Canadians finish third on medal list.

29.09.04

By JAMES CHRISTIE

ATHENS (The Globe and Mail) - Patience is not Jeff Adams's long suit.

The Toronto wheelchair wizard rolled up the ancient stone pathways to the top of the Acropolis in Athens yesterday to mark the final day of the 12th Paralympic Games and put a focus on issues of accessibility for people with disabilities.

While 90 minutes had been allowed for the event, Adams was climbing at a speed where he'd have finished in about 20, before all the smiling officials and cameras were in place.

"They had to ask him to slow down," said Sophie Castonguay, the press chief for the Canadian Paralympic team.

"This was a good platform for accessibility," said Adams, a bronze medalist in 400 metres on the Athens track and a multiple gold medalist through four Paralympic Games. Wheelchair users and others with disabilities have always been told it would take time for barriers to disappear. The Acropolis was symbolically useful in the battle for accessibility.

"They just installed elevators at the Acropolis a month ago. This place is 2,500 years old, so that should take the wind out of the sails of those people at home who say buildings can't be retrofitted," Adams said on his cellphone last night as he sat in the middle of the Olympic Stadium, taking in the low-key closing ceremony.

Officials cut out a concert and entertainment because of a bus accident the night before that had taken the lives of seven high-school students on their way to the Paralympics.

Wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal was designated the team's flag-bearer for the closing, though there was not the usual trooping-in celebration.

Canada, based on its gold medal tally, finished third in the medal standings with 72 -- 28 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze. China placed first with 140 medals, including 63 gold, and Britain was second with 94, including 35 gold.

Forty-two of Canada's medals were won by women, 25 by men and five in mixed competitions, such as boccia, wheelchair rugby and equestrian.

Canada's numbers are down from the 96 medals, including 38 gold, won at the Sydney Games in 2000, but team officials considered the Athens Games a success. The prediction for the Canadian team in Athens was about 70 medals with a smaller team than appeared in Sydney, said Louis Barbeau, the Canadian chef de mission.

The emergence of China as a superpower preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics also shortened the opportunities for Canadian medals.

Swimmer Stephanie Dixon of Victoria won the most medals, six gold and two silver, while swimmers Benoît Huot of Montreal, Kirby Cote of Winnipeg and wheelchair racer Petitclerc each won five gold medals.

Swimming was Canada's most successful sport with 40 medals (15-14-11), followed by track and field with 24 (10-4-10).

Yesterday's final competitions produced a men's wheelchair basketball gold medal for Canada, as it defended its Sydney title by beating Australia 70-53. Joey Johnson of Lorette, Man., netted 15 points and 11 rebounds.

In boccia for cerebral palsy athletes, Paul Gauthier of Vancouver earned his second medal of the Games, with a bronze in pairs with Alison Kabush of Surrey, B.C., beating New Zealand 4-3. Gauthier won the gold in men's singles.

Federal Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, who attended the opening of the Games, sent congratulations to the team, lauding "courage, determination and perseverance."

She said in an interview that the Olympics and Paralympics had pulled ancient Athens, 'a city run by archaeologists,' into a modern Europe.

'I was in Athens in 1993," she said. "It's not the Athens I'm seeing now. The Games have boosted the city.'

ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games International Paralympic Committee The Globe and Mail

Subdued yet hopeful ending to Paralympics.

29.09.04

By JOHN ROSS

ATHENS (Kathimerini English Edition) - The closing of the Paralympic Games of Athens, which was already to be a more modest affair than the glitzy finale to the Olympics last month, was taken a further notch down following the road accident that killed seven teenagers on Monday morning. The tragedy had a special resonance for the Paralympics, as the school group had been en route to watch the Games, just as over 70,000 schoolchildren attended during the 11 days of Games and even participated in the medals ceremonies.

The head of the International Paralympic Committee, Phil Craven, acknowledged at a final-day press conference that the Games were finishing on a sad note (and affirmed that they would, in fact, have an official ending, despite initial rumors of cancellation). Yet he pronounced himself "very upbeat" on the overall events and even said the Games had had a "mind-blowing effect" on Greece. At ATHOC's apparent insistence, however, the ceremonies themselves were sharply toned down, with balloons, fireworks and celebratory music being canned, along with perhaps an hour of the show, in a decision unprecedented for the Paralympics. The organizers even took to offering refunds for ticket returns.

