Day 6- Beziers to Sete

Today’s run is dedicated to the parents of my three brothers from another mother. This was in honor of Jessie Jordan, Paula Jones and Mattie Reed-Easton. Thank you for your sons, blood couldn’t make us closer 🙏🏾

So I guess we did this huh? Made it all the way down the canal to its final ending place into the Mediterranean Sea. As we passed the boating house to the lighthouse at the end of the walkway,  I watched Ben raise his fists in triumph and let out a loud ‘woohoo’. Isprinted pass him with whatever I had left in the tank with a smile from ear to ear to that said it all. When I got there, it was an emotional moment. Much more than anticipated. I got to my knees and just did quick prayer to the big G O D for watching over us along this journey. There were six people within distance who had no idea what was going and looked at us like ‘what the’. It didn’t matter who was around, because we did epic shit!  After our celebratory pics and touched the Mediterranean, we had to foot it into a nearby town (which added maybe another 5k to our awesomely exhausted legs) which was anti-climatic compared to what we just did lol. We were able to get a bite to eat and catch a taxi to the hotel (damn was that expensive. But yolo). Note to France: please get uber or some ride sharing service in the south, thanks!

As I sat in the backseat of the taxi heading into town, I just reflected on my life. How did I get here? Why was I deserving of such an experience?  A kid from a single parent household, who got free and reduced lunch shouldn’t be here. The kid who got bullied in third grade for being different.  The kid who didn’t end up on the wrong side of statistic (there’s many of those). No matter what stats say or my circumstances, they didn’t stop me from doing this. This is why I am so grateful because I am not supposed to be here but damn it, here I am!  I’m so overjoyed by this accomplishment for many reasons and it is an experience that will live forever in me. As my mother’s favorite bible verse goes, Phi 4:13‘I can do all things in Christ, who strengthens me’.  I was strengthen repeatedly through out.

There are so many memories that I will take from this experience that I simply can’t put into words. You have to go through it to actually understand what this is like. I am a true believer that some things should go to the grave with us. I have tried my best to put it into words for you to get a feel for it and I’m hoping that you have gotten some visual into these moments. Thanks again to Ben for letting me tag along and thanks to those who supported us along the way. I have no idea what it is like to be a celebrity but YOU reading about this journey sure has made me feel as though I am one. I am humbled by this. Merci

Ending numbers for this experience: two shirts worn, one pair of shorts, four pairs of socks, one hat, around 15 cokes, three bags of Haribo gummies, two water bottles, 252km ran (many more walked), countless memories, and one stronger friendship 🙏🏾  What a week! Thank you Canal Du Midi for welcoming our challenge and thank you France for your hospitality.

Day 5- Mirepeisset to Beziers

Today’s run is dedicated to the greats for me, Uncle Horace and Aunt Verlene. Thank you guys for being great siblings to my granny 🙏🏾

Full disclosure: very uninspired to write today lol My mind is on tomorrow and getting to Vegas at the end of the week! Day 5 was one well known to us at the beginning of the week as it was a part of the trail that was mostly uncovered which could cause some issues. We hit the ground running an hour earlier than normal to steal time before we faced the hottest time of the day. Along the path there opportunities for multiple stops as we ran  through smaller towns and villages. I have often been amazed at the beauty of these areas. I have seen a few different places I wouldn’t mind living. These areas are not what people tend to brag about when they speak of France. Persona Service Announcement: France is much bigger than Paris. Get to the south! There’s so much more to see.

It was a sort of a blur today after completing the first four days. We kept our heads down and trudged along (one reason because we wanted to beat the sun ad reason two, we are hurting lol). But when we did look up, we were blessed some amazing backdrops of nature. Rolling hills, trees, castles, and canal boats. Just breathtaking and another reminder to be grateful for now 🙏🏾 The coolest scene of the day was the tunnel about a mile before Colombiers.  Another cool scene was to see the seven ecluses  (Canal locks) at the entrance Beziers from the canal. I really felt the effects of running consecutive marathons over the course of a few days. I’m still feeling like I did physically yesterday but my mental took over as I had to battle weather conditions and my body saying ‘homeboy we better be now. Like right now’ lol. And when someone asks, ‘how are you feeling?’ Or ‘how are you doing?’ My response: I feel like I have ran multiple marathons and I am doing pretty good 😊

On the run, I asked Ben, ‘what is the biggest lesson you have learned on this journey?’  He quickly replied, “getting a hat” lol. This is in response to day two when he got a little too much sun. But he was touched the support and the well wishes people have been sending along the journey. It has helped give him that much needed push to get through it. My response to the lesson learned was attitude. My attitude has played a major role in me continuing on this trek and it has given me more appreciation for life. I have enjoyed the small interactions and hospitality by those we have encountered. My second thing was trust. He has to have the full trust in me and I in him to look after each other. That’s a lot of responsibility but it is something we signed up for. I also agreed with the support. The overflow of good lucks, you are doing something crazy (I think they mean awesome) , and how are you doing have helped tremendously. Please continue that support for one more day 🙏🏾

It still hasn’t set in on what I am actually doing. To think that I have ran  211km/131 miles in the last five days is hard to fathom. I can’t wrap head around that. I have made  the comment a few times to Ben about how I feel that I’m just on a normal Friday long run. When  we cross that imaginary finish line tomorrow there will be no fans chanting our names or volunteers putting medals around our necks, but this will be my biggest accomplishment to date (sport wise). I am looking forward to the opportunity of sharing stories with others and my hopes is that I give them some inspiration or words of wisdom that they will use  to do something crazy (I mean awesome here). Just know we only need permission from ourselves to do epic shit!

