Slow Baja - Jonas Deichmann World-Class Endurance Athlete On His Run From Tijuana To La Paz During His Round-The-World Triathlon

Episode Date: July 25, 2021

Jonas Deichmann is a world-class endurance athlete. He is currently running a Munich to Munich Triathlon that is 120 times the distance of an Ironman Triathlon.  We caught up with him as he had just finished the Baja portion of his adventure. He had run from Tijuana to La Paz, averaging a marathon each day. With the Baja leg of his circumnavigation of the globe complete, we spent a few minutes discussing his adventure and his thoughts on Baja. "Baja is just amazing! I've been in more than 100 counties now; this is one of the best places I've ever been. The landscape of the desert and the beaches between Mulege and Loreto are spectacular! But the best is the people. The hospitality and the happiness of the people -I've never seen that before. Everyone is just so happy!"

Hey, this is Michael Emery. Thanks for tuning into the Slow Baja. This podcast is powered by Tequila Fortaleza, handmade in small batches, and hands down, my favorite tequila. Hey, I want to tell you about your new must-have accessory for your next Baja trip. Benchmark Maps has released a beautiful, beautiful

Baja California Road and Recreation Atlas. It's a 72-page large format book of detailed maps and recreation guides that makes the perfect planning tool for exploring Baja. Pick yours up at Benchmarkmaps.com. So my podcast is Slow Baja, and I talk to people around the world about Baja and about people who are doing interesting things in Baja. And you're doing something very interesting. You just finished Baja, but introduce yourself, tell us where you're from, and why you're doing what you're doing. Hello, I'm Jonas Deichmann from Germany and I'm currently right in the middle of the first triathlon around the world. A distance of 120 times the Iron Man.

So I set off in Munich and Germany in September last year and first cycle to the Mediterranean where I swam for 460 kilometers along the coast and then I cycled across Eastern Europe and I crossed Russia in winter which was a little bit different and Bacher here. until I reached the Pacific coast next to Japan. And now it's the running leg of 120 marathons and 120 days. So I set off in Tijuana 302 days ago and run all the way across the beautiful Baja Peninsula until here La Paz, where I'm now, and catching the ferry in an hour to Masatlan and then continue running across the mainland to Cancun.

From where I would catch a boat across the Atlantic to Portugal and cycle back to Munich, where my adventure began a year ago. Are you crazy? Maybe a bit, but it would be boring if nobody would be crazy. Well, tell me about the Baja portion. Were you prepared for this? Well, it's a very big difference. I mean, two months ago, I was at minus 20 degrees in Siberia, so the desert heat here is much better.

The first few days have been super tough because I mean I have to endurance but I haven't been running for seven months I was swimming and cycling so my legs were super painful but but afterwards I adapted and I I am averaged more than a marathon a day and Bahar is just amazing it's I've been in more than a hundred countries now and this is one of the best places I've ever been to it's the landscape of the desert and then the beaches between Muleche and Loretto but the best is the people the hospitality and the happiness of the people. I've never seen something like that before. Go on and tell me more about that.

That's why I'm here, of course, but tell me more about that. You've been all over the world. You were surprised. Yes, I mean, I was in 100 countries now, and I'm well-received almost everywhere. But here, it's still different. I mean, everyone is just so happy, smiling and waving, and even the cars and the trucks.

I mean, as a cyclist and the runner, usually don't have the best relations. with cars and trucks, but here in Bahá, they will smile and actually respect me, take some bigger distance, give me water and food. It's simply amazing. I got hosted all the time. It's like, it's the first place in the world

where I'm actually have to refuse water I'm offered because my trailer is getting too heavy with all the presents I'm getting from the locals. Just incredible. You know, we can't wait to drive our old Land Cruiser down to Baja, and when we go, we go with Baja. We go with Baja bound insurance. Their website's fast and easy to use.

Baja Baja Bound Insurance, serving Mexico travelers since 1994. Hey, do you have a 4x4? You love off-road racing. You've got to join Slow Baja in the Nora 500. It's Ensenada to Ensenada three great days. October 7th through 10th. Kurt LaDuke Off-Rod Hall of Famer leads the class. If we can do it in our old truck, you can do it.

Get your street legal 4x4, get into the safari class, and I'll see you in Ensenada. More info at nora.com. That's www.w N-O-R-R-A.com or on Slobaha. The road's pretty hard, though. The road is hard. It's narrow. You're running right on the road with traffic.

There's no extra space. Yes, but I mean, until ends up in Tijuana to NARA, there's a highway with a big shoulder. So no issue. Yes. And afterwards, there was only around San Quentin. There was a stretch with heavy traffic, but in this narrow road. Otherwise it wasn't an issue. It was very relatively little traffic.

And I have the feeling that like at least after and another, almost everyone here already knows that I'm running. So people were like super careful and waiting behind me, taking them a loop around. It's like I've never experienced this before, but it seemed really wasn't annoying or dangerous of the traffic at all. Did you enjoy the food here? Did you enjoy the food?

The food. Oh, it's incredible. It's a bit spicy. I was always I sometimes had a Mexican friend with me. It was introducing me to habanero and did all this horrible sources. But apart from that I mean the tacos and enchiladas and burritos is just amazing and it's a good running distance. I mean there was only one day after in the desert of Catavinia where the distance was more than one day without a restaurant Otherwise, there's at least once a day a restaurant, so I'm going there usually for the lunch break to avoid the heat and get some tacos.

And I also now actually have to admit I now always carry a little lime to put on everything on peanuts and potato chips, everything. And I also actually put some of the spicy sauces on my tacos but nothing compared to the locals. Well, you're going local now with a lime for everything. So Jonas, thank you very much for making some

some time for slow Baja, enjoy the rest of your trip. Where can people follow you? Well, on social media, of course, I have an Instagram and Facebook page. It's Jonas Deichmann and my website with a live tracker. It's another three months of Mexico. I hope it will be as beautiful as Baja. At least they're very different with the mountains and then the rainforest in Chiapas. It'll be very different. Yeah, in November I will be back in Germany. Okay. Well, thanks again. Thanks. Slow Baja's wardrobe is provided by Taylor Stitch.

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