DDC Update

Last Thursday four of our team traveled to Sisophon to run a morning program at the Drug Detention Center. The detainees were divided into three groups with about 20 in each group and rotated through football, volleyball and taekwondo stations. They were simple activities, but it's soooo much better than being locked up with zero stimulation. We also gave a 50kg bag of rice this visit because they're allocated just under 40 cents per person per day for food, and that's only enough for two meals of rice & soup.


I was especially proud of our relative newbie, Makara, who led the taekwondo. He is a 'lowly yellow belt', but his enthusiasm makes him a natural teacher! 


We've signed an agreement with the Ministry of Social Affairs to allow us to continue to visit twice a month for the next 12 months. We are also hoping that other NGOs or churches will be willing to visit regularly.

Hat Yai 42.2

There I was, race number pinned to my singlet with a wedge of watermelon in my right hand, running a Thai highway in pre-dawn darkness. I took small bites of the ripe flesh and spat melon seeds onto the side of the road.


Last weekend I ran the Hat Yai marathon in Southern Thailand. Hat Yai is an interesting mix of cultures and religions. Close to the Malaysian border, I noticed monks, mosques and churches as I walked the streets. (Oh, and I had a "tower room" on the seventh floor of the VL Hotel so I could check out the action from above the streets too.) Many women wore headscarves. There were Halal street food vendors and young people sitting in song-tao's with thick bibles on their laps. Interestingly, to conclude the official pre-race welcome in English, the announcer said, "Good luck to everyone and may God bless you." I thought, "Yep, I'll take that blessing!"


The race started at 3:30am!! The positive of starting in the middle of the night is that we ran in relatively decent weather: 27 degrees with about 80% humidity! There was a different atmosphere running down the highway with no streetlights... kinda cool but slightly dangerous too!


I was hoping that one of the pre-race stalls might sell GU or some kind of gel for race day nutrition. No such luck! For the first half of the race there was water at the aid stations. Finally, we came to a station with something that looked like sports drink but tasted more like a kid's drink. Coming back I noticed the empty bottles and realised I wasn't drinking a new flavour of gatorade but red cordial! Water, red cordial and watermelon. Well, when in Asia...


I noticed that this marathon had very few women participating. (Probably less than 10% females?) I was the only white chick so I stood out. But maybe by skin colour was not the only reason I was noticed... In the long 'out and back' section, I figured it was a good opportunity to encourage other runners. For example, when the lead pack came past I kept running but cleared my throat, threw my right hand up in the air and screamed, "Woo hoooooo! Good job guys! Ye-ah!" My hollering was met by... silence!  Oh well. I was not to be deterred. I ran and clapped and waved and encouraged people and gave other marathoners the thumbs up sign. As the day broke many at least returned a weary smile and that was enough for me.


I finished in under 4 hours, finding some strength to pick up the pace for the final 500m. Hat Yai has given me motivation to keep training and to try to better my time in my next marathon in 5 weeks time.

 Finishers' medal & bib number.

View from the 'tower room'.

Cambodia's Top Cyclist

Last weekend I picked up a copy of The Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. I realised that the national team cyclists face the same problems as Bunting and other runners in the athletics team. Consider this opening sentence from the article, Free Rider:


Lin Eng's career took off when he left Cambodia's cycling federation to train on his own. Now that he's back with the national team, can he keep up the pace?


To summarise the article:


1. When Eng was 19 years old, he bought a second-hand bike for $120 to start training. I.e. he's a self-starter who is motivated by a raw passion for the sport.


2. He raced in national events when he started riding, placing third, third, second and fourth over four years. Translation: he has performed consistently at the national level.


3. When the cycling federation dropped riders' salaries from $120 to $40 per month, Eng stayed with the team. He's not in it for the money!


4. However, he was disappointed with the poor training and lack of equipment so Lin Eng left the team. Eng worked with a cycling tour company and rode all around the country. He taught himself about training techniques through books and DVDs. This is part of the problem with elite sports in this country. At the top level, Cambodian coaches know less than the athletes. This doesn't need to be a huge problem if they are willing to work together, learn together and show mutual respect. In an old-school, hierarchical culture, however, this is very unlikely to happen!


5. Last year, 31 year old Eng became the national champion in both the road racing and mountain bike events. Major win. He totally delivered the goods.


6. Therefore, he has re-joined the national team so that he can represent Cambodia at international events. The question is: Can the federation handle him? Will their ignorance in training techniques and their mismanagement of funding cost Lin Eng the joy of performing at his peak? Or will a few determined individuals succeed in sport anyway, despite the obstacles? I hope so! 