Day 4- Floure to Mirepeisset

Today’s run was dedicated to Jimmy Matthews, my niece’s father, who was taken away too soon in summer 2018. At the age of 10 I had never heard the word swag but years later after I reflect, you were the first cat with swag I knew 🙏🏾

After the great hospitality of Fred and Claire (they were amazing hosts for us!), we were dropped off at our starting point just before 8am. Knowing that today’s finish would leave us with only two days remaining, helped bring some joy after clocking the first 128 kilometers or so. Another overnight rainfall allowed for some softer terrain to begin the trek which delighted us (we spent a lot of time on gravel yesterday which I’m sure played a role in us not feeling the greatest. Or maybe we are just running too damn long 🤷🏾‍♂️🤣) and we took full advantage. Ben’s prayers to Mother Nature paid off as she blessed us with cloud coverage for the majority of the run. She even gave us rain for about a kilometer which helped keep us cool (side note: Ben told me it wouldn’t rain until 2pm so I packed my rain jacket away smh thanks bruh, great advice). Our number one concern during this stretch was keeping an eye out for the lightning strikes that were expected.

In our four days of adventuring, today was the best overall run as we were able to find a groove on the paths. We even had a middle school boy playing his trumpet at one lock as boats passed through the canal. But the MVP’s of the day were the lock keepers stands selling water (but I was powered by cola. I think I had 3 on the run today) and snacks as needed. Also, the smaller towns who’s restaurants sat along the canal. I appreciated the French fries and coke at the 36k mark. Honorable mention MVP was the older gentleman who thought what we were doing was so epic that he decided to take a pic of us to save as a souvenir (definitely a highlight of today. Just a reminder that ordinary people are used to do extraordinary things).

Injury update: my little niggle in the knee went away (I think, inshallah) but my left Achilles got angry towards the end the run. Im over here feeling like Kevin Durant. Oh and I found two blisters, one on the pinkie toe (it popped itself) and there’s another on the right big toe. My man Ben has some knee pain with some  blisters as well. Our thinking is ‘we only have two more days, we can do it!’  We will be in need of pedicures and massages come Monday.

Special birthday shout out to he youngest Brown, my niece Tori ‘Butt Butt’ Brown as she turned three today. Uncle loves ya girl!  We got two more days, I guess we are doing epic shit 🤷🏾‍♂️🙏🏾

Day 3- Bram to Floure

Today’s run is dedicated to my late grandmother Betty Brown who passed away in 2017 🙏🏾

Through rain, sleet or snow the show must go on. Okay we didn’t have sleet or snow or rain for that matter but there was a downpour around 5am that made for an interesting terrain. Today wasn’t a run, it was more of a trek through the muddy and wet surfaces along the trail. Of the three days of running, this was my favorite as a run as we had good weather for the majority of the way and also being mentally locked in to just move forward to our destination. Leading up to this, I always thought day three would be the most challenging as the first two would be the honeymoon phase with day three making things more real. Plus having that idea of being halfway done plays on the psyche. 

The soreness I felt yesterday continued for the majority of the run but it is just my body checking in and saying ‘buddy what the hell are you doing to me?’ Lol. There was love I had to show myself to get the body to act right haha. Just like the previous two days, we plowed forward. I had to do a lot of self talk and affirmations along the run to ensure that I could continue. 

Unlike the previous days, we didn’t see anyone on the trail for almost the first 12 kilometers. But as we got close to the cities of Carcacassone and Trebes we saw more folk along the path. 

Shout out to Fred our hotel manager who was willing to come pick us up along the road to get us to the hotel 🙏🏾.  The afternoon consisted of some pool time with a little relaxation and some washing of clothes. Full disclosure: I have ran in the same thing the first three days 😂But I was washed. Day four I will transition into something new (I promise). 

Three down with three more to go. 🇫🇷🏃🏽🙏🏾

Day 2- Villefranche de Lauragais to Bram

Today’s run was dedicated to my aunt Shelly Brown who passed away unexpectedly in 2016. She had such loving spirit and was selfless. Anyone room she would light up with her smile and laugh. Hey TT, thank you for watching over ‘lil Derek’ 🙏🏾

Today was great as we learned from yesterday’s mistakes and we capitalized on them. We definitely took care of the hydration part today as we constantly had our normal water container along with a reserve for desperate times. One thing we overlooked yesterday was our pacing. Due to the excitement of the journey our pacing may have been quicker than you’d expect for a six day journey. With that in mind we had a goal of pulling back into a comfortable pace that would allow us to have enough in the tank to power through.

