Nepali newspaper - marathon

Dear Mirjana, sweet remembrance.

This is me Binju, a Nepali reporter who met you at Shanker hotel while
covering Everest Marathon briefing.

Well, I wanted to share the link which will lead you toward the main
page of Xinhua's online version where you can find your quote too.
Please follow the link below.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/15/content_11379006.htm


I wish for your successful marathon campaign and better
performance there in the Base Camp. All the best :)


Regards,
Binju

Thanks, Binju!! You are the best, girl. See you back in KTM in June! Mia

My dad - my favorite runner!

My dad inspired me to start running when I was 16 yrs old, shortly after I stopped playing basketball (tennis, and volleyball).

He run back in highschool and college, and then picked up running again when his kids were off to college :)) So far, he's got 15 marathons and numerous hiking-marathons under his belt. All acquired in the last few years. He is 58. Way to be, dad!!!

The first half marathon we run together was in Novi Sad 15 yrs ago. We then run the Classic Athens Marathon in Greece (2007) and again the Novi Sad half (2009).

Russia / Siberia may be the next one (my dad loves Russia)... for his 60th bday?!! :))

He just emailed me wishing me good luck on the Everest... Thanks Dad, I love you!

"Draga moja Mika,

sedim u vinogradu , gledam u Frušku i merim brda u vis pokušavajuci da dosegnem šesnaest PUTA više od Čota pa ne mogu to da smestim pod nebo sremačko... Toliko su Himalaji viši od Fruske gore.

Znam samo da si ti visoko iznad ovog našeg neba i životom i radom i stremljenjima! Siguran sam da si odabrala pravi put koji običnim smrtnicima nije dostupan. HRABRO I SRECNO DO CILJA!

Ljubi te tale i misli na tebe sve vreme i prati svaki korak."

Mt. Everest Base Camp here I come! Back in 3 weeks!

I'm starting my trek to the EVEREST BASE CAMP Saturday morning!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to go on this incredible adventure!!!!!

Hope the weather serves us well and hope everything turns out according to plan!

So far, I know there will be up to 40 foreigners trekking and running the marathon, and some 160 Indian and Nepalese people (special ops military, and other marathoners).

Mom & Dad, Petar, Vera - wish you were here with me!!! I love you!

Tanji - thanks for the many tips on how to conquer the climb + marathon (garlic soup!).

Georg - your climbing stories were inspirational!! Great meeting you and Bill!!

Marshall - thanks for the little climbing gifts and your encouragement!

Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon 2009 !!!

Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon is an International High Altitude Adventure Sports Event being held at Mt. Everest Base Camp every year on May 29. criss-crossing the Highland Sherpa Trails of Khumbu Valley, to commemorate the historical ascent of Mount Everest by Late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953.

The Marathon Event is to salute these 2 Great Heroes of our Human Civilization, regardless of their Nationality & origin, ventured out into the unknown and carried Human spirit to the TOP of the World or the Summit of Mother Earth, glorifying the success of the entire mankind civilization.

Everest Marathon, the world's highest marathon, the Toughest Marathon and the Ultimate Mountain Race, is open for all High Altitude Running enthusiasts above 18 years of age with sound mind and body.

Everest Marathon is considered by High Altitude Mountain Runners as the world's ultimate race or the ultimate challenge of this form of extreme sport . These runners endure the harsh weather and even digest altitude sickness to experience the romantic participation in this World's only Highest Marathon Event.

Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon is being widely covered by BBC, NHK of Japan and many other National and International Electronic and Paper Media.

http://www.everestmarathon.com/

Mom's letter before my climb to the Everest Base Camp

Duso moja,

Ne znam gde si, nadam se da si dobro, znam jedino da si u STANJU da se brines sama o sebi, da imas cilj i da ides do njega... To je ono sto mi drzi ravnotezu i mir kada god pomislim na tebe.

Molim se (kako umem i znam) za tebe i da tvoje putovanje, gde god da je, prodje u nekom redu i nekoj normali, a najpre da sacuvas zdravlje. Naravno da sacuvas i sve ono sto je predivno u tebi, ali i da pronadjes deo sebe koji mozda nisi poznavala. Znam da je ovo putovanje IDEALNO za tako velike stvari i tako velika saznanja. Neka ti je nebo u pomoci!

