As I begin to settle back into reality, the race is starting to feel like it happened sometime in the distant past. Until, that is, I stand up, stretch or attempt to move somewhere or something too quickly and I am then reminded that we only finished a few days ago.

Throughout the race I tried to convey my thoughts and the main detail of what was happening at the time - but, upon reading my previous words it strikes me just how much is not mentioned and how many thoughts, feeling, emotions, comments and occurrences are not included. Needless to say, it is not possible to do justice to these in any summary. However, what I can express is that whilst in the thick of the week, I genuinely believed that it was one of the hardest undertakings that I have ever gotten myself into, there were times when I wanted to quit and times when all I could think of was how much I would prefer to be doing anything else but exposing myself to the ongoing pain and challenge of the event. But, there was another side to this and at the same time I knew, deep down, that stopping was not a "real" option and the simplest and quickest was to get back to comfort was to push through the challenge and, if necessary, take on more, more and more to get to the end. So, in that respect, it was probably the hardest thing that I have ever done but also one of the most gratifying.

Everyone who was there had there own drivers and demons; physical, mental or otherwise. My demons were mostly physical, which are most definitely controllable and also will all disappear over time - so, with that in mind and the ability to look around me and see that there was an entire camp who was treading exactly the same path, it gave the only reason necessary to continue and with that came an enormous amount of respect for all other competitors, whatever their relative abilities or finishing position and, for me, a huge sense of satisfaction, which I hope to be able to enjoy (quietly!) for a long time to come.

During the event I met a great bunch of people, all of whom were open, very interesting, talented in many ways and willing to share their thoughts and experiences, I find this increasingly rare "these days" so it was great to experience this, it is most definitely testament to the quality and calibre of of people at the race and will be something I will remember for a very long time.

I would like to mention a few thanks to people - first and foremost, Tom and Ian, with whom I entered the race and who really enhanced the entire experience with great support, good laughs, advice, inspiration before and during the race as well as a great post-race session of refuelling and rehydrating. Also, anyone who I ran/walked with during the stages, inevitably other competitors become a huge source of motivation, whether it is the enjoyment and distraction of talking with someone, the target of catching someone who is ahead or not letting someone behind you make-up the distance, being spurred on by those around you is an invaluable tool. My thanks to those who know (and those who are completely unaware!) that they were part of my motivation. A special mention should also go to Sean and Sophie, with whom I spent most of the "long march" - I had planned a long day accompanied by my iPod, but due to their company and conversation (England v Australia, Sean - no question!!), I didn’t even take it out of my backpack throughout the 13 hours.

Finally, the Racing the Planet team of organisers and volunteers did a great job to ensure that everything ran smoothly and a good balance of organisation and individual adventure was met - thanks, you did a great job.

Last but not least, a massive thank you to everyone who supported us with either donations (we have now raised more that £7000, over twice our target) or email and blog comments - myself (Tom and Ian as well) were blown away with the level of enthusiasm and support from everyone that contacted us - it made a real difference and undoubtedly helped us through the tough times whilst reminding us that participating the race was a privilege. A massive and sincere thank you to everyone.

So, what next?

Time to remind my precious and very supportive family who I am and switch some of my training to the bike and pool to give my feet a rest.

And as I sit here today, I am not planning for another ultra-footrace in the foreseeable future, but as the aches and pains subside on a daily basis I am content with saying "never say never again"............... 

Chris x

 

 

The final push, 0 miles to go. We finished at about 12:00 today, a staggered start according to ranking so that all competitors finished within 30 minutes of each other - it was a great atmosphere. I have managed a shower, a couple of beers and a big steak. It starting to feel real now and I am starting to feel a little more human. I will post a proper summary and final report in the next couple of days, but right now we have to go to the gala dinner and celebrations. Thanks you to everyone for all of the support, it was a huge help and got me through a few bleak moments. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you! Cheers, Chris

Today is the first and only "rest day", it is officially the second day for the long stage and as I write this the final racer has just come through the finish line, about 10m ahead of the "sweepers", by my calculation this means that they have been on the course for 27hours and 11minutes. I can't imagine what that is like, walking for that amount of time, through the heat of the day and the cold of the night with only a head torch and glow-sticks for direction.
 
