It was so great to read all the motivational and loving comments.  I finished the 5th and longest stage and finally feel like I'm really going to finish this crazy event.  Things don't always go as planned.  Yesterday was definitely one of those day, for me and for Racing The Planet.  I felt great in the morning and ran/shuffled the first 3 stages.  Between 3 and 4 was about 9 miles and in the heat of the day and over crunchy, lumpy salt flats and I just wilted like a desert flower.  I ran out of water and only had UCAN in one bottle, but I was so hot I couldn't stomach the UCAN, which was my source of calories.  As I got behind on my calories and hydration, slowly walking through the desert with not a sliver of shade anywhere, I see a huge sand dune ahead of me.  I thought I must be hallucinating because it looked like people were going up.  As I got closer I realized that indeed we were meant to climb this enormous dune.  I had to dig so deep to even start this climb with no water and just cooked.  Halfway up I see the photographer, Scott, sitting to my left and he starts encouraging me, it helps.  He even takes my photo, and though I may look ok in this picture, I'm not.  I make it up, because what choice to I have and at the top a volunteer gives me a little water- enough to wet my mouth.  Scott catches up to me, since he has to head down to check point 4 for something and walks me in.  It is a slow tough walk for me. 

So, I'm trying to recover a bit at CP4 and who comes rolling in but Colin- Sandy's husband.  Just seeing him lifts my spirits and we walk the next 14 km to CP5 in the sweltering heat, the never ending unbelievable heat!!  He really helped me and I got a chance to learn more about him and Sandy. CP5 has hot water and so we eat a little dinner and sit for a few minutes.  In the distance there is thunder and lightning and the wind is starting to really pick up.  It is just getting dark, so the heat has significantly abated and I'm feeling so much better, ready to finish up this long day.  That is not in the game plan however, as the RTP people (Sam) tells us we need to stay at the check point as a lightning storm is getting too close.  We hang out there for an hour and a half untill she says we can leave if we go as a group, so 5 of us finally leave in the rain.  I get to use my pack cover after all.  We are all feeling refreshed and are really making good time until....

We are almost at the final check point and we see some Chilean guys flagging us down and telling us to stop and get on the bus that is sitting there.  It all seemed so weird that after trying to figure out why we should stop, we finally decide to ignore them and we keep going and make it to check point 6, just to be turned around by one of the race officials who nervously and anxiously tells us to head back to the bus.  He gives us no other information, probably because he doesn't know too much at this point.  Seriously, all kinds of thoughts were going through our heads and coming out of our mouths.  Were we being kidnapped?  Did someone die?  It was all very weird to say the least, probably made worse by the fact that we were exhausted.  By the time we make it back to the bus, other vehicles have arrived with other competitors being pulled from the course.  We all get on the bus, probably 30 of us and they take us back to camp.  Apparently the weather was so bad not far from where we were with terrible lightning storms and flash flooding and they thought it wasn't worth the risk.  By the time we get back to camp it's around midnite and we all crash.  I only had 9km to go!

We were awoke early in the morning by Sam and she said vehicles were leaving at 8:45 to take us back to the check point we were closest to and we could finish the stage if we wanted.  However, since the pulled us it wasn't mandatory to getting a finish for that stage.  Almost everyone elected to put the pack back on and get back out there.  I was so glad I did because the final stretch was through the Valley of the Moon and it was fantastic.  It was just a nice morning walk with friends and we were able to take lots of photos.  So, as you can tell, things didn't really go as planned yesterday, but it all worked out and no one was struck by lightning and we can all live to run another day.  At this point, I'm so humbled by the heat and running with the pack, I will be happy to get my finishers medal tomorrow.  One girl went to the hospital yesterday and is still there, so I am grateful to be in good shape, physically and mentally.  My feet are pretty good- in comparison to many people here.  The blisters are unreal, everyone is hobbling around and all taped up.  It is the talk of the camp- blisters and what we are going to eat tomorrow. 

