Right, almost completely lost it for the first time this week when the hotel said it had "run out of chips!". So not cool, anyway, having now eaten 6 slices of pizza, a chicken and cheese sandwich, a plate of fried potatoes (i made them slice them as a compromise), a load of soft drinks and a 45mins shower, I feel human again. Beautiful...

So yesterday was a pretty chilled day at camp, all cheering the last competitors in after up to 27hrs out there completing stage 5, then eating lots, sleeping and fixing legs/feet.  Most people were moving pretty uncomfortably round camp and there was a lot of comparison of worst infected blisters etc.

So today was a soft 9.4km into the finish line in the centre of San Pedro de Atacama.  Given how close I was to a number of competitors in terms of overall time, I decided I was going to race.  The start today was staggered with the slowest 30 starting at 9am, the middle 30 at 10.30 and the fastest 30 at 11am, the aim being for everyone to arrive at the end at roughly the same time. In terms of rankings, the three guys in front of me, Chileans, and the one behind, a Chilean, remarkably all set off in the 10.30 start at a sprint, Christ!!  I thought i was going to have to run most of it, but was not quite expecting this.  So I gave chase and tucked in at no 5 behind 4 Chileans.  Terrain was relatively flat with a few short scrambles over rocks / uphills.  They just went on and on and by half way through thought i was going to pass out.  Slowly however, one by one, the back of the Chilean pack tired and I over took them.  After about 6km, it was me and two of them.  One turned and thumbed up and said "Very good, England".  He then dropped off and the remaining one and me started breaking a long way ahead of the field.  As we hit the roads into San Pedro, the roads were shady (this helps me, I m English) and the crowds started cheering it all became worth it. This might be one of my fastest 10ks run in desert sand and heat, but who cares, it felt glorious, well, over those last 10 yards and over the line it did.  Fantastic, very happy.  I congratulated the Chileans at the line and we marvelled at our aggressive finish.

Food was so sweet and shower stunning.  Now its time to eat and drink and party and let this incredible adventure sink in.  Still hasnt yet.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me for Epilepsy Research, it means a lot to me that you have done so and its a great cause.  In terms of those who e mailed / blogged me out here, I remember many of your messages very clearly and they helped a lot. You re v kind.

I will post a longer blog on reflections on my kit and how it worked out for future competitors in the next week or so.

For now, that is the end of George s Atacama Crossing 2011, it always promised to be an incredible challenge and it really was quite something! Words wont really ever do justice to the pain, self discovery and achievement. Over and out. 

Did that 9.4km in about 50mins!

So we awoke yesterday morning all feeling a little trepidation to say the least as we headed out for 72km in the desert.  It started with a very long first stage (15km), which given where camp was after day 4, will not surprise you to hear was straight back across the salt falts.  These were generally slight easier, but included some section which were much tougher than day4, balancing a razor sharp salt crust.  Not aided by the fact that if you lost concentration on placed a foot wrong, it would have been incredibly easy to turn an ankle and frankly impossible to rescue!!  The only way out being back or forward over the same surface.
 
Got to CP1 at 10.30, so slow but not too bad given terrain.  Slow jogged to CP2 which was over scrub desert and then down a track.  Towards end of this left shin started hurting, so to try and offset any risk of shin splints got this bound at CP2.  Small matter of 49km still to go, so seemed a good precaution.  Did most of stage 2 into CP2 with the Guatemalan team, the `hombres de maiz`, nice guys.
 
After CP2, with heat rapidly increasing, I tried to get my head down and had set myself the target of getting to CP3 by 3pm for `lunch` of marmite cashew nuts (which i wrongly refered to previously as peanuts).  Got there at 2.30 after a sweltering section, so was feeling positive and ate my 100g of nuts while chilling with a dog that had run to that point and then decided it needed to rest - not sure the doc had officially stopped it for dehydration but you never know!  Headed out with a couple of other guys from that check point and soon started leading them, which makes life tougher as you have to navigate (i.e. spotting the little pink flags that mark the course every 200m), which can get quite testing when it is very bright.  Anyway get up a good march over this section.  The final few km involved a 300m sand dune up to a ridge, the view from the top of which was the most breathtaking I`ve seen so far.  Terracota cliffs down to shimmering yellow desert and the snow capped Andes in the distance and not a sign of civilisation and its you and maybe the next three guys hot on your heels. Breathtaking.
 
