A little outside Vincente Guerrero comes the border to Zacatecas, which is currently considered the most dangerous area in Mexico. I don’t notice much of this, because there are almost always 10-20 people running behind me and often a police escort accompanies me. In front of the capital Zacatecas, about 30 runners wait to enter the city with me. I am received by the Ministry of Tourism and given a guided tour of the city. Super nice city.
The next morning I leave the city with a police escort in the direction of Aquascalientes. The traffic on the main road is bearable and I first do a long day of 50 kilometres and then another 55 the next day. In Pabellon I am received by the mayoral candidate and invited home for a barbeque and overnight stay. I am met by a group of runners from Aquascaliente who will accompany me all the way to their town for 2 days. All hell breaks loose in Aquascaliente with the local running clubs. Two runners invite me to join them. I receive a citation from the Ministry of Culture and the national news and the daily newspapers report some of it on their front pages. The local baseball club Rileros de Aquascilente, a first division club, has a play-off game where I have the honour of throwing the opening ball. After the long run, the hustle and bustle and events like that, I get tired.