SHE'S OFF AND RUNNING! Rosie Swale Pope is running 20,000 miles around the world in 2 years to support orphan children Rosie has run 7,760 Miles across Russia – she's now in Alaska – 12,000 miles to go to reach Wales! 25/1/6 Hi just received a call for Rosie, from Kaltag I don't think I have heard her be so happy to arrive somewhere in her life. She is staying with a lovely family Earl and Marion and their three children, who are filling her up with fresh coffee and home cooked food and a warm bed.  I had quite a long chat with her about what its is like running and sleeping out in these temperatures of -47 degrees centigrade. She said that she is aware of the dangers of getting things wrong. She said one time she decided to run a little further and set up camp a little later. The temperature dropped so suddenly after the sun went down her hands be came so cold she was barely able to use the rest of her equipment. There are loads of extra clothes she needs to put on a night and she really struggled. There are so many little jobs to do there can't be any mistakes. When this happened she said she was so cold she was scared to sleep.  We talked about safety as well. Just to reassure you all, she has a sat phone, and local vhs radio and and emergency beacon, which she said she is determined not to use. She said how the forest and scenery were stunning, but at night is was so silent it felt very spooky. She has been eating a traditional diet of seal fat which she says tastes like cod liver oil and dried fish, She says these foods are working really well for her, helping her fight off the cold. Her Rosco stove is working brilliantly as the fuel is much better quality that what she could get in Siberia. Her her cold weather gear from PHD design is holding up really well in the conditions. She would like to say a big thank you to all those who have been so kind and supportive to to her. I would just like to state for the record a rather belated correction, in relation to the sled Rosie has been lent by Denis Douglas, The sled's name is, The Spirit of America. Regards James  23/1/6 Hi, Just got this through from my sister, sound like its getting pretty hard going at the moment, I find it very difficult to comprehend what those sorts for temperatures are like being in England. It seems ridiculously cold, and I have been told that it make a big difference if it is a dry or wet cold. I have not heard her talk like this before, even during the coldest parts of Siberia, I think it is really beginning to get to her. This is not a call for help from her, but I will be keeping a close eye on things, and be asking for a GPS positional fix, though it might be hard in the forest, because you need a clear view of the sky. Or at least the latest one before she entered the forest. Regards James(Jim). I am battling the cold it is minus 45 degrees. I  hoping I can keep going, I am afraid to sleep  because it seems dangerous. It is a wetter cold than  Siberia. Very dangerous and difficult. I am  getting there. It is only 20 miles to Kaltag. Deep  dark forests, everything is silent, not even the  wildlife is moving. Bye for now. Mum Anyway just to tell you I love you all very very  much. Every minute is a fight for survival. Just got this from Mum. Please note her spelling  of Kaltag which I go wrong in the message I sent  to you earlier. Evie xxx U HELP SOVVV MCH DARLING EVIE - -50 NOW BT WARM  THOUGHTS GETTING ME THRO - MUMXXX HUGS JIM,  PETE, MIKEX WLL CALL JIM FRM KALTAG. ILOVE U 21/1/6 I have been advised to take down what I wrote before as bit of an over reaction on my part, this was just a minor issue best not talked about here. Everything is fine Rosie is making good progress despite the cold. Regards James. 20/1/06 Had a few texts from Rosie everything is fine, she says she is very grateful to those supporting her with equipment and things, and that the temperature is down to minus 40, feels as cold as Siberia. 16/01/6, Hi, had a very nice chat with Bob Collins yesterday, who brought me up to speed on Rosie's progress. Rosie wanted to give a special thanks to a local lady called Ferno Tweeto how has been so kind to her and given her such great hospitality. Also to Hageland Air Service who have been flying over and saying hello as they fly past Rosie's position on the ground. Rosie had got a sore throat at the moment is quite horse, but is in good health, Temperatures are very chilly -30 centigrade and that is not including the wind chill.  But the good news is that the trails she is following have more traffic which means that she can follow snow mobile tracks which has been packed down, which is much better than her disappearing up to her waist in snow as had happened in some of the unbroken trails. Yesterday she had managed to do seventeen miles. Its great that she has started to make good progress, as she still has a long way to go, and the temperatures are going to be dropping, as is normal this time of year.  Her GPS position is North 63.52.06 West 160.27.35. Sorry for the lack of map. I am still on the old computer, it will be a day or so until normal service is resumed. Until then please use the goldfish email address if you need to contact me. Regards James  13/1/06 Hi, several people have been kind enough to send me the correct name of the village, it is a place called 'Shaktoolik', thanks for that. I have had a bad windows crash, have been painstakingly pulling files off the hard drive, before doing a format and reinstall. All is well, it is just taking a little time to get thing back up to normal. But at the moment the only Email I can read, is at my goldfish4210@yahoo.com account. Regards James. 11/1/06 Hi everyone just received this new update from Rosie. I am having a little difficulty locating Shaktoolik on the map not sure of the spelling, will update as soon as I get a gps fix. Also I have having some computer trouble My broadband is out of action and am having problems sending from Outlook express, hopefully this will be fixed soon, apologies for the delayed notification of the news update. Hello Evie. I am at Shaktoolik. This is for the  e-mail. It is a beautiful little, very windy  village. I received a wonderful welcome here. It was  after hard times, because in the last two days, a  walker had to call out the helicopter rescue  service. When they got there he was OK but he was  adrift on the ice.  I made it through. But tonight when I got here  there was a house burning in the village. The  whole community was out fighting the fire. The  house was lost and all of the belongings in it. But  the people were safe. This is an illustration of  how the community here bands together. There is  no fire service in the village. There is also no  running water because it is so cold so the people  had to work together to save what they can. They  were hauling buckets and trying to save things  from the house. It is really so sad, it makes you realise that  despite all the telephones and TV and all the  modern conveniences, it really is a difficult life  here for the Eskimos beneath the surface. It makes  me realise that there are much harder things than  running around the world. Anyway, I got a bit of bronchitis so I stayed an  extra day with Hannah and Kerry and Kerry's  little daughter Alison, and Leonard and all the family  here. And they actually brought the sledge  inside the house to dry it out. They looked after me  so well. I am so spoilt.  It is really terribly sad have to write up about  the fire. Every single person in every house  turned out to fight it but there really is nothing  here to fight it with and that is the problem. The  men risked their lives to go into the house to  rescue some dogs that were in there, luckily there  were no people in the house. Please thank every one on the web. And lots of  love from Shaktoolik. It is lovely here but it is  very very windy and stormy today! Lots of love, Mum 5/01/6 Hi everyone, I spoke to Rosie a few days ago, and we had a enjoyable conversation, she is in good spirits and has had a wonderful New Years day in Koyuk. We have a new system in place for getting news from Rosie. She leaves a news message on my sisters answer phone. Which my sister then transcribes up and sends to me, I think it's great to get news like this, directly from Rosie when possible, hopefully there will be more like this in the coming weeks. I am just off from the Eskimo village of Koyuk.  There is the usual feeling on excitement and fear  mixed together that you get when you set off. I  am loaded up with food because the next 55 mile  stretch is anybody's guess. It is notorious for  being very windy and there may not be anywhere to  stop safely because it is mostly frozen sea and  wide open tundra.  I just don't know how long it will take. I have  brought plenty of food including more seal oil  and dried fish.  The people here at Koyuk have been so wonderful.  When I was on the way here, I got so tired  because I was beating into a head wind. So I just  stopped 7 miles out and camped. Some lovely people  from Koyuk came out to see me, bringing a warm  meal cooked for me by a lady called Fanny and her  family. The people have been wonderful and kind.  I spent New Year here. I have been thinking of  everybody here, everybody at home and everybody  all around the world. Time does play fiddles on  us, doesn't it, because it was New Year in Britain  long before it was New Year here. So I guess it  gives us an extra excuse to think that the whole  of life is precious and a celebration. As I head off the sledge is heavy but hopefully  the weight will come down as I eat a bit of food. I am very lucky to be here and doing what I am  doing. To be doing with journey and achieving this  dream. Thank you for the love and support that  keep me going. Rosie 06/12/05  Hi everybody, I am delighted to report that Rosie has made it to White Mountain at 2:05pm on December the 5th 2005. She was met down on the river, by the school children, who had made a banner to greet her, I would like to thank everyone involved for this wonderful welcome, particularly Andrew Haviland the school principal in White Mountain and also Fred Ross and Dean Pushruk who went out to meet Rosie twice to deliver her new sledge and again to bring out some hot food.   Regards James.         12/05 Hi everyone, things are still pretty tough going, the powder snow is proving troublesome. I've been told that snow shoes can only do so much, and they are many places where Rosie will be sinking up to her waist in snow.  The two men who brought her the sledge are going back out to see her and bring her some hot food.  So far they have found that their snowmobile tracks were already covered by snowdrifts.  Rosie's new sleeping bag has safely arrived at White Mountain to replace her current one that got damaged. There is quite a story attached to this sleeping bag, it being sent by Geoff from England, re directed during transit involving loads of phone calls by Geoff and finally directed to its final destination by Bob. This is great news, as it could have easily been lost in the system or customs. Thanks DHL as well, as they have been great as ever. Regards James.  2/12/05 These are some of the messages that Bob has sent me the last few days and really show the effort that he and others have put in to helping Rosie out as well as a huge thanks to Bob, I would also like a thank Denis Douglas, who dropped everything and immediately arranged for his sledge to be loaned to Rosie, making sure that he arrived at the right place by the fastest possible means.  Also Will Peterson, Will met Rosie while in Ancorage, and as someone who had walked the Iditarod Trail was of great assistance to Rosie with her planning.  