•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Be wary of those who put why they do what they do into words. People who go on endlessly about doing the “right thing” typically have no idea what they’re talking about. They’ve spent far too much time honing and defining their ambitions to allow their actions — not their intentions — to back up their words.

The fact that Scott Thompson can’t really articulate why he’s running 1,250 kilometers from Bali to Jakarta to raise money and awareness for both a cancer foundation and a youth development charity is reason enough to get behind him and his March mega marathon.

Thompson is silver-tongued and smiling when it comes to talking about how he came up with the idea for the run, his 100-kilometers-a-week regime and how he’ll have to don running shoes two to three sizes bigger than normal to contend with the swelling he’ll endure for 25 days come his March 8 D-Day.

But when asked why he’s running from Bali to Jakarta, Thompson can’t seem to find the words. “It’s like if you ask someone why they want to climb a mountain,” Thompson says in his light Scottish accent. “Because it’s there. Some people say trying to raise this money is just a drop in the ocean, but we’re going to create a little ripple and see where it takes us.”

What Thompson refers to as a ripple is actually a huge swell. Last year, the 44-year-old, who didn’t even start running long distances until he was 32, raised Rp 350 million ($38,000) running the grueling Sahara Race (250 kilometers in seven days) for Jakarta’s own Mary’s Cancer Kiddies, which helps disadvantaged families from across the archipelago provide high-quality medical treatment for their kids.

This year, with the help of corporate sponsors and a few big-time donors, Thompson hopes to raise Rp 1 billion for MCK and Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa, a world-renowned children’s foundation established in Jakarta in 1999, whose education and healthy lifestyle programs continue to impact nearly half a million young adults every year.

“I think when most people hear about Scott’s attempt to run from Bali to Jakarta, they think the guy is insane,” says Ira Guntur, the chief development and communications officer at YCAB.

“As I got to know Scott better, I developed more respect and admiration for him and what he’s trying to accomplish. He’s a professional, not a runner, and yet he’s been training and preparing for months. Running 1,250 kilometers in March, all for a good cause, all for the children of his adopted country … I suppose anyone would be in awe.”

Make no mistake, Thompson, a former rugby player, is in great shape.

But he just doesn’t fit the image of an ultra marathon runner. There’s no misplaced confidence, no vanity seeping into every crack of the conversation. The mild-mannered husband and father is far from ego-driven. Thompson is all heart and humility.

“Nobody knows who Scott Thompson is and nobody cares who Scott Thompson is. The story isn’t about me; it’s about the kids,” he says. “The last time I was at the ward in Cipto, there were kids from the four corners of Indonesia with AIDS and [tuberculosis]. A mother had to take her son out of the hospital — he was in a coma at that point — because she had no money. If the story gets people interested in what I’m trying to do, maybe that pushes them toward donating and pledging.”

No one is more excited about what Thompson is doing than the volunteers at MCK. The kids at the Dharmais and Cipto hospitals, two of Indonesia’s most innovative cancer care facilities, are perhaps his biggest fans.

“When I tell people about Scott running Bali to Jakarta, the reaction is always ‘He’s going to do what?’ followed by ‘Wow. Amazing. Incredible! Why?’ ” says Sarah Kennedy, one of only six volunteers at MCK. “Everyone I’ve spoken with is 100 percent behind Scott with no question about him achieving the run. And they are all right. You could not wish to meet a more generous, down-to-earth, caring man than Scott — albeit a little crazy!

“Scott has been a fantastic supporter of MCK and disadvantaged children in Indonesia, and through his tremendous efforts many children have benefited, and will benefit, greatly.”

But consider the sheer numbers: 1,250 kilometers is the equivalent of about 30 consecutive marathons. The average temperature on Java is 32 degrees Celsius with an average of 75 percent humidity. Running 1,250 kilometers in 25 days is an average of 50 kilometers a day.

“It really is mind over matter,” Thompson says. “Once you start getting over 30 Ks, which you experience all the time in marathons and ultras, the body just needs to be replenished. Otherwise, you’ll hit that proverbial wall that people talk about. But 50 K on the joints day after day will be a whole other issue to contend with.”

Thompson’s first thought was to run through Sumatra, but he decided it was just too far. He wrestled with the idea of running point-to-point on Java, then asked, “Why not just start in Bali and then run up to the northwest corner where you can take a short ferry across to Java, and then go north from there and hit the Java Sea, head to Surabaya through East Java, then Central Java and on through Semarang, then to Cirebon for the main drag.”

Sure, why not?

“Looking at the overall kilometers divided by the number of days available ­—1,250 kilometers, 25 days, 50 Ks a day ­— it’s a challenge. I hope people think it’s pretty extreme and they’ll be willing to back me.”

Then again, everyone thought he was crazy when, last October, Thompson ran the Sahara Race, spending four days in a row running 40 kilometers before churning out an insane 95 kilometers on the last day of the race.

“I never want to see sand again. The sand gets everywhere. Your feet are blistered. You’re feeling pretty miserable,” he says. “But as soon as you get back to the hotel and you have that shower, it’s like any experience. You had some bad moments, but you popped out the other end. And you just want to do it again.”

Tying MCK and Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (which translates to “The Loving the Nation’s Children Foundation”) together was strategic. MCK is still small, while YCAB is a high-profile yayasan (or foundation), with trustworthy credentials and connections that can help to coordinate Thompson’s run, preparing camera crews and roadshows. So far, Thompson has raised Rp 400 million, 40 percent of his overall goal.

On top of that, Thompson also put an application in with the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest run between Bali and Jakarta.

Normally, Thompson trains on the weekends in the hills of Sentul near Bogor, where the air is fresh and clean. But the other day he decided to run back from Sentul to his home in Menteng, and he wasn’t on the toll road. He was on Jalan Bogor Raya, going through Depok and Mampang at 2 p.m.

“It’s all the dirt and grime. You’re dealing with the hydration issue, but your clothes are saturated, and the grime kicks up and gets in your clothes. You don’t normally experience that, and it’s going to be interesting. And you don’t want to pick up any infections because that could affect the [Bali to Jakarta] run,” he says.

But how does Thompson, who is an executive director at an energy company, find time to run 20 kilometers a day? “You find the time,” he says. “Sometimes you get up early in the morning. Sometimes I split it, run a bit in the morning and a bit in the evening. I’ve got a 13 to 15 K circuit that takes me up and around the back of Monas. Then I come home and do 7 K on the treadmill. But my social life has been seriously curtailed and I’m in bed by 9 p.m. whenever possible.”

The clock is ticking. With March 8 just eight weeks away, Thompson is putting his nose to the grindstone.

“Hopefully the body will hold together. I’m planning to do a weekend, three weeks or a month before I start, where I’ll try and get three days of doing 50 [kilometers] and then that will be it.” He’s currently doing more than 140 kilometers a week. After the run, Thompson will relax and have his fair share of brunches and Bintangs.

“I’m not an athlete,” he says. “I’m just a guy. But I’m determined to do it, and the mind is a powerful thing.”

For more information about Scott Thompson’s Running Bali to Jakarta charity run, go to www.runningbalitojakarta.com