of The Palisades on the other side. The Palisades is a national park, and the cliffs carved out by the river are a couple of hundred feet high.  Went for a walk along the river.  The train line runs adjacent to the river shore.  All trains were cancelled because the tracks were flooded.  The trains here have electric cables on the ground, not overhead.  I walked beside the tracks for a bit until I got to the Yonkers Yacht Club.  The pontoons and boathouse had been destroyed by the flood. Weirdly most of the smaller yachts and boats had been trailered to higher ground next to the train line, so there were all these boats lined up next to the track.  There were several big barges & ships in the river that were sheltering from the hurricane. Apparently another rare sight.  Since there were no trains today, there were no cars or people at the train station so it was quiet, just me, the squirrels and my peanut butter M&M's.  Hopefully the public transport is back up and running tomorrow. I am going into the city to pick up my race numbers etc, and to do a bus tour of the city.  Most of the lower parts are still closed and they are also waiting for the crane to fall off the top of that 157 skyscraper, so they have closed a few streets around Central Park.

2012 Twilght Bay Run 10km

2012 Twilight Bay Run.t

Wynnum 22 September 2012.

Glasshouse Mountains 50km Trail Run 15 Sept. 2012

On Saturday I finished the Glasshouse 50km Trail Run in 6hrs 23min. Plenty of hills and washed out trails made it tough but enjoyable. Beautiful day for a run!

Another Glasshouse Finshers Mug for my collection!

50 km of dust!

Thank you so much to the incredibly kind people who have already donated to Camfed!
Here is a video, made by someone who probably should get out more.......

You can help me help Camfed by visiting my page:

http://us.camfed.org/goto/camcarter

Powerade Brisbane Half Marathon 2012

 

3 Months until the New York City Marathon and my training is on track!.  On August 5, I competed in the Brisbane Half Marathon, part of the Brisbane Running Festival.  I crossed the line in 1hr.44min.52sec, which is my best time ever for the 21.1km.  A cool winter morning and blue sky made it great running weather.  Looking forward to joining the Camfed team for the NYC!

You can help me help Camfed by visiting my page:

http://us.camfed.org/goto/camcarter





Cook Islands.. June 2012.

A 32km run around the island of Raratonga.











Cam Runs For CAMFED

In 2007 I set myself a goal to run a half marathon. A few months earlier I could barely run to the end of my street. After more than 2 hours of thumping along the bitumen I finished. 21.1km. My knees ached, my legs cramped. I couldn't reach down to take my shoes off. I was physically and emotionally spent. I swore I would never run again.

It took about half an hour for a sufficient amount of blood to return to my brain to comprehend what I had just done. No, it wasn't the finish line that was the achievement. In fact it didn't matter whether I had run 10km or 1000km. The achievement and the adventure was in the journey. I had experienced the crisp winter air at 4am, watched the sun rise over the ocean and with little more than a pair of running shoes travelled down roads & trails that I have never been and probably will never see again. You appreciate the small things when you run; little hills you never noticed, the shade of the trees on a hot day, the pathway leading to the park that you have driven past a thousand times promising yourself that one day you will stop there but never do.

I've now run marathons and ultra marathons. Some as part of competitions, and others just by myself to explore the world. I've run mountain trails in New Zealand, got lost in a swamp in Fiji, run through villages in Vanuatu and experience some pretty extreme weather on the west coast of Scotland.

On November 4th this year, I will run the New York Marathon. The most famous run in the world. My journey has already led me serendipitously to a new awareness and challenge. I mentioned my plans to my New York based sister-in-law Julie-Ann. She is a keen supporter of the charity CAMFED, and was seeking out new ways to raise funds and awareness. I felt that this was a new road to run, a new path to explore. At the end of that phone call I was thrilled to get involved.

Since 1993, CAMFED has fought poverty and AIDS by educating girls and empowering young women. In sub-Saharan Africa, 24 million girls can't afford to go to school. A girl may be marriedy as young as 13 and has a one in 22 chance of dying in childbirth. One in six of her children will die before the age of five. United Nations research shows that if you educate a girl she will:

• Earn up to 25 percent more and reinvest 90 percent in her family.
• Be three times less likely to become HIV-positive.
• Have fewer, healthier children who are 40 percent more likely to live past the age of five. 

More than 1,451,600 children in impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi have benefited from the innovative CAMFED education programs.

During my journey which will see me cross the finish line in the 2012 New York Marathon, I hope to raise $3000 for CAMFED.

I would really appreciate your support.

By making a donation at http://us.camfed.org/goto/camcarter, you can help a girl continue her education and open up new pathways towards a brighter future for them and their families.