Now that I have had a few hours sleep since I returned last night, I feel a little more alive and able to update on progress so far....
 
As you know, yesterday was the "long march", 75km from start to finish, it didnt seem like they went easy on us with the terrain, a couple of the sections were rated as "extremely difficult" and included, foot-punishing salt flats, canyon passes in the heat of the day (my watch was showing 47degrees at one point) and very high sand dunes. I had resigned myself to a slow march through the course, but entered checkpoint 2 with a couple of other competitors  (25 km into the stage) and we pretty much completed the rest of the course together, it was great to have the companionship during the challenging moments and it seemd that we got each other through to the end of the stage at a decent pace. I didnt have to resort the iPod once, which was good as my playlists are starting to get a little tedious.
 
From the ankle up, I'm in reasonable shape (except the hip, but a cocktail of pain-killers is managing this - my new vice!), my feet are now an interesting medical research project. Maybe a couple of weeks of not walking too far are in my future, i should also forewarn anyone that meets me in the next fortnight that my choice of footwear will be driven by comfort and not fashion or appropriateness. Perhaps this is the only acceptable reason to wear slippers outside of the house!
 
So, everybody who started yesterday is now back in camp and it resembles what I imagine a war-zone may look like, most people are hobbling about and moving around at a snails pace, journeys to the toilet area, campfire or medical tent seem more tortuous than anything that has been undertaken in the last 5 days. Goodness only knows what tomorrow will be like.....
 
I am conscious that the race is not over yet and 16km after 234km should not be taken too lightly, so caution prevents me from getting ahead of myself and writing as though this challenge is over, I'll save that for tomorrow, if it is approriate. What I can say is that, by most accounts, this has been a tough course, of the 112 starters, 88 remain in the race and I hope it remains this way.
 
Right, I am now going to lie-down and out my feet up for a few hours.
 
Enjoy your weekend,
 
chris

If we have learnt anything over the last 24 hours, it is probably not to take sporting tips from me. The long stage is finished in 13 hours.
 
It was quite a push and there were lots of highs and lows, topographical as well as mental. Ultimately the driving force was that I didn't want to run anymore so it seemed sensible to get to the finish line as soon as possible - it's very nice to know that my sleeping bag is only a few meters away, the first time this week that it has seemed appealing.
 
I am now very tired and after the usual routine with my feet, I am going to get some sleep.
 
Tom and Ian also arrive back safely and are now sleeping.
 
Will update more tomorrow.
 
Chris

159 km down, 91 to go
 
Would you be surprised if i said today was another tough one. The course was long, hot and whilst not too hilly, was very tricky underfoot. Today was the "infamous salt flats" (I wont be able to do justice to them with words, so I would suggest you Google them - needless to say, they are not recommended to be run on). For me it was a tricky day with a "blow up" in my hip that made me shed a tear or tear or two on the side of the trail and the usual (it's getting boring now, isn't it) blister problems , which have hit new heights today, I wont upset you with the details but they took me worringly seriously in the medical tent this evening.
 
I think today was my slowest day, this is definately a reflection on the heat and terrain. Fatigue is setting in and, generally speaking, most people are now claiming to be "running on empty". Saying that though, i still have enough food left and although I will be very happy to not eat another freeze-dried meal for a very, very long time they are quite welcome at the end of a long day.
 
So, tomorrow is the 75km day/night. It promises to be an interesting experience, definately unchartered terriatory, so I have no idea how everything will hold up. The "run" will definately go into the night, so the headtorches will come out and we will soon discover how easy it is to follow markers that are spaced 10-100m apart in the pitch black (not a lot of light pollution here!). Based on my foot condition (see, there i go again - sorry!), it is unlikely that i will be able to run tomorrow, walking (or marching!) will be my maximum pace, so I expect a long, long haul. 16-18 hours should do it.
 
Anyway, aside from that all else is good. Although, not too much happens here apart from running, eating and sleeping. My backpack is getting lighter as I eat my way through most of the contents and I am very much looking forward to a shower, a beer, clean clothes and a ceremonial burning of my running shoes.
 
See you soon!!
 
chris

117km down, 133 to go.
 
