Good Morning!  The Long March is done!  73KM…17+ hours…I got in at 1:30am.  Competitors have been coming in throughout the night…as each approaches  the camp the drum starts to beat to bring them on in…some are still coming in now trying to beat the 28 hour cut off time.
 
The mood in camp is great…glad that it is over.  It was a tough day, but other than a few lapses…between KM43 and KM53…and a bit of the last stage…I felt pretty good.  The last 20KM I did in the dark.  While for the first 53KM I was pretty much on my own, for the last 20 I thought it best to hook up with someone to push through.  We kept a pretty good walking pace covering the last 20KM in about 4 hours.  The last 20KM included climbing another sand dune in the dark…running down a dry river bed with a few water falls in it…and passing through mine fields left over from a war between Chile and Argentina.
 
The highlight of the day was climbing a 300 meter sand dune.  As I approached the dune it did not occur to me I had to climb it…from a distance a could see some specks on the dune and not until I got closer did I realize these were competitors working their way up the dune.  Once up you find yourself on a plateau about 1.5KM wide.  The view in all directions was incredible…at one point this plateau was the bottom of the ocean as there were pieces of seashells and fist sized petrified barnacles all around.
 
I finished…not the results I was expecting…but now if I return it is because I want to, not because I have to.   I was hoping to come in under 40 hours…I have not seen the results but I know I am not even close.  The race is not won on day 1…but it can be lost.  After Day 1 I actually did have an evil thought…that I would not make it.  I was no longer thinking of 40 hours…I just had to get to the finish line.   What I was thinking when I took off from the start line…at 3500 meters…10000+ feet… expecting to run just like at home…I have no idea...just my nature I guess.  I was able to keep it up for the first 20KM…but the altitude and terrain took its toll and I never really recovered.  I do feel good today…maybe if the race was a bit longer I could do better!
 
The last competitor has just rolled in…a 61 year Japanese women…27 hours…the entire camp has come out to cheer her on as she enters camp.  A lot of hurt people who struggled through a lot of pain to get here today.  It is a bit emotional…and inspirational to see what many of the others have gone through.
 
Today we will all be in camp recuperating, taking care of wounds.  I have a few new blisters…some I can feel them under the tape.  Doctor suggested I just leave the tape on for another day as it held up pretty well through yesterday, so I will be popping all the new ones through the tape. I have a few layers of skin missing from one calf when a piece of salt caught me…looks a bit strange…almost sun dried.  Other than that all in one piece…a bit sun burnt.  Only 16KM to go.
 
Looking forward to getting home and steak, salad and wine!
 
Reka, Kira, Maxine…Love you and see you soon!

Got in...over 10 hours..13.5KM sand...14.5KM salt flats...tough day...long day.  Everyone is limping...walking funny.
 
Everything good...feet are a bit beat up.  Right foot...blister on the ball ofthe foot.  Left foot...whole ball of my foot is a blister...blister on my third toe...and a blister on the front of my forth toe at the toe nail...fortunately did not have to drill my toe nail.
 
Tomorrow is the long day...73KM.  I plan on going straight through...but will figure it out along the way.
 
Sorry for the short note...I planned on writting more but I need to eat...and it is old.
 
Love you all...and yes i am getting the notes...thank you!

Another incredible morning...a silohette of the Andes during the sunrise.  At one point today I could count uptp 5 snow capped volcanoes...right in front of our camp is the Volcano Licancabur which is about 6000 meters...19000 feet.
 
Today we ran the "saleras"...salt flats.  The salt was at first crusty and every step you took your foot just sank...in other places the salt was sharp as razor and did not break at all...I found a piece of someones shoe.  Of the 40+ KM we ran today 35 was in sand or salt...overall a tough and very hot day!
 
I felt pretty good the first 30KM...but the last 11 were through sand and rocks with several climbs up sand dunes.  As a teaser you could actually see the camp from about 4KM out...but as you plunged up and down the dunes it never seemed to get closer.  The terrain is varied and incredible...the last 1KM of the run took us through a beautiful oasis with creek...unfortunately it is 1KM back down a sand dune...so no swimming today'
 
Today is the first day which I arrived to the camp feeling fairly good.  I do have some nasty blisters in the wrong places...so need to figure those out in the morning.
 
Thinking one day at a time...one stage at a time...I have been humbled by the Atacama.

Another tough day...less tough then yesterday...but still tough.  The terrain has been difficult to run on with a lot of sand and rocks ranging from a fist to a football.  Started today with a 10KM ron through a canyon and along a river...crossed the river at least a dozen times...at some points we had to run down the river for stretches of upto 50 meters.  The river is run off from the Anes so it was cold...on the longer stretches through the water your feet would start to go numb...maybe not a bad thing as it helped with any pains.
 
