So you want to run a thousand miles across Iran. Where do you start?  You train.  But training can be a bit difficult when you're training in Tehran, which is a smog broth of a city, and you have a theocratic bureaucracy standing in between you and your cross country quest.

Challenge one in Tyler's trip across Iran is getting the approval to do so.  That means a massively extended visa and a tour guide who's willing to keep an eye on him for over a month.  You see, when you're foreigner in Iran, particularly a tall, big-haired foreigner wearing wacky clothing, they want to keep an eye on you.

So the first couple days have been spent haggling with tourism officials, eating cow eyeballs with his crew, and techno dancing to keep in shape at night.  Tyler informs me that injecting anything remotely sexual into your dance moves can earn you a flogging--anywhere from 40 to 80 lashes depending on the degree to which you bust a move.

He's very excited to be there, and, of course, people are very warm to him. The goal of this trip is learn about this member of "The Axis of Evil" by running from South to North.  But will Tyler get his permits?  Or will his project have to be renamed I Technoed Iran?  

More news next week...

Super duper I Ran Iran junkies can catch up on Tyler's travels as told by his old friend, translator, and travel partner, Bobak, on this blog.

If you have any news or comments for Tyler, leave a comment below and I'll pass it on to him when we talk on the phone.