Another brutal day (is there an easy one!) with 45 degrees of heat. Today the course included, salt flats (not at all flat and very difficult to find a secure foothold), some dust road (beautiful, beautiful road!), scrubland (see comments for salt flats) and 10km of sand dunes to end (big, big dunes, 200-300m high - nothing like the seaside). Saying that though, it was quite an enjoyable day, once i had banished the foot pain to the back of my mind it was quite theraputic to count off the miles.
 
There were a few moments of "why?" today, especially during the last 4km - but, as always, the world seems a better place after the shoes come off, a sit down and a drink of water - so, tomorrow is a new day.
 
I'm not sure where I finished today, but it was a better effort than yesterday.
 
Everyone now seems to be feeling the effects of 3 days on the go and there are a lot of people hobbling around the camp, the medical tent seems to be getting busier, I even had to wait for "my usual" seat this afternoon.
 
However, I am now absolutely shattered and looking forward to some food and sleep tonight.
 
Tomorrow, is a 42km day, but it will be easier paced as the following day is the 75km day and I need to save some energy for that.
 
Tme for me to go for another sit down - hope all is well with you and, once again, many thanks for your messages.
 
chris

Today was a tough one – multiple river crossings, hard climbing, more river crossings and long distances between stages.
 
After a good nights sleep, we started the day with a shivering breakfast and packing up the tent. Then, it was time to start again. 10, 9, 8……..go! Running again! Almost immediately the course took us over a small river which we then followed for several KM, crossing and re-crossing. Whilst this was quite refreshing, it is pretty nasty on the feet which get softened up and then pushed around the inside of your shoe, so if you are susceptible to blisters then this is guaranteed to bring them on.
 
After this, the course proceeded up a long and very steep ridge which took almost a couple of hours to climb, following this it was a very quick descent down to the second checkpoint. The second half of the race was just over 20km of open and hot track and the long and never-ending final 4km on a dust road to the camp is probably the longest 4km that I have ever experienced.
 
Saying this, the scenery has been spectacular and the scale of the scenery is quite amazing.
 
Tonight will be a quiet night of eating and sleeping.
 
The general state of the camp is good, all competitors seem to be in good spirits with only a couple of drop-outs, so far.
 
Tom and Ian are doing amazingly well with top 10 finishes. I, on the other hand, am suffering with my feet, which are now blistered in a way that I have never experience before – the medical tent even took pictures for their research, fame at last!! Unfortunately, this is keeping my pace slower than I would like, but moving forward is the objective and this is still happening, so I’m happy with this.
 
Thank you to everyone who has email or commented on the blog – all messages reach us when we return to camp and are greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
Until tomorrow…….
 
Chris

35km down, 215 to go.
 
Today was a good start, the route seemed to be quite tough - although "only" 35km it included a lot of ascending, some descents and a lot of flat running over uneven and rocky ground.
 
The day started at 06:00 as our tent slowly woke up and myself and the other 8 people assigned to tent 4 started to pack up their sleeping bags, prepare breakfast and check their backpacks for the day ahead. It was still dark when everything started and surprisingly cold, so rather than emerge in full race kit, it seemed that everyone was weearing all of ttheir clothes to remain warm for the 2 hours before the start at 08:00.
 
After a breakfast of the usual high-calorie freeze-dried camp meal (they are not starting to taste better, yet!) we listened to the brieifng for the days course and had just eniugh time for a few snapshots before the starting gun.
 
Today was split into 4 sections (3x10/11km and 1x3.5km),  section one was fairly flat and it was good just to get going, section 2 was very undulating at the start and ended with two 3-4km stretches of long and very spectacular open plain, section 3 was hot and uphill for the entire section - walking featured very heavily on this stage, section 4 was a short downhil run into camp.
 
Overall, it was good. I didnt find it too hard physically, but suffered from a few blisters which nag at you with every step - it seems that these will be a feature of the week, unfortunately!!
 
It is good to have day 1 out of the way, from here on the days are plus 40km and the terrain will be more varied with river crossings, more climbing, salt flats (which are not flat, apparently) and more heat. But, so far, so good.
 
Everyone here seems to be in good spirits, very supportive and with ony 110 competitors it is possibe to get to know and speak to most people which is good and as everyone is going through the same challenges and terrain, its helpful to get the different perspectives.
 
