Title:  Private Ryan has been shot several times , but made it to the beach

Stage 5-  80  km ( 50 miles ) was quite an adventure.

When we were ready to leave and Starting to run ,Ricky had to see the doctor. After the consultation with the doctor, he decided to drop out of the race.

The diagnostic was cruel : Severe dehydration. It was so severe that the doctor asked him if he wanted to be  brought to the hospital and have an  IV to be rehydrated…His answer : Can I have a Coke instead? At the end , everything was taking  care of , and he is back in top shape.

Even after all those years of running, we still learning stuff. It is sad , but it is part of life.

It was very emotional for me and Louis  since all our strategy was made to make him finish the race. Are we will be back to finish this unaccomplished task?  The Wives Shall decide !!!

It is a sad news, but the show must go on.

We did completed the race  at 2 am.

It was hard, it was tough. We had sand storms , strong winds (tropical storm gusting wind), heat, steep sand dunes, and salt lakes  killing our shoes.

As for now , our toes, feet, legs, and hips are  destroyed but….our Moral is intact.  Moral is  As strong as it can be, the rest is not that important.….Imagine, we just used partly the Atomic After Burner.

For the final push we ran 80 % of the time. Louis for his first event of that nature is tough and he is an awesome teammate.

Crossing moon valley with him  , in the middle of the night, is an experience that I won’t forget.

Tomorrow 10 km to finish. We ll do that Moonwalking , believe me.

It s been an amazing week, with amazing people. God bless them all.

-          Km done 240 km , km to go : 10 ( the dark and stormy is on the ice )

I know it is an oldie, but I liked the movie,the song, and yes that can everyone can be a star !

It just depends , where we put our limits and how hard we work to get to it.

https://youtu.be/tG-wl2qqD7Y

and off course to finish, only on song came into my mind…Amazing Grace from Mahalia Jackson.

Originally I chose the version of Aretha Franklin…but Carmen and Aiichia convinced me ( pretty easily ) that Mahalia, is the best Gospel Singer Ever. Again as usual, they were right.

https://youtu.be/ZJg5Op5W7yw

Stage 4 done !

Today we went as far as a team of no country for 3 old men  as ever in Chile.

Km done : 160   km to go:  90

Louis was on the beat, Ricky showed another dimension of his determination ( simply unreal ), and I was following.

No legs left for tomorrow , but tomorrow we don’t need legs.  80 km tomorrow will be run with our Heart. We still have the atomic after burner in case…

Solngs for tomorrrow…..

For my mother….the explanation for that song will take hours….we ll do another time.

https://youtu.be/hjicwQoZwtQ

In the middle of the night tomorrow we ll think about the party….traditional French Canadian….with that we will get going…

https://youtu.be/dpPzq6I82Co

Blisters are coming out like Tulips in spring time.

Old country for 3 old men survived day 3.Louis ,Ricky and me are in great shape.

Ok….not that great , gut we are moving and eating.

It was not pretty ,sand hills and difficult terrain got all of our energy.

Tomorrow will be an ultimate test. If we go through tomorrow , we should be good for the day after….i explained my theory later!!

We need some music to get going tomorrow:

https://youtu.be/bKFhS0cQLE8

and :

https://youtu.be/M_o6axAseak

One extra for tomorrow….as we will suffer, I will make a wish that my brother could decide to suffer as much we will do tomorrow and get back  on the bright side of the force  one day.

This one is for him.

https://youtu.be/qiIc24Dc8-w

Day 2 – Spectacular  views

The team completed day 2 successfully.

We are not top shape, but we are in ok shape.

No need to pull  the atomic afterburner turbo….we ll wait.

The views today were amazing , La Valle de Marte ( March ) is one of  the best scenic area in the world for sure.

Louis got the first blister.  Ricky was charging the pace and for  a rare occasion we did a smart race.

This team is blending well together now. We are looking  for each other and pacing is going well.

Tonight warmer ,  but very windy. But we can hang out our leader BIB in our Tent….

Tomorrow is a tough one …. Lots of sand dunes and salty..nasty concrete sand….impossible to run.

During this week , We had to put a song from the Quebec Red Neck Bluegrass..here it is:

I know that I am probably the only one with Serge Gosselin ( honorary and life member of No Country for 3 old Men )

https://youtu.be/uynsVw8GMwc

For good pacing tomorrow we also  need smooth music….like Reggae…Fahkoly is the best for  me. Since we can’t run all the time we will be dancing..

https://youtu.be/vqmUkjZhYOM

Km done : 80   to go :  170

Final day before the race.

Morning briefing has been done.

Again this year we have a great team of Medical Staff, Racing director , and all different volunteers.

With this type of team we know that we will get all the support. We just need to concentrate on running.

Toni that we met in Gobi in 2013 is back.  He is not only a nice guy but he know this event by heart.

Breaking news of the day.....Only one team will stand on the starting line : No Country for 3 old men.

So technically , as there is only one team ,we are the leader in the clubhouse.

To finish first however, we need to finish all together. If one member of the team drop out. It is over.

Would it be possible ?

The answer in 7 days....

TBC

YBL

Our team arrived safely in San Pedro.

Chile is beautiful but we have to give a 10/10 for this region.

Everything  is simply beautiful. 

At night you can see 5 billion stars. So who needs to pay for a 5 stars , when you can have a  5 billion  one.

Today we ll recheck our back pack for the 100 time, have a run in the afternoon to see if the legs remembers how to run and off course a glass of red wine to the get more  red blood cells ( it is to compensate for the altitude )  in the body. 

YBL 

As our team , No Country for 3 old men,  finalized the training we need to focus on the right things.

Like the boys said :

Quand Marcel yé faché yé pas beau à voir.

J'ai le moral d'une Cadillac à gause de qui , à cause de Stan !

Y sont gros, y sont forts... mais nous autres notre force , ça serait pas entre les deux oreilles ?

La dureté du Mental , Mental toughness..... La chambre est rempli de mental.

On peut pas laisser tomber Stan.  Mettez vous Caniçons pis foncez !

Vince Lombardi never said better than this.

YBL

One week from the Start.

Everything has been said , and training has been done.

Quite excited to go back to this magnificent part of the world.

Brain , Legs and Hearth are ready.

And yes....giving up is the safest way to fail. It won't happen.

YBL