The long march is done! The desert dongies made it across the finish line at 3;00am. We experienced all emotions possible as well as all terrains possible. We started out of camp 5 across some very difficult terrain but we saw a herd of wild donkeys! We then started the journey towards the big dune and the second half of the long march. After a particularly windy few sections we were rewarded with an orange at CP3 – rania said it was the most amazing orange she has ever had.  Evan continues to wonder what in the world he has agreed to J

The terrain did not disappoint, with challenging moments on every step.  Rania went from commenting, oh, this is interesting, to what the F is this?? The terrain definitely needed a lot of concentration as we marched to the big dune.  From a distance it looks intimidating and amazing, but with the simple rule of one foot in front of the other, we made it to the top and immediately felt like we were on Mars.  We then descended into CP4 and marched our way through a dry river bed where at CP5 we stopped for about an hour for food (2 meals for me, I was STARVING) and a change into some warmer layers as we watched the beautiful sunset behind us. With our headlamps on we ventured into the darkness following the green glow of the light sticks.  Rania said she liked the “night vibe”…. At least for the first few hours! Before reaching CP6 we met the lovely and super strong Mika along the way who joined our group.  Together we trudged one foot in front of the other.  There were highs and there were lows.  Entering the Valley of the Moon was incredible with the huge, orange crescent moon lighting the way, as the blanket of stars unfolded in front of us.  Evan is always steady and even saw a shooting star.  As the night went on, and we became more tired, it seemed that the CPs took longer for us to reach, fuelled with caffeine, sugar and each of us pushing each other we made it the end, all four us crossed the finish line together, thankful to have each other to lean on.  What a night! We have sore feet and tired bodies, but the amazing feeling of having those important to you, with you during such an adventure cannot be out into words. We are in camp now, eating the last of our snacks and freeze-dried meals, still contemplating what we experienced over the last 6 days and dreaming about a comfortable bed, hamburgers and beer.  Oh and maybe a shower?

Another amazing day – I’ve named us the Desert Dongies…. We stuck together and got through the stage. Started off with an beautiful first section up and down dunes, across rocky canyons, down a massive dune, into a beautiful green riverbed. There was a moment of little sister down, when she decided to slide down a dune on her bum, hahaha, it was funny! And then we had a bit of a panic as we reached CP1 with only 15 mins to spare at cut off.  We then went along a river bed, many crossings with Evan guiding us and we even got to go through a waterfall – in the desert!!! Then we stared the sandy desert trot to the infamous salt flats. What an experience. It was hot and bright and the terrain was crazy!! We could see people so far ahead and they looked like giants.  But the views, again th snow-capped mountains always around us, the crystal clear blue sky and the always changing terrain and scenery. Stunning.  I’m so happy to be out here with Rania and Evan. We have all the blisters, all the aches and pains but they are amazing and chugging through each CP. Getting stronger every day which is good because tomorrow is (dum dum dum) THE LONG MARCH – 80KM of lots of all night fun. Again – thank you to everyone sending messages. It means a lot to all of us.  Send us good vibes for the long one and I will report back on Friday!!

Wow – what an amazing day! We started from a chilly camp 3 and then ventured out into the desert. There was difficult terrain that we took very carefully in order to avoid any ankle issues. We made it onto ALMA land and the terrain changed into the most beautiful desert and iconic Atacama landscape. Views of mountain ranges with snow capped mountains surrounded us as we made our way through thick sand and trudged along noticing the always changing scenery- the bushes, the spotted lizards, the small red flowers and the small bushes which smell like sage but are named something in Spanish that I can’t remember !The final walk to camp included several dunes, a green valley with a river and a monster climb up a hill.  Rania and Evan arevmy super troopers getting through the tough stage and finishing with smiles. We all have blisters and our camp routine involves a recovery drink at the finish line, a discussion with tent mates on how the sleeping arrangement will be for the evening and then a reveal of feet…. That is then followed by lots of ‘helpful’ advice from tent mate Ashacama and then the blister popping starts. A quick word on the fantastic tent mates I have – obviously Rania and Evan, and my desert bestie Jim, Ashacama whonis doing the race for the 11^Th time in a row and the super speedy and strong first timer Petra. Rania, Evan and I are always the last to come in as the other half of our tent are all very fast! Bring on dayb4 – the infamous salt flats!

