Little Rock Marathon

Sunday, March 15th, 2009 two of our runners took on the Little Rock Marathon.  Manuel Centeno competed in the half marathon(13.1 miles) and Dave Pearson, our newest runner for Agua Nicaragua, competed in the full marathon (26.2 miles).  And Manuel’s family joined in the fun too, competing in the 5K (3 miles).  Manuel finished the half marathon in 1 hour and 50 minutes, while Dave finished the full marathon in 3 hours and 22 minutes.  Congrats to them both!!!

With training runs like these we will be ready to trek Nicaragua again in no time!!!!  Don’t miss the pics below!!!

He was flying….and the finish line was finally in sight

After the 5K and still smiling! Go Team!

Almost there….the finish line is just up ahead

White Rock Training Run Feb. 2009

Today, Manuel Centeno completed his first training run in preparation for our Second Ultra Marathon across Nicaragua scheduled for November of 2009. The White Rock Challenge is a 31 mile marathon up White Rock Mountain located in the Boston Mountains of Arkansas. We were a little concerned that this annual run would be canceled due to the damage the recent ice storm brought to the area. But as luck would have it, they were able to clean up the trails just enough to continue with the marathon. Make no mistake, this is not a run for the faint of heart. It is rough terrain, and practically up hill the entire way. In fact, the banner marking the beginning of the race calls the mission before you the ‘Hills from Hell’. Thirty four other brave souls faced the mountain with him, though this is actually the second time Manuel has scaled these ‘Hills’. So at 9 in the morning they all began their mountain adventure, and 6 hours and 26 minutes later Manuel crossed the finish line.
I have to say, crewing for Manuel is always a pleasure, because even after running for over six hours straight, he still manages to have a smile on his face. Don’t miss the pics and video below. And remember, together we can save lives, one mile at a time….

Agua Nicaragua en Espanol

English Translation for Press Release in Nicaragua

Below is the translation we promised for the Press Release they gave before the run in November of 2008. Sorry it took so long to post it.

PREPARING AGUA NICARAGUA MARATHON

National and International runners

The objective is to put a well in every one of the 150 communities along the Coco River in the RAAN.

“Agua Nicaragua” is the name of the marathon that will begin this coming 10th of November at 5:00 a.m. The difference in this run is that the runners not only want to finish the race, but also bring water to the communities along the Coco River in the Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic (RAAN).

The organizers of this project made known during a press conference yesterday, that their goal is to institutionalize this event in order to donate at least one well to each of the 150 communities found in that zone.

Manuel Centeno, one of the organizers of the event, stated that each well will cost around $10,000.00 but that the cost goes down if multiple wells are done together.

“The cost of bringing in the machinery into this area is high and that is why we are appealing to the good will of people so that we can do five wells at once and bring the cost of each down to around $5000.00.We hope to raise enough money with this first marathon to be able to begin the construction of a well in the community of Leimus, which has other surrounding communities within walking distance that could also have access to clean water and the total number of people benefited would be approximately 3000 people”, said Manuel Centeno.

“These people live in extreme poverty and don’t have the resources to dig wells and have to rely on the water from the Coco River. They can’t even ask for one cordoba like people do at the stoplights because they all live in the same conditions. We want to help them and the marathon is a way to do just that and a way to raise awareness because even in a small way we can all collaborate”, expressed Xiomara Centeno.

In the event there will be six professional runners participating, two North Americans, Charlie Engle and Chuck Dale, and from Nicaragua, Manuel Centeno, Christian Ramirez, Oscar Suarez and the runners from the RAAN, Mauricio Flores and Ilian Robertson.

The route will be divided into 70 kilometer sections to run each day so that if anyone is interested in participating, they can choose which section to run. “If anyone is interested they can participate in part of the run if they are in good physical condition; the total route of the run will cover 600 kilometers; we will leave from Masacha the 10th of November and we hope –if we don’t have any problems—to arrive in Puerto Cabezas the 20th of November,” said Centeno. The daily advance that the runners make will be reported on the website www.aguanicaragua.org.

“We are doing something ordinary, running a marathon, to make an extraordinary call about the urgent necessity for clean water that the communities need in the RAAN. We hope that Nicaragua will join this effort and that it will be accomplished by the will of each person”, concluded Centeno.
MANUEL CENTENO Nicaraguan Missions 6604 Parks Road Van Buren AR 72956 nicamp@msn.com 479-474-0314 479-414-2975

