June 10, 2007 - Unsung heroes: The night pilot crew
- Runner: Sean Harrington
- Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Currently Resides: Menlo Park, California, United States
- Language(s): English, French, Spanish (basic)
- Family:
- Statement: "Even though the clean water problem might not affect everyone now, there is no question that it will, in the not-so-distant future, unless we make it a priority.” – Sean Harrington, 2007
The real heroes of the Blue Planet Run, who deserve more credit than anyone, are the 3 people working the night shift in the pilot car: Kelly, Fulvio, and Gene. They work from 9pm until 9am, every night, without any nights off. When we get to the Poland-Belarus border, there will be a new crew that takes over, but in the meantime, they will have worked 20 nights in a row, without a single day off.
As the pilot car crew, they drive immediately behind the runner at about 8 mph throughout the night. This is obviously mind-numbing, yet it is extremely important for the runners’ safety, and so they do it diligently and with upbeat spirits. Their smiles, funny jokes, and attention to detail have added immeasurably to our experience doing the first 10 days of BPR on night shifts. Tomorrow we start with our first day shift (9am-3pm), and so this morning we said goodbye to Kelly, Fulvio, and Gene, the true saints of BPR. Thanks guys!
August 16, 2007 - Pace Runners and Pizza
The past two nights we’ve been treated with Pace Runners here in Colorado. It is amazing how energizing it is to have new and enthusiastic faces milling about in running gear at exchange points.
August 11, 2007 - How beautiful it is
The past ten days of running back in the US has reminded me how spectacularly beautiful this country is that we live in.
August 7, 2007 - Lake Mead
Today, as our team ran through the Mojave Desert and past Lake Mead, we were all reminded that access to safe drinking water is not just an issue affecting the developing world.
August 5, 2007 - Homemade cookies
It doesn’t take much to boost morale. A dozen home-baked cookies will do the trick.
August 3, 2007 - Two fond memories
Today’s route brought us past two locales very important to me: the town of Carmel, where I proposed to Brynn, and Big Sur, where I ran one of my favorite marathons only weeks before the start of BP
August 2, 2007 - Fox News and school kids
Today was another stellar day in the bay area, packed with all the most important elements of the Blue Planet Run.
August 1, 2007 - Home Sweet Home!
Today was a glorious day as the Blue Planet Run made its return to the US with a beautiful clear day in the San Francisco bay area.
July 31, 2007 - Heading Home
In a few hours I will be boarding a United flight from Nagoya to San Francisco with the rest of Team Orange.
July 30, 2007 - Japan
What a wonderful relief to be out of Beijing and into the peaceful calm of the Japanese countryside.
July 28, 2007
This is going to be a very short blog.
Today we ran in Beijing.
It was hot.
It was humid.
It was extremely polluted.
There was relentless traffic.
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