Sandy is still 2nd woman and Anne finished today a couple hours after me.  It's been such an amazing journey for everyone and really great to see so many people sticking it out till the end.  I am going to eat what remains of my food today, but I have so much UCAN left, I guess I overestimated how much I would need.  There are many things I would do differently, but all in all I think I was well prepared with the advice of Linda and Howard (Thanks!!) It's fun to have a day to relax around the camp today, but it's so hot there is really no where to go to cool off.  Where I am right now- the cybertent- is probably the coolest place around with shade and a cross breeze.  I can't wait to shower, I didn't even know my body could smell like this.  Anne and I are already talking about the fight for the shower tomorrow, we are hoping to get a room with an outside and inside shower.  I feel very sorry for the hotel staff as we come in in a cloud of bad smell and dirt.  At least I will arrive home clean.  My back is getting burned as I sit here, so I'll say good bye for now, and follow up with the grand finish tomorrow.  I'm so excited!  See you all soon- I can finally say this :)

Stage 4:  38.8 Km or so today.  This was a really tough day for me.  The first section was all sand and tough to run, so I walked a lot of it.  Then, a long straight section of sand and rocks that was also hard to run and went on forever. Then, the 14k of salt flats in the heat of the day.  It was baking, literally. I made it in, but was really upset with my time and even had a little cry at the end.  Who thinks up these things?  Running through the desert with a 20 lb pack, really?  Tomorrow is the long day and I know I need to just take it slow and steady.  I'm glad to be at the 5th and hardest stage, finally.  It's gonna be rough to be in the heat all day, but I know I will be so happy to finish.  I got a little encouragement toward the end of the salt flats- a guy told me the atacama crossing was rated by time magazine as the 2nd (to the tour de france) hardest endurance race. So, I guess it is supposed to be hard.  It is really hard. 

The camp is getting really stinky, but lucky for us today we are camped by a water hole.  It is slightly salty, but who cares!  I went in as soon as I got to camp and cooled off, but I guess I dropped my body temperature too fast and was then shivering for an hour.  I'm ok now.  Everyone is hungry.  You just can't have enough calories for what we are doing and it kind of sucks.  I woke up so hungry last night.  I have so much UCAN, which is working great, but wishing I brought other food, like potato chips.  Too late now.  Our tent has great plans for when we run into San Pedro at the finish.  I can't wait!  And I can't wait to come home.  Sandy continues to do really well, second woman.  I never even see the front runners, they are napping in their tent when I come in.  It's all about the recovery for the next day. There are just some amazing athletes here.  The rest of us are pretty average in the tent, for this race anyway.

Pam, lots of people here have done the Gobi and they say bring poles for sure, if you were wavering.  Also, I would wear long tights, too, for the sun. My calves are roasted. 

Eric- I arrive in Goleta at the air bus around 11:30 on Monday the 12th.  I would love it if you would pick me up.  Miss you tons!!!!!!xoxo I'll call you when I can, too.

Yay, Anne just came in!  I was worried about her. 

Calvin and Abs- I miss you guys too and can't wait to cook!  And eat and eat and eat!!!!  I'm gonna need to gain a little weight back.  Sorry about your headache Abz- are you drinking enough water??  Also, make sure your getting your multi vitamin.  Love you guys.

Annie- can't wait to run with you again- without the pack!!!

Well, Ibetter go get ready for the big day tomorrow.  You wouldn't believe how much there is to do with just our prep and packing and peeing. i probably won't blog till Friday, so just check results if you are curious.  Hugs to all.  Thanks to everyone for the comments!!! Love them.

Feeling ok, just more tired, but what did I expect, right?  A big thank you and shout out to Coach Bob Seebahor ( hope I’m spelling it right) who’s awesome training got me ready for this race.  I am also grateful for the amazing nutrition advice from Fuel4mance that also helped me to get ready and really just feel good overall in daily life.  I am seeing many people drop due to poor nutrition and improper training.  I can’t say what the next few stages hold for me, but I am staying positive and taking it day to day.  I’ve had many opportunities to talk to people about Runwell and have even run into people who know Linda from the desert races. 