Well, tomorrow is another day. the summary of today is:
 
Distance travelled: 35km
Remaining distance: 215km
Temperature: 10-36 degrees c
Current position: 31
Blister count: 4 (all sore!)
Legs dont feel too sore, but tomorrow may be a different story
 
chris

Today is check-in day, which means that all pre-race administration has to be completed before we head out to the first camp this afternoon. The check-in will involve; registration, liability waivers, weigh-in, kit check, medical assesment and after this, departure to the first campsite and a taste of our accomodation and conditions for the next 6 nights.

 

 

But befote I get to this, let me quickly explain our day yesterday. Whilst here, we have all found it quite difficult to sleep, which is an apparent side-effect of altitude, but we have kept to a local time-clock and continued as normal. Those of you who have read any of my previous postings will be able to predict that yesterday commenced with a session of re-packing the backpacks and I am pleaseed to report that I am now sub 10kg – mision accomplised. I am sure that, in no small way, I am endebted to Ryanair and their zero-tolerence policy on cabin baggabe that ensured I had the necessary skills to get my pack below 10kg. Either way, I am happy that it now the right side of this magical (for me anyway!) weight. Following this, we embarked on a short 45minute run, which served to reinforce just how different running is in this climate – the atmospere seems to suck any moisture out of your mouth, your lungs feel like they are operating on 50% capacity and minor inclines feel like insurmountable mountains. The next few days promises to supply some interesting moments…..

 

During the evening we were on a mision to fill oursaelves with as many calories as posible and this necessitated ordering food according to quantity and not preferente, with this objective and our embarrasing lack of Spanish language ensured that we enede with a table full of, almost disrespectful, non-complimentary plates of various food. All good though and following this we rolled back to the hotel for our final sleep in a proper bed before we cross the finísh line in 6 days. The bed was very comfortable, I will miss it terribly!!

 

So, today is check-in day. Lots of admin. And checks, which were all passed, so I am “officially” allowed to start the race. Today was the first opportunity to meet all of the other competitors; 112 in total, 40 nationalities and an age range of 21-62. There realy is a huge diversity of people who have entered this event and it is impossibke not to try and analyse other peoples abilities (and pack weights), this only serves to say more about me that my fellow competitors. Needless to say, it was great to speak to some other competitors and the number of different events and achievemnets that have been undertaken by the collective group is awe-inspiring and humbling at the same time.

 

Soon we will travel to the first camp and I will update this blog alter 35 arid and hilly miles tomorrow. The race booklet predicts that the fastest runners Hill complete this in 3hours 55minutes and the slowest in 14hours, I´ll settle for a single digit time!!

 

Status so far:

 

-         No blisters

-         Legs not aching too much (but they do ache a little!!)

-         Backpack still heavy

 

Hasta mañana,

 

Chris

It is 48 hours after I left home on a typcally cold and grey March afternoon in South East England and I have arrived safe and well in San Pedro de Atacama.

The journey started with the usual concerns of whether I had packed everything that was required for the 2 week trip and, more importantly, all of the essentials for the 6 day desert race. So, whilst still at home I embarked upon the ritual of opening one bag, closing it, opening another bag, closing this one, re-opening the original bag, consulting my list of necessary items etc, etc. Some time later, once this process was complete I was able to snatch a final goodbye to Jonna, Elliot and Leo before making my way out of the door on the first leg of my journey to The Atacama Desert.

I met a friend and fellow competior, Ian, at Heathrow airport and after had we compared and laughed at each other about the relative size and weight of our luggage (unsurprisingly, mine was both larger and heavier) we checked in and were "officially" on our way.

The flight was fine; take-off, landing and the part inbetween were all good and the food was predicatably awful, but will definately be a culinary highlight compared to my planned diet whilst competing in the race.

During the 8 hour transit in Santiago, we met with the third member of our group, Tom, who had travelled "the other way round" from his home in Singapore. So, having not seen Tom for over 6 months we had plenty to catch up on and the time passed very quickly.

We eventually arrived at the final airport of Calama at about 22:30, caught a transfer coach to San Pedro de Atacama amd arrived at the hotel at around midnight, very tired. we were all asleep almost before the bags hit the hotel room floor.

So, today has beem our first real day in Chile and despite our short time here we have learnt a few "truths"

1. The sun always shines, so it s hot, very hot, especially for someone who has been training for the last 5 months in the European winter.