Some late compromise seemed in the works over music of some sort being performed at the ceremony — however little time this left for the artists themselves to adjust. In getting to that point there was evidently some tension between ATHOC, trying to be faithful to a country in mourning, and the IPC, trying to wrap up their showcase event on a happy note. Notably, no top ATHOC official made any presentation or statement, as was expected, at yesterday's conference.

Craven singled out the swimming competitions as a great crowd-puller at these Games, the one sport out of the 19 which consistently sold out or nearly so. He also held that Athens offered, "without doubt, the best group of sporting venues in the world," a sentiment based not just on bricks, mortar, and floorboards but on the people staffing them. He also saluted the spectators, whose number was put (by IPC spokesperson Miriam Wilkens) at 850,000. Just 400,000 spectators had been budgeted for, so this figure was regarded as a major success, though less than Sydney's 1.2 million Paralympics fans.

Issues to ponder

These Paralympics, like the Olympics last month, were widely considered the best ever in their field. This gives the ATHOC a double success and the IOC/IPC pair much to crow about as well. Still, Craven acknowledged certain issues that will need addressing in order to keep the Games advancing and not just passably viable.

One issue is the classification system for disabled athletes, which suffers from overcomplication, potential for abuse, and spectator confusion (as a world-record smasher in one category can fail to medal in a concurrent race or event). Fans, as he said, are used to watching the winners win. While asserting that the system is looked at anew after each Games, Craven promised a "major review" in this area. A second question relates to media interest, and a closely related one, money and sponsorships. It is claimed that media interest reached a new high at these Games, with accredited media numbers that Wilkens put at 3,200, higher even than a few days ago. However, this continued to omit the most lucrative market, the US, where the Games received no television coverage (but lots of commentary because of it). More media attention will bring higher fees and put the IPC on a stronger financial keel; sponsorships would do the same (it has just signed on its first worldwide sponsor, Visa International). The IPC says it is not out to become a high roller; still, it has to keep its head above water to stay viable.

A third, more abstract concern lies in what the Paralympics aim to accomplish. At times, the IPC appears to want to compare the Games with the Olympics, drawing parallels between the world's two biggest sporting events that now also share the same city, sports venues, Olympic Village and (now) organizing committee, and all within the space of a month. An understandable focus on the accomplishments of the athletes, some of which are truly exceptional, adds to this overlapping sentiment.

Yet at other times, the social side of the Games seemed to prevail. Mr Craven insisted, for example, that the Paralympics were "not mimicking" the regular Olympics, were mainly aiming at "awareness," and are far more complicated in their setup. In the one, we are to marvel at athletes' achievements despite their disabilities, in the other, because of them. You can't blame the IPC for trying to have it both ways, yet you can sense an inherent dilemma.

Much of this is encapsulated in the problematic category of "intellectually disabled," which created a huge controversy at Sydney when it emerged that the wheelchair basketball winners from Spain had effectively cheated to get into the category. A repetition of that fiasco, Craven indicated, could have imperiled the whole Games of Athens — an admission that speaks volumes for the Paralympics' still tentative footing at the end of the 12th installment that ended last evening. Yet anybody who watched even a bit of them will know it's an eminently worthy cause.

A little rock climb

"Because it's there" has been an age-old rationale for climbing Everest, or any other high place for those with less lofty goals. For an athlete in a wheelchair, the Athens Acropolis presents an irresistibly symbolic as well as practical barrier to tackle; and yesterday morning Canada's Jeff Adams set out to conquer the ancient hill. In a public climb expected to take up to an hour, he barely broke a sweat despite the muggy conditions in making his way up through the Propylaea to the Parthenon in little more than 15 minutes — going backwards, no less — and in doing so, struck another blow for all people facing physical obstacles.

Adams, a wheelchair racer competing at his fifth Paralympics and with some 13 Paralympic medals coming into Athens, is no stranger to public events like this. A motivational speaker, actor and broadcaster (and proprietor of a website called "adamsmania"), he is used to life in the open, serving as a roving ambassador and irrepressible spokesman for the disabled community. Two years ago almost to the day, he climbed up Toronto's CN Tower, one of the world's tallest buildings, step by each of its 1,776 steps, in a wheelchair. Unlike the Acropolis in most spots, that structure had hand railings.