After that we had a long run up and onto a ridge for another 10KM...but the highlight was a run down a sand dune of about 300 meters...straight down as fast as you can go...had to be careful though not to wipe out and roll down the whole way.
 
Did everything you said Anya...lots of sunscreen...eating and drinking.  I have a couple of small blisters starting...so need to tape up tomorrow.
 
Tomorrow is another long day through the salt flats...which has a crust which you break through as you run.  Need to get through tomorrow...it has been tough going.
 
Love you guys!

Let me start with last night...with 120 people chatting, eating and drinking it was like any other Saturday night party...except this group talks about hydration systems, electrolytes and freeze dried meals!  I was rolled up in  my sleeping bag by 20:30...but it got close to single digits last night...and between the cold and the altitude I did not sleep much
 
I woke up the first time for a trip to the bathroom at what I thought was 4am...I thought great as I got some sleep...I woke up for another outside only to discover it was now 1:15am...it took me a whileto figure that what i read as 4am on my glow in the dark watch was actually 12:20am...the rest of the night was not much better.
 
By 5:30am I was up with a dozen others standing around a bonfire trying to warm up.  it was quite an incredible morning...as the sky started to light up you could only see the edges ofthe canyon and all was pitch black...at the same time there were several musicians which started to play traditional "incan" music...it was a great way to start the day.
 
race started at 8am...all i can say is all of the runs UP the Feldberg did not prepare me a DOWNHILL run at over 3300 meters...10000 feet!  Yes...in true form I took off...as I covered the first KM it felt like someone was squeezing my lungs in their fist...the air was thin and I have no idea where the oxygen went.
 
Today was tough...I clocked a decent time covering the first 20km in about 3 hours...but from checkpoint 2 at KM20 to checkpoint 3 at KM30...it was about 8km straight up...it may be the hardest run I have ever done.  By the time i got to camp after 6 hours I was a wreck...to be honest I was wondering if I was going to make it.  To make matters worse I missed a turn off which was all downhill...once I figured it out at had 500 meters back up.
 
I made it...am hydrating and eating as much as I can...and all evil thoughts are gone...looking forwrd to tomorrow.  There will be a large section tomorrow which takes us through a riverwhich we will cross several times..followed with crossing of some sand dunes...total of 41km.
 
Reka...missing your power-walk...it would have helped me today.  Kira and Maxine...you are in my heart and in my mind...and today that is the only way I got through...thinking of you!

We left San Pedro by bus today for the first night's camp and the startline.  The camp is at 3263 meters...10670 feet..and tucked in a steep canyon  Not sure what the temperature is but it is cold!  The camp is made up of about a  dozen tents around a large fire...and 120 competitors together for the first time.  I have run into quite a few people who were in the Gobi March in 2009 which has been great...plenty of conversation and comparisons around bag weight, food, equipment changes.
 
Earlier in the day we had the registration and equipment checks...my bag came in at 7.5 kg...which I am happy with.
 
The race will start tomorrow at 8am and we will cover about 35km...climbing another 250 meters...but thankfully end 900 meters lower in altitude in Camp 2.  The air is thick...just walking around feels like a major workout.
 
I am going to put all my clothing on and climb into my sleeping bag!
 
Fitz

Up early today...I am definitely feeling the altitude...erratic sleep and woke up with a headache.  But I did what the locals do...I bought a bag of coca leaves...all legal!...and have been sipping coca tea...not sure if it helps...but the headache is gone.  I later found out the hotel serves coca tea also...in Lipton tea bags...so much for being adventurous!

I spent yesterday checking out San Pedro...great little town.  The town attracts all types...there are boutique hotels charging 400-500 USD a night...and next door camp sites charging 4-5 bucks a night...makes for an eclectic and interesting mix of people.  I managed to find a pizzeria with a decent pizza...so I am getting my fill of pizza, chicken Pil Pil and Cristal...the local lager.  I believe in maintaining training routines...so beer and Chilean wine are still part of the diet until the night before the race.

Gonzalo, Nickie, DD and Gaby arrived yesterday....Mom and Pop were already here.  In the afternoon we went to El Valle de La Luna...Valley of the Moon...in Pop's Double cabin, V8, 4WD Dodge Ram...this thing is massive.  We caught the sunset which was an eruption of color with different hues of orange and red just popping out of the mountains.  As the name indicates...the valley looks like a moonscape...NASA apparently uses it for training and equipment testing.

Today I will spend getting my pack, equipment and food ready.  Food will be portioned and repacked to save weight...I have even started cutting excess edges and corners off of packing to save a few extra grams.  I guess I could have skipped a few pizzas and beers along the way and shed more weight then I will actually be carrying...to late to worry about that!

There are a few more competitors around today...about 120 total...so the excitment and buzz is building! 

Kira and Maxine...got your messages...wish you were hear...you would love it!