Znam da ovih dana kreces u VISINE i da ces imati jos jedno iskustvo zivotno vise. Mnogo toga se nauci, a najpre strpljenju i poslusnosti. Da bi se bezbedno ispelo na tako velike visine, mora da se STRIKTNO POSTUJE svako naredjenje, nema proizvoljnosti, nema nepormisljenosti i sto je najvaznije nema brzanja. Korak po korak i mic po mic......jedino tako se stize do cilja. Sve je to ujedno i lekcija za zivot. Ti ces je proci i u praksi, mi neki obicni smrtnici, samo teoretski. Jako je velika razlika nesto znati i NESTO ISKUSITI! Kao nebo i zemlja.

Divim ti se svim srcem i jako respektujem tvoju resenosta da napravis tako veliko putovanje i poduhvate (maratoni). Jako se divim tvojoj organizacionoj sposobnosti i prilagodljivosti, prakticnosti......ma, jednostavno - ceo tvoj poduhvat je FANTASTICAN.

Mozda ti ovo zvuci onako, osrednje jer ti to pise i kaze MAMA, ali znaj da su to najvise ocene, iskrene i sveobuhvatne, zato i vrede!


Duso moja, zelim ti svu srecu i uspeh u Himalajima, da bezbedno i sigurno prodjes maraton, da se vratis u lepe i bebednije delove na zasluzen odmor i uzivanje, a dalje, polako... sklopice se kockice i zivot.

Sve moje misli, prve ujutro i poslednje pred spavanje su TI! Neka te moja ljubav cuva i bdi nad tobom.

Budi mi dobro, cuvaj se, ljubim te i uz tebe sam uvek,
tvoja mamica

And.... her next email:


Mila moja,

Obradovalo me je tvoje pisanje na blogu!

Ima puno toga sazetog u jednoj obicnoj recenici koju cesto roditelji (doduse, cesce je to bilo ranije, oni stariji roditelji) govore svojoj deci:
"Kada porastes i razmislis - kazace ti se samo!"

Volim sto SAZNAJES sto nailazis na nesto sto prepoznajes u sebi, nesto sto si ponela odrastanjem u malom detinjstvu, ali i sto dolazis do novih saznanja zivotnih.
Nije to za svakoga, ali za tebe je jako VAZNO.

Ljubim te, evo sitgla mi je porukica od tebe.
Ljubim te i grlilm, mamac

LJUBIM TE I VOLIM, MAMAC!!! tvoja mala skitnica i velika putnica :))

Tanji & Mia Trekking in Nepal

No Taj, but Tanji is here!

No Taj, but Tanji Sherpa is here! exclaimed my hotel staff after they heard I was not going to India that weekend. And I said: Who exactly is Tanji?!!! (all pissed off because I really wanted to go to India but the Indian embassy needed more time to put a stamp on a piece of paper...ghhrrr).

And they said, well, you need to train for your marathon - go trek with Tanji for a few days! He's the sherpa guide in Nepal, one of the best! So, he can prepare you for the climb up to the Everest Base Camp and for the marathon on the way back.

They gave me a few minutes to re-pack and off we were!

We started in a small village near the Langtang range and made our way to Chisapani village. We hiked for about 5 hours that day, mostly uphill, had lunch and I decided to hike some more on a motorcycle! :)) The bikes they have in Nepal are awesome, and cheap to rent. So, I spent a few hours having fun biking around villages while Tanji was taking a nap.

Tanji Sherpa just got back from trekking the Annapurna range, so he was a bit tired. But, he was excited to take me trekking and make me run the hills and train for the marathon. He was really funny. He would think of short-cuts that were super steep and would make me run the stairs and would "accidentaly" take us the wrong way just so we would hike longer and cover more ground. :)) He enjoyed "torturing" me that way :))

He also taught me a few things about the buddhist religion (all sherpas practice buddhism) and pointed out a few things about accilmatization and climbing. He was kind of parental that way, which was great.

He and I had a great time up in the hills where we bumped into a few extraordinary and fun people like Georg and Bill from England, and Marshall from Texas!!

I hang out with Marshall for a couple of days in KTM on the way back. Marshall just finished medical school and was in India for 2 months at some sort of a practical training.
Marshall made sure I carbo-loaded properly before my marathon - we drunk plenty of beers!!!