Went along the ridge in a moon like landscape, which was pretty special, and then down a dune on the other side. CP4, nuts, about 4.30 and the sun was starting to drop, yeah!  Having done about 40km, I felt in reasonable shape and from here on in it was meant to be `flat`, although RTP `flat` means you might still get hills, but not mountains!  Next bit was lovely and kept a cracking pace for first 5km down a dry river bed, then started to hit the wall a bit in realisation of the fact I had been out there now constantly on the rapid move for c.9hrs with minimal stops.  And in those temperatures...  And, half the time, having to watch every footstep given the terrain.  I had focused on CP5 all day as dinner as they had hot water there.  So stopped and tucked into half a freeze dried chicken tikka masala (400cal) - was not as good as I hoped (For reference the beef and potato hotpot is my favourite Expedition Food meal).
 
Then headed out into this huge bowl with the Andes in front of me, with snow caps slowly turning pink, and the sunset behind me.  Another mind-blowing setting, running alone in a massive bowl, probably 10km wide with no signs of human touch apart from one small road.  I got a bit of shock when a guy ran up behind me in the dusk, but then realised he was the course marker our placing glow sticks by each of the flags to aid night navigation.  Also, was about to pop off trail to go to loo and suddenly saw there was barbed wire round a minefield.  Now running by torch light, got to CP6 (63km) at about 8.45 and felt pretty broken now.  My confidence heading out of CP4 at 40km had now dissipated and despite the chicken tikka, constant flow of Perpetuem and the nuts, energy was just sooooo low.  9.4km to go with an initial `small` hill.  Winding up the hill, following the glow sticks, with just moonlight and incredible stars above was special despite the exhaustion.  Finally got to the top of the hill after 4 or so km and then there was a lovely down stretch through a gulley with rock cliffs either side and sand / rock on the floor.  Energy seriously flagging. Staggered on down and every now and then stopped to reflect on how special it was to be alone in this valley at night, me the stars, the moon and the desert and I had almost completed the Atacama Crossing, wow!
 
A short final 2kms took me into camp and generally felt exhausted, frozen and very stiff. My objective, given this was a distance way beyond anything i had covered before in normal conditions yet alone here, was to get home the same day so I could get a good nights sleep and wake up for the rest day at camp. I had got home in the same day (fantastic) at 11pm, having started at 8am, and came in about 43rd (not bad at all i thought) - a couple of people overtook me in a sprint finish! Its now 11am the following morning and the back of the field is coming in now after 27hrs on the move!!
 
Got into the tent and tried to focus on what i had to do: inflate sleeping pad, legs up, drink Recoverite, heat rest of chicken tikka (if i could get up again!) and take contact lenses out. Slept fitfully, but feel ok this morning.  My feet is surprisingly ok, given most people are sitting round camp today comparing infected feet etc.  My only bad wound is a very nasty bit of sunburn on my left ankle where my running tights rode up.
 
So today we are sitting round camp, blogging (hence length of this), eating (remains of nasty race food) and dreaming of showers, pizza, steak, beer etc tomorrow!  Its quite nice as most of the other days everyone has been focussed on the race when they get to camp (i.e. sorting food and bodies).  Race is largely over now as tomorrow is only c.10km into town for the big finish, so hard for anyone to really change their overall times.  That said I am currently 50 out of remaining 88 (111 started) and, as confidence has grown, wanted to aim for the 40s.  Not that I`m competitive, but there are three Chileans a minute or two ahead of me!
 
Anyway, I still can`t quite believed I have raced this far across the desert at such altitude and in such heat and over such terrain (this is what really makes Atacama so hard)!  I now understand why most of the guys here rate this as tougher than the Marathon des Sables, the supposed `toughest footrace on the planet` and is viewed as the hardest of the RTP `4 Deserts` events.  Anyway feel pretty proud of myself as a beginner coming home in a reasonable time and can`t wait to get to the finish tomorrow and shower / eat / party.

Woke up today feeling ok. Started out run / walking with trekking poles.  First leg to CP1 was about 10k.  Initially sand dunes with the sun coming up behind - beautiful.  It was mostly over rock and shale.  Then we came down a 50m cliff which was quite hairy as small path down was covered in loose sand.  Took a big slide, but survived ok.  Then down though a beautiful river valley, very lush and green with a little stream. Brief stop at CP1, then straight onto leg 2, which i was hoping would be easy as was marked as flat sand.  Was 14km which is long and was heating up as I left there at 10am.  Long slog across sand and then through the forest, which was not a forest, just a few sparse trees with no shade! There go my dreams of English countryside!
 
