City 23 done: Rio

So onto the last city. I couldn’t quite believe it. Taking stock of what I had achieved so far it really did feel a little surreal. Technically I had already raced in every summer Olympic city as the Games in Rio were not due to take place until August 2016 and I was heading out for my race in Rio in January of that year.

I had never been to Latin America and running in Rio gave me the perfect excuse to visit a few places that had been on my wish list since a youngster. I had a two week trip coming up which consisted of Rio, the mighty Iguassu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, Buenos Aires and a short hop over to Colonia in Uruguay. I was beyond excited. It may not have seemed so as I am more of a shout about it inside kind of excitement but believe me when I say I was eager to get underway.

First stop Rio. I had a few days to explore the city before my race and a splendid few days they were. I was staying at a hotel directly on Copacabana beach. I challenge you to say the name of the beach without bursting into the Barry Manilow number. Couldn’t do it could you? Well maybe you could and that is the gay in me coming out (again.) That aside I began each morning in Rio with a run along the beach. The promenade is fantastic and full of runners, cyclists and pedestrians at all times of the day. The main road was actually closed on a Sunday so that the public could use it traffic free all the way along the beach. It was bloody marvellous and with the huge waves and amazing mountains (including the World famous Sugar Loaf Mountain) in constant view it was a real treat to be able to run this way. It was a perfect way to people watch and take in sights of very toned men (thanks for those Brazil), a large woman in a g string (no need for that Brazil) and a woman chasing her pet chicken across the road which seemed to be trying to provide an answer to the age old question of why the chicken crossed the road.

The city itself was fantastic. I visited the colourful Lapa Steps, climbed to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain (oh ok I’ll admit I got the cable car with everyone else) and took the train up the mountain to Christ the Redeemer (where I inappropriately muttered “Jesus Christ” to myself when getting frustrated with the gift shop being overrun with tourists) which dominates the skyline and sees every man and his dog taking selfies with JC himself. I am also now one of those people. It was all splendid and sums up why this city truly is World class and deserved of Olympic status. I am not lying when I say that my mouth dropped open at some of the views I was able to take in none more so that those from one of the Favelas that I visited. One thing I will say is that this must be the only city in the World where the wealthier residents live lower down than the poorer. In the Favela I went to a bar that had what I can only describe as million dollar views. In any other city the location of the bar would be beyond premium and cost a fortune to reside in. In Rio; however it remained a piece of the Favela and thus was surrounded by crowded and small houses for those with limited means.

Enjoying a Pina Colada (which in Brazil seems to have an additional ingredient of chocolate which I am not too sure about) on the terrace of said bar I was in awe of not only the coastline and natural beauty but the organized chaos of the favela below. Due to the steep climb up the hillside there are motor cycle cabs at the bottom of the village to take people up to the top. Rumour has it that when Rihanna was in town she organized a drinks party in the same bar that I was in but had not been able to reach it as her car was ambushed with fans when they knew it was her. Allegedly she returned to the bottom, put on a crash helmet and got a motorbike cab up to the bar without anyone even batting an eye. I did not have the same problem as Rihanna and my car made it up to the top with no fans stopping. However; perhaps my status in Brazil was due to change and the story in three days’ time would be totally different?

The race I had entered was called Corrida de Sao Sebastio. I had read about it in the ultimate runs to do around the World. Runners could choose between a 5km or 10km route and it was held on Wednesday 20^th January as this was a public holiday to celebrate Sao Sebastio. Made sense. I entered the 10km race and a couple of days ahead of the race I made my way to packet pickup in downtown Rio. The journey there was easy on the metro and I found the office building I needed quick enough. One thing I had instantly loved about Rio was the abundance of phone booths around the city. They were painted a lovely yellow and green and sported the phone network “Oi” on them. The ones outside the packet pick up office were less endearing shall we say. Inside were countless stickers for call girls; however ones with a difference. Let’s just say chick with a dick and you can imagine the rest.

