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Campbell Taylor

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Atacama Crossing (2007) blog posts from Campbell Taylor

27 August 2007 08:27 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Having busted through to the other side and finished the race I

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Posted On: 29 Aug 2007 05:44 am

That is my son & his wife! Amazing people with a really positive can-do attitude - we need more of you in the world guys!! Max & I have talked many hours into the night about your feat - you have a wonderful world out there and you embrace it. !! Luv you heapz - your Mum & Max

Posted On: 28 Aug 2007 08:41 am

Congratulations!!!!!!!!

20 August 2007 04:41 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Right so its ben manic and unfortunately i haven't been able to blog each night cause
1) TH satellite connection wasnt working and then dfay 1 and 2 we got in after 7pm when the satellite link etc gets shut down.

So this will be quick.

Start - we camped out the night before at the start line. It was windy as and the coldest for a 4 deserts race yet (this includes Gobi) but not Antarctica.

Sleep was really poor but day 1 was sunny so offwe went. At 3800 metres all exertion was debilitating. We really strugled with stage 1 for day 1 but then the next 3 stages that day were primarily downhill. We saw some 80 bc petraglyphs (carvings in the stone). After the realy slow start on day 1 we blasted the rest of the course and got in at 1830 that night for a grand total of pprox 10.5 hours on our feet AND 42 KMS COVERED.

Sleep was better that night and day 2 was river crossings... soooo cold feet were numb and went through a slot canoyn. It was fun but mad. Next was a killr ascent but the view was amazing as we looked out over the whole of atacama. The last part was a mmmaaaasssive dune descent. We dropped about 300metres in about 10 seconds. SO COOL AND THERE WERE PEOPLE OUT THERE SAND BOARDING.

Stage 3 and 4 of day 2 were pretty boring and played with u8s mentally cause the terrauin wa so monotonous.

I'm wrapping up now but just want to say thans to thos e pople that have sponsored us.

Thinking of all our family and friends.

Catch ya
Campbel & Sandra

Comments: Total (13) comments

Posted On: 24 Aug 2007 07:05 pm

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU BOTH - YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME AND IF EVER THERE WAS A TEST OF TRUE LOVE THIS MUST BE ONE OF THEM WHILST MOST OF US TALK ABOUT DOING THESE THINGS YOU GUYS --DO IT.ENJOY A STEINLAGER EACH. LOVE MUM

Posted On: 23 Aug 2007 10:21 am

Sounds awesome! Am so impressed with you guys! Keep up the good work and keep us posted on your progress S x

Posted On: 22 Aug 2007 02:20 pm

Hey Campbell and Sandra, WOW is all I can say... keep it up and have your end goal in mind to motivate you. All the best. I look forward to hearing all about it when you get back. Keep smiling :-)) Tans

Posted On: 22 Aug 2007 09:35 am

Wow, it sounds really fantastic, and we're really pleased you have got off to a good start. Look forward to reading more about how you are doing and hearing about it when you get back. Good luck! Jon & Lotte x

Posted On: 22 Aug 2007 08:51 am

Thanks for keeping me hitting the refresh button every 5 seconds to see whats happening along with the many mild heart attacks I've had waiting to see your progress.....so proud and think you're both doing amazing....love Darrell, Dorophya and Lexi

Posted On: 22 Aug 2007 08:38 am

Sounds like you are doing really well with the tough conditions. Looking forward to more blogs. J x

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 10:48 am

Can you reset my pointsec password, i think i am locked out, tried calling but said something about sand, really cold, and lots of crazy people running the deserts. Good luck to you both!, its ok, i rebooted and all ok now.

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 09:38 am

Cam, you should have taken a Flybook with you - HSDPA blogging and loving life :) Good luck guys, glad to hear you are still in the land of the living. A

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 09:33 am

Big up! Great to see you're doing just well. Keep up the pace! Wish you the best!

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 09:28 am

Team BT, Brilliant progress so far. Hope those feet are still in tip top condition after the punishment. Watch out for the spice worms. Howard

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 08:27 am

C and S, You guys are doing amazingly well. Keep digging deep and keep visualising the end result when times get tough. Can't wait to hear all about it. You are both outstanding and stepping up. Love Milly

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 08:12 am

Well done guys, you are doing fantastic! Keep going, best of luck. Han xx

Posted On: 21 Aug 2007 06:52 am

Hey, well done both of you. We're keeping an eye on you over here and really great to read this morning that you've completed Stage 2 and survived the icy waters. Keep it up, take care. Best of luck from us all here. Jane xxx

17 August 2007 01:21 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Sandra and I have arrived at San Pedro da Atacama.

It took us 33 hours from takeoff at Heathrow till we arrived at our Hotel in San Pedro.

We just heard hat there was a pretty serious series of earthquakes in Lima on Wednesday through till Friday. This was our touch down point enroute from New York but we didn

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Posted On: 20 Aug 2007 07:22 am

keep a sharp eye out for those klingons captain campbell and commander sandra, they will try to sap your strength through the desert but you and Sandra can do it we are all very very proud of you and will drink lots of energy enabling taylor coffee caffeine for your benefit. Also remember that if required you posses the skill of the vulcan tongue...