After CP2, it was time to face up to the hardest stage of the race, the infamous salt flats.  Circa 14km of them, ouch!  They were pretty painful, but ate my whole bag of macademias and banged on ipod with 'rage against the machine' and charged across them in great time.  It took 3hrs, but that's good.  Felt pretty parched by the time I arrived to CP3.  Then had a race against Team Guatemala into the finish over a lovely 6km if track with potholes (as good as it gets round here!).  Came in about 40th and kept it together well today, which was great after yesterday's ups and downs.
 
So back in one piece, knee is very tender, but used my trekking poles for running / walking today to relieve pressure on the thigh / knee.  This also reduced twisting in the flats.  Have just been to med tent to get more anti-inflammatory cream to sooth, works a dream.  Might get it strapped tomorrow if it deteriorates.  More ibuprofen at bedtime me thinks.  Also got my first couple of blisters, amazed I survived this long!  Hands look pretty red out in the desert, but not look just 'George styly' tanned back in camp.  Think the factor 50 plastered all white did the job today!
 
Tonight camp is next to another salt lake, very beautiful with snow capped Andes just behind. Quite windy though, with mini tornados gusting through.  One just took off the tarpaulin of the cyber-tent!
 
I'm glad I finally got into eating nuts while running today.  Have a 200g pack of peanuts to get through tomorrow which should help.
 
Thanks for all the comments and e-mails, they keep the mind entertained out there.
 
Tomorrow is not worth thinking about, going to be pretty tough; a mere 70km after 160km should be manageable I hope.  Not sure if the cyber-tent will be open when i get to camp, so might be Friday before I can blog again.  Think of me...

Given some of your obsession with desert lavatorial practices, I thought I would update you on a trip out of my tent last night (although keeping it clean).  Went out at about 1am and there was the most beautiful starry sky.  Ended up standing out there for 15mins admiring, especially as was slightly warmer.  Really is something unbelievable and you can understand why the EU has its main observatory down here (guess what, I ran past it today!).
 
So, set off this morning with two sore achilles, but pain that could be dealt with!  Shoulder pain from the previous day had largely gone, possibly due to eating so much last night and hence having a lighter pack.  The first 4km were our introduction to salt, crusty salt this time.  On crusty salt even the lead pack could only walk.   It is essentially a bit like running on a dry hard ploughed field where the sharp crust crumbles on impact so you sink in 2inches - lethal.  The infamous salt flats are still to come, first tomorrow on stage 4 and then at the start of the long day (day 5, Thursday outside the desert). 
 
After 4km of flats we hit a nice track to CP1 and then onto CP2. Managed to do these two legs (20km) in 3hrs as planned, so was riding high.  Then shortly after CP2, we came back onto crusty salt and I twisted me knee, so now have a muscle strain down inside of my right knee.  Resulted in a grim 10km stagger over this crusty salt to CP3, took 2.5hrs and was v emotional / expletive rich.  Got patched up at CP3 and took a 15min rest and was relatively pain free from that point.  Stage 4 was a sweltering walk across the desert followed by 4km of rolling sand dunes to finish.  There was also a 300m charge up a sand dune to finish.  Also saw an oasis today which was incredible - came out of nowhere and was so lush compared to general landscape.
 
Hoping the injury holds up tomorrow.  Going to use a water bottle as a roller tonight to try and sort it.  Also, apparently everyone else is popping loads of ibuprofen and I have been drug free until now!  Going to enjoy a couple of those tonight.  A large amount of people are now carrying injuries, from blisters to muscle tears to being on IV drips etc.  Makes you very focused on keeping it together out there and being brutally organised about water, calories and electrolytes, however horrific it gets (and it does).
 
Every day seems to get harder, and tomorrow does include salt flats, however it does include a run through a forest apparently, v exciting, will be like training runs in the English countryside!  You quickly learn to mistrust course notes though, so am steeling myself for yet another v tough day.
 
One more stage before the real biggy.  Then a day’s rest and (hopefully) a short skip into town for a nice shower and a very cold beer. This time tomorrow camp will be very quiet I imagine ahead of the following day’s challenge!
 
