✈️ The Last Suppers 🌍

Hello Adventurers, 

A belated Happy Easter to those into resurrection, the pagans into chocolate rabbits, and the heathens into Christo and/or back-from-the-dead zombie tales. Me? I got the best of the season; I was an Easter feaster last weekend then ate lots of pagan chocolate this past week...because I'm taking the show on the road next week, and I'm trying to fatten up as much as I can before then.

This spring, I extended my stay in Canada to spend more time with my wife, my friends, and my family — and because of this 'right-thing-to-do' decision — I've now had to alter my original Q2 2023 itinerary (i.e. it has been re-sequenced to give myself optimal marathoning conditions in terms of weather over the next few months). Previously, I intended to push further into the Middle East and Asia in Q2 2023...but I've left things too late...by sticking around here too long, and those parts of the world will be summer scorchers soon.

As such, the Marathon Earth Challenge in Q2 2023 will be some of Africa, a little rip through the Middle East and then a detour to somewhat cooler Europe. And in Q3 2023, I'll sop up the European leftovers, go deeper into the Middle East, and begin my push into Asia.

In terms of Q2 2023 countries, I'll be hitting: France, Morocco, Egypt, Cyprus, Jordan, Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Poland, Italy, Vatican City, Portugal, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. And because I'll still be in Europe as we roll into Q3 2023, I'll dust Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Germany before returning to Canada in mid-July for a month (to regroup, repack, and reassess the state of the world...to see what countries are suitable to visit in the second half of Q3 2023).

Anyway, this past week was full of planning, bookings, visa applications, meetings, and last minute errands...so I only did a few marathons...and my scenario-running mind on said marathons was near-stressed by an ever-evolving to-do-or-die task list.

Before we get into it, I just want to thank everyone for tolerating my quasi-intermission in Canada these past few weeks. The next few months will be really exciting, and I'm excited for the newsletter to return to its intended 'world-at-large' focus.

- Ben Pobjoy

P.S. The 'March Batch' of Pobjoy Postcards from Sint Maarten are allegedly starting to arrive to subscribers in Toronto...so they should start arriving to people elsewhere soon.

2023 TREK TRACKER

Where in the world...record am I?

• Countries visited: 16

• Flights taken: 25

• Kilometres flown: 37,227

• Marathons completed: 67

• Kilometres trekked by foot: 3,161

• Total kilometres trekked since 2015: 66,252

RAPID WEEKLY RECAP

A speedy synopsis for time-crunched readers

• The Wildest Thing: For the life of me, I've been unable to gain weight these past few weeks. For context, in late 2022 I fattened up from my regular weight of 155 lbs to go into Q1 2023 at 169 lbs, and then lost fourteen pounds by mid-March 2023. Since then, I've eaten an ungodly amount of food...and just weighed in at 156 lbs. It doesn't make sense...and it's going to be a wild test to maintain my weight ahead🫥

• The Biggest Obstacle: It's trivial...but finally cracking Azerbaijan's online e-visa portal...after 20 failed attempts. For Canadian applicants, the 'hack' we found is that AzeriCard's payment processing system prefers a visa credit card with 3D secure authentication via email. And while I'm at it...IATA remains a great resource for staying abreast of on-going COVID-19 travel regulations and this 'Visa requirements for Canadian citizens' wiki page is a great starting point for Canadian travellers🤓

• The Lesson Learned: “I had two jobs all my life...One of them was to make a living. The second one was to entertain. I hope to some extent that I succeeded.” - Al Jaffee (RIP)🥸

APRIL FOOL'S FOOTWEAR

Hoka joka quality?

This spring, I returned to Canada in desperate need of new shoes after putting 2,322 kilometres on a pair of Nike AGC Mountain Fly Low Gore-Tex SE shoes in 74 days. Thankfully, Nick from Norda kindly came to my rescue, and sent me a complimentary pair of exceptional Norda x Ciele 'Gravel' 001s...which are basically like the Rolls Royce of running shoes.