This time around he was testing a diminutive new version of a wheelchair, barely a third of a meter across, with tiny wheels that only rolled backward; he pushed himself and the chair up with crutches that had non-slip pads. Before setting off he admitted to being "a little apprehensive," mainly because of the slippery marble; such a climb in the rain would have become interesting. As it happened, dodging all the tourists and supporters cheering him on was about his most pressing obstacle.

Adams said his main goal in this little trek was "to draw attention to an issue in a positive way," namely the Paralympics and problems facing the disabled, and to "demonstrate ability" in overcoming them — approaching the issue from both ends. In further remarks atop the famous landmark, he made a strong plea for a level playing field, not just in sports but in society. He saluted the new wheelchair lift up the Acropolis's north wall, even while eschewing its useful if slightly ungainly services.

Sticking to the high road, he also commended the new Athens mass-transit facilities, notably the metro, which is fully wheelchair-accessible, while saying nothing about works not yet done. But mainly, his was a call for equal opportunities and open doors, because as "everyone of us faces barriers every day," we need the "courage to confront every single one" via a "level playing field."

Canada's Senator Joyce Fairbairn, a big supporter, gave a rousing speech (as did Canadian Ambassador Philip Somerville), saying, "Nothing can stop the quest for excellence of those who aim high and dream big." A Greek wheelchair marathoner who accompanied him, Vassilis Constantinopoulos, added that his mantra would be: "We can, we can, we can." There was certainly no brooking any defeatism in those quarters.

ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games International Paralympic Committee Kathimerini English Edition

Follow up to Jeff Adams at the Olympics.

25.08.04

To everyone who took the time to reply to my email from Athens - thank you. Thank you even to the guy who told me to stop whining. That's actually what prompted this email as a follow up. For those of you who didn't get my original email because of differences in my email list from laptop to home, it's copied below.

My original email might have made it sound like I was just pissed off at the lack of media attention, but it goes a lot deeper than that. It's the lack of attention to the stories as compared to the attention of the stories of the able-bodied - why that difference exists, and most of all, how that different level of attention affects the big picture.

The CBC in fact did air my race - they just didn't air it before I had a chance to write the email - they tape delayed it by about 9 hours - it went on at 1am Toronto time.

Having said that, Ron MacLean and Brian Williams have both called me names like "Canadian sports icon" and "Canadian hero". I personally think those names are a load of horse shit at the best of times, but name another so called "sports icon" or "hero" that was tape delayed for 9 hours.

Now that Perdida Felicien has competed, and tragically lost a race that she should have won, we're provided an interesting comparison.

There were two Canadians who crashed in their respective finals, both medal hopefuls, one a 23 year old phenom, one a 33 year old veteran. One was the reigning world champ, the other the silver medalist from the same world championships in Paris last year. Both hold their own with the media, and both have at least quasi-intelligent things to say.

One athlete was covered daily in the weeks leading up to her race, in print and on t.v. Her event was aired live, and her crash replayed over and over again. The story was followed up the next day and will continue to be for the rest of the games, and the rest of the year. Her next race will take on a life of it's own because of the drama and compelling nature of the story. Canadians want to know what happens next.

This is significantly different from the way my story was covered.

Is it because the story of the wheelchair athlete is less compelling? Is it because the event is less competitive? Is it less entertaining? Is it more impressive to crack a hurdle in two, or to snap a carbon fiber wheel?

They played Perdida's race live. They had a camera crew at Perdida's house to get her mother's reaction on tape.

They tape delayed my race by 9 hours, and it was a concious decision.

My mother sat at home, wondering what happened to me - she saw the DNF (did not finish) on the internet, and worried for hours until I phoned. She knows me - and knows that if I didn't finish something that I started, it's because something must have gone horribly wrong.

She was right to worry - at 33 km/h, my head hit first, missing the rail on the track by about 6".

Are the differences because it's an exhibition event? If the IOC, tomorrow, made it a full medal event, would that change everything? Would my mom have to tidy up for the CBC crew?

On the other hand, if the International Olympic Committee decided tomorrow that events for women shouldn't be full medal events, would we just stop paying attention? It wasn't until recently that a lot of them were allowed in - women's pole vault in 2000, and women's wrestling in 2004. In 1967, Kathy Switzer was tackled doing the Boston Marathon because women weren't allowed. A Greek woman, Stamatis Rovithi ran the proposed Olympic course in March of 1896, a month before the first modern Olympics took place in Athens, but it wasn't until 1984 that women were allowed to contest the distance officially.