Day 1 is done! The three of us got through, it was tough but beautiful. The morning started out very cold at minus 1 C but we braved it in shorts and tshirts (OMG). The scenery is just as amazing as I imagined it would be. From the clear blue skies for the background of Licacanbur always watching us no matter where we were. Entering the first set of canyons with ancient inca drawings on the walls and even a herd of llamas and 2 very curious llamas who were not afraid of us at all. We are now back in camp, fed and watered – about to start dreaming about the adventure that will continue tomorrow. We will have some time in the river to freshen our legs and then after a breathtaking climb will then get to fly down a beautiful dune into the valley of death.  Rania and Evan are troopers and I hope they are still willing to let me be part of the family J

11 days to go until the start and this time next week I will be in San Pedro - I am so excited !!! Rania (my favorite and only sister) and Evan (my favorite and only brother in law) are joining and I can’t wait to see how the family ties hold up in the desert. I am really looking forward to seeing my desert bestie Jim Steele, and all those who were with me in the Namib Race last year - it’s going to be an awesome reunion and also meeting many wonderful new people!

Now onto more serious matters. Final equipment check - I am fortunate to have done a few of these races before so I know what I like and I know what works for me. Here is a rundown of what I use for my key equipment and little treats as well —-

Pack – I am using the Ultimate Direction Fast Pack 30, and I like it.  It’s a long enough frame for me and doesn’t wiggle too much.  The bottle holders are a little wonky, but I can work with that.  It worked for in 2 previous races and I will stick with it for this race.

 Food - I love food. Like really love to eat - and I am not telling a tall tale when I say I love Expedition Meals and instant noodles. My snacks are slightly different as I don’t have access to the same things in Phuket as I did in Singapore - but there isn’t much that I don’t like. An idea of what I do nutrition wise is below – I also believe that variety is the spice needed in the desert ?

Breakfast at Camp
+ 1 Instant Starbucks Coffee stick
+ 450 calorie savory Expedition Meal – my favorite for breakfast is Macaroni and Cheese

CP 1
+ Mix up 1x 100 calorie Tailwind in one 750 ml bottle and sip this until CP2, where I repeat the process until CP3, and repeat again until Camp
+ CP 2 onwards, munch on my allocated snacks for the day which will be some combination of salted nuts (almonds, cashews and / or macadamia), beef jerky, dried mango, or Haribo candy – apprx 300 calories worth of snacks.

Camp
+ I mix up my 170 calories Recoverite drink and shoot it back right away, as soon as I step into Camp
For my first course I will enjoy some sort of soup, usually 32 calorie Miso, followed by an 800 calorie Expedition Meal – another favorite is Spaghetti Carbonara or Thai Green Curry  

Shoes
I hate figuring out shoes, I have flat feet, weird knees, bad hips, one leg longer than the other, anything and everything that is a physio’s nightmare or dream come true – I can’t decide yet if the physio’s I’ve gone to love or hate me….I wear back to basics Asics – they worked in Namibia and have worked for the training – if it ain’t broke yet, don’t fix it!

My ‘treat’ items 
+ Poles – my pole give me magical super-powers (probably not, but I feel like they do and that is all that matters)
+ MP3 player with music and some Audible books.  I don’t plan to listen the entire race, as I really love being in out in the open without distractions – but let’s be real, there are definitely tough moments a little distraction goes a long ways.

 My concerns for this race (because no matter how excited and how many times I have done these races, the nerves and worries will always be there )
+ The cold cold nights: I am used to living in the tropics and Atacama is cold ! What have I got to survive it? A sleeping bag liner, my sleeping pad and a warmer puffy jacket that I haven’t used at other races
+ My shoes: I know my shoes work for me (basics ASICS) but I am worried how they will hold up on the frozen broccoli and the salt flats. What am I doing to prepare for worst case fall apart scenario? I will bring a bit of duct tape with me in case I need to patch them up.
+ And of course - what I mentioned in my last blog - my training!!! It’s not been where I want it to be and have no one to blame but myself (and all my 100’s of excuses I can come up with) What can I do about that ?? Nothing really but try and keep my daily goals during the race small and manageable. It’s 250km but it’s a series of (millions) of steps to get there and I will break it down day by day, check point to check point and step by step.

Bottom line - I’ve got a healthy dose of worry and a ridiculous amount of excitement - the best combination.

The starry nights, the beautiful desert and amazing country will carry me through - somehow.

This blog is going to be a ‘real’ check in about where I am in my training (and the rest of my life). 

First and foremost, the excitement and opportunity to be a racer in the Atacama Crossing in just 7 weeks (!) is not lost on me - barring anything out of my control, I will be at the start line. I have this amazing, unique and special opportunity that I am looking forward to - and just typing out these words has me feeling so much excitement and anticipation. I love these races and I love being out on the course, just me, my feet, my pack and the desert (and possibly my sister and brother in law :) 

But - a reality check. Just like the majority of the racers toeing the start line, I have a somewhat normal life that needs to be balanced - there is family, work, friends and of course, training. When focused on training, social life usually falls off the schedule, but family and work cannot.

