Dear All;

A huge thanks to all for sending such inspirational message; so so very much appreciated.

Stage 5 – the long march of 80km – is now over. It was hugely tough, especially some of the terrain we traversed across; awful, hard, mushy, coral-like salt-flats that almost pierce the soles of your shoes, and ripped fresh blisters or skin away each time; we must have traversed about 35km of them in total. As I moved over these salt / hard rock crystals I had two things going around in my head; (1) “suck it up, big boy; it’s only blisters –other people, including good friends, are going thru worse, and (2) ‘brace-step-wince’.

At times during the long run, Harrisson’s advice was very helpful; run 3 minutes, and walk 1 minute. Only problem was that all of my electronic devices died a few days ago, so I would count flags; running maybe 3-4 flags, and resting for 1. At about 30km yesterday, we climbed a massive sand dune; the views were incredible; I took some photos, but cannot upload here; I will share later. It was so incredible and beautiful.

From 40km, a fellow runner (not allowed to mention his full name due to privacy matters), who was having terrible knee pain, and I decided to buddy-up across a very windy valley – head down and buff over face, we struggled to make it to Check-Point 5 (50km). From there my friend’s knee was bad, and my blisters were almost unbearable. I was too afraid to take my shoe off. As we departed Check Point 5, my new friend and I decided to walk the remainder of the course to home. For both of us it was a struggle; him popping pain-killers every so often and I hobbling across stoney terrain. It got dark and cold (very cold), but we cheered each other all the way, discussing what our first meals will be after the race. Our painful ailments were no match for the wonderful stars we walked under; they simply dulled all pain each time we dimmed our flashlights and threw our heads back to admire them; so so incredible – if I was to take one thing away from adventures on this trip it would be the stars.

Anyway, we slowly made progress to the campsite; and we were greeted with a drum roll beat as we crossed the line at 01;40 in the morning. I was so grateful to my fellow competitor who kept me in good spirits until the end. Oh, and by the way….our first meal after the race….?

-          STEAK AND FRENCH FRIES…..!!!!

The messages I have received have been truly uplifting, and inspiring…many many thanks. Keep running. Keep loving. Nick

Dear All;

A huge thanks to all for sending such inspirational message; so so very much appreciated.

Sorry again for the lack of updates; the cyber tent has been quite full and difficult to get in.

Stage 5 – the long march of 80km – is now over. It was hugely tough, especially some of the terrain we traversed across; awful, hard, mushy, coral-like salt-flats that almost pierce the soles of your shoes, and ripped fresh blisters or skin away each time; we must have traversed about 35km of them in total. As I moved over these salt / hard rock crystals I had two things going around in my head; (1) “suck it up, big boy; it’s only blisters –other people, including good friends, are going thru worse, and (2) ‘brace-step-wince’.

At times during the long run, Harrisson’s advice was very helpful; run 3 minutes, and walk 1 minute. Only problem was that all of my electronic devices died a few days ago, so I would count flags; running maybe 3-4 flags, and resting for 1. At about 30km yesterday, we climbed a massive sand dune; the views were incredible; I took some photos, but cannot upload here; I will share later. It was so incredible and beautiful.

From 40km, a fellow runner (not allowed to mention his full name due to privacy matters), who was having terrible knee pain, and I decided to buddy-up across a very windy valley – head down and buff over face, we struggled to make it to Check-Point 5 (50km). From there my friend’s knee was bad, and my blisters were almost unbearable. I was too afraid to take my shoe off. As we departed Check Point 5, my new friend and I decided to walk the remainder of the course to home. For both of us it was a struggle; him popping pain-killers every so often and I hobbling across stoney terrain. It got dark and cold (very cold), but we cheered each other all the way, discussing what our first meals will be after the race. Our painful ailments were no match for the wonderful stars we walked under; they simply dulled all pain each time we dimmed our flashlights and threw our heads back to admire them; so so incredible – if I was to take one thing away from adventures on this trip it would be the stars.

Anyway, we slowly made progress to the campsite; and we were greeted with a drum roll beat as we crossed the line at 01;40 in the morning. I was so grateful to my fellow competitor who kept me in good spirits until the end. Oh, and by the way….our first meal after the race….?

-          STEAK AND FRENCH FRIES…..!!!!

Dear All;

I have just read all of your messages of support; thank you so much…!

Apologies for not updating after Stage 2; I was honestly too exhausted to blog.

Stage 2 was filled with so many incredible locations, terrains, views and experiences.

I regret that we cannot upload photos here of the course, but I promise to share later.

The highlight was running down a massive sand dune; one of my most incredible running experiences in my life.

We traversed rivers down a canyon, and climbed to the top a ridge where we looked down on the canyons of Atacama.

What a place, what a country, what a world.

Today – stage 4; 39km – was nothing short of brutal; the main issue for me is blisters; lots of them. The hammy is holding, and I feel strong in my legs, but the blisters really slowed me down today. The doctors have been so helpful in treating them. Sadly some very good people and runners have already pulled out due to blisters. The terrain was so unforgiving that each footstep from about 26km rendered pain and discomfort. But, I am in an incredible race, and I am not about to pull the plug yet.

Tomorrow throws up a day of 49km; a big day indeed.

Sadly, we are all unaware of RWC match scores; so any updates would be greatly appreciated.

Finally; a big thanks again for all of the messages; they brought me so much joy to read and digest.

Much love to all; keep running, keep loving.

Nick

A quick update after Stage 1 – 35Km.

No secrets; it was hot and awful, but it’s over now. The hamstring is holding, but quite sensitive.

So much anticipation at the start with 90 runners excited to get away.

The morning was very very cold, but that changed after the sun rose, and we were greeted by hot and dry all day.

The terrain was beautiful and vast; almost out of a set of Planets of the Apes.

Flags were pulled out by a farmer; this meant that dozens of runners got lost and were running aimlessly in non-course areas.

I was lucky to meet up a Japanese runner amidst the confusion, and we ran the rest of the course together.

Highlights for me were the perfectly horrendous and long 6.0km climb at the end, blisters…I have some bad ones on the soles of my feet, but the medics did a great job to dress them. The camp comeradery is absolutely incredible.

And the volunteers are so helpful.

Must run – love to all. Nick

Editor's Note:  A local shepherd took one kilometer of course markers on Stage 1, and several competitors either stopped or went slightly off course until the situation was corrected.