So today was the day marked for the ANTARCTICA MARATHON....I would be running right now!

Thursday 7th March

Well the long awaited day of 7th March 2013 arrived...and I would have been 30 minutes into the marathon by now! But I guess God had other plans!

So this morning, I did a gentle run along the Ballito Boardwalk..it was such a beautiful morning!

Beautiful Boardwalk run & the ship in the background!

THANK YOU OneSight for you sponsorship of sunglasses for my 7x7 Journey!

I have been so abundantly blessed by product sponsors, to date I have received a Garmin Watch, Fuji Camera and 12 months supply of 3 supplement form Foodstate SA!

And today I received another hugely generous sponsorship form OneSight South Africa! Thank you Onesight for being apart of my 7x7 journey where my aim is to drive positive change in SA and raise funds for 2 incredible charities!

Here are my new running glasses, perfect for all the marathons I will be enduring and the gliders are perfect for Antarctica Marathon in March 2014! And the Oakleys perfect for running too!

About my journey...

5 weeks to my 1st marathon of 7x7 in 1 year!

In just 5 weeks I will be leaving for Vienna Marathon! And a month after that will be conquering The Great Wall of China Marathon!

So today I began the step training! Great Wall marathon has 5164 steps! And I did a mere 470 today! We have to start somewhere! And did a tough but awesome Kettlebells class!

Antartica Marathon was due to be my first run and was meant to be tomorrow but the ship crashed into an ICE BERG and is damaged - so the trip has been cancelled!

How an ICEBERG has significantly changed my life plans and taught me so much!

So with 1 day to go until I was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime...the news came in that the trip was cancelled as an ICEBERG had damaged the boat!!!

HEre are a few of my thoughts and reflections and Facebook posts though out the day!


At a farewell lunch yesterday Ang and I were talking about how circumstances can change in an instant and if we base our hope in them we are volatile but we we put our hope and faith in God who is a constant regardless of our circumstances we are not moved!!! Thankfully my hope is is God and my world was not too rocked with this news..as I knew God was in control!

A relief in a funny kinda way....crazy but true..today I went to fetch my passport its been at the Czech Embassy getting my visa for Vienna...and it hasn't arrived back yet...it is still at the embassy in JHB and was expected to be released form the embassy today and couriers to Ballito tmr and I was scheduled to leave on the 6am flight on Thurs...oh never a dull moment..thats what makes these journeys exciting and full of suspense :)

Interesting....I was relieved I had taken out travel insurance for my flight etc...our flights to South America are only valid for 2 months so have to be cancelled and the insurance doesn't cover "Acts of God" as a reason for cancellation :) let see how this pans out! I must say...I really feel totally at peace about this whole thing...there are soooooo many positives to the change! God is in total control!!


Ps. A lot of people are asking why I'm not going on the rescheduled trip later in March....its one of my best friends weddings and Im her maid of honour and would not miss celebrating her special day with her...I would regret that for the rest of my life! Life is all about relationships and the loved ones in our lives...yes we do have to disappoint people at times to follow the will of God for our lives......but I don't feel I need to do that this time when I have an option of 2014 and the are sooooo many pros to this change in my 7 x7 schedule!

CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONTANT - EMBRACE IT!!!

Ahhh my sister was planning to surprise me at the airport tomorrow morning with a send off banner and the whole family they would have had to leave PMB at 3:30am….and she's just got back ofmr GHT and moving their in 3 weeks!!!

Yesterday I wanted to buy more time…I got a whole year!!!

Crazy how an ICEBERG can change sooo much!!!!

ANTARCTICA TRIP CANCELLED DUE TO SHIP DAMAGED BY AN ICEBERG....

SO I was due to leave for Antarctica in just 1 days time and this evening I received the following email!
Huge disappointment - but I now God has it all in control!! SO I wait expectantly to see what He has in stall! And unfortunately I can't made the March dates!

We just received a report this morning from the owner of One Ocean Expeditions that the Akademik Ioffe was damged by an iceberg. The ship will return to port in Ushuaia on March 3 to assess the damage. It is unlikely that the necessary equipment is available to safely decide if the ship is seaworthy for the Antarctica Marathon expedition. The Russian owners of the ship want to bring it back to Europe for a more complete inspection and repair.

 

We do not want to have everyone depart on this trip only to find that the voyage must be canceled which is likely. Thus, we must cancel this trip due to the ship being unsuitable for mechanical reasons.

 

We have an alternative offer. The sister ship, the Akademik Vavilov which we have chartered in the past is available for March 26- April 6. We would offer a complete itinerary as follows:

 

March 23 - Arrive Buenos Aires at the Marriott for 3 nights.

March 26 - April 6 - Antarctica voyage - (you get an extra night on the ship)

April 6 - Arrive back in Ushuaia and depart on flights home or extended stays

 

Please respond as follows:

1. Can you accept the new schedule? Yes or No? - Please respond immediately.

2. If you cannot reschedule, check with your travel insurance company about refunds.

3. If you can reschedule - we will give you further details by the end of the day.

 

We project that about 80%-90% of the group will be able to reschedule.

 

We look forward to hearing from you today.

 

Sincerely,

 

Thom Gilligan

Marathon Tours & Travel

Im off to Antarctica in just 2 days!

So in Just 2 days this is what ill be up to.....

In just 3 days I leave for Antarctica...then plan...
28/02 - 6am DBN - JHB
28/02 - 10:40 JHB - SAO (South America)
28/02 - SOA - BA (South America)
02/03 - BA - Ushuaia
02/03 - Ushuaia - the worlds Southern most city!
03/03 - Board the ship!!
04 & 05 - Cross the beagle Channel & Drake passage
06/03 - ARRIVE IN ANTARCTICA!!
07/03 - RACE DAY!!!
08- 10/03 - Travel to PARADISE BAY & Exploring Islands
11-12/03 - Boat trip back to Ushuaia
13/03 - Ushuaia - BA
14/03 - BA - SAO - JHB
15/03 - Arrive Back in JHB & back to Durbs!!!!!!

Last week I was totally spoilt by 3 product sponsors for my journey! Garmin, Foodstate and Fujifilm! A huge thank you to all 3 sponsors!!

If you would like to contribute to making a difference in South Africa and be apart of seeing SA RESTORED, please see the attached!

10 days to go....and Im off to run a marathon in Antarctica!

I leave for Antarctica Marathon unjust 10 days!

Have a look at the article posted on Runners world!

http://www.runnersworld.co.za/motivation/inspiring-people/a-journey-of-passion-and-purpose-the-starting-line/