What pisses me off the most is that I (and just about every other Paralympian out there) do something with the attention I get - I've spoken to hundreds of thousands of school kids in Canada, and will continue to do so. The lack of attention makes is so much more difficult and less efficient for me to communicate the messages that I bring.

Paralympic athletes seem to uniformly feel the need to spread the message, to help others - maybe because they've been helped in significant ways themselves usually, and that's not to say that Olympians don't - Perdida definitely does, she's an exceptional person.

I didn't put this in my first email, but a lot of the reason for my sadness is because of the way we were treated behind the scenes. The Canadian Olympic Committee took a hard stand at the beginning of the games - insisting that we receive full accreditation, and be dealt with as full members of the team. I was, and continue to be incredibly proud of them for doing that.

After the events, the IOC came to them, having discovered that we had accreditation that designated us as athletes - they had a (Aa) under our picture. Even though Chantal was leaving in 8 hours, and I in 36, they insisted that we had to turn in our accreditation and get new ones, with the designation (P), which is usually for alternates, spares, and other people who are not considered Olympians, because they are "on call" to fill in for people who are competing. If those people get called up, and compete at the games, they get new accreditation, with (Aa) on it.

The new accreditation didn't really change anything, we still had access to all the same places - it was just a different letter on the card. To me it seemed like a scarlet letter. (It was actually baby blue, but that's so much less dramatic).

I had a talk with the mission staff about it, and they told me that there is a time and a place to insist, and a time to compromise, and asked me to turn my accreditation in. I did, but it tore a hole in my soul. This is the day after I crashed, don't forget.

I think we compromised a core value, and did it on the back end of a lot of good media attention that the COC got for the stand it took initially.

In their defence, the mission staff are good people, and are the same people who stood up for me at the beginning of all this - and that is super important. They had spent a lot of time and energy EVERY DAY, fighting some kind of accreditation issue, and I honestly think that they just didn't recognize it as a big deal in the way that I did, and I think there was a genuine concern that if we rocked the boat too much, that the IOC would just boot the event out.

In my mind, if it was a big enough of a deal for the IOC to make the demand, it should have been a big enough of a deal for us to take a stand, and I'd rather be kicked out than invited to a party and made to stay on the porch.

They could have said:

"I'm sorry, but as Canadians, we simply cannot ask our athletes to comply with your request. It is impossible for us, because of our beliefs, because of our policies, and because of our constitution. If you'd like us to have the athletes removed from the Village, we'd be happy to do that, and to call a press conference to explain why."

The COC, in taking that stand, could have garnered a lot of good attention - they always say that there is more to the Olympics than just medals, and this was a chance to walk the talk. I think we fell down instead.

It was an opportunity to do what we do best as Canadians - lead by example. Once upon a time, there was a Canadian who pushed a wheelchair around the world who opened our eyes. Once upon a time there was a Canadian who died in Thunder Bay, running across the country on one leg, who taught us lessons.

How many times do we need to learn those same lessons, and why will our eyes not remain open?

I know from my first email that it might have seemed like it was all about the media attention, but the only reason that the media attention is important is partly because it's a symptom, but mostly because of the way that it contributes to the big picture. If the media treated us the same way as the able-bodied athletes, nobody else would think to treat us differently.

If the media listened to me the same way that they listen to Perdida, the COC would not have dared to ask me to compromise.

If this was 50 years ago, would a 23 year old black woman have the ear of the media? 40 years ago? 25? Would you want to be the one to have told Rosa Parks that there is a time and a place, and that maybe she should compromise and just move to the back of the bus? If we had told her, if she had listened, we wouldn't be listening to Perdida today.

I crashed two days in a row at the Olympics. Once in my race, and once by compromising when I knew that I shouldn't.

That won't ever happen again.

Thanks again to everyone who has demonstrated how much they care - it means a lot. Some of you have told me that I need to compromise, and give things time - I'll respectfully disagree.

A lot of you have told me to keep fighting, and I will - it's just that right now, I'm not even sure where to swing.

Once I figure it out though................

Jeff Adams,
Canadian Icon, Sports Hero, National Treasure
(just kidding)

Jeff Adams at the Olympics.

23.08.04

I am profoundly sad.