08 August 2007 02:24 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Double dipping with the blogs today.

Just had to mention that I met Dean Karnazes the author of "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an all-night runner" at an instore appearance today.

This is the guy whose book encouraged me to try my first Ultra and then the Atacama Crossing.

The main reason for sharing this with you is that I think its an important part of training and race build up to find things that motivate/inspire you.

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Posted On: 16 Aug 2007 09:41 am

Nice one Captain, you've been talking about that dude since i was last in London town - now thats been a while!!

Posted On: 12 Aug 2007 12:03 pm

Hi there! Jamie here, soon to be tent buddy! Great comment about meeting the one who inspires you! I think I should have read a few books first before signing up for this!!! Oh well, I hope my Ninja and General Domestic Hero status get me to the finish line! See you out there! Jamie

08 August 2007 02:12 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Well the dust has settled and the winner is... the credit card companies!

First racer, long time shopper here. By now I'm sure all competitors have mortgaged their homes and souls as we finalise our equipment lists. Its been fun researching the stuff but unfortunately from what some other competitors have mentioned most of the stuff doesn't get used again cause it stinks so bad.

I have purchased some of the more expensive options in some cases but its my first time and I'd rather finish than have to pull out cause my gear wasn't good enough. At least after using this stuff I will have a point of reference for my next equipment shop.. I'm keen to do another Race the Planet event next year - so its good to build up some idea about what works and what doesn't.

My kit list is below and for those people in the UK (of which there seems to be a very large number) I have listed the suplpiers in case you need any kit for another race and there is something on my list that works for you.

Purpose Manufacturer Model Supplier Weight
BackPack Salomon Raid Revo 30

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Posted On: 30 Aug 2007 03:18 pm

Hi there, Firstly, many congratulations on finishing the Atacama Crossing! So impressive! I am competing in the event next year and was wondering if you could get in touch with me with regards to kit. Basically, I am also starting from scratch and wanted to get an idea of overall cost / what kit you found best etc. Hope thats ok? If not, no worries, you must be knackered! Take it easy, James

30 July 2007 01:30 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Only a couple of weeks now till we race and you can hear the mutterings amongst competitors. Like Steve McGrath we all just want to get going. But there a couple of things I plan to do in this wind down period to keep my mind off the start date. I'm focussing on lots of injury prevention and building up my defences so lots of stretching to avoid strains and eating healthy to avoid colds. The other thing I'm trying to do is work on my taping technique and going through the equipment now to look at how we will pack and what I can do to reduce weight. Sharing more details with people around me as well so I can get them excited and as a consequence use their energy to help keep me in a positive frame of mind rather than focussing on the unknown and worries. For alot of us its our first 4 Desert race so its all unknown but then this is about stretching the comfort zone isn't it. Its all going to be real enough soon so I'm using this time to "polish". Looking forward to seeing you in Atacama and putting all this preparation to the test. Campbell

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27 July 2007 04:34 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Two things I want to cover today - getting a discount when you purchase your kit and making fundraising easy.

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Posted On: 30 Jul 2007 12:49 am

Campbell, I would like to echo your thoughts on obtaining discounts. Sally and I have found retailers to be very generous once we explain what we are doing. They also reward loyalty and we has become quite friendly with the staff at our choosen outdoor shop, Paddy Pallins Perth. Whenever we go in the ask how training is going, show us new product and have passed on some very useful hints.

Posted On: 27 Jul 2007 01:22 am

Campbell, thank you for posting great tips for competitors. They are very helpful. See you in Chile. Mary

24 July 2007 10:22 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Tonight Sandra and I are catching up with Alex Smith in London, he's another UK Atacama 2007 competitor.

Sandra and I have made a point of talking to people who have had similar race experiences or are competitors this year. Its great from a motivation point of view and it helps you check yourself in terms of preparation.

So big thanks to Tom Phillips and Rory Coleman (ex Atacama Racers), Dan Whiter (Gobi March 2007), and Catherine Stearn, Jonathan Bailey and Alex Smith (Atacama 2007) for the various, suggestions and support. Of course the competitor forums are also great places for catching up and discussing with other competitors.

Having already spoken to 3 of this years competitors means when we meet up in Chile it'll be just that little bit less daunting.

Of course there is never any fear that people won't have anything to chat about. I mean come on... a group of 80 odd people from around the world competing in one of the harshest environments? Surely we have some common interests and interesting backgrounds to breed conversation from!

Besides if we struggle to make conversation its going to be a long 7 days in the desert with only star gazing as a diversion if we want to be anti social.

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Posted On: 16 Aug 2007 09:39 am

what you have in common is that you all insane!!!

16 July 2007 02:15 am (GMT) Greenwich Mean Time: Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Race time approaches with only 4 weeks to go.

Sandra (my wife) and I have purchased pretty much all our equipment but we still need to get the food stuff sorted.

Its come down now to lots of training and prep for the actual event. So each weekend we are now doing 6 - 8 hour walks with a full weight pack wearing as close as possible to the equipment we will be using in the event.

This weekend we did a 6 hour walk around Richmond (London) and got drenched in a torrential downpour so not exactly a perfect replica of the weather conditions we will be experiencing in the Atacama Desert.

I've also started trialling with taping techniques as expained in the book "Fixing your feet".

I'll be posting more details about equipment and training during the week

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