Packet pick up was straight forward and I was all set for the race. The start time had been moved forward to 07:30am as it had been extremely hot in the previous weeks; although ironically the weather it seemed had now turned left at the traffic lights and was somewhat cloudy and rainy (although still around mid-twenties centigrade.)

Prior to leaving London the press office from the race had contacted me to ask why I was planning to compete in the race. I can only assume this was because I was either the only or one of the very few competitors with a listed address outside of Brazil. I explained to them about my challenge (secretly hoping they would want to do some PR) and they were thrilled to hear about it and were excited to welcome me to their event as my final race of the challenge. A few days later they contacted me to say that they had arranged an interview for me with one of the largest newspapers in Brazil called O Globo. Tres exciting. I was told to meet the reporter in my hotel the Monday after I arrived. She was called Gabriella, was 30 and had fair hair. Seemed simple enough. I went for a coffee somewhere nearby so as not to be late back to the hotel and had dressed in my typical smart casual attire. Returning to the hotel on time I spotted a lady waiting in reception who was clearly over 30 so I commented to Steven that it was definitely not the person waiting for me. Just at that time the receptionist said “Mr. Long, this is Ana and she is from O Globo and is waiting for you” pointing straight at the woman who I had just rebuffed as the reporter. Oops. Turns out she wasn’t the interviewer but the photographer and was going to be doing the shoot. Crumbs, I hadn’t really thought we would be doing an official shoot as the PR team had asked for previous race photos already so I thought they would use those. Nevertheless it was going to add to the fun.

Ana was extremely nice and shortly after our introductions a guy called William arrived and said he would be doing the interview. They both commented how smart I looked but ideally wanted me to be wearing running gear for the photo they would eventually use in the paper. A quick dash up to my room and I was changed and ready to “run” so to speak. When I say quick I was indeed speedy but still did have a quick fashion show (to myself in front of the bathroom mirror) in order to see which running top I looked best in. The City 2 Surf one from Sydney was the one that called to me.

Back with Ana and William they explained to me that the interview would be on page two of the newspaper which is a column called “tell me something I don’t know.” Essentially they were unique stories (from non-famous people) to feature every day in the paper. It seemed that my challenge met the criteria. First up was the photo shoot.

Ana suggested we go to the rooftop pool of my hotel so we could do pictures overlooking Copacabana Beach. She wasn’t convinced on the location since it has a glass balcony which would not have been conducive to clear pictures. So down we went to ground level and outside the hotel where she wanted to do pictures of me in a running position in front of the stunning hotels that faced the Atlantic Ocean. Weirdly I didn’t feel self-conscious about the process of the shoot at all. As Ana lay on the pavement to get a good angle and directed me to look forward, at her, smile or not smile it felt quite natural and fun. What your back Kate Moss, there is a new basic bitch in town. After about 5 minutes Ana said that she had all she needed and we were done. She said usually it takes a lot longer than that but she was pleased with the shots. Milan fashion week here I come I thought.

Back inside the hotel William then interviewed me for about 45 minutes. He asked about the challenge, why I ran, why I thought other people ran and had I noticed the difference in cultures in the cities that I had run in. He finished with the question that marks the essence of page 2 and “tell me something I don’t know.” Well; below is the full article (translated from Portuguese) and as you can see it not only answers all his questions but has a title which I intend to now adopt every time I make a first introduction to someone.

So race day was now upon us. It was an early start to get up, shower and run to breakfast for a couple of bananas before hopping in a taxi to the start line. At this point I still didn’t know the course of the run but I knew that we would be able to see Sugar Loaf Mountain (should the mist disappear that is.) The start area was well set up and the temperature at 6:45am was already 20 degrees centigrade. It was particularly sunny but the humidity was definitely up there. There were many running club tents (all of which Steven was hoping to get a free coffee from but to no avail) and many runners who looked in good shape. I did a short warm up and joined the crowds in the starting pen. On my way there I noticed a man who looked in his 70s ready with his race number on and his timing chip tied around his ankle as he would be running barefoot. Crazy.