It was Will contracting his friend Denis, and then Denis contacting Bob Collins that really brought this whole thing together. This is hugely appreciated by all Rosie's friends and supporters. Rosie situation is so much better now, not only is a sledge working very well and her supplies replenished. She has been lent a radio transmitter so she can be in contact with the local villages along the route. It is what the locals use when traveling through these trails for safety. Here are some of the recent emails from Bob 30 11 05 Hello James: Thank you for the message.  I should be sending you a further update within a few hours after the two men on snow machine reach Rosie. The sled and other supplies were scheduled to arrive in White Mountain around 11:30AM (AST). I spoke with them again this morning after going to the airport with more food and other items for Rosie.  I confirmed the new GPS coordinates Rosie sent me late last night. (She moved about 3/4th km yesterday I estimate).  The men were standing by at the airstrip with their snow machines (snowmobiles to those outside Alaska) ready to go. They told me they expected to reach Rosie's GPS position in about 2-3 hours due to the terrain.  Some areas have little snow due to the very high winds the past week. Other areas have very high drifts.  The is a very deep ravine (@5-800 feet) that they will circumnavigate.  One snow machine will break trail. The other is hauling a sled with Hercules' replacement sled. They will use that to haul Hercules back.  I received a text message from Rosie about an hour ago. She is very good and is on the move so as to keep warm.  She is SLOWLY moving up the trail.  The men are well trained and confident they will find her.  They said she will hear them coming long before they see her.  They said this same trip, if taken later in the winter after more snow and on a broken, packed trail due to snow machine traffic, would normally take about 45 minutes. (They would be able to cut directly across the ravine).  They said Rosie is about 19 air miles from White Mountain but about 25 trail miles due to the ravine.  They said the whole village of about 250 people is now aware of Rosie's trek. They, and especially the school, are eagerly awaiting her arrival.  The men expect that Rosie is three days/two nights away from White Mountain with the new sled. One of the men told me that he plans on going out to check on Rosie everyday (even though she does not know that yet). I do not know if you want to wait for a report from them and Rosie before you add anything to the website but I thought you both would like to know the latest news as it happens. I expect to hear from Rosie or them within the next two hours. All the best, Bob Hello James and Geoff: I just received a call (7:30 PM AST, 30 Nov 05) from one of the men who went to deliver the new sled and gear to Rosie. Everything went as expected. Their total trip took over 8 hours over terrain they described as "rough" and "nasty". The terrain is frozen moguls with large snowdrifts. One fellow damaged his snow machine and lost his goggles and face mask ( I will replace from Nome as soon as he gets me the specifics and put them on the next plane to White Mt.) I say this to emphasize how rough the terrain is that Rosie is crossing. The man told me that he and the other man could not move Hercules through the terrain despite both of them pulling together. They returned to White Mountain with Hercules and 80 pounds of gear.  More on that later.  They said Rosie is in great shape.  She kept all the extra food and other things I sent out. I was guessing as to what she would have consumed and wanted.  She has more than enough now.  They said the new sled and snowshoes will enable her to move more quickly.  They said it is good equipment. She is traveling light now.  She was two miles from an A frame shelter when they made contact.  She made it to the shelter in under an hour with the new gear.  Those 2 miles would have taken 3 days at her previous pace.  I guess she probably felt like running after not being able to move for days!  She is well situated for the night.  She has a whole gallon of fuel for her stove. She will leave the excess for someone else who may need the shelter.  Despite no door, she is in a "comfortable" setting to take the time to familiarize herself with her new routine.  They left her one of their local search and rescue handheld radios. The local villages all use these for communications from the trail.  I will get her one here in Nome for future use.  She will use it to stay in contact with villages on the trail.  The village radio network will know where she is at all times in the future (word is out on the trail already - I suspect she has already become an eagerly awaited celebrity in each village).  In addition to the village network radio, I think she will be needing additional or new snowshoes.  I will discuss that with her after she reaches White Mountain.  They repeated their pre-trip estimate that she should make it to White Mountain in three days/two nights. They will go out and check on her.  They said she is in good spirits. Feel free to contact me at anytime if you have any concerns or questions. Bob 1/12/ 5 Hello Geoff and James:  I thought I'd send you more detail to put the events in context. Late last night (30 Nov 05) I received a text message from Rosie.  She likes the new sled. She can move easily on it. She was in it (has tent built over the bed) when she was messaging. I am guessing she testing it while she was still at the A frame. She expected to be back on the trail early this AM.  I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but over the weekend I did speak with Steve Holland, who designed and built Hercules, at Rosie's request. Rosie was very concerned that he be notified in person that Hercules was not going to continue for this portion of the journey. I had a long talk with Steve. He seems to be a very good man. He completely agreed that this is not the terrain for Hercules and that Rosie should go to an arctic expedition type sled.  The support she received, and continues to receive, demonstrates the respect, admiration, and concern everyone has for her. Even people who have not met her want to help. A very good example is the fellow who has loaned her his sled. He deserves special mention. His name is Denis (one "N") Douglas.  He is a friend of Will Peterson.  Rosie met Will while she was in Anchorage. Will has walked the Iditarod Trail and remains active with that sled dog race.  When Rosie messaged that she was having a serious problem moving Hercules, she mentioned that Will had offered a sled.  I called Will who in turn called his friend Denis. Denis immediately called me. He dropped everything he was doing in order to get his sled to Nome as soon as possible. Even though he was preparing for an important imminent trip out of state, he packaged up his sled and took it to a local airport for shipment to Anchorage.  He called a friend in Anchorage who took the sled from the small air service to Alaska Airlines for shipment to Nome.  Denis carefully monitored the whereabouts of the sled at all times by calling the cargo managers. He prevented the sled from sitting anywhere or becoming lost or delayed.  He made sure it was on the first available flight to Nome.  He told me that he knows what Rosie is going through based upon his own experience.  During the times he was on the trail, there were nights he thought he would freeze to death in his sleep.  He said he was surprised when he woke up.  He said he knows Rosie is tough and experienced.  However, he also knows the trail and what she needs in order to complete the trail.  He said the longer she remained stalled between villages, the greater the risk.  Even though he has not met Rosie, based upon her experience, he is confident she can complete the trail under the right conditions and with the right equipment. Those are among the reasons he moved so quickly to get his sled up to Nome.  He even followed up with several calls from out of state to check on her status.  He is looking forward to meeting Rosie. That will be a fascinating meeting to observe. Two very experienced winter wilderness trekkers comparing notes. Rosie generates that kind of interest, enthusiasm and support. You are fortunate to know her so well. Bob 1/12/05 There has been some important developments about Rosie's current situation. She is basically grinding to a halt. The trail that she is following has not been 'broken' by that I mean the massive drifts of powdery snow have not been packed down by vehicles or snow ploughs, this means she is disappearing up to her waist in powdery snow. Hercules is acting rather like an anchor in this soft terrain.  And what more the bottom of Hercules has been smashed through. She is averaging about a mile the entire day. In the last few days there has been major activity from Geoff Hall and Bob Collins in coming up with some creative solutions to assist Rosie and it is pretty amazing what they have come up with, particularly Bob who has pulled out all the stops in organising a plan to get Rosie the vital equipment and supplies she needs.  Bob has arranged for a proper snow sledge to be found, and has hired two men to go out into the wilds and deliver this snow sledge to her, along with supplies of food and fuel, which is running very low. These two men will then take the damaged Hercules to 'White mountain' where Rosie is headed for repair. This is a really big deal, and I am so grateful to Bob organizing this.  N64 35.27. W163 58.46. WHITE OUT - V DEEP  SNOWDRIFTS - THE TENT IS HEAVEN. GOING VV SLOWLY BUT AM  FINE. LOVE, MUMX THEY R BRINGING SLED V GENEROUSLY LOANED BY WILL  PETERSON AND DENNIS DOUGLAS AS HERC NEEDS TLC. BT  I AM FINE A UTTERLY DETERMMD 2 WIN THRO BOB COLLINS REAL STAR - ON T CASE RE NEEDS V  TOUGH BUT AM OK. LOVE, MUMXXX Rosie latest position on 27 11 05,  N64 34 69      W164 01 56              22/11/05 Rosie is finding things very tough at the moment, she left a message on my answer phone sounding as determined as ever, but this Alaskan stage is turning out to be considerably harder than we all expected. It will be several hundred miles till she is running along a road. At the moment she's following the coastline and facing storm force blizzards and massive snow drifts. That link to the photo that I posted on the last update is a very good representation of how things are, it all looks very chilly.  To make matters worse she accidentally burnt her sleeping bag while trying to dry it out. Also her tent has been damaged in high winds thankful this has been sorted out by some great helpers, at the moment she is using a Bivibag as well as a tent, I don't know if anyone outside England uses that term, but it is just a weatherproof outer say you can sleep outside without a tent. Geoff Hall and Bob Collins has been a huge help to her in these vital matters. through the crackling answer phone she asked me to thank on the web site THG, Terranova and those at TelAlaska. Also Geoff, Ena and Bob Collins who has really gone out of his way to help Rosie with her equipment and planning, there were a few other she wanted to thank but I could not hear due to a poor connection. please contact me if any of these spellings are wrong. Incidentally if anyone has any photos of Rosie I would be very grateful, the news page is looking a little bit empty picture wise. Anything from the last few weeks would be great. Here is some interesting news sent to me by Bob. Hello Geoff and James, Thank you for the kind words. Rosie has left the road system about 32 miles east of Nome near Bonanza Creek/Solomon. She will be going along the coast. She was very glad to have the Quasar tent and repaired outer. Even though the bag is perfect for high wind, I do not know how she could have made it for the next 200 plus miles in just the bag. The two in combination as conditions dictate will make her safer, especially when - not if - she has to stop for extended periods. I cannot stress enough - (and she agrees) - that this may be the most difficult segment of her journey. People do not realize Nome is much closer to Siberia than it is to Anchorage. People may have a tendency to think she is safer now that she is in "Alaska". She has experienced more wind in the last month than she had in the entire trip thus far. Plus, this part of Alaska and the upcoming interior have "Siberian cold". In Russia, she was largely following a road. Here, she could take 4 to 6 months just to get to the road system that leads to Anchorage. She has over 200 miles of more or less coastline before turning inland for 800 miles. The combination of wind and cold will be extreme. I will send more later but I thought you would like to know she was well situated with her tent. I remain in awe! Much more later regarding needs and details. She has told me so much about her friends and family, I feel I know you all - and am looking forward to meeting you all at the finish line. All the best, Bob  18/11/05 I am very grateful to Bob Collins, who was good enough to sent me this news update about Rosie. Thanks Bob. Hello James: Your mother left Nome midday yesterday (14 Nov 05) on her way to White Mountain along the Iditarod Trail. Last night and this morning, the weather was about 5F with gusts to 40MPH (which converts to about -22F or -30C windchill). She is walking along the coast of the Bering Sea with almost no natural shelter from the wind in many places. She asked me to paraphrase her thoughts for you: As she enters this upcoming critical stage of her journey, she needs to keep her absolute focus. Small mistakes have serious ramifications. She is more prepared now than ever before for another arctic winter.  