So much for Madagascar

I woke up yesterday morning to see this at the top of my e-mail.

I literally jumped out of bed to read it. I don't know why I couldn't read it in my nice warm bed. But it felt like I needed to be standing up. 

The body of the e-mail read:

It is with much regret that we have decided to cancel the 2013 Madagascar Marathon and Half-Marathon.  We have had many problems in getting Air Madagascar to confirm domestic and international flights. We do not have an alternative plan since they have a monopoly on domestic flights. They have had many, many recent flight cancellations leaving travelers stranded for days around the country due to mechanical problems.

 

It is too risky to send them deposits for flights when it is even a possibility that they would be faced with bankruptcy.

 

We will monitor the situation during the next year to see if this situation changes.

 

We apologize for this disappointment but we simply cannot guarantee a pleasant and stress-free experience for you. We will process refunds in the next couple of days or you can advise us to  apply them to a future trip.

 

Sincerely,

 

Thom Gilligan

marathon Tours & Travel

 

So no Madagascar. I was filled with conflicting emotion. The first was disappointment. This trip looked SOOOOOO cool. 

I mean I was going to get to stay in one of these cool fancy tents

 

And I was going to get to hug a lemur

 

 

 And I was going to get to hang with my friend Quincy who I never see anymore because she moved to Texas.

And I was going to get to check off another continent on my goal to run all 7. 

On the other hand I also felt some relief. 

 

I wasn't going to have to be marathon training for 6 months straight. I wasn't going to have to do a million 20 miles runs by myself in the snow. 

I wasn't going to have to keep fighting with work about taking time off in June right before a go-LIVE when no one was supposed to take time off. 

I could enjoy the Santiago marathon and not worry about saving anything for Madagascar. 

So now I have a dilemma. Do I take this as a sign that one marathon this season is enough? Or do I try to do a different African marathon?