RAH 2017: Day 4 - Day 6

Feb 21 - 23, 2017 - Apologizes for not posting the past few days. I AM ALIVE. The reception has not been super great the past few days and they have been busy, so I will be giving a quick recap.

Day 4 - Gonaïve to St Marc, 37 miles. Last year this run was my downfall. It broke me in many ways. But in those way I was broken is where I got to see Gods light shine through. This year I got to see a whole new perspective of this beast of a day. I woke up with a similar stomach issue that I had on day one. I was not able to get water or food into my stomach. It wasn't that it was coming back up, but I couldn't make myself get it down. With not being able to hydrate or eat before the run, I talked with the doctors and we decided it was best for me to sit this day out, which is what I did. This does not make me feel like I failed the run, or let anyone down, because I am part of Team Tassy. We are getting across this country one way or another and will raise money for job creation in the process. So since I wasn't running, I got to join the crew team, the same crew team that helped me through this toughest day. I got to encourage runners, fuel them, pray for them, cheer them on, and even had the strength to walk/run the last two kilometers of the day with Ester as she was coming into the crazy market Main Street of St Marc. This was a good day and I'm so proud of everyone for their accomplishments.

Day 5 - St Marc to Wahoo Bay, 20 miles. I was feeling strong this morning, after a great nights sleep on a hammock on the rooftop of our hotel, I woke up ready to run again. My stomach was calm, my legs were rested, and my mind was set on finishing. I started out the first 10km at a good easy pace as we climbed for the first 8km of the run. I was approaching our 10km check point and I ran into Sam, a second year runner, who was surrounded by all of the support crew at the time of me arriving. I refueled and asked how everything was, to which I was greeted with some shocking news, Sam was feeling some minor chest pains. Sam is a very strong man of faith and will, but also very smart and knew that this is not something worth pushing the boundaries for. So Sam in his right mind said he would only walk for the next 5km and see how it feels. With Sam being part of the the wolf pack, I decided it was best to stay alongside him and walk with him. I was able to get a cell phone from one of the doctors just in case the pains returned I would be able to call one of our vehicles. Thankfully a call never had to be made. Sam finished that day along side me and Jay (another wolf) with no more pains. Finishing this day is important because it is the last run before rest day, and rest day is a day with no running.

Day 6 - Rest day at Wahoo Bay, 0 miles. This day is typically filled with food, drinks, games, and lots of rest and swimming. We had all of those, but two things we added were pizza (yes pizza) and visiting the families we support at their homes. after breakfast we got in the trucks and drove to the neighborhood of Menilas (spelling?) where the families Team Tassy supports are located. This is a poor, secluded, and joyous neighborhood. This was my first trip to Menilas because I wasn't able to go last year. We got to see a few of the family members houses, families, and got to hear what team Tassy has done for their lives. This was the most inspiring part of this trip. Each family member was so happy to show us where they lived and so ready to welcome us into their neighborhood. We were also afforeded the opportunity to see where the bottles come from that make the fabric for shirts made by Team Tassy's sister company Thread. The bottles are being collected from the landfill adjacent to Menilas. The bottles are mainly being collected by kids who live in the landfill who gather enough bottle to turn it in for enough money to just survive. Team Tassy and Thread are now branching into this community to help bring dignified jobs and living to those who live in the landfill. More information will be available on this subject later, but it was a very moving moment and just another example of why your donations are so important.

After visiting the families and the landfill we went to another mission called Healing Haiti who has build a bakery and a restaurant to create jobs for the community. This place was called Fleri (flourish), and yes, they made pizza. So our whole group went here for lunch to support this mission. We learned about this mission from one for our runners named Jason who is a member of the church who started it. This was a great time to learn about how they have a goal to add 100 jobs to the community where they are located and teach a skill to those in the position.

The rest of the day was filled with a sail boat, swimming and sleeping. We are running 29 miles tomorrow into Port Au Prince, so pleas keep us in your prayers as we take on the next to last leg of this run.

Please continue to support Team Tassy's goal of raising $200,000 for jobs in Haiti. My personal goal is to raise $5,000 toward this cause, you can donate by clicking the link below:

https://www.crowdrise.com/zacks-run-across-haiti-2

A family members house

Sorting area at the landfill community

Fleri pizza

The rooftop of the school in Menilas