New Video

Chuck Dale’s Blog from the 2008 Ultra-Marathon

What typically happens to me when I run or crew on these multi-day expeditions is that I push myself 110% to complete the task…then I totally crash when it’s over. My crash usually involves coming down with an illness and recovery can take up to a couple of weeks. Agua Nicaragua was no different…except for the fact that when it began I had just finished an expedition called Running America less than a week earlier, so I had already begun my typical “crash”, and should have been a couple weeks away from recovery. The first three days of Agua Nicaragua I ran through a fever of about 103 degrees and felt absolutely miserable. But, despite the illness, I knew the run couldn’t wait for me so I continued. I haven’t had much exposure to naturopathic medicine but I must say that when Leigh Ann (crew chief) began forcing me to use the stuff that was sent by Dr. Broadfoot , my fever disappeared and I very quickly felt better and was back to “normal”. It took us nine days to run approximately 380 miles across Nicaragua. Myself, Manny, Maricio and Ilian were the runners and we were supported by our crew, Leigh Ann, Mike, Romano, Brenda, Eduardo, and Aaron. There is no way we could have completed this run without the support of this awesome crew. Agua Nicaragua was the first expedition of this distance where my primary purpose was to be “a runner”. It was my time to prove that I could get the job done…I didn’t have the luxury to stop and start running when I wanted, as a “crew chief” could. As “a runner”, the responsibility of accomplishment was on my shoulders. This was the longest continuous distance I’ve covered up to now in my career. I was able to overcome the mental challenges of needing to move forward to cover that next mile and not let the expedition down, as well as overcome the physical pain that comes with covering that kind of distance. Joint pain, muscle fatigue, glycogen depletion not to mention the illness I had were all part of that physical challenge. It sounds crazy after just explaining the tough parts of this expedition, to say that we are already planning next year’s run and how excited I am to be a part of it. This was more rewarding than it was challenging and I know the benefit we are bringing to the Miskito people is worth every step. It takes a lot of planning and good hearted people to be able to run and crew through heat exceeding 100° F, days of rain and mud, having limited resources for food and supplies and to be tough enough to sleep among the creepy crawlies. We had some great sponsors that helped with this run, mostly from Nicaragua, but I’d like to give a special thanks to Russ at the Fleet Feet Running store in Fayetteville, AR. He helped Manny and I by supplying us with shoes and shirts. I’m going to close my post with some things that I remember from the expedition. Most of those folks who were with us will understand these things, and hopefully thorough our blogs, pictures and website those who weren’t there will get a feeling of our experience. Things I remember from Agua Nic.:

*It’s no fun running with a 103 degree fever

*I may have become a believer in naturopathic medicine

*Hills look much bigger when running them

* There’s room for only 1 princess on an expedition

* Mikey can drive a car and jog at the same time

* It’s not a good idea to drop your bottle cap then look for it while driving

* Running in the rain is fun

* Running in the rain sucks

* A Nicaraguan pothole doesn’t look much bigger when you’ve driven in it and are looking at it from the top of your car

* Nicaraguan bridges are not as wide as they look

* No matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t get to the end of the rainbow

* If you fire a policeman’s AK-47 make sure his supervisor is not nearby

* It is possible to be out-run by a 7 year old boy wearing rubber boots and carrying a metal pail full of food

* It is much easier to appreciate the things you have when you don’t have them

* I can run on bimbo bread alone

* There are many people in Nicaragua who genuinely cared and were happy we were there

* Ourcrew chief and crew were awesome

OK, those thoughts are pretty much my recollection of Agua Nic. ’08. Until the next time, keep running and smile at everyone you meet. You’re welcome to email me anytime at chuck@chuckdale.com or visit www.chuckdale.com.

The Run Continues

Sorry I couldn´t update the news earlier, but we had no cell coverage for the last few days.  We went through several larger towns that had cyber cafe´s but we arrived after they closed and left way before they opened.  The last few days of the run went smoothly with everyone running well.  Mauricio and Manuel continued to have a few problems with their knees, but thanks to Truameel and Sombra they made it through with very little other meds for pain.  They are now big believers in Heel products and Sombra.  Thank you Dr. Broadfoot for donating the Traumeel and Sombra.  After leaving Rio Blanco, the roads are very bad.  Sometimes we had to go so slow that we couldn´t keep up with runners.  I have to say that Toyota makes some tough vehicles.  In the end we were able to rent a Toyata pickup and a Toyota Prado.  We also had a small bob truck with us to carry all of our equipment.  After Rio Blanco we camped out at a Catholic camp run by nuns.  They let us pitch our tents in their yard.  We put our stove on the back of the big truck and Brenda cooked us a wonderful meal, probably the best of the entire trip.  In Siuna we were able to stay in a hotel.  We were only there for a few hours, but it was still nice to have a bed and a shower.  After Rosita, we know that we would be camping out for the next few days. I don´t know if it was the thought of camping out in a very isolated place or if it was the rain that we ran into after Rosita, but they runners really started speeding up.  By early afternoon, they decided that we should just run all night and finish it all in one day.  We reached the Rio Wa Wa Boom right after dark, but it took more than an hour to get across on the ferry.  They were running through torrential rain and it was windy and cold and they insisted on finishing, but after crossing the ferry we got a place in the road with a mudhole so big that four tractor trailors were stuck in it.  We decided to chance it and go around them through the ditch.  Romano took the truck without any problems, but I got stuck in the Prado.  Romano was able to get the Prado out, but Mike wasn´t able to get through with the big truck.  It got stuck at the very end of the big hole.  We went ahead and took the runners to a hotel, got a rope and came back.  Romano was able to pull the big truck out with the Toyota pickup.  I was amazed at that little truck.  It was a long, cold, rainy night. We finally got back to the hotel about 1:00 a.m.  I slept until 3:30 and we started again.  We went back to the mudhole and started running from there.  We arrived in Puerto Cabezas right after lunch. The runners went down to the pier and put their feet in the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a very emotional day for all of us.  Afterwards we had several interviews with the local and national press and we gave away some of the Revive drinks that had been donated for the run. It took us two very long days to get back to Managua.  the roads are so bad that we couldn´t go more than 10 kph.  The bridges are quite precarious and the holes in the road are so bad that you have to see the pictures to understand.  On Friday, Maneul and Chuck had two interviews on Channel 11.  They were on the morning show and on the Sports hour that plays at 7:00 in the evening.  A Channel 11 viewer committed to funding a billboard for us for two months.  We have two more interviews on Channels 2 and 10 on Monday.  We have been very pleased with how things are turning out for Agua Nicaragua.  El Nuevo Diario ran a half-page article on the run when it first started and La Prensa has run two articles.  It is amazing how God has put the right people in our path to make this project successful.  We are especially grateful to our sponsors for all their support.  To Fleet Feet for helping us out with shoes; to Maquinsa and Kimberly Clark for paying for all of our gasoline; to Fuente Pura for supplying us with more water and Revive sport drink than we could use; to Broadfoot Veterinary Clinic for the Heel products and Sombra; to River Valley Communications for the radios that saved our bacon more than once. THANK YOU! – Leigh Ann