There were some awesome moments along the Canal today. The first was seeing a group of students who looked to have been on either a field trip or having a great PE experience cycling the canal. We were greeted with some high fives and bonjours that really brought us to life. But then we met Margaret who is an English woman who has called France home the last thirty years which really changed the game. We struck up a lovely conversation and had her join us for about a kilometer. Before breaking off, she shared her contact info with Ben so that she could get pics (of course we had to do the selfie with her) and to watch the journey. Those moments are what make journeys like this even more special. The people you meet and the breathtaking views of the countryside.

Our afternoon was filled with some challenges with the first one being that we ran into stretches  of the canal not being covered with shade. Many kilometers were uncovered which exposed us to the sun with the humidity being up around 70% or so. Walking and finding shade when available made a huge difference. I personally ran into some issues regarding my glutes as it effected the outside of my knee which at times made it difficult to run. I had to remind myself of the purpose of being here and tapping into that inner self to push through( usually with a double pat on my chest as a power up and a smile of gratitude). Constantly I  thought to myself that this is exactly how I should feel after running 84 kilometers (52 miles). We are earning our stripes lol.  Challenges are not challenges if it is easy.

The evening will be spent resting with some TLC for the body. Looking forward to an awesome day 3 🙏🏾🇫🇷🏃🏽

Day 1-Toulouse to Villefranche de Lauragais

Before starting this run, I was considering running for a charity of some cause. There are a few causes near and dear to my heart but I couldn’t choose, so I decided against it. As I flew into Toulouse it hit me. Each day’s run will be dedicated to someone that has been lost along the way during my five years abroad.

Today’s run is dedicated to Freddie Thompson. Coach T served as my high school basketball coach for three years but bigger than a coach the purpose he served in my life. He was a father figure, confidant, encourager and mentor. For I am grateful for our time and I know that if he was with us now he would be cheering me on. Thanks coach 🙏🏾

We hit the trail softly after 7am local time after a quick photo op to start our run. We both were still in awe of the trail and it’s beauty. Trees and nice overcast for the majority of the run with a nice breeze from Mother Nature made for a great first day( Ben pointed out there are said to be 440,000 of one particular tree along the canal. We’re counting everyone of them. Currently, at 37,453). We were accompanied along the trail by many runners near the city of Toulouse but that changed as we moved to the burbs and countryside which was dominated by cyclists. Our major mistake of the day was hydration. We were under the impression that there would be places to stop along the way to hydrate, boy were we wrong lol. We were able to befriend a man in the boathouse to fill us up and towards the end of the run we came across a waterspout where we could top off. By the end of the week we will have this down to a science but today we are still rookies.

All in all, an amazing first day along the beautiful canal surrounded God’s beauty. As Ice Cube once said, ‘I gotta say, today was a good day’. Oh yeah and we had popsicles!

Pre Canal Du Midi

Man, the days have finally come for us to begin this epic journey across the Canal Du Midi. I can't believe that the five months have gone so quickly since the planning process. I am uber excited about the journey that is ahead but also has that nervous fear of stepping out of the comfort zone. This run has come with some sacrifices but I once heard that all dreams come with sacrifices. I am not sure what is to come of this and it isn't my worry but I know that I will come out the other side better because of this. I am looking to strengthen a friendship on this trail with the possibility of gaining new ones. Here's to those 5am runs through Maadi, along the corniche, to the bridge, Zamalek and downtown Cairo.

I would like to shout out some people who have worked behind the scenes to help me toe the line on Tuesday, June 18th. Huge, huge shout out to Ms. Mira my masseuse as she has spent some time working on some of my problem areas that have affected my running in the past. I truly appreciate your work. The second shout out goes to the squad at Movement Mechanics of Maggie and Mike who have been my virtual workout coaches over the last year. They have been very flexible in adjusting to my needs as a runner and accommodating me appropriately. So thank you so much. I want to thank all of those people who have joined me on training runs over the course of the last five months: Matty P,  Rob, Jalna, Eslam, Murad, and Nicco. Each of you provided me with stories, encouragement, and guidance in this process. Thanks to my family and friends who have supported this insane trip that I will embark on. Continue to send your good vibes and prayers our way!  Last but not least, the guy who got me on this path, Ben (you have worked tirelessly to toe the line, I will help you cross it!)  Man, I appreciate you letting me ride shotgun with you on this trip. Let's do something epic!

If you want to follow us during this journey, I will be posting here daily (or at least trying to) just to let you know how the run is going.  You can follow me on IG at @db2_project and Ben at @afarewellalarms. Here is the run itinerary from city to city:

Day 1 June 18- Toulouse to Renneville

Day 2 June 19- Renneville to Bram area

Day 3 June 20- Bram area to Carcassonne

Day 4 June 21- Carcassone to Villedaigne

Day 5 June 22- Villedaigne to Beziers

Day 6 June 23- Beziers to Sete

(special gift!)