Most of you know I work with RacingThePlanet as an Event Director - which means I have an amazing job taking me to many colorful corners of the globe and meeting some of the coolest people. It also means I am out of training for a few weeks at different times in the final countdown to the start of the race. And on top of this, a personal move from Singapore to Thailand is currently in process.

I recently had a RacingThePlanet racer and 4 Deserts Club member ask me what I was thinking trying to manage these different components  in life when also training! Which pretty much put the fear of the Atacama Crossing in me - because it is not the most forgiving terrain..... 

So what to do when life doesn’t perfectly open up the training schedule needed for an ultramarathon? 

The answer to this question is to do what I can when I can (and probably not the late night karaoke and dancing in Ulaanbaatar from last weekends post race shenanigans) It means a heavier week of training (not drinking!), knowing that the following won’t be as heavy. Making sure I walk as much as possible, squeezing in planks and push ups while being stuck at the Hong Kong airport overnight due to flight cancellations, or doing squats at a Checkpoint in Mongolia waiting for the first runners to come through.

It’s these last few weeks where all the doubts creep in, and especially so when life doesn’t quite match the perfectly designed excel weekly training guide sitting in my computer :) So watch this space as I take on the next few weeks however I can and if anyone had any tips on loops or long runs on Phuket island - please let me know. 

84 days until the start of the Atacama Crossing and like most of the other runners joining the race, we are probably all asking the same question – how did that come around SO quickly!! Less than three months to go. Am I ready? No way! Am I excited? Beyond excited! The starry nights, the beautiful dunes, the wonderful evenings around the campfire with tall tales of all the hard core training we did to get to the start line ? – All of this and more is waiting for me as I get through these next few months of training.

Why do we do it? My 3 reasons

The Atacama Crossing will be my third race in the RacingThePlanet Ultramarathon Series, my first was in 2014 – RacingThePlanet: Madagascar, then Namib Race 2018, and now Atacama Crossing 2019. I’ve always been a fan of running, hiking, walking, crawling, and have that type of personality that just wants to keep going to see how much farther I can go – 250 km / 155 miles over the 7 days is a pretty good goal for testing those limits! Many normal people ask me why. Why would you want to do something like this – there are many other ways to push limits? It is a good question and one that I also ask myself with the 5am wake up calls on Saturday mornings, and when pushing in the middle of a long run to just get to the end when everything seems to be saying, go home, you are done.

One reason is the sense of accomplishment, that end goal – which in many cases is just the end goal of a training run, a tough run, getting to the start line, getting to a check point, and getting to that final finish line. It really is a series of accomplishments achieved by setting up a series of goals. In today’s world where we rush around from one unfinished task to another, sometimes never really seeing a tangible goal accomplished, this is the opposite. Every step forward is a tangible accomplishment.

Another reason, I get to go to some of the most beautiful, remote, unique and amazing locations. The races take you to places where special permission has been granted for us to be there, it is not a typical tourist location, but seeing a beautiful countryside that only me (and the other racers) will have the opportunity to experience.

Finally, and maybe the most important and popular reason – the people you meet. Very simply, it’s a family. You may only see each other every 5 years, but you pick up right where you left off, in the middle of a desert sharing your life story.

Training Plan

Now that I have reminded myself why I am facing this challenge head on, let me talk about where I am in my training. Yesterday I attempted my first weighted pack run. I had an ambitious goal of 30km with about 5kg weight - Boy oh boy wowee! I was quickly reminded that the pack must be respected. I managed 25km and we shall not mention how long it took me to do it – but I did it. My shoulders are sore today – and I actually love that feeling of the tired muscles that have done me a proud, but it was a wake-up call that I need to focus in on my training these next few weeks left before the start. It is similar to what I have always done and looks a little like this –

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – Speed training (I am not fast at all, so this is funny, but I try and do a bit)

Wednesday – Bootcamp

Thursday – Nice easy jog – somewhere between 40 min – 90 min

Friday – Hill work (stairs also work)

Saturday – Long run (I’ve been jumping around with distances lately, from about 21 km – 42km)

Sunday – Back to back run - somewhere between 14-30km, depending on where I am in the training.

Now that I have put my training goals out there, I better actually get out there and do them!!! A reminder that I always say when it comes to training, in the wise words of the beautiful Shri - 4 Deserts Alumni, “The best training plan for you, is the one you can stick to”. Do what you can, stick with it and you will get there!