Hercules has been further modified thanks to the kind folks at TelAlaska. She has a survival kit and an emergency "MayDay" beacon, again due to the kindness of her new friends at TelAlaska. Among the many people in Nome she wanted to thank are: Randy; Andy, Millie and Devon; Chuck and Linda; Rusty; John, Marguerite and Ava; Dave, Roger and Sine; the doctors and staff at Norton Sound Regional Hospital, and numerous others. A more appropriate thank you will be forthcoming as soon as she has the opportunity to redirect her focus.  She expressed her love and affection for her family, her Michael, Ann, Geoffrey, and her many, many friends and supporters, including Rosemary and Steven Seaton of Runners World. She apologizes for not having had the contact with all of you and them that she would like to have had. Although at times she feels she has created a form of "exile", she remains committed to her family, friends, and the causes in which she believes. Hopefully she will be able to respond to her e-mails after she arrives in Anchorage or possibly earlier from the trail.  She asks the members of the media who have been patiently waiting to speak with her for their continued patience. She will attempt to contact them from the trail. She needed her time in Nome to prepare for the very difficult next stage. Her trip from Wales, Alaska to Nome was more difficult than expected. She is very much looking forward to returning home to Wales and celebrating with one and all the successful completion of her journey.  8/11/05 Hi everyone just received two great news write ups from Charlie Bader supplying vital local information and Bob Collins who recently met Rosie, they give a real feel for what it is like for Rosie on the ground at the moment.  James- It has been around 0 F for a few nights... That ought to freeze up the swamps, creeks and even the small rivers. Not much snow, however, but that is good if you are on foot/bike. It's been colder on the other side of the Alaskan Range. Here's a link which deals with the current range of sea ice.... It's very important in some parts of Alaska and Siberia. Seal hunters, polar bear migration, shipping and of course world adventurers! http://pafc.arh.noaa.gov/ice.php  The maps show 2 things- a letter and a key. Rosie needs to cross a place that is currently a "G" which decodes to 60-80% ice coverage NEW (not very thick) ice. The 5 day forecast shows the ice ranging 0-4" and 4-12" thick. By the time Rosie gets to Golovin, she should find plenty of ice. Norton Bay is even wider- about 20 miles across. By then she should have some snow machine tracks to follow, if they don't get blown away. It would be prudent to make sure she has a compass before she crosses, as you know what happens to GPS batteries in the cold! During the Iditarod, the dog mushers cross Norton Sound, which is further out into the Bering Sea.  It is invariably windy and they have a difficult time following the trail. The forecast calls for wind- 35 mph. Wind chills to 35 below. Hopefully it gets better by the time she gets to Norton Sound. There's a real strong low over the Aleutian Islands and a high pressure ridge over eastern Siberia. http://pafc.arh.noaa.gov/home_sfcmap.php Thanks for the updates! Charlie Bader Hello James: My name is Bob Collins. I live in Nome, Alaska. Saturday morning, I met your mother about 45 miles north of Nome as she was pulling her sled "Hercules" up a steep hill. A short time earlier there had been a "white out" with below zero temperatures and blowing snow.  Even though she was "on a road", that road is closed during the winter due to extremely dangerous weather conditions. We invited her to dinner, about 30 miles down the road, should she make it by then. She said she "accepted in spirit" but was not certain of the timing. Despite adverse weather, she made it with time to spare. She spent the night in order to dry out her gear. I cannot overstate the hardships she is overcoming.  Her spirit and condition are phenomenal. I will always consider myself privileged to have spent an evening with her. She has my total admiration, support, and respect. She truly does inspire others to become better human beings. Bob Collins  6/11/05 Hello everyone, sorry its been a little quiet on news front at the moment, everything is going well, I haven't had confirmation yet but I am presuming she has reached Nome. I received a text saying that she was not far away. she has arranged to meet a German journalist called Marijke who writes for a glossy magazine in Germany and the BBC photographer Luke Tchalenko, who went out to see her in Siberia for her article for the Daily Telegraph some months ago. I hope to have more details about this soon, and of course some fresh news and maybe some pictures if I am lucky. In her recent message Rosie has said everyone has been very kind and welcoming to her and she particularly wanted me to say a special thanks you to Charlie and Carolyn in Anchorage who have been a wonderful help, supplying her with useful local information, and lots more besides. Warmest regards James 29/10/05 Hi just had a great chat with Rosie, she is staying with a nice couple called Rita and Henry where she enjoyed a hot bath and loads of food. The journey from Wales to Brevig was much harder than she expected, it took two weeks instead of one as she expected, and she totally ran out of food for two days, but survived by making a soup out of her Brian Welsby vitamin pills. There was very little shelter from the blizzards, one of her tent poles snapped in the wind, and the ground was quite soft an slushy and hard to run over, the particular problem came when crossing the streams as Hercules had a tendency for his wheels to fall though the ice and be very hard for Rosie to pull him out as the ice was so slippery. Rosie had to attach a rope and pull from the other side. It was doing this such maneuver that she slipped and cracked one of her ribs two days out side of Brevig but managed to carry on okay. She was well looked after at the clinic and given some pain killers. She says it is okay and will not stop her continuing as she managed to get to Brevig with it being cracked. As mentioned the next stage should be a little easer as she will be following a road, which is good news. Regards James 28/10/05Hi everyone got these messages from Rosie a couple of days ago. It all sounds like it has been quite a tough journey, I have been giving her news of Michael, her three and a half year old grandson, he is doing very well and is a lovely little boy. I am glad to report she has made it to Brevig. I have just had an email from Charlie letting me know that Carolyn has just spoken to her. With any luck the journey should be a lot easy from Teller to Nome as there is a road. Charlie also mentioned that things are freezing up a bit and this should make the ground a bit firmer and easer to run across. Hope to speak to Rosie soon. Regards James. STRUGGLING IN GALES + TERRAIN TERRAIN WILL BE BETTER  WHEN COMPLETELY FROZEN, NOW HALF FROZEN BOG,  SNOW, WATER BT BREVIG 12M. BATT LOW. LOVE U. MISSING PRECIOUS TIME W GRANDSON WORST PART, YET  FEEL MIKIE IS WITH ME. LOVE HIM DEARLY - LOVE U ALL SO  MUCH. MUM Rosie Route in North America: Her route in North America should be fairly straitforwardly South to the Northern USA via Juneau and Vancouver, then East through the Northern states, Washigton, Montana, Dakota, Minnesota, round the lake and on to New England, into Canada, and to the coast of Newfoundland, or wherever the boat to Greenland goes from!! 20/10/05 A brief call. Apparently blizzard conditions are prevailing on the route from CPoW to Brevg, the next town! Lots of snow, but distinct absence of trail. Hercules is hanging in there and is manfully following his mistress where buggies fear to tread. All kit functioning superbly is the report (as usual), and certainly Rosie's voice was easily at maximum cheerfulness!! Progress is tending to be quite slow, and could be very slow, only a few miles per day. Brevig is next town but is is still 30 miles ahead. The queue of writers waiting to interview is being kept waiting a little longer, unfortunately. Hopefully this applies to the bears as well. Position is N65/29/26, W167/23/73                      Rosies position 19/10/05 16/10/05Hi loads of interesting news about Rosie here, my warmest thanks to all those her who have been so kind to Rosie, and given her so much help. And also for supplying me with these great photos and news about Mum. James Hi there James. Your mother left here a couple days ago, and as you know is in Tin City. Here at our school I maintain a live webcam, and your mother asked that I e-mail you with the link. The school website is: http://waa.bssd.org/ there is a link on the left side to the webcam or the direct link is: http:// 24.237.247.165/ You can actually control the camera. Sorry it will not show you Tin City, but you can see the Diomede islands and Siberia on a good day. Sincerely, Eric Lowry Wales, Alaska 16/10/05 Rosie has set off from Wales now and is out in the wilds once again. There is a back log of news to tell you about, bellow is a section of great email I received from Charlie Bader. It is so informative, I am sure many people will be interested in reading it.                    ...She left our house around 1:45PM Friday to go to the airport to fly direct w/refueling stops to Wales in a Piper Navajo with Adrian Ryan of Ryan Air. Carolyn Craig knows Adrian from her days living in McGrath, which is on the Iditarod Trail. Rosie was able to get USGS 1:250,000 maps of the entire route from the local map office, which is one of about 4 in the US that stock all the maps for a particular region.  She was able to get her GPS updated at the GPS Store with all the topo maps of the route also. Rosie says she likes the paper because it gives her a quick idea of where she is at relative to the entire trip. REI was able to replace her split tent pole and did it in a fraction of the usual time. She got a new rucksack- the largest they had. Radio station J-WAVE in Japan has called multiple times, but Rosie didn't want to interview until she got going on the trail. "Hello Mr. Charlie, this is Kanae Hokugawa calling from J-WAVE radio. Sorry to keep calling you, but I must speak with Miss Rosie..."  