So, you may all be wondering about any wildlife I’ve seen.  Last night a tarantula walked through our camp, 2 flocks of flamingos flew over our camp and today I saw a very small lizard .  That’s it!   Today I can say it felt like the driest place on earth.  We started out through some very tall grass that was somehow growing on salt, crunchy and hard to run on. Next, a long dirt road, which I did run.  Then, the long awaited cauliflower like salt flats, crunchy and scary, not somewhere you would want to fall! A very difficult section to run, but managed to get some in, trying to get in before it got too hot.  The last 11.5 km were super tough.  A long exposed uphill in sand and weird breakable rock, then up and down big sand dunes, lots of hands and knees to get up and over some.  I stayed the last section with a couple from France, her first race, he’s done many.  She is actually from Sweden originally, the only one here I think.  It was fun talking with them and made the time pass more easily.  I have one bad blister and am badly sunburned on my  calves.  Seriously, the sunscreen I brought doesn’t work.  It makes my legs all white, but sun passes right through.  I’ve been in for 4 hours now and people are still coming in.  They beat this drum whenever you get close to the finish so you know you are close and if you are at camp, you know someone is coming in.  You love hearing this drum.

So, tonight we are camping near the largest telescope in Chile, one of the best in the world, I hear since there is so little light pollution.  I have never seen stars like this.  It’s amazing and last night the moon was full and you did not even need your flashlight to go to the bathroom! Sleep has been patchy at best, but I seem to feel okay.  I think tonight will be better, I hope.  I love all the comments!  It makes me feel connected, though I am so far away.  I’m happy to hear you did so well in your meet, Calvin.  WOO HOO!  Abs, kick butting in basketball, I know you will.  Uwe actually told me good luck this morning, so I will have to take him off the unfriendly list.  Now, the whole tent is great.  Sandy continues to run seriously fast.  I’m not sure where I stand- somewhere in top 10, I think.  I am really enjoying each day, taking photos, talking to people, looking around and taking it all in.  Love to all the family.  Missing you all more each day. Keep the comments coming, it is so fun to come and read them after a rough day in the desert.  Off to put my feet up and get ready for the 4th stage!!!!

Hi everyone!  Everything seems a bit surreal, so I apologize if the blog goes all over the place.  The bad news first :( sad news more like....Patty and Sharon- they are  the Runwell girls- have dropped from the race, both for different reasons.  They aren't the only ones, there are many things that can go wrong out here...altitude, dehydration,etc.  It is such a long way to come, but I hope they can still travel with the race and help out. 

I, on the other hand feel great.  The scenerery today was just unreal.  I took lots of photos, then remembered this is a race, oops!  We started in a river valley and had to go across the river many times, which was fun.  We then climbed this steep short hill and were on the edge of a river gourge that was truly awe inspiring.  We got to run along there for awhile before we went down this enormous sand dune.  It was the biggest dune I've ever seen, let alone run down...it was sooooo fun. It got hot after that and we had to go over some sand, lots of it, then some salt flats.  The salt was crunchy and you sank in, and it looked like gingerbread with icing on it. It was called the Valley of Death, it felt like it.  Really.  The last 5 k or so was a dirt road, and not too fun, but I shuffled in and am now at camp 2 at laguna Cejar, which is a salt lake, so we can't even jump in, it's cruel.  It's beautiful, though.  In the distance I can see the Andes Mts.with lots of snow covered peaks.

Camp is definitely different each day, more sunburns, more dehydration, french guys walking around in their underwear- and not in a good way.  It's prime people watching. It hasn't rained today, but is looking like it might.  The wind is fierce late in the afternoon, into the evening.  Sandy came in hand in hand with the first woman from yesterday, first today.  She is just realizing her potential in this sport.  She is also the one welcoming everyone else from our tent in at the finish- she's just great. I know I have enough food to last till the end, but it sure would be nice to have more!  I had   to make a rule in my tent: no talking about cold drinks or food, like pizza till the 6th day...then it's on.  The only one who isn't very friendly in my tent is Uwe, he doesn't talk much or interact, but everyone else remains great. 