While the aforementioned pair of shoes will be my more-than-reliable 'dailies' in Q2 2023, I knew I'd need a secondary pair of weatherproof shoes to endure heavy rains. And I would've bought the Norda model with the G+ Graphene Waterproof membrane as my secondary pair...but they were / are sold out in my size.

Anyway, I've had weatherproof success with the black-on-black Hoka 'TenNine Hike GTX' boot over multiple Canadian winters, so I decided to try Hoka's 'Challenger 7 GTX' shoe. And they were a total fail...and it pains me to type that.

I will acknowledge that this model of shoe is really fast and comfortable outta the box, and that Hoka's signature high midsoles are awesome for hovering over puddles. That said, this allegedly GORE-TEX shoe had little to no resistance to rain (like nada), and the quarter panel inside the shoe (near the heel) disintegrated in just a few marathons (revealing an abrasive piece of plastic that was given burrs by the worn and pilled fabric around it). Furthermore, these shoes began to smell like satan's asshole after just a few wears...which is something I have never ever experienced with a shoe before.

The crazy thing is, is that I have done 66,000+ kilometres by foot since 2015 and have never returned any trek-related product I've bought...yet these Hokas were the first thing I have ever had to return because the quality was that bad.

Anyway, I'm sharing this just to inform you that Hoka has a FLY for 30 Guarantee which lets you return, exchange and/or refund anything of theirs within 30 days, with no questions asked.

Obviously, when it comes to shoes...what doesn't work for me may work for you (and vice-versa)...so I'll never lambaste a shoe model for that reason. But, I will call-out a poorly made product that doesn't do what it's advertised to do.

I've since sent the shoes back and am awaiting a refund, but I did buy a pair of Nike Pegasus Trail 4 GORE-TEX shoes from the mall outta desperation. The Nikes are gonna be my weatherproof back-ups / airplane shoes in Q2 2023, and I'll report back on how they perform.

FIELD NOTES: UNIVERSAL GRATITUDE

I can't leave town without first doling out some serious props

Despite the fact that I quit my job last year, my old company still lets me use their beautiful office FOR FREE! My door pass still works, their barista makes me lattes, I occasionally use their printer, I take important calls there, and I can come and go as I please (without ever having to ask)...and it is just so unbelievably kind and supportive of them.

My sincerest thanks to The Big Dawg (who always has my back...which is something I never take for granted), and many thanks to everyone else at Behaviour Inc. for putting up with presence (and not making me feel like the massive inconvenience that I am).

I stuck around Canada to celebrate my Mum's birthday last week. Anyway, the Ann-imal kindly let me store a bunch of my crap in her basement last year (after I ditched my rental pad), and she recently let me crash with her so I could do some marathons out in Hamilton, Canada.

My parents are very supportive of this project...but this project occasionally worries my Mum...since I'm her first born son bozo (and I tried to intelligently write about this predicament in an early issue of the newsletter).

Mum asked me to come back in one piece when I left last year, and this remains the plan, and is something I felt was important to re-acknowledge.

Sticking around for my Mum's birthday enabled me to do Easter Sunday with a religious flock of beautiful birds: my Portugeese family. Thank you to Micaela the angel and kitchen god Joel-sus for not just hosting 20+ of us...but for all the heavenly hospitality over the course of like a four to five hour-long lunch (i.e. the Portuguese love each other, and love 'long eats together' like no one else).

At a time where I'm running a million 'what if?' scenarios in my head (about everything — and anything — that could go wrong on the next worldly 'leg' of my Marathon Earth Challenge), it was nice to have my worried inner voice temporarily drowned out by everyone's deafening laughter.

Some people on this side of the fam tell me they keep me in their prayers, and I am touched by such thoughtfulness as well as their overall tenderness with one another. Obrigado!

And last-but-not-least-and-most-importantly, I'm eternally grateful for the love and support of my wife Christine. More than anyone else in my life, I am asking the most of Christine this year, and none of her sacrifices and/or accommodations are lost on me.

I will never be able to compensate for the stretches of apartness this project demands or the worries I cause her (or how I routinely — and royally — continue to piss her off... because I'm a perennial idiot). And being totally honest...I can't even tack on a follow-up sentence that starts with a 'but' or a 'however' to justify anything. The fact of the matter is that this project straight-up asks a lot of — and from — Christine, period.