Back in Brisbane

Peter, right, with his son.

 

Peter left Phnom Penh on Friday night and arrived back 'home' in Brisbane last Saturday. He was stuck in Poipet for several years with no job, no money, no visa and (recently) no current passport. We could argue whether Peter was 'more sinned against than sinning' but sometimes there's no point in finding fault. No Australian should be left dependent on a poor Cambodian family who can barely afford their own daily needs. I could not have lived as Peter did these past years: living in a 'slum' house that flooded regularly, surviving on two meals a day, being socially isolated without an understanding of the local language, not having any access to medical treatment, dealing with challenges such as rats biting my toes through the mosquito net at night...

There were a number of issues in helping Peter to get back to Brisbane, including the fact that this is not his first repatriation(!!!) Through this process I've learned a bit more about being an advocate: being persistent in contacting people who could help and, at the same time, exploring 'unofficial channels' so that those who had power to assist knew that I was willing to explore Plan B if Plan A was denied! I've learned more about being an amateur social worker and considering a person's needs holistically. I've discovered that our capacity for patience, grace and generosity can be stretched when needed. (But I still had a couple of moments when Peter was yelling and swearing at me and I.... err... screamed right back!) 

Anyway, a small success. Last week we were able to secure an emergency passport, visa and air ticket. The Cambodian Immigration showed compassion and agreed to drop the visa overstay charge of $4000. The Australian Embassy called today to check that Peter had arrived in Australia and I was able to confirm that, yes, he is back in Brisbane.

Splits of Shame!

I wrote in February that I'm training for a marathon. Yesterday I did a 32km long run along National Highway 5 (in 2 hours & 56 minutes for those who are curious). I was happy with the run, but I know that on race day I still need to run another 10km further at a faster pace. 


There are some people who aren't content to finish a marathon. I'm one of those people. We want to finish strong and run the whole way at a pace that reflects our ability and training. My goal is run my next marathon at a steady pace, rather than 'hitting the wall' at around the 30km mark. My splits from the Gold Coast Marathon in 2010, for example, show a good start and a terrible finish. This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid! So, in full transparency, I offer you... Pip Miner's Splits of Shame! 


The first column on the left gives the distance in km's. The second column gives the pace or split time (i.e. average number of minutes and seconds it took to run each km). The right column shows the average speed per km in km/h.


DIST    PACE     SPEED


5km -   4:59 -   12:01
10km-  no data- no data
15km-  4:57 -   12:10
20km-  5:14 -   11:43
25km-  5:19-    11:27
30km-  5:38-    10:46
35km-  5:50-    10:27
40km-  5:50-    10:26
42.2k-  6:07-    9:81

How can I avoid future Splits of Shame? The first thing is to do more long training runs. It's not easy. But I want to learn more about hard training and perseverance... 


I'll let you know how it goes!

Hebrews 13:15-16

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don't forget to do good and share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:15-16.


I've been thinking about these words over the weekend; pondering these two sacrifices. There's a sacrifice of giving praise to God and a sacrifice of sharing with other people. It seems these go together.


Christian leadership, according to J. David Lundy, is relationally rooted. Christian leaders need to practice a continual conversation with God and with people; to engage with, listen to, respond to and converse with God and others.


The first surrender is to 'constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise' (Amplified Version). In other words, it's about speaking truth in love about who God is. God is love when I'm just not feeling it, grace when I keep on screwing up and bold when I can't be bothered taking risks anymore. God doesn't change no matter how much I fight, flee, argue or try to ignore Him.


The second surrender is to show kindness and generosity by sharing. Connecting with God helps me to share with others. When I'm not giving praise to God, it's harder to respond to people's needs. When I'm practicing a lifestyle of worship, it allows me to creatively respond to people. I'm strengthened to look someone in the eye and say, 'What do you want?' Because I know that even if I can't meet their need fully, God can. Every resource in heaven and on earth is available to those who ask and God can do the impossible. 

Work

Do you ever feel like this at work?


Last week I went to visit a fifteen year old boy at school to see if he wanted to join our running group. I've noticed him run and he's a natural. When I went to the school, his classmates crowded around, all asking if they could train too?!


Now I run and the rabble follow. We do this a few times a week. Me, twenty kids aged 10-15 years and some very patient adults go running for thirty minutes. Some kids are barefoot. Some run in flip flops. One boy wears his stripey pajamas each time. It's a bit of a stampede but it's pretty fun.

Time Out in Thailand