Carolyn's friend Will wrote up a trail guide with town by town info including contact phones and lat/longs for shelter cabins along the way. Will is an Iditarod expert. Wales to Teller will be mostly beach with a couple water crossings with villages at the major crossings. Teller to Nome is all road. Nome to Unalakleet will be the most challenging because of the large expanses of open water, marsh and lack of sheltering trees.  Once she gets to Unalakleet, the route heads inland and will be mostly through forest-similar to Siberia. Her biggest challenge will then be river crossings. Keep in mind that the Iditarod is more of a route than a trail. Most parts are only traveled in the winter (half the year in most parts of Alaska) after all the water freezes and is preferably covered with snow. Much of it travels She couldn't be traveling at a better time but she may have to wait for places to freeze solid. We've warned her many times about crossing marginally frozen rivers and she has assured us that she will be careful. Much of the part on this end is all marsh. In the two months it will take her, it should be frozen solid.... We'll let you know more as we hear more. Charlie Bader.  Hercules has developed bit of a cult following, this is Charlie's description of the work he did on Hercules As for the "complete" overhaul of Hercules, the photos show that only a few minor, yet important mods were made. She wanted the two metal things on the back removed... I patched the holes with 6 oz fiberglass cloth and a couple coats of epoxy. Then I sprayed "cold galv" on some places that were rusting. I didn't have a chance to put a black sealer coat on, but maybe on her way back through I can get him all spiffy. I also patched the bottom front of him, as the logs and rocks seem to have taken a serious bite out of his belly. She gave me a disk with some photos from Siberia on it. I don't have dates names, or locations of where these photos were taken. I posted those photos to: http://www.anchoragetrails.com/rosie/rosie.html Rosie did call us today from Wales. Carolyn spoke with her and Rosie gave her this e-mail with specific instructions to get the video to you!. Good luck! Charlie Bader http://www.alaska.net/~chazmo/ 15/10/05 Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of news, as I have been reinstalling all the software after my hard drive crash I have been plagued by software conflicts. This is all sorted now. There is quite a big backlog of news to report. Rosie has met some wonderfully good people in Anchorage, Carolyn and her sister Shannon Craig, Charlie Bander and Will Peterson who have been very kind and looked after mum and Herculies who was patched up after being in need of some vital repair.. And I have supplied my with some great photos and Avs which is a first for the website. Through this meeting Via Carolyn Rosie was introduced to Will Peterson and gathered valuable information about the Iditarod trail which Rosie is going to be following and helped work out the waypoints of the difficult journey. It was actually looking quite hard for Rosie to even travel up to Wales the remotest west point of Alaska, but by good fortune and the hard work and emails sent by those helping mum Adrian Ryan who is an orthopedic surgeon, and Native Alaskan from Unalakleet wrote and said he would be traveling to Unk (Twin Navajo) in the next two days...did Rosie  want to go! (from Carolyn) ...Frantic two day with Charlie patching Hercules, Will adding information to waypoints, and placing an "Alaska Girls Kick A.." sticker on Hercules.  Adrian and Rosie called last night from Unalakleet. They had landed at sunset, which is spectacular since Unk sits right on the coast of Norton Sound. They flew high over the Alaska Range then dropped down after McGrath and were able to view the terrain, including the Yukon River which Rosie was quite excited about. Adrian will fly Rosie to Wales today 8th of October 2005. We have a network of friends all along the trails she will be traveling and will keep track of her progress. So even Rosie doesn't have time to stay in touch we will email you her whereabouts. Alaska may be vast in size but small in many other ways... Have a wonderful day, beautiful here, first hard frost of the year! Carolyn Craig. Read what celebrities are saying about Rosie Swale-Pope Thu, 13 Oct 2005  13 Oct 2005 : SMS Message from Rosie to Liza at Ecologia Trust: OFF FRM WONDROUS BERING STRAITS AFTER VISITING WALES SCHOOL YEST- DEEP SNOW PHNE CALL 2 U PRIORITY SOONEST! THNKS 4 ALL LOVE A CARING HUGS, ROSIE Rosie arrives in Wales on the 8th of Oct 2005                          7/10/05 Hi just received this update from Geoff Hall. Also there is an Article about Rosie in the Daily Express newspaper today. Hallo all. A clear voiced if slightly frustrated Rosie has called from Anchorage. She is in the back garden of the house of some new friends met whilst researching the route to and from CPoW. Having brainwaved into contacting the Iditarod shop/support team/knowledgeable people, she has received good sound advice on this neat part of the route.  The trails, if they exist, are not really passable at this time of year, and certainly not by Hecules, and so the plan is now to take a light plane to the Cape, and run East from there, linking up with Hercules wherever that becomes possible. The information is pretty reliable, since it is really only dog sled teams that can and do traverse this territory. (My map shows only trails for around 300 - 400 km west from CPoW).  Hercules took a few days to arrive as a major international border crossing was involved, but he is now in place again ,and is receiving major care and attention from Rosie's hosts, one of whom is an engineer and is carrying out a full scale refurbishment. The GPS is loaded with Alaska maps and is ready to go, and all parcels have arrived safely. DHL are proving to be infallible as usual! Apparently the campsite inhabitants gave Rosie a resounding birthday, starting with a 3 a.m breakfast, and a series of other treats running through out the day. She's now raring to go, but it may be a few more days to fix the flight, and some insurance.  02/10/05 Happy 59th Birthday Mum. And second anniversary of your setting off for Wales on the 2nd of October 2003. Had a message from her today, she is just about to set off up to Wales in Alaska, it is going to be quite a tough trip from there. This stage is going to be 1200miles though some tricky terrain. Rosie has been very busy still sorting things out and is glad that her running buggy has finally been cleared to be sent from Siberia, and is getting all her supplies sorted out for this very cold stage of her run. She is in great spirits and sends her love to everyone. Regards James  25/9/ 5 Hi everyone, spoke to Rosie last night, sorry there has not been much news lately, but Rosie has been very busy sorting things out, like insurance and getting Hercules sent over from Magadan. DHL have been very good to her by offering to send out her supply parcel free of charge as they have been doing during her Siberian leg of her Journey. She wanted to thank Geoff Hall who as been instrumental in arranging this and for sending her a new arctic stove. She would like to thank all the sponsors, all the equipment and supplies are absolutely vital and she I very grateful for them. She is staying in a camp site at the moment in Anchorage. The next stage of her journey is going to be quite tricky. She is planning to travel to Wales (Ca) up beyond the Baring Straits to start her Run again from here. She is planning to follow the route of a famous husky race called the Iditarod. The problem is that it is not quite cold enough this time of year and many of the lakes and Rivers are not fully frozen and there are many rivers that she will need to cross. Also there is a real issue with the bears which she is taking advise on, hope to know more soon. Rosie wanted to say hello to everyone in Wales back in the UK and particularly her good friends Ann and and Alison Regards James. Rosie with friend taken near Magadan 15/9/05 Hi everyone, had a chat with Rosie today, she has finally reached Magadan, she sounding in great spirits, she is enjoying a good rest and people have been very kind to her. The DHL people took her buggy in to there depot in Magadan to lighten the load as she ran the last part. When escaping from the nutcase last week, her notebook journal for the last three months and a camera sent to her by Geoff and her wallet fell out of her bag. Rosie thought she had lost these. But a lorry driver call Bagdan, later told her that he had found these items and had taken them to his house in Magadan, she has now got them all back. When running though the mountains, she says, she saw the most amazing scenery of mountains and forests. But the journey itself was very hard. Hercules was very heavy as she had to take a huge amount of food. even then she ran out, largely due the delays she experienced with all the flooding, having to wait for rivers to go down so they could be crossed. She said her feet were very sore, her shoes took a lot of abuse on the rocky road and developed many holes, as she was running well beyond their normal life expectancy and she was not able to pick up the extra pairs she wanted, she had to improvise by stuffing them with bits of foam and rubber she found on the road. She won't be staying long in Magadan and is going to be flying out tomorrow to Anchorage. The plane only goes once a week. From there she will travel up to the Baring Straits to carry on her run from the west most tip of Alaska. There is some weird thing in which she will actually be travelling back in time and the time zones cross over here. She say Siberia has been a wonderful and magical experience and would like the thank everyone for the overwhelming kindness she has received, there has been two minor incidents of trouble, but said her memory will be of the vast amount of warmth and friendship given to her. She asked me also to say how much she is looking forward to coming to Alaska and is exited about being able to speak English to people again. 14/9/05Mum has been battling hard lately, this last stage has been so difficult. I think she deserves a good rest when she gets to Magadan, not to mention a good feed. Not long to go now I expect to hear that she has arrived any day now. I shall keep you all informed. regards James  N59DEG 54.63. E150DEG 48.39. PART OF ME WILL ALWAYS STAY IN SIBERIA. NO MATTER THE DIFFICULTIES. FROM YAKUTSK 2 MAGADAN IS WILD AND SACRED  WILD WITH EXCITEMENT RE MAGADAN- AND GETTING TO THE SEA! 45K! PROGRESS A BIT SLOW, AS HAVE RATHER SORE FEET-BUT WORTH IT 7/9/05 Rosie gave me a call today on the Sat phone, and told me she has been confronted by a stark naked, gun wielding lunatic, but luckily managed to get away. but is quite shaken up by it. She had to pack up her stuff in a hurry and get away. She left behind a camera that Geoff had given her and her note book. But luckily someone found them and has taken them on to Magadan. She said that overwhelmingly people had been very kind and hospitable to her though her whole trip through Russia, and that her view has not been changed by the odd nutter. It has been tough going as she has run out of money and has been surviving on potatoes as she has been out very much in the wilds in this very sparsely populated area. A slight irony as she used to train for this world run by caring around sacks of potatoes in her rucksack while running around Wales. I truly think that this last stage between Yakutks and Magadan has been the hardest of any stage The good news is that she is only 140km from Magadan, so it should not be long now till she arrives. She wanted me to dedicate this stage of her run to all those supporting her run and following here progress on the website. And wished the thank Runners World for their great ongoing support and interest. 5/9/05, Hi Rosie making great progress, can't wait to have a chat with her when she reaches Magadan, not long to go now. She is still very much in the wilds and is having to conserve the phone battery.  