G
 
PS. Thanks for all the comments on my kit, I did, obviously, select it to look as good as possible in the desert! And I will try and wrap a sock round my wrist to protect me from the sun.
 
PPS. The plumber is Permanex, invoice from last time is somewhere in top drawer beneath kettle!

At the end of day 1, worked out there was a small stream 200yds from camp and went and sat in it for 30mins – magic!  Slept for 9hrs and didn’t wake up too much.
 
Felt pretty good this morning and ran out from camp.  First few kms were tough running over shingle type stones.  Then we dropped into a slot canyon and ran next 8kms or so to CP1 down the canyon.  Kept criss-crossing the river in the canyon, which was tough given depth and current.  Almost lost my balance once or twice, but got through it in once piece.  Icy water was very soothing, although wet foot issues were clearly front of mind. Thanks all for the advice on socks, but didn’t change as they seemed to dry quickly.  I ran much of this section with the Chilean and Guatemalan team, who were both very vocal in yelling their war cries in the canyons!
 
After CP1, route headed up a ridge, which was horrible.  This was really tough and my pack was really getting me down.  It weighed in at 11.5kg dry day 1, so add a couple of litres of water (1 kg each) and take off a kg or two of food and that’s a lot of weight.  Had to crack into the Kendal on stage 2 to cheer me up.  The ridge was spectacular with sheer drops either side and panoramic views for miles and miles.  After an hour on the ridge, we came down a 400m sand dune.  Great fun although was slightly worried about rolling over forward and just going the whole way down!
 
After CP2 which I hit at midday, it was really heating up and therefore was not able to do much running.  So knuckled down to a mere 20km march in temperatures in high 80s.  Not a cloud anywhere and section 3 and 4 were across a flat plain where you could not see camp and therefore assumed it must be 10s of km away.  The first two stages were frustrating as very hard to run and by the time I got to stage 3, the heat was getting intense.  It was a long afternoon but still finished in 52 today and got in at 4pm so have had time to rest, sort feet, put my leg’s up (Oli) and not have a beer at the camp bar (Will!).
 
Camp 2 tonight is by a beautiful salt lake with flamingos.  Camp at lower altitude means it should be warmer overnight.  Have attacked my bag tonight and eaten two main meals to reduce the weight and try and protect my shoulders.  So day done, body stiff and aching but no major damage yet.  Sunburnt on my left hand as I have no real way of covering it.  Overall there have been about 15 withdrawals (medical or otherwise) so far.  And there are still people coming in now at 8pm!!!
 
Thanks again for all the comments and advice. Keep them coming…

Last night was pretty cold and having gone to bed at about 9pm, finally got to sleep at about 1am.  Tents are pretty cosy and all you need is one snorer and even the best ear plugs struggle!  Luckily my kit is working pretty well versus the cold.  Got up at 5.30 this morning to start getting food down and pack up kit.  Sunrise was stunning as light came into the valley over the terracota cliffs.  Breakfast was accompanied by a Chilean band who played some local tunes to get us in the mood.  The race started at 8am.
 
My strategy for day 1 was vaguely (altitude allowing) to run the majority of the first 10k while the sun was low. Having set off and feeling pretty good, I managed to do this.  Running through some nice shady canyons, this seemed too good to be true.  Reached CP1, feeling ok.  The next stage also went well, following some nice dried river gullies down hill, but after CP2 (20km), it started getting much tougher. By now it was 11am and the sun was really heating up. I dropped to more of march 15mins, run 10mins sort of pattern.  This seemed to work, although after crossing a vast rocky plain with no breeze and absolutely no shade for c. 45mins, there was a 1hr slog uphill through slot canyons, urgh!  CP3 was at the top of this, celebrated with some Kendal Mint Cake!! That was pretty gruelling.
 
There was then a final 3.5km leg down into Camp 2.  I came in 35 without pushing too hard, although the last couple of hours was tough.  So I think that is an ok result for day1.  No injuries or blisters, just a bit of sunburn, so thats pretty good for now.  Getting in at 13.30 means I can keep out of the sun and rest up ready for tomorrow.  Some of the tail end will be out for a few more hours yet.  I can hear the chefs playing the drums behind me to signal people still coming into camp.
 