I'm not sad that I crashed, I'm not sad because I lost.

Chantal Petitclerc won the women's 800m, but the Globe and Mail did not mention it. I crashed but the CBC didn't air my race.

It's partly because we're here as an exhibition event - because it's not 'real'. What is real though, is that a Canadian woman won a gold medal, and a Canadian man crashed and burned - these are stories that should be used to inspire our nation, a country that is in desperate need to be elevated.

I bled on the track, and my blood was not "exhibition blood". I bled for Canada, I bled for my team, I bled for myself because it's blood that makes it real.

I sweat blood every time I train, and the pain that I endure dulls in some part the pain I feel when I go out into the world and endure the stereotypes and ignorance that confront me daily.

The real reason that our stories are not broadcast is because of those same stereotypes and ignorance.

If this reads like an obituary, that's because it is. My will to continue to fight is dead. I thought that the Olympics were a good venue to tear down stereotypes discrimination and ignorance. I was wrong.

Saying that I'm profoundly sad isn't even the tip of the iceberg - there is nothing that will dull this pain, so I will walk away from the Olympics. I will never compete under these circumstances again.

Jeff Adams,

Wheels of mixed fortunes.

23.08.04

By MITCH POTTER

ATHENS (Toronto Star) - Wheels of glory, wheels of utter woe — that's what Canada's Paralympic racers gave a capacity crowd at Olympic Stadium on the marquee night for track and field finals.

The glory belonged to Montreal's Chantal Petitclerc, who captured gold in the women's 800-metre wheelchair race, leading a field of eight from start to finish to break the tape in one minute, 53.66 seconds.

Petitclerc's triumph — a symbolic gold for Canada, insofar as wheelchair events don't count in these Olympics — came on the heels of a disastrous crash involving teammate Jeff Adams of Brampton, who rolled his chair and crashed hard onto the track in a three-way collision during the men's 1,500-metre wheelchair race.

Petitclerc, 34, who finished sixth at Sydney and fifth at Atlanta in previous Olympic exhibition matches, described her performance as "one of the best races of my life."

"This is just great ... I feel like an Olympian even if I don't get the same medal. I feel it's the same in my heart," she said.

Paralympic exhibitions have been a part of the Olympics for years, offering spectators a tiny foretaste of the Paralympic Games that transpire in the host city a few weeks after Olympics move out.

But never before have the exhibitions taken so central a stage as they did last night, sandwiched among the big-ticket track events showcasing the fastest people on the planet.

"As I was warming up, three of the hurdle girls jumped on me, cheering me on," Petitclerc said, still flush with the victor's glow.

Petitclerc said she was also aware some of her most dangerous opponents had been working all week on a strategy to "box me in," so she decided to take an early lead and avoid the trap.

"I'm more of a sprinter. When it comes to strategy I'm not that sharp," she said. "But I knew I had the fitness and shape to win."

For Adams, 33, the painful wipeout extended an Olympic jinx that has haunted the six-time world champion since the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

"This is my third Olympics. This is the third time something crazy has happened," he told reporters immediately after the race, shrugging off roadrash and a possible concussion.

Adams said he was deliberately tailing the tightly bundled pack of seven racing chairs, holding back strength to make a move on the final stretch. But as he began his final sprint up the middle, the hole he was aiming for closed up. Thai racer Rawat Tana clipped Joel Jeannot of France, who then clipped Adams, sending the Canadian flying off his chair.

As Germany's Robert Figl led the pack to the finish line, the Athens audience watched in horror as track volunteers left the wounded Adams on the track for more than a minute, unsure what to do. Eventually Adams righted himself without their help. But his custom-made chair was already a writeoff.

"It was a $3,000 race for me. I wrecked my chariot," said Adams. "This has been four years of frustration. It's such a dumb way to go out."

A tireless and outspoken advocate for both athletics and accessibility issues, Adams once climbed all 1,776 stairs in the CN Tower to raise awareness of those who travel by wheels alone.

And as recently as last month, he gave the International Olympic Committee an earful when it decided not to invite wheelchair athletes to roll in the opening ceremonies of Athens 2004, despite welcoming their participation in last night's coveted track program.

Last night he offered his comments on the overall Canadian performance at Athens, saying "It's hard not to be embarrassed being Canadian in these Games."