2. Even after decanting all of my food into lightweight zip-lock bags and transfering into smaller pots or discarding any liquids that I hope I will not need, my backpack still weighs 10kg. This is 1-2kg heavier than it should be and will hurt. I will be ruthless tmorrow......

3. Although we are currently high, we will only go higher from this point and therefore must not get lulled into a false sense of comfort.

Whilst here and before the race check-in on Saturday, our plan is to unpack and repack the backpacks (it´s become something of an obsession), acclimitise to the heat and the altitude, eat as much as possible to tip the calorie balance in our favour before we embark upon 6 days of calotie-deficiency and meet other competitors (this appears to be quite easy in this samll town and from what i can see is determined by footwear; flip-flops = backpacker, running shoes = race competitor).

Tomorrow, we will probably take a tour to the Bolivian border, which apart from being spectacular takes us over 3500m and will be good for the acclimitisation.

For the rest of today, we plan a short run to shake the flights out of our system and, hopefully, more food........

keep well,

chris

Wow – it finally feels like a reality. After 6 months of training focused solely on this event, innumerable kilometers and the inevitable “ups and downs” of weather, injuries and the work/life/training balance it is, as my 4 year old son would say, 3 sleeps until I fly and 8 sleeps until the race starts.

For most of the time I have been training, the race has felt somewhat abstract. I have known that I have been working towards a target, I have known what that target is – but the idea that one day I would actually have to travel to the other side of the world, start running and not finish running until I have covered 250km had been parked somewhere outside of my conscious. Well, it’s now firmly in the front of my mind, the “jolt” was when I started to taper down my training and stopped the constant process of increasing my distances/times/exhaustion, at that I time I accepted that all of this training was actually for something and not “just because…..”.

In truth, I am now really looking forward to getting started. 

There have been a few compromises and sacrifices along the way, none that would be worthy of a biography or any special praise, but in our own little way the household has adjusted to my latest challenge and the peculiar traits that came with it. Early starts, late nights, an enormous pile of dirty training gear, “can you put the kids to bed tonight darling, I want to try and push it for an extra hour and would really like to be home before midnight” etc, etc….. as a result of this, I have got a little too used to receiving and feigning immunity to “the look”, so if I achieve nothing else with this blog, I unreservedly thank Jonna for understanding (or, at least, pretending to) and not for the last time will I say “I owe you one!”(xxx). 

Despite making it sound like a penal sentence, I have really enjoyed it. Understanding that everything is relative, I have gotten fitter, faster and stronger which will, no doubt, benefit whatever the next challenge is (actually, I already know, it will Ironman France in June – hello bike training….!). Some of my behavioral habits have changed; TV and newspapers have been replaced with podcasts, reading has been replaced by audiobooks (I am actually rather thrilled to be able to sit down and watch a couple of movies on he plane whilst flying to Chile), I am now better at multitasking and have been known to email and run at the same time, although I have also learnt that this is inadvisable whilst running on trails and almost impossible when using a head torch. 

I can’t claim to have overcome any real adversity, I have always trained in one way or another and (unless something really unexpected happens in Chile) will continue to do so when I return. But, my previously chosen events have lasted a few hours, in the case of runs and triathlons, up to the equivalent of a working day for the longer format events. So, this is a “big one”. A real step into the unknown, I’m pretty sure I understand how my body and mind copes with several hours, but I have no idea how everything will hold up day after day after day after, well you get the idea………it promises to be a real physical and mental pounding. 

I have tried to replicate the conditions by taking on back-to-back runs of progressively longer distances, upping the weight in my pack and simulating race conditions with comparable nutrition (I am usually a big eater, despite being “only” 75kg), but I have to keep reminding myself that I live in south east England, where some parts of  my running routes are below sea level and the temperature has not been above 8 degrees since November.

So, like most people I have frequent moments of concern which occasionally cascade down to self-doubt; have I prepared enough, have I trained “properly”, I know how I will feel after day 1 and day 2 – but day 3,4,5 and 6???. My mindset is now that I have prepared as best I can with the time that was available to me and ability that I have, anything else I probably can’t control and will therefore deal with as it presents itself.

So, thank you to everyone at home for your support and encouragement and for anyone who is on their way to the desert, I look forwrad to meeting you.

Safe travels,

chris