Dr. Bell - I had a f-great time with you, dude!! Safe trip back home and good luck with moving and starting work!! Responsibilities baby, rock on! ;)))

India on hold until June 4th

Nope, I didn't get the visa in time to go visit India, so that trip will have to wait for another 3 weeks.

Visiting Gandhi's home and the Taj ... coming up! June 4-9th.

Marshall - email me the name of your tour-guide in India! thanks!

The Taj... The Full Moon... and...

and the world traveler Moi, all meet in India...!! :))

Yes, I'm excited about my visit tomorrow morning!

Before I leave, let me wish a very happy birthday to the very special person in Paris, Sebastien!! Srecan rodjendan, special Coucou!! Put down that guitar for a moment and pick up a bottle of wine - celebrate and have fun!! (non-negotiable!:))

Oh, and I finally connected with Sushili, my tour guide to the Everest base camp! The marathon orientation is on the 14th of May! That's when I'll meet the rest of the hikers and runners... We leave KTM on the 16th. The marathon is on the 29th! Fun!! I am soooo excited!!!

Okay... but first, India! One step at a time... :))

A short story about life... :)) Kathmandu, Nepal

... and the story about how some of us were raised! Enjoy...!

"A village sat nestled in a valley far from the hustle and bustle of the world that existed beyond the hills. It had all that its citizens required: a mercantile, a school, a library, a church, and a hospital. Life was good in a village but it moved at its own pace. And most of the people who lived there were happy.

Every now and then, however, a young person would look toward the hills, curious about what lay beyond them. No one in the village did or said anything to discourage any young person from leaving the village. After all, many of them had felt the same yearnings when they were young. And most that had gone out into the world beyond the hills had come back to the village.

No young person was ever discouraged from leaving, nor encouraged to stay, but only to follow what was truly in their heart. If a young person was about to leave, there was one requirement, one ritual that he or she had to honor.

There was a path leading up from one end of the village to the top of the highest hill. It was a series of steps, and at the end of it was a paved highway that led to a bus stop, and a bus that traveled to the outside world. In order to leave the village, the Young person had to climb those steps to the highway.

Most young people who wanted to leave the village thought twice, because they had heard stories that the steps were very difficult to climb, and that some of their predecessors had not made it to the top. Nevertheless, curiosity about the world that lay beyond the hills was a powerful motivator, and some young people chose to climb the steps.

On the morning of a climb, the young person's family led him/her through the main street of the village, lined with friends and relatives to give him a rousing send-off. The family then took the young person to the bottom of the path and wished him/her all the best.

"When you reach the top of the hill," the young person was told, "you will find a GIFT waiting for you."

So the young person began the journey to the outside world by climbing. The stairway was nearly a few miles long, made of wood slabs and guarded by a sturdy wooden fence on both sides, so the climber couldn't deviate from the path.

At first the climb was easy because the path was wide, but it gradually became narrower and narrower, and the steps likewise gradually higher a fraction of an inch at a time. Halfway up was a bench, a place to rest. Here the climber stopped, but only briefly until his/her heart stopped pounding.

Further up the hill, the climber stopped again. The heart was definitely pounding harder this time. At that point the climber realized that the path was much narrower and the steps higher.
It was in this moment that the climber hoped that the gift waiting at the top was worth the climb!

The rest of the climb was even more difficult!! The young person had to stop often to rest. Not only did the path become extremely narrow and the steps became higher, but the steps were now also deeper and more dangerous to climb. The climber had to grab the fence railing on either side to keep from slipping.

But, the climber did finish the climb, with the heart pounding like a drum. His legs trembling from exertion and his lungs burning.

The climber gained the final level and the gate to the outside world. The highway was only a few yards away.

The climber then looked for the gift but saw nothing but another wooden bench. There he sat and rested. Hss parents had told him there would be a gift, but he saw nothing. Not a thing around him looked like it might be a surprise.

Finally, the bus that would take him to the world beyond the hills arrived, and he boarded with a last glance. It was in that moment that he SAW the GIFT:

Carved into the arch above the gate were the words:
STRENGTH IS THE CHILD OF EFFORT AND PAIN.

Climbing those stairs was life itself... for the boy, and also the rest of us who decided to climb them... And for the people that stayed in the village... Well, they learned "same same but different" lessons by simply living life in the valley."


Also carved into the arch of the gate of my life were the words:
STRENGTH IS THE CHILD OF EFFORT AND PAIN... the most valuable gift I received from my parents growing up! :))