Calling Canada's Olympians "the canary in the coal mine" of Canadian health care, Adams suggested performance is unlikely to improve until Ottawa dedicates greater funding, not simply for Olympic development programs, but youth athletics as a whole.

Quebec's Diane Roy, meanwhile, was the other Canadian entry in the Paralympic demonstration last night, finishing fourth to Petitclerc with a time of 1.54.20.

Athens 2004 Olympic Games Men's Wheelchair 1500m - Start List Women's Wheelchair 800m - Start List Men's Wheelchair 1500m - Results Women's Wheelchair 800m - Results

Wheelchair athletes can't march in ceremonies.

19.08.04

By LORI EWING

TORONTO (CP) - Jeff Adams can race on the same night at the men's 100-metre final in Athens, but he can't march in the opening ceremonies.

Nor can he stay in the Athletes Village for more than four days. Nor is he part of the official Olympic delegation.

Adams was angry after he and the other 15 wheelchair athletes from around the world who are part of the track and field schedule at the Summer Olympics, received letters from the International Olympic Committee recently saying they would not receive the same treatment as the other athletes in Athens.

"It's really, really frustrating, because there's no logic to it," said Adams, 33. "We're on the same night as the 100-metre men's final, so there's some kind of realization it's a fun sport to watch, the top eight guys are going to be within a second and a half of each other, it's all of the things we want when we watch sports.

"But we've got this caveat in it where we're not part of the official delegation, and I don't understand why not."

Adams will race the men's 1,500 metres on Aug. 22 in Athens, one of two wheelchair demonstration events. He'll race the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 metres two weeks later at the Paralympic Games.

Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal and Diane Roy of Lac-des-Aigles, Que., will compete in the women's 800-metre wheelchair demo race.

The wheelchair athletes for Athens cannot march in the opening or closing ceremonies - although everyone from coaches to medical staff to mission staff are permitted to march. And the wheelchair athletes are only allowed to stay in the Athletes Village from August 20 to 24.

Caroline Assalian, the director of high performance sport and games for the Canadian Olympic Committee, had Adams' letter from the IOC tucked in her pocket Monday, and said she planned to do something about it.

"We consider the three Paralympic athletes as part of the Canadian team, we'll clothe them, they'll be they'll be living in the village, getting their accreditation, we go above and beyond the organizing committee," said Assalian. "They don't even give them beds in the village. That's ridiculous. They're going to be part of the Canadian team, we'll make space for them in the village."

The IOC trails Canada and other countries when it comes a progressive attitude toward wheelchair sports. As part of Canada's track and field contingent in Athens, Athletics Canada has invited the three wheelchair racers to the 10-day pre-Olympic training camp in Grosseto, Italy.

"There's only one class of athletes, so if you're on the team, you're treated equally just like everyone else," said Assalian.

Adams said he believes the IOC has its heart in the right place, but added it should be all or nothing - they should be treated the same as other athletes in Athens or not be there at all.

"Kick them out if that's what you want, or stop this quasi-second rate citizen treatment we're getting," said Adams, a six-time world champion and four-time Paralympian.

"I think we really need to take a stand. We saw this happen to black athletes 50 or 80 years ago, we saw it happen with women athletes. When you take a stand, things change.

"Canada has shown to be a leader in all of these arenas, and this is another time where we can really be a leader and make sure things can be done the right way."

The IOC has included wheelchair demonstration events in the Olympics since 1984, and the wheelchair races at track and field are the only demonstration sports still on the Olympic schedule.

Athletics Canada The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) Letter from the International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee

Riding the Roller Coaster.

10.07.04

There are so many sayings out there...."Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose"...."If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"....and so on and so on.

I really think those platitudes are mostly nonsense, but in the last few months, I've been searching for some way to understand the chaos and frustrations that I've been surrounded by.

I've decided that it's a toss up between "Kites rise against the wind, not with it", and one of my new personal favorites, "Throw me to the wolves - I'll bring order to the pack."

It's been a bit of a rough year....

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Jeff's London Marathon Misadventures.

20.04.04

To all my friends, some of my enemies, and at least one nemesis;

A quick summary of my London marathon experience. I'm flying back from London right now, not too damn happy.

The weather in London was magnificent the entire week before the marathon - 18 degrees, and sunny. The morning of the marathon dawned to a cold drizzle, and 3 degrees. Of course the day after the race, it was back to the mid teens and sunny.

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