Pitch timer or not, like baseball, I've never been afraid to play a long game; be it marriage or projects. And one day Christine may step up to the plate and take a big fucking swing at a chance-y life change or a wildly big dream...and I'll be first on the pitcher's mound to lob the easiest ball her way, and then be cheering my damn loudest to help push that ball into successful home run territory.

That's not a 'but' and that's not a 'however'...it's just my promise to Christine in this long game of life (from a husband who's keenly aware that he's racked-up a few strikes this year).

WELCOME TO HELL

Some new-to-me products I'll be pulverizing in Q2 2023

Ciele Athletics 'BKTHat - Standard SL - Whitaker': As a very young boy, I was a serial thumbsucker that carried a satin-edged blanky, the edge of which I'd rub on my upper lip to give me comfort while sucking my thumb (the sight of which must've mortified my tough-as-nails ex-paratrooper father, LOL). Well, that was until I forgot my blanky on a transatlantic flight to Europe with my parents in the '80s, had my soul die then and there via nuclear meltdown...and then I just sorta got over it (the way kids ultimately do).

But that kind of 'thing-as-comforting-talisman-object' never lost its hold over me, and I sorta developed a similarly irrational connection with a Ciele GOCap I bought from Culture Athletics years ago. It's common knowledge that Ciele Athletics make the best technical headwear in the world (as evidenced by the cap's ubiquity amongst movers and shakers as well as the brand's meteoric rise)...and I wore my Ciele Athletics GOCap around the world for years. I did hundreds and hundreds of marathons in it, easily took it to 25 countries (up until this January), and did more than 10,000 kilometres by foot in it (well, like on my dumbo head).

All my other gear fizzled out and was swapped out for new stuff in that same timeframe...and yet the Ciele cap was just this invincible thing that became 'my marathon cap'...and it was the most consistent piece of wardrobe I wore and went to war in....everywhere...like on a Greek marathon where I took this Ciele-fie that's been seen by millions.

And then I fucking idiotically left my beloved Ciele cap in a Peruvian Uber this year at like 1AM on some January night...and only realized this the next morning.

While I'm a fervent atheist...I'm also a total contradiction because I'm weirdly superstitious...and losing that Ciele cap just felt like such a bad sign. Luckily, I didn't have the luxury of letting my dumb-ass worries overly linger in my bald-ass head...because the limeño sun spares no one, balding or not.

Anyway, I found a hat store in Lima, and basically had two options: a pink ladies golf cap and a ridiculous-to-me, commando-style hat. I passed on the former because I'd sully it, and I apprehensively bought the latter despite my aversion to the stylings of Sen Dog and Gilligan and PLUR '90s rave culture.

But yo, I must confess...I basically became an auto-convert into the 'brotherhood of the bucket'. The Nike boonie was more fashion-y than functional because of its thick material (which I knew would pose a head-cooking problem) but the 360° brim was a game changer for sun protection. As in, the 'brim over ears' design of the bucket hat stopped me from getting sun blisters that'd scab atop my ears (something I've endured for years).

And then...unsurprisingly...I lost that fucking hat too...I think maybe in Central America?

While my missus-by-way-of-my-brother brought me my murdered out back-up Ciele GOCap to Mexico City (to tide me over), I knew I'd need a proper bucket hat for Q2 2023. And then my pals Mikey G and MSP from Ciele Athletics came through and kindly sent me a complimentary bucket hat (pictured above).

Yes, Ciele Athletics gave me the hat for free...but they don't pay me to rep them, and they don't feed me lines. So even if you don't believe me, believe the product's technical specs...which sorta speak for itself: the Ciele bucket hat has +50 UPF sun protection, is wicking, is made from recycled plastic bottles, is machine washable, and has reflective details for safety. And if you don't believe any of this, know the product has a MILLION MILES GUARANTEE! LOL! And, no, that isn't a joke!

Anyhoo, with all due respect to Nike (and their bucket which did serve me well), I know this Ciele Athletics bucket hat will be a serious upgrade for me (it's WAY more breathable), and I'm excited to rock it in Q2 2023.

