Nicole Roetheli - Nicoles Diary: Running the World...Losing Our Marbles

Nicoles Diary

Running the World Losing Our Marbles

Nicole Roetheli
with Serge Roetheli

Nicoles Diary 2013 by Serge and Nicole Roetheli.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.

First published as La Terre en perdre la boule 2005 by Editions La Sarine, Fribourg,
Switzerland. Text by Nicole Roetheli. Adapted by Jean-Bernard Repond. Concept and realization
by Saint-Paul SA, Fribourg, Suisse. English translation 2007 by Agnes Roetheli
Gaertner and Josiane Karlsson.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee by Dunham Books in cooperation with The Roetheli
Lil Red Foundation, North Kansas City, Missouri. For information regarding sales,
marketing or licensing, contact the publisher:

Dunham Books

63 Music Square East

Nashville, Tennessee 37203

www.dunhamgroupinc.com

Book design by River House Media Inc. and Price & Associates.

Translators Note: All information in parentheses is part of the original text. Brackets
have been used for metric conversions and other clarifications that have been added
by the translators. All monetary exchange rates are base on 2005 rates, the original French
publication date. The translators made every effort to retain the beautiful imagery of
the original manuscript.

For other books about Serge and Nicoles adventures around the world, please see their
memoir, The 25,000 Mile Love Story (Dunham Books, 2013) and a coffee-table book of
their journeys, Keep on Running (Dunham Books, 2013). A documentary film, The 25,000
Mile Love Story, will also be released in 2013.

Trade Paperback Edition ISBN: 978-0-9851359-9-7
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9855328-1-9

Printed in the United States of America

You are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, accompanying Serge and Nicole Roetheli on their epic run around the world, traversing six continents over the span of 63 months. The first leg of their journey across France with its familiar customs and language seems like a warm-up exercise compared to their later forays into countries (and continents) with vast cultural differences, languages bearing no similarity to their own, weather conditions beyond the scope of human endurance, and trials and tribulations as well as joys and discoveries beyond the imagination.

All of this became apparent, not as I and other distant American relatives awaited their crossing of the finish line at Saillon, Switzerland on May 7, 2005, but rather months later when Josiane and I undertook an adventure of our ownthe translation of Nicoles diary. We often discussed the conditions under which they pursued their dream and by the end of their trek through Morocco (just over three months on the road), we were certain that we would have been heading home even though we consider ourselves rather adventuresome. So what motivated this Swiss couple to give up the security of their homeland and the fellowship of their loved ones to run 25,422 milesroughly the circumference of the worldthrough some of the poorest, most disease-infested, war-riddled countries of the world and across the most arid deserts and humid jungles of this planet?

As we were translating, we marveled at the amount and detail of world culture and geography they experienced at the rate of 7.4 miles per hour. What would it have been like to be in their shoes, to be virtually alone and only have each other to rely upon for over five years? After traveling on foot for over a thousand days, how do you motivate yourself to run another 25-30 miles on a seemingly endless trail? How do you even find a doctor, and then communicate effectively, in the middle of nowhere when struck by a life-threatening disease? Or, for that matter, how do you find adequate nourishment and water in the middle of the desert when you need 5,000 calories a day to sustain yourself on marathon runs? How do you survive civil unrest and coming face-to-face with wild animals? How do you handle the loss of financial support from the foundation you were working through and then still forge ahead in order to achieve your aim of raising the awareness of the plight of children in third world countries?

These and many other issues are addressed in Nicoles Diary, a chronicle of Nicoles impressions, her joys, her sadness on a tremendously fascinating, enterprising, and adventurous trek around the world. Enjoy the awesome imagery as well as the great adventure as you read and understand what this couple endured on this 63-month trek through thirty-five countries, wearing out [can you guess how many?] pairs of shoes, and drinking [can you guess how much?] of Serges specially selected drink!

As translators, we devoted ourselves to maintaining both the message and its spirit as conveyed in the original French version by Nicole Roetheli, entitled Running the World Losing Our Marbles. It was indeed a challenge (but also great fun) to preserve the vivid imagery and poetic language that Nicole utilized in her diary. Enjoy!

~ Agnes Roetheli Gaertner and Josiane Karlsson

Two years after having crossed the finish line of an unbelievable American Challenge at Fairbanks, after having traveled more than 24,000 kilometers [14,880 miles] between Tierra del Fuego and Alaska, Serge and Nicole returned on February 13, 2000, to the roads of the world, he running, and she at the handlebars of her motorcycle. Five years, two months, and twenty-five days later, they arrived at Saillon (Valais, Switzerland), welcomed by many, many friends, journalists, and strangers. On their odometer: 40,912 kilometers [25,422 miles]!

You may wonder, what is it that can possibly motivate a human being to run the world? Glory? Money? The allure of performance? Serges speech leaves no doubt whatsoever: Fundamentally, in all that I have undertaken these past ten years with Nicole, one type of motivation stronger than all the others guided our decisions. It is called freedom, emotion, and feelings. These values, which I have cherished since my youth, and which permeate all my actions, inspire me to surpass my previous expectations. The roads of the world allowed me to make the most of the very strong energy potential that I possess. And along the way, I had the good fortune of crossing paths with Nicole. We found ourselves having identical huge aspirations at the same moment. Thus, we were able to forge an authentic human adventure as a couple.

Serge belongs to that exceptional group of people who pursue their dreams to their very end. As a Swiss boxing champion numerous times and as a mountain guide, for more than thirty years he has been exploring worlds that leave scarcely any place for the faint of heart. Strong in mind, strong in body, he is, nonetheless, a vulnerable person who suffers the grief of others. He can testify to these misfortunes from thousands of encounters, including those Nicole experienced, which stand as markers on their journey, during more than six years on foot, in more than sixty lands, over six continents.