Day 5

It is now day five of our ultra marathon across Nicaragua.  We have covered 140 miles as of today.  Manuel Centeno has developed a blister on his foot and had to drop out of the run for one day, but we expect him to be back up and running by tomorrow.  Chuck Dale is doing much better and even though he is still recovering from an infection, he has once again joined the run.  Mauricio is still having problems with his knee so he has been forced to run intermittently as his knee permits.  Our goal has always been to have at least one person running at all times along the way, and luckily we have been able to do that so far.  We stayed in Rio Blanco last night and will be heading out on a very rough dirt road today.  So far we have managed to stay on schedule and everything is going exactly how we planned.  As we continue to cross the country, we have noticed we are picking up a lot of interest from not only the media but the people of Nicaragua as well.  The locals are literally lining up to greet us as we make our way through their area.  Just by word of mouth, they know we are coming.  They can see we are serious and are dedicated to reaching our goals and bringing wells to their people.  We even have police escorts which has been wonderful.  Two radio stations in Puerto Cabezas have been broadcasting details of the run on a day to day basis.  And everyone we have met along the way has been so supportive and so nice, even offering us their facilities and a place to rest. One of our missions on this run was to raise awareness of the need for clean water for the people along the Coco River, and by the looks of it, we are doing just that.  We are still working on getting the news videos posted to the website.  Don’t give up on us, we will have it posted soon, I promise.  Thanks for all of your support.  I’ll keep you posted. – Leigh Ann

Day 3

It is now day three of our ultra marathon across Nicaragua.  So far we have covered a little over 110 miles which puts us just under a third of the way there.  Unfortunately one of our runners, Chuck Dale, was forced to stop running for at least two days due to an unexpected infection.  However, both Manuel and Mauricio are still going.  Mauricio is having knee problems but has yet to give up for such a worthy cause.  To give you an idea of the difficulties we are facing on this run, I will tell you that yesterday temperatures reached 95 as our runners took on rough terrain up the mountains.  Today we’ve reached the countryside with means less traffic and thankfully the weather is much cooler.  Currently we are on our way to MuyMuy and just like last night we will once again be staying in the floor of a restaurant along our route.  Fate is still on our side as we’ve encountered no rain, just nice sunny days, albeit hot.  We have picked up a few new sponsors during our run and are working to get that information online with pictures and company logos.  Check back often for that information along with more updates from our run.  I would like to thank Maquisa, a local business, that has given us 10,000 cordobas ($500 USD) for gasoline.  And a special thanks to Arkansas Valley Communications for their gracious loan of the radios we have been using to keep in contact with our crew and our runners.  Those radios have been a huge help on this run and have aided us in avoiding many accidents that could have occurred without proper communication.  Thanks for all of your support.  I’ll be in touch.  – Leigh Ann

Getting Ready

We are now officially two days away from the beginning of our run.  Chuck will be arriving tonight and we will be heading out to Montelimar Sunday to get everything ready.  We have had some diffuculties renting vehicles.  At first we were going to get 3 Toyota Prados from Budget for a 40% discount.  Then Dollar Rent a Car offered  us 3 Prados for free with drivers, but they have since backed out of that deal, probably because of the elections.  Now we are scrambling to find any available vehicles.  So far we have been able to rent a pickup and 2 minivans.  We can only go as far as Rio Blanco without the Prados.  So we hope to be able to change the minivans out in a few days, Lord willing.  We had our press conference yesterday afternoon and it went very well.  Manuel’s sister Xiomara arranged all the details and did an excellent job. It was done very professionally.  We weren’t sure if anyone would come because no one got back with her to confirm, but we had three television stations, four newspapers, and two radio stations attend.  Now  everyone comes up to us and asks questions when they see our Agua Nicaragua t shirts.  Keep us all in your prayers.   Leigh Ann