#walkacrosslagos...Make a Pledge

So I’ve received a lot of urgings (I think thats a valid word) to make #lagosacrosswalk worthwhile and do something for charity. I’ve always thought about it but never really figured out how to get people involved in my walk and raise funds. I got a little idea from a friend who’s into branding and corporate sponsorship things and things so I decide to come up with this…

#walkacrosslagos is a distance of 175km that will take me from the Seme Border through, Badagry, Ojo, Mile 2/Orile, Lagos Island, Lekki, Epe up to the boundary with Ogun State. I expect to complete the walk in 6 days.

So I am reaching out to friends, colleagues, acquaintances, supporters, etc  to CHALLENGE me to #walkacrosslagos. By this challenge, you can pledge to donate either N10.00 or N5.00 for every kilometre I walk. At the end of trail (or wherever I walk up to), I will ask you to redeem your pledge and I will donate funds raised to the Red Cross Society’s Motherless Home in Makoko, Yaba. The Makoko Home because that was the first orphanage home I ever visited (in 2009) and the beautiful babies there just melt my heart. Since then I’ve visited a few times and each time I just wish I could do more. So I am hoping we’ll be able to raise N100,000 together for them.

To make a pledge, you can send me an email to alldatjas@gmail.com stating the category you wish to pledge (either N10.00 or N5.00 per Kilometer). I will contact you after my walk to let you know how far I was able to walk and how you can redeem your pledge.

From Monday 3rd December, you will be able to follow my progress in real time with the Google Map badge on this blog page (the left side column) or via updates on my Twitter handle @alldatjas.

Below is my route and checkpoints. Wish me luck.


JAS

Walk route and checkpoints from 3rd to 8th December, 2012

#walkacrosslagos Checkpoints

A.      Start of Point – Seme Border

B.      End of Day 1 – Approach to Agbara Town

C.      End of Day 2 – Festac Town

D.      End of Day 3 – Chevron, Lekki

E.       End of Day 4 – Awoyaya, Ibeju Lekki

F.       End of Day 5 – Approach to Epe Town

G.     End Point, End of Day 6 – Lagos/Ogun Boundary

#walkacrosslagos...The Build Up

One of the most important thing to focus and build on when planning long distance walks is one's fitness level in order to sustain endurance. I had started intense preparation for #walkacrosslagos in the month of November mostly cardios. I have also manage to squeeze in a couple of medium distance walks (13km) during the weekends.

Also in November, I received the gears I'd order to aid treks. These include Karrimor walking shoes, power bank to juice up my phone, etc. Starting to get more professional at this, right?

Then yesterday (Sunday), the Mrs and I took a drive down to Badagry to case out the first and most critical half of the walk trail. We left very early in the morning, the journey appeared endless. I had been to Badagry and Seme a few times but this time I felt a sense of "fear" (not sure if that's the right word) but I was definitely apprehensive as we just keep driving.

On the way back, we stopped over at Agbara and Festac Town to case out overnight rest stops for Days 0, 1 and 2. I expect to get to Victoria Island and possible Lekki by Day 3 to familiar territory.

So, just one week to go now...I think am getting in the zone.

JAS

Finally retired my old trainers this month...

New gear and gizmos

5,000 Miles Walk Across Asia

Today on Mashable, I read about the US Marine Sgt Winston Fiore who just completed a 5,000 mile (8,000km) walk across 9 countries in Asia.

Impressive and inspiring stuff. And while at it, he was able to raise quite a bit of money for charity as well.

Check out his site www.smiletrek.org and the original story from Mashable

JAS

The Hotel Didn't Have CNN...

My line of work can be stressful at times...so stressful that I sometimes do not have time to go to the gym as often as I would like. But the profession also offers interesting trips abroad. So a break from the tedious routine and Lagos hustle came about with a welcome 6-day trip to Joburg.

It was an official trip from the office packed with meetings, workshops and remote work...but I still manage to get some "me time" in, plus I wanted to get serious about training. A few days before leaving for SA, I had completed the online order for some of the gear I'd be needing so mentally and preparation wise, I started counting down. With about a month to go to #walkacrosslagos, I had to start focusing on getting fit training.

After the daily meetings, my hotel offered cool facilities to unwind. A good gym with a lovely pool just outside. This was my second time staying at this particular hotel so I kinda felt at home...

Met up S. He was just rounding up his internship and had time to hang out in the evenings. Drinks, dinner, more drinks. Hung-out with some of his crew from school, tried out a flashy looking local brew: Steph Weiss, sisi-sounding name right, but tasted alright.

Oh yeah, Obama got re-elected. I was initially fuming that my hotel some how didn't have CNN (can you beat that, a 4-star hotel with no CNN). I made quite a fuss about this - Room Service sent the maintenance  guys to come around, the hotel group's account noticed my rant on Twitter and replied. I later had to settle for NBC which I later discovered did a very good coverage of the election (albeit no John King's magic wall). Plus, the station made a number of early calls even before CNN.

The day before I left was the Joburg leg of Linkin Park's Living Things concert at the FNB Stadium. Got a couple of tickets and went with S. Mad evening out. We temporarily lost our voices screaming to all the insane hits from Hybrid Theory to Living Things.

LP didn't disappoint.

Serious stuff right here. Got up to stretch my legs...OK and to also take a picture

The pool just outside the gym, lots of night swimming 

Reactions I Get

You're joking...
Are you serious?
Na lie o...
Wetin happen nau?
You don mad?
You are too oyibo...
You must be suicidal...

Quite frankly, right from the onset I've been prepared for the kind of reactions I will get from family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and strangers. I am all too aware of the culture and belief system of the society I call home.

Even my wife. I remember last year when I bought home a map of trail I wanted to walk and I started discussing my #walkacross quests with her, she started laughing, made jest...but slowly started taking me seriously. Now, she knows better and is supportive.

My mum...now that's the ultimate freak-out "Adeyinka kin lo se e, sho fe pa mi ni". I understand my mum's reaction, she still thinks of me as the 1 year old son she's still nurturing into the world. Not sure if she's ever come across my blog but she has a fair idea of what I've been up to through conversations with my wife and my sister Kemi.