I’m now rapidly moving toward longer and more continuous runs as part of my recovery from the 16 mm tear in my Achilles. By Monday all my running will be continuous, as opposed to the one minute breaks I currently have between the longer intervals of running. I expect to be covering up to 10 km by the end of next week. Two weeks after that it will be time to attempt something I haven’t done since I finished the world run last September – 50 km in a day. If successful, I’ll be fully confident of completing the Oxfam 1oo km event in early May.

Now for something a bit different. The Race Director of the Boston Marathon and endurance running veteran, Dave McGillivray, is conducting an online running event. Dave is hosting this unique event on April 4 at midday (US) EST . It is a live, interactive video chat for runners and running enthusiasts. He will be sharing his experiences and providing insights into how he has been so effective at running so far for so long.

The event, hosted by interactive video chat platform, Wizeo, will raise money for the Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation, which has been set up in honour of the 7-year-old who was killed in last year’s Boston Marathon bombings. A donation of any amount gains the contributor access to the event and the chance to ask questions prior to or during the event. The organizers have kindly provided free access to the first hundred readers of this blog who register. However, I would encourage everyone who participates to at least make a small donation.

For access, visit http://bit.ly/1igc6hp. The first hundred people to quote the code TNSTEPS will be given free access.

Back to more regular issues: this time two years ago I was just a day or so out of Monument Valley, Utah, where Carmel and Libby dressed me up as Forrest Gump at the precise location where Forrest decided to call it a day with all his followers running behind him. There are many photos of the occasion, with me wearing a long wig and fake beard. And one year ago I was running in snow and approaching Ulm in Germany, where I saw the location where Albert Einstein was born.

As mentioned, I’ve now submitted the book about my world run to a major publishing firm. It’s now over 78,000 words in length. I’m waiting to hear back. Who knows, they might not like it.

Photo book link: http://www.momento.com.au/gallery?cpid=1575172&auth=52ef5b04ec6ac8.11540117