N60DEG 59.67. E149DEG 42.72. MAGADAN ONLY 246K - OR ROUGHLY 130 MILES! CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT. ETA 12 SEPT! MUMXXXX  23/08/05 It would appear there is no limit to the skills of Hercules the Trolley! He now appears to float across rivers and lakes as if born to the exercise. A little unruly when the river is deep and rough, but, hell he's only a tin box!!  The water crossings continue to confront our superstar, who has just called on a wonderfully clear line from Magadan Oblast. Location around 420Km from downtown Magadan, with an ETA of September 12th.  The road has been extremely poor, both in condition and surfacing, but now she is back on the main route and it is much smoother. Not a hint of metalling of course, but nevertheless a big improvement. Having passed somelonely days recently, there are now a modest number of fellow travellers, and any more river crossings should take a little less time ( with hopefully little time spent waiting for the next passing vehicle). The weather is comfortable ( well I suppose it must be lovely after the recent winter months), but a key issue is food. She has, or can get, enough, but it is very monotonous and she needs to transport large quantities. But she is very fit and healthy! Encounters with bears continue. Three since the last stories. It seems her reputation precedes her, as they tend to just run off when they see her. But that's best.  In Magadan, she'll move out on the next available plane. I will send most of the next parcel of stuff to Anchorage, since we already have to ask wonderful DHL to transport Hercules for us! I'm hopeful of coming to Similar arrangements with DHL USA. All I have to do is repeat Carrie Disney's original triumph with DHL Russia. I wish! Usual hugs from R to everyone.  Geoffrey Hall   14/8/5  Hi, receive these messages from Rosie yesterday, everything seems to be okay. There is a big question mark in my mind about how dangerous the bears might be, I don't know enough about it really, I shall try to find out what the risks are and what is the best advise in order to keep safe..  Regards James THINKING OF YOU. HOPE YOUR EAR ISN'T HURTING A LOT.  MET AMAZING RUSSIAN ROAD SAHARI TEAM - AFTER DAYS O SEEING NO HUMANS AT ALL! LOVE YOU YOU ARE WONDERFUL - IT'S REALLY FABULOUS WHAT YOU ARE DOING RE WEB. N62DEG 54.11. E146DEG 31. 04. LOTS OF BEARS, BUT THEY HAVE'NT ATTACKED THE BEARS HAVEN'T HURT ME. ONLY HUMANS IN 4 DAYS WAS AMAZING VERY NICE RUSSIAN ROAD SAFARI TEAM YEST. THEY SAID THEY'LL SEND U PIC. LOVE, MUMXX 10/8/5 Latest message from Rosie N62DEG 56.11. E146DEG 06.58. FLOODS NEED PATIENCE AM OK. SAW FIRST SEAGULL - A BEAUTIFUL MESSENGER FROM MAGADAN. THINKING OF YOU. MUMX 10/8/5  TRAPPED BY FLOODS NEGOTIATED ALL RIVERS SUCCESSFULLY TILL THIS ONE 2DAY TOO SWOLLEN - PRAY 4 RAIN 2 STOP! NEED RIVER LEVEL 2 FALL. AM OK. ROSIE. Hi, just got this message on Rosie this morning and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she is okay. I'm confident that she does know what she is doing.  I have send her a message and will let everyone knows the moment I get a reply from her, to confirm that she is okay. As has been mentioned, crossing rivers is the biggest challenge she has had to face. She basically just wades across using a pole to keep her balance and check for depth as he makes several trips to carry all her belongings across, including Hercules, which is basically like a giant heavy wheel barrow when carried. Being washed away or losing any equipment would be a very serious matter not to mention the cold.  Just look at how many blue lines there are on the maps below.   As said, I will keep everyone updated the moment I hear from her 3/8/5 Hi everyone, I have receive this message from Geoff who was kind enough to send me this, after speaking to Rosie. I too was fortunate enough to have a chat with mum, the going is definitely very tough, but she sounds as determined as ever, she did he wanted me to pass on how much she misses everyone in Temby. She finding this the most sparsely populated place she has traveled though. And she stays it is getting to her a little bit, We had a really nice chat.  James. From Geoff: Apparently the mosquitoes along the Kolyma Road are not only large numerous and aggressive, but will happily attack any exposed areas, such as the back of the throat!! Our running lady is belting along (presumably trying to outrun said mozzies) and is now 820 km from Magadan. Some big rivers to cross - large truck or small boat required -but also she has been advised of an extra scenic short-cut, which sounds like a win win. Fully fit in mind and body, only the running shoes are wearing out. All credit to Saucony, it is only the horrendous state of the road, jagged stone and rock, nothing smooth or soft at all!! Old ones do for fording rivers, which entails several crossings to transport all contents of buggy! Apparently the neoprene bootees are good for this too! Thanks to Mark B for the original suggestion! Also grateful acknowledgement of the supplements from Be Well. All joints holding up perfectly! At 20km per day, she will be in Mag around the 10th or 12th. I shall dispatch a DHL parcel around the end of August although it seems the new supplies of Mosquitex courtesy of Keyline Brands Best wishes from R and, as usual, huge thanks to all her "team" 19/7/5Hi, here are text messages I received from Rosie yesterday. Her progress has slowed down, this is due to the very mountainous nature of the area she is running in. It is also highly forested which may be making things harder. I had an inquiry about what happened to Rosie's dog that she adopted some weeks ago. I'm pleased to report that the dog has been found a good home along the way.  U R ALWAYS IN MY THOUGHYS THAT HELPS SO MUCH - SPEC HELLO  TO ALL FAM, FRIENDS, AND MY RUSSIAN GODDAUGHTERS AT  KITEZH! MANAGING ONLY 20KAV BT IT AL COUNTS N63DEG 06.49. E139DEG 02.04.EVERY TIME I MAKE  ANOTHER DEG EAST FEEL WHOW! MIND GAMES 2 KEEP  GOING..ALSO THAT IT IS 'MAGADAN FOR MARIANNE'XX RAINFOREST GREAT FRIEND DESPITE BUGS - MAKING TEA  FROM BIRCH TREES + RESIN FROM PINES 2 HEAL CUTS -  BOILING WILD ROSEHIPS 4 VIT C! MUCH LOVE MUM         Rosie's positions as of the 18th of July 2005 17 June 2005  Rosie phoned us from Yatutsk from the first hotel she has been in since Chita months ago. The road from Chita to Yakutsk, she say is fabulous, very wild and remote with very few people. She has met with wolves and bears. She has no fear of wild animals. She offered a sausage to a wolf but the wolf didn’t like it. Bears apparently like to sunbathe. The few people that she has met are amazingly friendly and generous. They give her things and insist in inviting her in. Busses stop so people can talk to her and give her food. They invite her to stay but she is not accustomed sleeping indoors and doesn’t find it that comfortable. She has learned many things from people about what herbs are good for different ailments – pine resin for toothache, what leave to burn against mosquitoes, leaves and berries for diarrhoea. She hasn’t seen a shop for 200 kilometres but she is never short of food due to the generosity of the people she meets. Geoff Hall, her friend and supporter met her in Yakutsk, The first person she knows since Irkutsk in October. The next population centre is Magadan, 2,000 kilometres away. Rosie should be there in two and a half months. From there she will push on to the Bering Straits, if the necessary official permissions can be obtained. If not, she will have to fly to Alaska and will run from the American side of the Straits and is then half way home. 29 May 2005 Hi, many readers of this web site will know of Geoff Hall, a good friend of Rosie, who has arranged the delivery Rosie's numerous equipment drop offs, throughout her long journey, countless pairs of shoes, stove parts and food supplements. Geoff Hall is planning to travel from England to Siberia and meet Rosie in Yakutsk, which is an epic trip in itself and at his own expense. This trip is particularly vital as Yakutsk is so remote, it is the beyond the range of UPS Courier service. Geoff is loaded up to the eyeballs with equipment, for Rosie. This is quite a big deal, and I know it will be a great boost for Rosie.  I had a text from Rosie yesterday everything is well and he's making good progress. It was quite funny actually, Rosie likes to hear bits of news from the UK, anyway I was telling her about Star Wars 3 and said to her that when she got back she will be able to watch all six films in one go, at Eve (my sister) and Petes house, but that it might be one marathon even she might not handle. Anyway I got an urgent text back saying, what marathon where is the marathon, and that the message was not clear. The word marathon seemed to act like a dog whistle. I wrote back saying that I was just referring to the films, I don't know if she was relieved or disappointed. 24 May 2005 Hi, received this text message from Rosie, she's making great progress really eating up the miles, I'm really looking forward to when she gets to Yakutsk and I will get to speak to her on the phone. As you can see from the text, she has improvised some extra shock absorption in her shoes by inserting bath sponges, which apparently are working really well on the rocky ground. I'm sure that one will be included in all survival manuals from now on. Regards James. YAK 229KM! CURRENT PR O SAUCONY SHOES R REAL  HEROES - HVE DONE OVER 1000 MILES - USNG BATH  SPONGES AS GRT XTRA INSOLES! GT JOHN'P EMAIL  16 May 2005 I am pleased to report that Rosie is making good progress I have received a texts messages from her, she is 627 km from Yakutsk, she mentioned that this is the time of year when the Bears wake up from hibernation, it is one of those bits of information which had me thinking what exactly does this mean? It is slightly worrying me, but I have not heard of any danger associated with bears on the main routes in the area Rosie is running, so presume things are okay; but if I hear anything different I shall pass it straight on to her. Regards James (Swale) 6 May 2005 ONLY 795K NW! FANTASTIC REGION. GRT 2 B GOING NORTH.  LOVE A HUGS.RX April 27, 2005 From Rosie this morning: TYNDA ONLY 2KM! STRUGGLE BUT ALL OK RX   24 April, 2005 Russian man names his car after Rosie. Click here to find out more April 27, 2005 From Rosie this morning: TYNDA ONLY 2KM! STRUGGLE BUT ALL OK RX March 16, 2005 From Geoff Hall Well once again the call comes at an interesting moment. Following calls received in Whitechapel Underground with my arms full of dry cleaning, and in Borough High Street under very noisy repair by the men from Tarmac, yesterday's came through in the bread queue in the bakers in Wapping Lane It is exciting and thrilling to hear her voice, clear from the Siberian night, perhaps minus 50, her words painting an imaginary sparkling night sky in E1. Rosie's immense sheer energy and her pure delight in the venture are undimmed - growing if anything. The Russian Tourist Board should capture and bottle it! Progress is probably around 20 - 25 km per day, shoes are taking a beating, but holding up well. Rosie was in her Terra Nova as we spoke, but was planning to do a further 5 - 10 km by moonlight when we finished the call, at 3 a.m. People, villages are becoming fewer, but the road is at least obvious, if rough. Current issues are some very worn tyres on Hercules, and the need for a GPS to get her through to Magadan. No punctures yet, but the roads are very poor, and new ones are quite urgent. This will be done, although it will slow her down since the most convenient delivery point is behind her, at Chita, and a quick backtrack will be required. (DHL will do this for us, and a general alert to all, I'll happily act as collection point for this dispatch. I suggest anything to be sent should be with me (Leadenhall Street) by next Wednesday (23rd). The GPS issue is likely to be solved by a Russian person acquiring said device from a Russian supplier, who will load it with Russian maps of the Russian Far East. Runner's World