I'm not sure if my blog from yesterday has been sent yet, as there was a cloud cover or something yesterday that prohibited some blogs from going.  I wrote it though!  i know there were some good photos of me today, the photographer is sitting here and showed me.  So, check it out.  I think you will see the big sand dune.  I miss you all terribly, but time is going fast and it sure is amazing.  Good luck in your basketball game tomorrow, Abz!  Calvin, hope the pole vault is going well!  Love you guys so much and think of you all the time out here,wishing you could see all this.  One day.  Eric, this would be so fun to do together.  There are a lot of couples, surprisingly.  Just a thought- love you and miss you.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a tough one, but I'm still looking forward to it.  The pack is killing my back and chafing me like crazy, but that's all part of it.  The lines for the bathroom- and you have to use the bathroom- no just going out in the sand somewhere or you will get a penalty-are always long.  But now we plan things to do while in line, chat with a friend, brush your teeth, etc.  Its all these little things you take for granted in  normal life.  Well, on that note, people are waiting and I should go hydrate and stretch my aching legs.  Bye for now.  Send me comments, it's like water to a thirsty girl in the desert!!!

Wow, I hardly know where to start...I'm writing on this little tiny keyboard and the wind is whipping through here at crazy speeds.  I made it in today at a good pace, feeling good.  The landscape is amazing and we went through a long canyon with beautiful rock formations.  It got hot, but it was manageable.I just used UCAN and the right stuff with no problems, although I could feel the altitude at the beginning, since we started at the highest point of the race and descended 2,000 ft today. 

Yesterday was quite a day!  i was so nervous about getting my pack checked, mainly because I knew Iwould have to take everything out then re-pack it.  It all went better than I expected and the doctor who did my food check didn't make me take all of my Ucan and pasta from the bottom, where it had condensed so nicely.  It still took me about 30 minutes to get the rest of the stuff back in, but everything fit and I could breathe a huge sigh of relief.  Next, we had about a two hour wait for the bus to camp 1.  A long, hot wait.  Finally, we make it to camp 1 and just as we enter our tent to set up, it starts to pour, in the driest desert in the world, may I remind you.  I heard earlier that the average rainfall here is 3 cm yearly and now they have had 250 plus already this year.  The tents are canvas and it only took a short time before the rain started to come directly into the tent.  They had some plastic to cover the tents, but being in number 13, we didn't make the cut!  Hours later someone showed up with more plastic....and good thing because it rained in the night as well! 

All that said, I am having such an adventure and so much fun!  I think everyday will bring different weather and terrain and it will be part of the whole amazing race.  i am still waiting for one of the Runwell girls, Patty to come in.  Her sister, Sharon came in a bit ago and was so happy to finish feeling so good.  I have a great tent- tent 13-lucky 13- since I'm also #113 :)  I have a couple Sandy and Colin who are really great and have done several of these races, so are a great wealth of info.  Sandy came in 2nd female today, she is little and fast- and older than me!!  The sisters, Sharon and Patty, super sweet.  Peter, from Hong Kong, Uwe (pronounced OOVA- for Calvin and Abz) from Germany and another from Germany I can't remember his name :/ mostly because it's hard to say and Steve from the UK.  Sandy beat all of them today!  She was first in the tent.  The tent is like your temporary home and everyone looks out for eachother.  I have made another friend who I have mostly been hanging out with, Anne from Australia. She is not in my ten, but was my roommate at the hotel - in room 113!  Can you believe it??  Well, the line for the cybertent is long and it looks like it's gonna rain again today.  I haven't been able to read any comments or emails, so if you have sent some, I thank you!!!  I get to read them after I send this, that's just how they do it.  Oh, and Pam and Linda- there is a whole team of people here wearing Hokas!  One guy is a rep for the company.  Looking forward to hearing from home!  Love to Abz, Calvin, Eric, Nathan and the boys.