VLIRKA 'BNDS Shoe Holster': I don't know anything about this company or brand or product...like zilch. Why? Because I was 'randomly' served this thing as an Instagram ad on my 'non listening' smartphone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And I decided to 'chance it' and buy it in order to affix my back-up pair of 'rain shoes' to the exterior of my backpack (by way of the product's carabiner which you can't really see in the photo above...because I jammed the carabiner between some wooden boards).

The 'BNDS Shoe Holster' theoretically seems like it's going to work (the bands do fit nice and snug over shoes)...but it's still TBD.

Will sun rays disintegrate the rubber? Will the rubber be able to withstand all my trotting...or will it get stretched into oblivion? Will the carabiner and fasteners do their job? Will this fucking thing drive me insane bouncing on my back?

I definitely have some questions...and I'll share the answers when I have them.

Near Earth 'Distance Running Socks': After 'Norda Nick the Shoe Savant' made me send him tracings as well as different measurements of my feet (so that he — the company co-founder — could personally assign me an exact shoe size), Nick then sent me a fairly long email with very exact directives and specific instructions on how to use his shoes (and some warnings...of things he said I needed to stay clear of).

Anyway, it all contributed to form an impression — on my part — that Nick is crazy...about shoes, and I totally dig it.

But one thing that stuck out in our email exchange — as Nick dropped a Zegna collab AND announced a new shoe model (while also emailing me lots...hence why I think he's a lovably crazy person...because I'm more annoyance than priority) — was Nick writing, "We recommend long thin socks and preferably synthetic or cotton. We do not recommend wool or merino - too much heat and friction - see near earth socks."

Such resulted in one of those, "Say no more fam" moments...where you do exactly as you're told (so I bought six pairs of Near Earth socks).

And fuck me...I don't want to over-hype Near Earth socks too early...because I've only done three or four marathons in them...but I'm confident they're next-level.

Basically, they're a German company that manufactures in Italy...so you know this stuff isn't for donkeys.

And all I can say so far, is that I've never had a sock so effectively stay in place (that also stayed so comfortable over a marathon...where the weave of the fabric didn't become abrasive under my foot). And I don't want to risk spoilers...but this product has a cool brand motif (that spans packaging into the inner tube of the actual sock) that makes unboxing it fun.

In closing, these socks have a higher price point...but I'm confident I made a wise investment. And Christian, the founder is also a ripping photographer you may want to check out. And he kindly threw two complimentary / additional pairs of socks into my paid order (to support my project)...and is a real-one. Thank you Christian!

P.S. I took this 'Near Earth' photo on a marathon near the 'Toronto Harbour Lighthouse' in Tommy Thompson Park, and all the construction waste there on the lake shore — like the rusted, bent metal in the photo above — is super fun to arrange as temporary sculptures. Go wander there and get creative!

BEST LOCAL THING-Y

I have been eating at Buddha's Vegetarian Restaurant since the mid '90s...and way before its vegan rebrand. And I've always generally ordered the same thing: two spring rolls, a can of soda, and a half-order of fried beancurd sheets. The food is brown, oily, and delicious. And timeless: just like the restaurant's anti-decor stuck-in-time dining room, and their prices-from-an-earlier-millennia...which've never increased (e.g. this lunch was $9.48 USD with tip).

Buddha's isn't the best Chinese food in Toronto, but it's long been a trusted source of comfort food for me, and was something I had to hit one last time...before heading out into the world, and out into discomfort.

POBJOY'S GLOBAL PRICE INDEX

This is an on-going documentation of how much things cost in different places around the world. Here are some gear-y things I bought during my stopover in Toronto (all prices converted to USD):

• One VLIRKA 'BNDS Shoe Holster' with shipping: $29.60

• Six pairs of Near Earth socks with free shipping: $143

• One 8L compression stuff sack for better storing clothes in my backpack from the MEC store: $17

MARATHON MUSINGS

A Very Hairy Encino Manuscript

I was born with a full beard and a pelt of back hair. Not really, but sorta. And while I believe my human being father Mikey P to be my biological Dad (because of some clearly shared character traits and interests)...I nevertheless grew up miffed that no one could explain where my gorilla genetics came from. Or maybe something happened in the womb? Like my preggo Mum stood in front of the microwave too much, and I was born a half-evolved Neanderthal (at worst) or like an Encino Man caveman (at best)?