As we lined the start there was a man right at the front carrying a ukulele and performed a little tune whilst we watched the elite woman depart ahead of us. Totally random race etiquette but fun none the less.

Shortly after the woman had left the elite men joined the pen ahead of us. As they gathered around I thought they would be going first followed by another start of the “masses” a minute or so after. However; as the horn went the elite men were off and so it seemed were we. I was caught totally by surprise and was pulled along with the crowds across the start line. We were off!

The roads we were on were very wide so I didn’t get caught between many people as can sometimes be the case and within a few minutes I was in my own rhythm. Ahead of me I could see the 1`km mark. Surely no? As I passed it I glanced at my watch to notice I had done the first kilometer in 3m 21s. Pretty fast. Way to fast in fact to maintain in these weather conditions. I carried on just enjoying the fact that we were running along the coast. Beautiful even though the mist was blocking some of the view. As we reached around 2.5km we passed an amazing monument (to this day I don’t know what it was) and circled back on ourselves back towards the start. It was hot and I was uber sweaty. As we reached the 5km mark the road was divided into two (the left for those in the 5km race and the right for the 10km racers.) For the first time in my running career I had a small thought that I wished I were doing the shorter distance. I had no choice though, man up and carry on. The next few kilometers took us past Sugar Loaf Mountain (or Sugar Tits as Steven had come to affectionately refer to it as) and up to a superb swimming pool which marked our second turning point. The stretch back to the finish was tough I am not going to lie. The heat was something I was not used to and the water stops couldn’t come soon enough (entirely to pour on my head rather than drink you understand.)

My initial pace had as expected not been sustained I was averaging a 4 minute kilometer now which I was fine with. I wasn’t aiming for a PB. The 9km marker passed me on my left and I was on the home stretch. The finish line look gorgeous as I saw it up ahead. The 5km racers re-joined us on the left to cross the finish line and over the line I went. 38m 11s which was just outside the 38m target I had wanted to beat (from about the halfway point.) I placed 35^th which I was still pleased with given that the majority of finishers ahead of me were elite.

So that was that. My challenge was done. How did I feel? Weird is all I can say. I didn’t cry (yet) or laugh. I did; however enjoy the watermelon and bananas they gave me (along with my final medal) at the finish. I did my finish photos by the sea and in the taxi back to the hotel reflected on what I had achieved. I was silently happy.

Before leaving for the race in the morning I had posted on Facebook that only 10km stood in between me finishing my Olympic Challenge. As I logged on when I got back to the room I had hundreds of likes and numerous comments congratulating me already and saying I was an inspiration to my friends. I was really touched. As I said I hadn’t cried yet but then I read one final comment. My friend congratulated me and said that wherever my parents were (having both passed away) they would be looking down on me bursting with pride. I couldn’t hold it in a shed a few tears. I really do hope I have made them proud.

So there; I did cry at the end of the challenge which I guess I should have really shouldn’t I? I showered and made it back down to the breakfast room in the hotel in time for a late sitting. Bonus. They had champagne on the table so it was nice for Steven and I to raise a toast to what I had done.

That afternoon we flew down to the Iguassu Falls to enjoy a few days in the National Park which was beyond spectacular. I can honestly say I have never seen anything like the falls before, especially when we took a speedboat to the foot of the falls. It is one of the most alive moments I have ever felt.

All too soon my time in Brazil had come to an end but I still had a week of holidays to look forward to as I went to Argentina and Uruguay. An amazing trip to say the least.

Leaving Brazil I felt content and I was really looking forward to being able to watch the Olympics in a city I had just been to in a mere 7 months’ time.

So that was it. I was done.

Photo shoot on Copacabana Beach:

DONE!