Run The Sahara Finish (story by Charlie Engle)

Feb 21, 2007 ARE WE THERE YET? DAY 112, THE DAY AFTER.
AS SOON AS MY HANDS WERE DRY FROM DIPPING THEM IN THE RED SEA, I WAS PRETTY MUCH READY TO HEAD TO THE HOTEL AND GET CLEANED UP. CONSIDERING THAT I HAD TAKEN ONLY TWO SHOWERS IN 111 DAYS, EVERYONE WITHIN SMELLING DISTANCE WAS READY FOR ME TO HAVE A SHOWER TOO. AN INFORMAL AND COMPLETELY UNSCIENTIFIC POLL OF SEVERAL STRANGERS IN MY VICINITY CONFIRMED IT. I SMELLED INCREDIBLY FUNKY.
WHEN WE ARRIVED AT THE HOTEL, WE PULLED UP TO THE CURB AND PILED OUT OF OUR TRUCKS. I WAS IMMEDIATELY SELF CONCSIOUS BECAUSE WE WERE IN THE MIDST OF "NORMAL" PEOPLE THAT HAD COME TO CAIRO FOR BUSINESS OR HOLIDAY. I HAD FORGOTTEN THAT THEY WOULD BE HERE. AND APPARENTLY THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT US JUDGING BY THE LOOKS WE GOT. ITS NOT THAT PEOPLE WERE HORRIFIED, JUST VERY PUZZLED BY OUR APPEARANCE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS, I TOOK A MOMENT TO LOOK AT MYSELF AS OTHERS MIGHT BE LOOKING AT ME. I WAS FILTHY AND SMELLY AND I WAS LIMPING TERRIBLY. MY NOSE AND EARS WERE COVERED WITH SCABS. MY HAIR WAS SCRAGGLY AND I HAD LOST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WEIGHT. ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS GET TO MY ROOM, CLEAN UP, EAT SOME DECENT FOOD AND GO TO BED.
I MANAGED TO DO ALL OF THESE THINGS IN LESS THAN TWO HOURS. WHEN I HIT THE SACK I WAS MORE EXHAUSTED THAN I CAN EVER REMEMBER BEING. I WAS ALSO VERY SATISFIED AND THE REALIZATION THAT WE WERE FINISHED WAS SLOWLY BEGINNING TO SINK IN. I ALMOST DRIFTED OFF TO SLEEP BUT I KEPT HEARING NOISES IN THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE. I GOT UP TO LOOK BUT THERE WAS NOTHING THERE. NEXT I HEARD THE PEOPLE IN THE ADJOINING ROOM. THEN I HEARD AN AIRPLANE AND THEN I COULD HEAR THE CARS OUTSIDE. I COULD HEAR EVERYTHING AROUND ME. I FELT LIKE I HAD BIONIC HEARING. I GUESS I HAD BECOME SO ACCUSTOMED TO THE QUIET OF THE DESERT THAT I WAS HYPERSENSITIVE TO THE "STRANGE" NOISES AROUND ME. I LAY IN BED FOR HOURS BEFORE FINALLY FALLING ASLEEP.
WHEN I AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING, I COULDN'T OPEN MY EYES. I WAS SURE THAT SOMEONE HAD GLUED THEM SHUT DURING THE NIGHT. IT WAS ABOUT 10:30 IN THE MORNING AND I WAS IN A PANIC. I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHY IT WAS SO LATE IN THE MORNING AND YET I WASN'T RUNNING. MY FOGGY BRAIN FINALLY DRIFTED INTO FOCUS AND I STARTED TO LAUGH WHEN I REALIZED THAT THERE WOULD BE NO RUNNING TODAY. IN FACT, I LAUGHED SO HARD THAT I GOT A MASSIVE CRAMP IN BOTH OF MY CALVES. JUST A LITTLE REMINDER OF THE PREVIOUS DAYS.
AS SOON AS MY CRAMPS WENT AWAY, I HEARD MY ROOM PHONE RING. I ANSWERED IT EXPECTING TO HEAR MY MOTHERS VOICE. INSTEAD IT WAS ANNA FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CALLING TO CONGRATULATE ME. SHE HAD INTERVIEWED ME SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE AND WRITTEN A VERY THOROUGH ARTICLE ABOUT OUR JOURNEY ACROSS THE SAHARA DESERT. SHE HAD A FEW FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS AND WARNED ME THAT I SHOULD EXPECT MORE CALLS AND E-MAILS FROM OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS. I HAD NO REAL IDEA WHAT THAT MEANT BUT I THANKED HER FOR THE HEADS UP. WHAT IS A MEDIA OUTLET ANYWAY?
SHORTLY THEREAFTER, MY PHONE STARTED TO RING AND SO DID LISA'S (MY GIRLFRIEND). IT WAS CNN AND THE JAY LENO SHOW AND DAVID LETTERMAN AND FOX NEWS. THERE WERE CALLS FROM NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES AND RADIO STATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. I WAS SHOCKED BY ALL OF THE ATTENTION. I HAD JUST SPENT 111 DAYS STRAIGHT IN ALMOST TOTAL ISOLATION, FEELING FOR THE MOST PART LIKE I WAS ALONE AND NOBODY BUT MY MOTHER WAS WATCHING OUR PROGRESS. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG.
I SPENT THE NEXT TWO DAYS ANSWERING HUNDREDS OF QUESTIONS AND TRYING DESPERATELY TO TRANSLATE THE EMOTIONS I WAS HAVING INTO WORDS SO THAT OTHERS COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WE HAD JUST BEEN THROUGH. IN TRUTH, I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME REST AND GO HOME TO MY CHILDREN IN NORTH CAROLINA. BUT I NEEDED TO LEAVE THE SAHARA DESERT FEELING LIKE THE GROUNDWORK HAD BEEN LAYED FOR THE SECOND PHASE OF THIS EXPEDITION: H2O AFRICA. AFTER ALL OF OUR HARD WORK, WE HAD FINALLY EARNED THE RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT BRINGING CLEAN WATER TO AFRICA. SO THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I DID UNTIL THE VERY MINUTE THAT LISA AND I LEFT FOR THE CAIRO AIRPORT.
I HAD LOOKED FORWARD TO THIS MOMENT FOR MANY MONTHS. I WAS GOING HOME. NOW THAT THE TIME TO LEAVE EGYPT WAS UPON ME, I FOUND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO ACTUALLY GO. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I AM NOT REALLY SURE WHY I HESITATED, BUT I THINK IT HAD TO DO WITH THE POWERFUL AFFECTION THAT I NOW FELT FOR AFRICA AND THE PEOPLE THAT I HAD MET DURING MY JOURNEY. I HAD POURED THE LAST TWO YEARS OF MY LIFE INTO THIS EXPEDITION AND NOW IT WAS OVER. I WAS SAD AND I WORRIED THAT I MIGHT NEVER GET TO RETURN. FINALLY, I REMEMBERED THAT THE WHOLE POINT OF RUNNING THE SAHARA WAS TO EXPERIENCE THE DESERT AND IT'S PEOPLE AND THEN TAKE WHAT I HAD LEARNED BACK HOME SO THAT I COULD SHARE THE EXPERIENCE WITH OTHERS. IT WAS TIME TO GO.