Dunno.

But what I do know, is that I've always looked older. It's something I've been told my entire life, and it honestly never bothered me. Actually, it occasionally had upsides; like I could get into bars in my mid-teens sans being ID'd.

Anyway, because of my at-best-caveman-ism, and my teenage upbringing in the hardcore punk scene (which had disdain for conventional beauty), and then rapidly losing weight at some point in my thirties (and having a bunch of loose skin around my abdomen thereafter), and now being at that grizzled age where you see an inch-long hair growing outta somewhere on your head that it shouldn't (e.g. eyebrow or earlobe or nostril) — and you're just mortified you didn't catch it earlier — aging...I've just never cared to cosmetically fight it. Pig on lipstick vibes, you dig? I am what I am. And heck, I only really started wearing suntan lotion this year. Not kidding. My nonchalance has always driven my beautiful olive skin'd wife crazy.

However, as evidenced by my Marathon Earth Challenge project...I obviously love to move, and do so in heaping Denny's-sized portions which has to be slamming my grand ole body in some way (even if the damage isn't yet perceptible to me).

Anyway, I've done 600+ marathons and 66,000+ kilometres by foot since 2015...and I've miraculously sidestepped any and all serious injuries (which I attribute to my go-slow pace and my plant-based diet and much luck)...but there's obviously been loads of aches and pains along the way. So I've done chiropractic, saunas, compression socks, every type of massage that's ever existed, stretches, cold plunges, electro-acupuncture, ice packs, CBD, Theragun, etc. But nothing really fully works, and none of it can be faulted.

Marathoning like I do is akin to smashing my head off of a concrete wall, and then asking some healthcare provider for Tylenol 'cause of the headache I just gave myself, then me smashing my head off the wall again after I've taken the pill...and them just standing there confused being like, 'Um, if you stop doing that, you won't need this." And me being all Madball and replying like, "Can't stop, won't stop."

So I'm probably more oaf than caveman in that regard...because what gives me so much life (i.e. marathoning and hunting for images) could very well be the death of me, or at least just something that ultimately degrades my body into being some immobile hunk of junk.

And I do think about that from time to time: like...what would my life be like if I couldn't move like I love to do?

But then I just sorta shrug and move along mentally because I bought a 'No Fear' shirt at the mall in the early '90s, and once you wear one you allegedly can't be a scaredy cat. JK.

Anyway, my old pal André DM'd me back in February and was like, "I work in biotech now. We freeze stem cells. You may need to rebuild some cartilage after all these miles!"

And it piqued my interest...so I swung by Acorn Biolabs this week to see André, and had 61 hair follicles non-invasively plucked from my noggin. His lab then assessed their viability, and reported back that 183,000 of my live cells are now being cryogenically preserved at -196°C in two redundant storage tanks. SCIENCE!

So why do it? Well, because the best of me (i.e. younger cells)...could one day very well fix the worst of me via personalized regenerative medical treatments...and cosmically compensate for my damaging love of marathons.

Look, I'll never look younger than my age — that's been a lifelong blessing and curse —but I'm hopeful that my marathon-beaten body could 'feel' younger one day...and keep grinding...

...And that's precisely why this hairy caveman donated some of his all-too-excessive hair to *plot twist* differ from Encino Man, and return to the ice age...albeit a more futuristic and promising one.

And for transparency: I’ve known André for 15 years. He kindly hooked me up for free...because he's an old friend who digs my 2023 project. And Acorn Biolabs didn't pay me...and they didn't ask me to do anything in return for their complimentary-to-me service. Basically, I feel like I'm on borrowed time before I could possibly need knee or hip replacements...and this felt like a no-brainer opportunity; be an early adopter of some homegrown biotech that has some legitimate promise.

Have any questions about the content of this newsletter? Reply to it, and I'll try and answer you when it's safe to do so!