are, magnificently, sponsoring this acquisition as well as all their support for the Sat Phone and expenses. She will have this by the time she gets to Yakutsk, which will be in about 2 months time. Then ............The Road to Magadan! More stories that people are travelling this road successfully, using 4WD and ferries, interspersed with the occasional story that the road does not exist! Regrettably it does, having been built by long term guests of Stalin last century, but it is certainly not well travelled, and in the summer may be muddy, and indistinct. Hence, the GPS. Will speak to Steven and James concerning GPS separately shortly. Geoffrey Hall 12: 00,  17 February 2005 The telephone was answered very promptly and in slightly slurred Russian. I asked for Rosie in my very best Russian, received the usual muffled guffaws, and then equally muffled but not slurred, there was our Rosie. She managed to exit the birthday party, which I had interrupted and we talked about various running things. As usual, in wonderful spirits - not sure how closely related to the party this was - and full of energy as ever. She has picked up plenty of supplies at Chita by the wonderful kindness of DHL., and Hercules in now bursting at the seams even more. having been fully repaired by a small army of young engineers. Her hosts are members of a Siberian environmental survey team who are carrying out various exploratory expeditions, and she is joining them on one such this weekend. Fretting a little about loss of running time, she is nevertheless rightly convinced that this is part of the whole running Siberia experience, and will add much to the overall venture, enriching the memories and enlarging indirectly all our knowledge. So she will be in Chita until next Tuesday probably, and then set off on the near - 2000km to Yakutsk. All local people are taking great interest in her welfare, even to the extent that she does not always have to wash her hair in the frozen river every time. W are all learning about these wonderful people. All things working well, tent will be fine with a little patching, stove well behaved, PHD kit top class, and the P20 that Ann sent is a real face saver and protector. I think she said that apparently the mosquitoes are still around ( !! at - 50) with a "PhD in nastiness" She's been advised to try and have a GPS device for the Yakutsk - Magadan stretch, as sometimes the road is "a little indistinct". HMMMM. She's asking a contact to look locally, but may come back to us on this one. And I'm afraid the words "Bering Straits" crept into the conversation again, inspired by said device, I suppose.  Apparently the Railway Institute is a super establishment where they are being very helpful. In particular letting her use their Internet terminal. She is writing her next articles and will email them to you Stephen when they are polished.  Some of you may know some of this already, but I thought I'd send it out anyway. Next DHL parcel from here will go to Yakutsk, but that is about two months away. All the best. Geoff Hall 20 Jan 2005 A call yesterday,  360km from Chita; all well, days stretching out a little, covering 20 - 25 km per day, but locals very hospitable ( I bet they never known anything like it! ) which of course slows her down! Still on wheels, no further kit problems, small discoveries like covering the pan with a fragment of survival blanket speeds up boiling. Any comments from any scientists? Sunday Telegraph Moscow have decided to go for an interview, set off last night, flew to Ulan Ude, corralled a taxi, and successfully tracked her down. An email suggests it went well! ** The article appeared in The Sunday Telegraph on 23rd January with a great photo of Rosie pulling Hercules along the road in Siberia and also one of her in the 70's aboard her sailing boat. Major thanks as usual from Rosie to all working for her. 3 January 2005  VVV HAPPY NEW YEAR FRM  PRISTINE ICY FOREST. ROSIEX 17 December 2004 We phoned Rosie at the Hotel Giza in Ulan Ude. She has just returned from Mongolia with her new visa. It involved a 24 hour train ride then straight to the consulate where she was given her visa with no trouble at all. We though she might have trouble since the consulate in Ulan Baatur has a reputatation for being difficult. Rosie just told them that she loved Russia and they gave it to her straight away.   Ulan Ude has been a great base for her. Siberia Tours have been wonderful but now she’s ready to hit the road again and expects to leave on Monday, 20th December. Shwe is now starting on the most challenging part of the journey. Eastern Siberia is very remote, very cold and very empty. Her route will take her to Chita and then northwards to Yakutsk, known to be the coldest place on earth.   Rosie still has enthusiasm for this adventure but seems more thoughtful as she is becoming aware of what she is up against. She referred several times to how cold it is and long it takes to get going in the morning.  It is a struggle for survival. Lighting her primus stove is huge undertaking in the cold. Breathing at –20 can be painful. That’s the temperature now and it will get colder, down to –60. She is doing about 20km a day because she need to stop early enough to se5t up for the night before she gets too exhausted.   She has been given some furlined boots for the morning. Once she gets going she can change into her running shoes. As long as she keeps moving the cold is not too bad. The danger is when she stops for the night when she might get covered in a snowdrift or simply go to sleep for too long and freeze. Still she is enjoying this winter more than last. The cold is drier and easier to deal with even though the temperature is lower.   I asked her how she manages for food. She carries a big sack of buckwheat and some pork fat. This seems to be pretty standard Siberian fare. The pork fat goes on the face as well to protect from the wind. Onions and garlic are also obtainable as is home-made jam from the people Rosie meets along the way. The jam is very nutritious, unlike the pallid supermarket offerings we are accustomed to. The people, she says are wonderful, helpful, friendly and generous. They live harsh lives and work very hard, similar to how we lived a few centuries ago. Nevertheless they are happy, self-sufficient and don’t complain.   Hygiene is a problem, regular washing is a luxury Rosie can not afford. It is simply too cold to wash unless as now she happens to be in a hotel.   She has a satellite phone which is supposed to be a safety measure but it has it’s own dangers. It is the one she is carrying that can excite envy, so she uses it furtively in case someone sees it and tried to steal it from her. She has already been held up at knife point once. Also it is so cold getting the phone out even for 5 minutes. The battery also doesn’t hold it’s charge for too long in that temperature. She doesn’t want to use the phone except in the most dire emergency.   Another setback was when she was hit by a bus on the road. She was not badly hurt but had to have five stitches and got a black eye. The outcome of this was that she taken to hospital and got a though check-up and was pronounced healthy and amazingly fit except aht she had pneumonia.   Being in the wilderness and experiencing the friendliness of the local people, Rosie is missing her friends and family at home and is now eager to get home but there is still a long way to go and the next six months will be the hardest, especially the mountainous road to Yakutsk. From there to  Magadan it is apparently not too bad. From Magadan it is uncertain whether she will run to the Bering Straits or fly to Alaska and continue the run from there.   One advantage of running in the winter is that the bears are all hibernating so she doesn’t have to worry about dangerous wildlife. The wild mice though are constant companions. They have no fear of humans and try to come into her tent. Rosie shares her crumbs with them. She sees them as the landlord to whom she must pay rent.   She visited an orphanage in Talinsk. The children seemed full of fun and happy. They go to the local school and seem to be far less institutionalised than those in the cities.   She says that Siberia is her favourite country in the whole world with it’s unspoiled beauty and it’s wonderful resilient people. One can tell that Siberia has been a profound experience for Rosie - the life and death nature of it and the deep appreciation of the simple things that are so easily taken for granted, such as warmth, cleanliness and the company of friends.   December 10 2004 Rosie is now in Ulan Ude, just south-east of Lake Baikal. She had a bit of a run-in with bus on the way. The way we heard it is that she was knocked down by the bus, wasn't really hurt but still went to hospital to be checked out. She was found to have a mild case of pneumonia. After a few days rest she recovered and was on her way. Amazing. Rosie has created quite a media stir in Siberia. An article with pictures was published in 2nd December. See www.inpol.ru especially if you read Russian. There's a great photo of Rosie as well. ITV Wales went out to Ulan Ude last weekend and are showing a Christmas Special next week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It will go out at the end of the news. Those who can receive ITV Wales, make a note. Rosie has now been in Russia for almost a year so she needs to get a new visa. She will have to go to Ulan Batur in Mongolia to do that. Then she will return to Ulan Ude and continue her run.   October 23 2004 Rosie has reached Irkutsk. She is enjoying the unimaginable luxury of a hotel where she can bathe and wash her clothes in hot water. Not like in the rivers where hair comes out covered in ice crystals. Still her tent is nice and toasty in spite of the cold. She says Siberia is beautiful and is making friends wit h the deer and foxes whose coats are now turning white. She has lost no enthusiasm for this adventure and rather than take some well-earned rest in Irkutsk she is eager to push on to Magadan on Siberia's east coast, 4,000 kilometers away. October 13 2004 Replies to our Rosie Birthday email so far: ______________________________________ Thanks to Rosie's allies at Ecologia.   I know it was almost a chance meeting that led you guys together with Mum but I know that your efforts and backing and the motivation of the good works you do have been a great boost to Mum. All the very best to you on this year's anniversary. Evie xxxx ______________________________________ Thank you so much for the update.  I have sent Rosie a happy birthday message, but in case she doesn't get it, please pass on my greetings and congratulations, and lots of love from me, cat Nedd and Non up in Drumbeg in Scotland.  It was my husband's birthday today too, so that has always been a great bond between us.   Love, Catherine Addison, Wales ______________________________________ Hello Rosie Slightly late happy birthday to Rosie. What an amazing adventure, good luck with the rest of your run around the planet.   Robert Vincent _____________________________________ Hi there, Just wondering when the next good time to catch up with Rosie would be. It might be good to talk to her around Christmas/New Year but if there's anything between now and then that you think is newsworthy let us know.   Cheers. Susan at Moray Firth Radio, Scotland ______________________________________ Thank for the time you have taken to write this message about Rosie. Nothing ceases to amaze us but the story is still incredible. What a motivated lady. I cant imagine what it must be like after a long days jog/run to then have to curl up in a tent at minus 60.Please do pass on our most enthusiastic best birthday wishes to Rosie when you speak to her. Vernon and Anne-Marie King, Moscow ______________________________________ Please pass my congratulations and admirations on to Rosie!    She is a true inspiration to all of us and I felt very honored to have met her at Mary Stark's when she was in Moscow!   