No joke to run in Antarctica

It’s tough enough to run marathons in the world’s Seven Continents but to complete the coverage barefoot has to be a Herculean challenge. Eddie Vega, a Filipino distance runner who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, tried to accomplish the feat in 2013. He fell short in one continent, Antarctica, because his feet were bloodied after 8.7 miles and put on shoes for the remaining 17.5 miles of the course.

But that only pushed Vega to embark on another bold mission. A year later, he completed a full marathon in all 50 US states barefoot within a year starting on Jan. 1 and ending on Dec. 7 in Tucson, Arizona. That’s a world record which has so far escaped the Guinness archivists’ attention. Vega, however, has been recognized by Guinness for establishing two world records – most barefoot marathons on consecutive days with 10 and most barefoot marathons in a year with 101, both set in 2014.

Daring to do the almost impossible is nothing new to Vega. He’s now 57 and the drive to push himself to the limit remains as strong as ever because there’s a cause that kindles his spirit. Vega calls himself the voice of shoeless children all over the world and it’s his advocacy to call attention to their plight. When Vega was a boy running barefoot in his Leyte hometown, he was infected by hookworms and went down with tuberculosis because a contagious neighbor often spat blood on the ground where he played. Vega says there are over 300 million shoeless children in the world and they’re at risk of contracting infectious diseases because their feet are exposed to the elements. He was once a victim so he speaks from experience.

Whenever and wherever Vega runs, he brings attention to shoeless children. Over the last two years, he has arranged to distribute more than 20,000 pairs of shoes or slippers to less fortunate children in over 50 schools and orphanages in Davao, Leyte, Bulacan, Cavite and Camarines Sur. From 2013 to 2016, he partnered with Soles4Souls to raise over $20,000 through a combination of on-line donations, cash, checks and sponsorship from Western Union. He is now affiliated with the Seeds of Dignity Ministries which sources the shoes and slippers from the Philippines.

“Since my partnership with Seeds of Dignity in February last year, I’ve been back to the Philippines thrice to personally distribute slippers,” he says. “Each pair costs about P45 and they’re of high quality. By partnering directly with Seeds of Dignity, we’re saving a lot of money, especially the shipping cost. Besides, Filipino children prefer slippers to shoes especially those who live in the mountains and walk a distance through muddy trails and cross rivers to get to school. They don’t have to worry about getting their shoes wet.”

Vega and his family migrated from Leyte to Guam when he was six. Then, he earned a degree in Business Systems Analysis at New Mexico State University, went back to Guam and moved to Raleigh nearly 30 years ago. He works full-time as an IT consultant and his job entails a lot of travel.

Vega’s adventure in Antarctica is one for the books. In 2013, his goal was to run a full marathon barefoot in the Seven Continents. He started out with the Sedona Marathon in Arizona to cover North America on Feb. 2. Then, it was the Punta Arenas Marathon in Chile on Feb. 26. Next was the White Continent Marathon in Antarctica on Feb. 27.

“I made an attempt to become the first person in history to run a 26.2 mile marathon barefoot in Antarctica,” he recounts. “I only got as far as 8.7 miles of 33 percent of my goal before common sense forced me to wear a pair of shoes to complete the remaining distance. Roughly 90 percent of the course was marked by gravel and jagged rocks.

“Around the sixth mile as I treaded over some jagged rocks, I noticed blisters on my right sole pop and blood was splattered all over the toes of my opposite foot. It was less than a half mile later when the blisters on my left sole popped. From there, it was a long and excruciating trek back to approximately 2.7 miles to base camp or the start of the loop where I could have my feet checked and cleaned. The course was designed as an out-and-back comprising six loops measured at 4.37 miles per loop.

“I didn’t realize I left blood trails along the course. We were informed before the race that the White Continent is a ‘no impact’ zone, meaning that what goes into Antarctica leaves Antarctica. Anything you need to consume or let go of had to be carried on your body all the way back to Chile. No spitting was allowed and you carry your own pee bottle and pooh bag. The fact that I left blood trails the entire length of the course was clearly in violation of the ‘no impact’ zone policy. That became the joke of the trip.

“The race director became overly concerned after seeing my wounds and asked if I wanted to continue. Of course, I wanted to continue and did it with the help of my good friend J. C. Santa Teresa who took time off from running to help get my wounds cleaned and bandaged. There were eight doctors and two registered nurses running the marathon but it was J. C., Filipino chemist from New York City, who saved the day for me. One of the doctors was a psychiatrist who thought I was crazy. I put on a pair of shoes and ran the rest of the course.”

More on Vega’s adventure in Antarctica in Sunday’s column.