A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine (Dr George Wortley) posted
this on his face book page:
“Will be leaving early in the AM for Mexico and the
Tarahumara Indians. David Horton is going with me. It is getting increasingly
difficult to find helpers to go with me due to the Drug Wars. Why would 49 decapitated
bodies in the road discourage anyone.”
It reminded me that Mexico, the location of the Deca
Triathlon is anything but a safe place.
Sure many of the murders are those involved in the drug wars, but it is
so very easy for innocent bystanders to be in the wrong place at the wrong
time. Since then I have been
spending a significant amount of time deciding if the risk of going to do the
Deca Triathlon is worth the risk!
George has visited Copper Canyon and the Tarahumara Indians
many times over many many years, starting well before the Born to Run craze of
the last few years. He is an
incredibly kind hearted man that treks many miles to take not only food but
also his incredible medical skills to see to their ailments as it is the only
time they are able to see a doctor. I know that George and ultra distance legend David will
bring a lot of good to these communities.
And for them, because of their good hearts, the risk that they face
traveling through remote and not so remote regions is far out weighed by the good
that they will do.
But for those of us heading to Mexico for ourselves, and our
own goals, is it worth it? In
reality the chances of being caught up in the drug wars is slim, Jorge the race
director puts on a great race, he picks athletes up from the airport, the race
is in a family park where we will be for the majority of the time, but that’s
not to say that by some unlucky random chance, some group won’t decided to make
a statement with a bunch of international crazies riding and running around a
park for days on end.
The logistics of organizing myself to get to the Deca
Triathlon are hard enough as it is, I have already put my heart and sole into
training and organizing. My bike
maker Rob English has taken the time in his busy schedule to whip me up a new
bike. It would be terrible to call
off this epic mission, as it is very much part of who I am now. The thought of just doing the Deca is
immense and the commitment to pay up the entry fee a big one…..it’s hard enough
without the worry of what might happen outside of the actual racing. Yesterday I spent much to the 7 hours
on my bike pondering such factors….the conclusion that I came to was…if the
Deca Triathlon was in a location without travel warnings, I would now enter in
a heartbeat – and the only thing stopping me now is the worry of those drug
cartels in a country that I am unfamiliar with and don’t speak the language.
What to do?
Would going and racing this race be selfish? It’s not only my safety at stake but also that of my support
crew. Or are these travel warnings
over dramatizing the danger to Joe average innocent public?
Or is this just another challenge to an already epic goal?
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