Kind regards, Barbara Spier, Allied Pickfords Moscow ______________________________________ Please pass on  our warmest best wishes to Rosie on her birthday from  the Moscow Hash House Harriers!!!!  Please tell her we were able to raise more money for Kitezh and it all started thanks to  her. We will be thinking of her as she heads north and into the Russian winter!! Regards, Tom Godfrey Moscow   ______________________________________ Please give Rosie my best thoughts and wishes on her birthday! I'm so glad that I had the honor of meeting her when she was in Moscow. Rosie's an inspiration to us all and she will be in my thoughts as she continues on her journey.   Mary Stark, Moscow   ______________________________________ Happy Birthday Rosie....I think of you daily. Love XX.......Terry in Saundersfoot, Wales. ______________________________________ Together Let’s make Your Event an Occasion to REMEMBER! This is phenomenal.  Rosie always was determined.  She makes everything sound so easy!  Please pass on our very best wished. Rosie If you get a moment to think think back to Rathkeal, Co. Limerick a thousand years ago...................  Wish I know you then when we were just 20 miles apart.  Look forward to meting up with you sometime. Tonight our prayers are with you. I shall raise a pot of tea...................   HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Agnes Fitzgerald emerald speakers                                  ______________________________________ 2 October 2004 To Rosie’s allies worldwide: Saturday 2nd October is Rosie’s 58th birthday and the first anniversary of her Run Around the World.  To date, as far as we can calculate, she has run over 5,000 miles!   On Tuesday 28th September Rosie was 535 kilometres from Irkutsk and the first snow had fallen – adieu mosquitoes!  Her expected time of arrival in Irkutsk, on the shores of Lake Baikal is 16th October.  There ends the easy part of Rosie’s journey through Russia.  THEN she will plan for her next big leg towards Magadan in the North East of Russia. It's 2,882 km. to Magadan. Once she has a visa for her second year in Russia,  she will need to plan the next stage of her run very carefully. The winter is bitter and temperatures will range between 30-60 degrees below zero. Beyond Mogadan there are no roads at all. Currently, Rosie’s rationale for continuing north through the winter is that it is much easier to cross the rivers when they are iced over, and that she will be able to follow the tracks of transport trucks travelling north. Her marvellous new buggy, Hercules, will have his wheels replaced by skis and she has her arctic tent and clothing to keep her warm. However, if it all proves to be too difficult to manage, she will find a quiet place along the way to make her winter hibernation and start up again in the spring. To those of us who have been with Rosie since the start of this great adventure it is simply extraordinary that she has achieved such an enormous distance in just one year. Her article recently published in Runner’s World magazine describes her first few months, and her first encounter with Eastern European winter. It is well worth a read – do look for it on British bookstands. She has run a long way since then, and has encountered nothing but hospitality, generosity and friendliness, doubtless because that is what she radiates to everyone she meets. Along her way Rosie has flown the Kitezh banner to show her support for the orphan children who live there. Having a worthy cause that benefits children spurs Rosie on, and gives her an extra boost when the going gets tough. We are very grateful to all who have sponsored Rosie’s run for Kitezh Children’s Community and hope you will continue to do so.  And thanks too to those of you who have sent donations to support Rosie personally as this took a weight off her mind.  Every time she calls in she asks us to thank everyone for all your support, in every way. As her Satellite phone is expensive, paid for by Runner’s World, it is more economical for those of you who wish to greet Rosie on her birthday to send your greetings to me and I will pass them on to her. I will be in Moscow and in phone contact with Rosie until early November. Let’s each of us, wherever we are, raise a glass on 2nd October to celebrate the birthday of a great woman! She will join you on the ethers! Very best wishes from all of us, Liza in Moscow, Rhiannon and Christianne at Ecologia Trust Scotland, Dena at Kitezh Centre Moscow   All at Kitezh Children’s Community 14th September 2004 Mike Rowland, Rosie’s dear friend from home in Wales, called today to tell us about his adventure to Siberia where he joined Rosie for an exciting few days in Krasnoyarsk. Bubbling with enthusiasm, he says that Rosie is in excellent shape and her spirits are high.  He was astonished that in spite of the remoteness of the place and difficulty in communicating with her, when he stepped off the plane at Krasnoyarsk, there she was waiting for him! They had a marvellous time and Rosie proudly showed off her new buggy Hercules that will accompany her on the next big leg of her journey. Immediately after Mike’s call, Rosie called in as well!  Today she is heading off from Krasnoyarsk towards Irkutsk near Lake Baikal 980 kilometres away where she plans to arrive on approximately 12th October.  She is averaging 30km per day and she still carries the banner to raise money and awareness for Kitezh Community. Her tales and adventures are nothing but good ones. Everyone along the way has been wonderful, hospitable and welcoming. Especially the lorry drivers, who love her buggy, Hercules, and who stop and cook sausages for her on their camp fires! Many people have heard about her as she has been frequently featured on Russian television all the way along the route. They lean out of windows to wave to her, ask for her autograph, offer her meals and generally celebrate her adventurousness. She said that she has seen a few bears already, but only in the distance – they were very timid and so was she!  The hills around Krasnoyarsk were ‘gigantic’ and Rosie describes herself as a donkey, harnessed in to the shafts of Hercules, pulling him along behind her. The buggy weighs 35 kilos unladen, but is nevertheless worth it for its sturdiness. The wheels will come off when it begins to be snowy underfoot, to be replaced by skis. In the meantime, she was able to carry a typewriter with her and Terra Nova made a flysheet that covers the buggy and her bivouac tent so that she does not need to unpack it all. In the winter this will protect her from the frost so the tent will not freeze as it did last winter.  Already she has her down clothing, ready for when the Siberian winter sets in. But in the meantime, she is enjoying the autumn sunshine, and believe it or not, she MISSES the mosquitoes!  They had become her friends and companions as she trotted along the roads as she was well protected from their hungry bites by PHD’s marvellous products!   Rosie as usual sends HUGE thanks to everyone for all their help. Runner’s World magazine is just out with Rosie’s article on the first stage of her journey – look for it on the bookstands! August 29, 2004 Hello! We are Petr and Ira from Кемерово/Kemerovo (Kuzbass, Siberia). We have met with Rosie : first - 23.08. 2004, near the village Успенка/Uspenka (Kemerovo area), in the evening (up to Красноярск/Krasnoyarsk - 401 km). Second time - 28.08.2004, in the evening about 130 km from the town Мариинск/Mariinsk. She has passed it. This town is in the north of the Кузбасс/Kuzbass (or Kemerovo area), on the river Кия/Kija. Third - 29.08.2004, in the evening (up to Krasnoyarsk - 179 km). It is near to the town Ачинск/Achinsk (this town is on the river Чулым/Chulym, (Krasnoyarsk krai (territory)). We have made the Russian site <http://www.rosavokrugsveta.boom.ru> We can find the points for rest (if she shall need) on the further way of Rosie, after Krasnoyarsk. Where is Rosie? Please, let us know!!! Thank you very much. We Have photos. Petr. Ira (Russia. Kemerovo).   From Kitezh To Rosie Tuesday, July 13, 2004 8:58 PM Dear Rosie, My name is Kirsty Hood, I am a volunteer at Kitezh and am writing on behalf of Marina and the rest of the community in response to your email. Thank you so much for your birthday wishes for Kitezh.The praznik birthday celebrations were a couple of Saturdays ago now. It was a great afternoon with everybody in the community involved.The tables were rearranged into the dining room into a big horseshoe shape and were groaning under the weight of treats and sweets before the show commenced - needless to say the food didn’t last long! The show was fantastic, the ability and enthusiasm of the children was outstanding in the mixture of sketches, skits and performances which ranged from the comical to the philosophical. The celebrations continued outside round a campfire, with more food of course.Then with stuffed bellies everybody danced out the rest of the evening at the disco.   That feeling of community, so strong during the praznik, wouldn’t of course been possible without all the hard work that has gone into building Kitezh. I asked Dima Morozov for his memories of Kitezh at the beginning.  He described the site was just a plain empty field before work began. The land was given to him by his government contacts just after perestroika in response to his vision of a positive place for orphaned children to grow up.  Work began slowly, one house at a time. As you have seen each house is simply designed and space can sometimes be a little tight, indeed at the beginning, only the brick houses by the farm were built and everybody lived in the one house which is now Lucia’s. (Fifteen people in three rooms). Indeed Dima talked about how times in general were much tougher with long, twelve hour working days and a lack of amenities and food. Tea and buckwheat were the dietary staples.  There was of course time out from the hard work to celebrate the first praznik eleven years ago. Marina brought some champagne back from Moscow and the evening ended up in dancing and singing round the campfire outside Lucia’s house.    Without the hard work and perseverance of people like you Rosie, Kitezh would not have grown to be the amazing place that it is and there wouldn’t be the opportunity to duplicate this environment at Orion. Everybody in Kitezh is rooting for you; Dima and Marina particularly wish you well.  Once, during morning exercises when the run was a bit tough for one of the younger children I heard one of the kids say ‘think of Rosie’, which spurred them on.  In the same way, we hope that thoughts of Kitezh will keep you strong over Siberia. Much love All at Kitezh xx   Friday 9th July - Rosie is resting up in Omsk, Siberia for a few days before chugging on towards Novosibirsk. She has kept up a steady 40km per day and we estimate that she has now run 4,800km altogether.  She has made very fast progress since leaving Moscow and despite a small detour via Kazakhstan for her visa requirements, has arrived in Omsk a month sooner than originally planned! From Novosibirsk she will return to Omsk by train to take part in the Marathon there in August, after which she will resume her run eastwards from the exact spot she left off. Rosie planned all along to run the Omsk Marathon again, as last year she made so many friends there and she hopes to raise some money for the Western Siberia Railway Hospital’s cancer unit which is painfully short of money for drugs, chemotherapy etc. The doctors there earn the equivalent of £40 per month but continue to be as dedicated to their patients as ever.  Rosie is cheerful and full of gratitude to all her supporters as usual and said that she has met nothing but kindness all her way across Russia. Someone even leaned out of a window as she passed by and gave her a medal although she has no idea what it was for!  