So having just woofed down a recovery shake and a bag of nuts, I m going to start on my evening meal soon.
 
Tomorrow morning we have to run 500m down a river in stage 1.  Apparently its icey cold, so should be beautiful for the legs. 
 
Thanks all for the blog comments and e-mails, really appreciated and keep them coming, as this is going to get horribly tough in the next few days.  Great to hear there are some pics of me on the website somewhere.

Today was a day of checks and briefings. Medical checks, kit checks, calorie counts... Anyway, now all done and I seem to have everything I need.  My pack is a bit on the heavy side but, given the amount I eat normally, I felt as a beginner it makes sense to have lots of calories on me.  We have to have a a minimum of 2,000 a day, but I have c.3,000.  I might end up dumping some of this if the weight is too oppressive tomorrow.
 
So after eating a last pizza in town and drinking lots of water, we boarded the bus to head to Camp 1.  San Pedro de Atacama was at 2,400m, but Camp 1 is up at c.3,300m.  I m feeling ok, no headaches or dizziness.  Been for a couple of light jogs and you can definetly feel the altitude.  Going to take it slow tomorrow so as to allow time to adjust. Its also very cold up here. I can see why we have to be prepared to cope with sub zero termperatures! This evening everyone is in good spirits.  We have all been sitting around essentially eating for the last three hours.  Have put away c.2,500 calories this evening so hopefully should be feeling energetic in the morning.
 
Camp 1 is in a beautiful valley surrounded by cliffs which are a mix of grey, terracota and green rock.  Tomorrow we start by running down a river valley from this Camp.  The start is at 8am, so we ll be up pre 6 to start preparing (hydrating, eating, preping feet etc). Then its race time.  Can t wait to get started and getting tomorrow under the belt will be good.

So my journey was not exactly direct and there were times yesterday when I felt as if I was doing an aerial tour of Latin America! So the tour included... Sao Paulo (wet and looked pretty miserable), Buenos Aires (stunning in the morning sunshine), flying over the snow capped Andes, Santiago and then finally Calama.  My major fear was a brutal encounter with Chilean customs and the loss of many of my high calorie / weight foods, but (for me anyway!) that turned out not to be an issue.  The only delayed flight was my final one to Calama and that was only by two hours. From Calama, I took a minibus to San Pedro where I stayed last night and tonight.  The desert looked stunning on the flight in and on the drive down.  Those famous starry skies looked great last night too - looking forward to seeing more of those once camped out in the desert.  So, in summary, arrived in good spirits, my case didn´t get lost and now having just slept for 10 hours I am feeling good.

Today is therefore packing and repacking day as I try and get all my kit down to below 8kg (without water).  Much of this is about stripping wrapping and putting food into freezer bags etc. Food wise I´m going to be taking taking three re-packed Expedition meals per day (breakfast (800cals), main dinner (800cals) and dessert (500cals)) and then a selection of nuts and Clif Shot Bloks for snacks in the day to complement an energy drink mix (Perpeteum).  Nuts essentially have the highest calorie / gram ratio I have been able to find in the last six months and are much tastier than the 10s of energy bars I have tested. Macademia nuts come in at 7.5 calories per gram - how high and how sad to know!!  In addition to this I will also be on a strict regime of electrolytes to keep a constant flow of salts into the body.

In terms of some key pieces of kit, my shoes are Salomon XA 3D Ultras, my sleeping bag is a Western Mountaineering Highlite (485g and goes down to zero degs) and my back pack is an OMM 32L.  Other essentials are iPod shuffle and solar charger, OMM finch down jacket (weights c.200g!) (for the near zero temp evenings) and 2x headtorches (Petzl and Princeton). This reference to kit is more for those looking at doing one of these events, happy to share much more info if so though.

Today, Friday, is a rest day for me (plus re-packing) and then tomorrow we have our official kit checks and registration.  We then head out into the desert to Camp 1 tomorrow at mid afternoon.  That will be our first night in the desert ahead of starting the race at 8am on Sunday morning.  Stage 1 is just over 20 miles.

Anyway, its really exciting to be finally down here and clearly there's a massive challenge to face up to as from Sunday morning.  All in aid of a very good cause though, Epilepsy Research.

Race-wise, hopefully I can stay injury free, keep going to the end and, if all feels good, perform well.

After 6 months of preparation, 24hrs now until departure. What an adventure it is going to be...