She loves running through the Russian forest with all the birch trees and finds it perfect for camping which she reckons is far safer than anywhere else. No encounters with bears or wolves! And she has come to terms with the mosquitoes in their millions thanks to the excellent repellent provided by P20. Her classic 3-wheeler baby carriage Columbine, named after an old 16.2 hands high horse she knew in her childhood, has done her proud. She has pushed it over 1,000 kilometres from Moscow with only the occasional puncture. The relief of not having to carry 20kg on her back has made all the difference.  Rosie did express concern that her personal money is running low and she does not want that to stop her from continuing her run. After all she is less than halfway across Russia and still has the most difficult part of the journey ahead of her. Ecologia Trust will be glad to pass on any donations earmarked for Rosie personally through our representative in Moscow. Similarly, we will be glad to transfer any donations made to Ecologia Trust earmarked for the Western Siberia Railway Hospital in Omsk. To date Kitezh Children’s Community has received £2,500 from Rosie’s sponsors around the world for which they are very grateful.  Dena Fisher takes up the story from our Moscow office.......... Rosie says that she is very brown, very thin, very tired...but very happy!  She is thrilled to be staying with her 'first friend in Siberia' Elena, who lives with her family in Omsk. Elena is a teacher and helps to organise the Omsk international marathon whereas her husband is a doctor in the local hospital. They met when Rosie took part in the marathon last year. Rosie's well-timed pitstop has meant that she could take part in the marathon press conference and do some interviews... and it's a great opportunity to charge her batteries! She will return for the marathon in August... Rosie is still absolutely loving what she is doing. She thanks all her friends and allies for their support. She considers herself so lucky to be on this fantastic trip for she is seeing parts of Russia that most foreigners and even a lot of Russians will never see. She loves being in the forests and seeing the wide open spaces. The beautiful birch trees and the wildlife give her strength and courage, and she never ever dreamed of doing this trip any other way... She says she doesn't mind having the label of 'mad adventuress' but most important to remember is that if, by what she is doing, she can actually help a child or buy a patient's medicine - then that is the real adventure... She is trying to prove that no matter what you do, you've got to just keep going for it. She is running round the world - which seems like a crazy idea to some - but actually it's a pedantic and painstaking process which involves huge amounts of forethought and help along the way. But according to her, it's the most sensible thing she's ever done. "What would I have achieved if I'd have spent this time sitting at home? Nothing! Now that's crazy!!!"  Rosie has been flying the Kitezh banner for months now. She has spread the word on TV and in newspapers in Russia and Kazakhstan, and her help has been and continues to be incredibly valuable. Now she is asking for support for the hospital in Omsk as well. Its cancer patients (amongst others) have a specialist doctor, but often don't have medicines. Most treatment is either unavailable or unaffordable and so people who could be healed are dying. In this kind of environment every dollar counts.  Rosie is hoping to raise some money to be able to help the patients in Omsk... She hopes that someone will be kind enough to support them. She sends much love to her family and all her friends. She says that she feels you with her every step of the way... Dena Fisher Kitezh Centre, Moscow Monday, 7 Jun 2004 Rosie's latest text message from Chelyabinsk: 'Got parcel. Great! Am so lucky to have wonderful support. Brave Columbine stumbled - had to carry her a while due to puncture but hoof fixed now! Over the Urals. Next stop - Siberia!!' All the best, Dena Fisher Kitezh Centre Monday, 3 May 2004 Rosie called this morning and said to pass on her regards. She is 140kms outside of Kazan and sounds as upbeat and cheerful as ever. She said that the massages and treatment she had in Moscow are really paying off : She is making great progress and is much more comfortable than before. The buggy is wonderful too, and means that she really is having a much easier time of things... so a big 'thank you' to everyone who was involved with all of that. However... the locals have once again saved the day! Basically, Rosie's shoes have worn down so much that they have become impossible to wear. So an old woman took a pair of slippers out of her bag, and gave them to Rosie who managed to run 60kms in them!! Then yesterday,a man in a car pulled up, saw what she was running in, drove away and returned with a pair of tennis shoes for her!! She was once again, totally humbled by people's kindness and care... The shoes aren't quite the right fit "but close enough" - which we all know could mean anything! But if they can get her to Kazan (which Rosie assures me they will), then we will have her new trainers waiting for her there, either in a parcel, or with someone. So for a week she'll have to run in what she's got. But at least they're better than slippers!! Despite all of this, she seemed happy and confident and described it as "all part of the adventure!". I reckon that '60kms in slippers' will make a regular appearance in her future talks, that's for sure!! Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how she's doing... Best wishes, Dena Fisher Kitezh Centre, Moscow 28 April, 2004 From Dena Fisher, Kitezh Centre Moscow:   Rosie has been in contact quite a bit. She's got past Kazan – 498 miles from Moscow!    She has been having trouble topping up her phone, so I withdrew $50 from the bank and did it for her. That might be the best way to do it most of the time. In that case, more money will have to be sent over from the UK, but not yet...  She is quite worried about money and asked me to think of how she could get a sponsor, without damaging the fundraising work which has been done for Kitezh....   Any ideas?   22 April, 2004 From Dena Fisher, Kitezh Centre Moscow: I got a text from Rosie saying that she was fine but that brave Columbine had a punctured hoof (she means the wheel on the buggy called Columbine after a cow she had that behaved like a horse!!).   Got another txt this morning saying that Columbine has been to the vet and is OK again. She did another TV interview, with Kitezh banner flowing behind her. 20th April, 2004   From: Carrie Disney, Moscow   I thought I would tell you that all our dire warnings have finally come to reality.  Rosie was stopped by a policeman today for the first time in all her Russian miles. She was extremely concerned until he took his wallet out and gave her 50 roubles for Kitezh! Ain’t life grand? Wednesday, 7 April Rosie and Columbine Yesterday's adventure taking the jogging stroller and cell phone to Rosie was one of the most gratifying experiences to date! The drive out seemed endless because I could see exactly what she is running in ... traffic ... large trucks blustering by leaving Rosie with little to no shoulder for her to hang on to ... and lots of wind and dust.  We found her a village or two outside Nogensk (east of Moscow). She was so thrilled to see us and looked forward to opening the stroller box as if she were a child on Christmas morning. The stroller was just the thing she needed ... her body was really straining under the weight of the pack. She placed the main pack in the seat, strapped it in, found a home for her tent underneath and a place for her water near the handle bar. She loved the pneumatic knobby tires and sleek lines.  She promptly gave it the name of 'Columbine,' after a beloved horse she used to have (Carrie clarified for me that Columbine was in fact a cow that she treated like a horse!). She thinks now with the help of Columbine carrying her pack she can make much better time.  She was afraid she is disappointing every one with her slower pace ... partly blaming it on her being so overly spoiled in Moscow. She is so grateful to everyone for their support.  She is sporting a lovely hand made shirt Tanya made her. We ate a hearty meal in a nearby cafe where she managed to charm and bewilder all the wait staff and patrons. In her call to me last night she described how she tied the stroller to her tent for safety. My thinking is that she would sleep with Columbine by her side if she would fit! Cheers! Lynne   4th April 2004: read the BBC report Round-the-world runner looks ahead Rosie Pope, a runner who is navigating the globe for charity, is leaving Moscow for the eastern Sverdlovsk region. 24/3/04 Read Rosie's interview with the BBC, click link below. Russians warm to round-the-world runner By Sarah Rainsford, BBC correspondent in Novopetrovsk, western Russia. 23/03/04 MESSAGE FROM ROSIE Dear Everyone, Thank you for ALL the wonderful support. You have vvvv much been in my thoughts. Russia is fantastic. I would like to put it on record that so far this is the easiest country to run through apart from Great Britain! People are incredibly friendly and nice. I’ve been able to buy berries and smoked fish and honey at the side of the road all the way through the beautiful huge forests. I have camped a lot of the time and had no trouble at all. I even met my first very large Russian deer. The police and authorities too have all been very pleasant and helpful. Driver have taken trouble to avoid splashing me .. The weather has been getting slightly warmer but the snow is about 7 foot deep in the forest so camping has been hard. The run continues to be tough because of the weight I have to carry, currently about 17 kilos, though this will get lighter as the weather becomes warmer and I do not have to carry so much kit. I am very sorry I could not at this stage take the sat phone brilliantly lent to me by Runner’s World, who have been outstandingly supportive all the way through, because I could not bear the weight. I had not realized quite how near the brink I was However it will be invaluable in Siberian, when I shall have les trouble with weight as I shall be pulling a sledge.? I would like to thank the British Embassy here in Moscow and the British Consulate for their kind help. I am determined not to need to be rescued, I am being very careful, but it is good to have such great support on my side. Also thanks to marvelous Carrie Disney and Richard Tickner, for the really terrific hospitality and help in every way. And also to Liza Hollingshead, who told me about Kitezh in the fist place. And also to Evie, James, Ann Michael and ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. You mean so much to me.? Anyway am learning a lot and feel will cope in Siberia. I owe a lot to my fabulous kit. Notably my Saucony shoes, the PHD Peter Hutchinson Design down sleeping bags and clothing, and my Terra ;Nova Saturn – and P20! And everyone such as my insurers Simon Troy back in Pembs, and the wonderful people at the Evergreen Pub who collected some money for my food and expenses. This is very valuable as this journey is on an extremely low budget!. Mostly the budget is thanks to Steven Seaton and all at Runner’s World and my publishers Sutton Publishing- without their help I would not be here. I have just got in - my toes are bleeding, but otherwise I am fine. This is a wonderful experience. Imagine – to be running free through the fantastic forests of Russia – to sleep looking at at the moon and the stars… I shall sort out more emails etc when poss. The main thing is a BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL. I COULD NOT DO IT WITHOUT YOU. I MISS MY FAMILY AND ALL THOSE I LOVE VERY VERY MUCH. ROSIE ROSIE REACHES THE OUTSKIRTS OF MOSCOW ON 19 MARCH She will be driven into Moscow for a couple of days and on Sunday she returns to the exact spot as she insists she MUST run into th