Stage 5 finally done! It was an incredibly long day yesterday with quite a few weather fronts. Highlights include climbing a sand dune of the kind of gradient I would think twice about skiing down in the mid afternoon heat! It wasn`t helped by a guy going up the less steep side of it with a motor bike, only to the drop his helmet which came rolling down at us....and when finally at the top having only very warm water to drink which is really hard to not be sick. The top of the mountain was great in terms of the hexagonal rock and salt formations but not the easiest to navigate on tired legs. The real fun started after CP4 when a lightening storm started and got closer and closer. A sand storm then suddenly came out of nowhere and I remember being pushed across the sand despite my poles until Claire shouted at me to get down as stones started flying aross at us like a horizontal hail storm. The stones stung the burnt skin a bit but after a minute or two it stopped but the tunder and lightening continued. We knew if it got close to abandon poles and water so kept watching it but trying to move as quickly as possible. Claire's periformous injury was getting more and more painful and slowing her down to the point that some emergency sports elbow massage was needed in the middle of the storm...this all must have seemed very odd to the Koren boys that found us in the middle of this procedure!

We got to CP5 and were told we weren't allowed to go on due to the storm, so we ate and waited. Claire was exhausted from being in pain for hours and her feet were very bad, infected and swollen so she needed to rest as it was the overnight stop with a tent. A hard decision but with my foot problem being intermitent but having lots of energy still I was keen to push on so we decided I'd go on with Megan. So Megan and I got a mile from CP6 and the storm had cleared and the moon was out when the 4x4s came up to us to say that worse weather was coming in and that everyone had to be driven back to camp which was bitterly disappointing. I'd also just taken a double caffine gel so was wired to finish the job! So long story short this morning we were told it was up to everyone what they wanted to do but all would get medals whether they finished stage 5 or not, but if people wanted to do CP5 and or CP6 depending on where they had got to they could. So we cut the toe boxes off Clare's trainers which was quite theraputic (my fixing the feet book came in handy!)...something she wasn't keen to do the day before but I was worried about serious damage to those poor toes...I tried to be the voice of reason of you've more than earned this medal but she wanted to finish it which I get but just didn't want permanent injury... The good news is that her toes felt better than they had for days and we got it done by 1.30ish having started around 10.20ish...so very happy and some great photos of the Moon Valley. I think I have now offically covered more distance in this race than any other competitors having done the majority of section 6 twice so a few extra miles, but very proud of Clare to have got it done and only some minor sports massage needed in the last couple of miles!

So happy but mentally exhausted and going for a rest. The heals of my feet are sore from all the hours of hill striking which I don't do when I run but I'm just grateful that my foot problem didn't get worse and to have been able to cover the distance. Can't wait for real food tomorrow...preferably pizza and then steak and perhaps washed down with a beer but to be honest any cold drink would go down pretty well at this point.

I also can't wait to see you all and am very grateful for your amazing messages of support and humour to keep me going - thank you, thank you, thank you. xxx

I guess if you’re going to sign up to such an expensive race then spending a good few hours on the course and getting value for money makes sense!

We started today feeling pretty low but happy to say have got through it despite blisters on the shoulders, a painful right foot (just for a change), a feeling of my Achilles wanting to snap and some pretty bad sun burn…and that’s just me…Clare spent most of the afternoon in agony due to a painful perifomous (arse!)

Feeling a sense of survival and just hope that tomorrow goes to plan…..the plan being just keep going!

We got to camp tonight to find it’s by a freezing cold lagoon which was a treat for the legs and feet. So everyone will be shocked to hear that other than my on- going foot injury that I came out here with, my feet are in good nick and not a piece of tape in sight as I type this! Clearly it may well all change tomorrow but that’s another day.

Planning to go through night tomorrow on the long stage so there won’t be another update until Friday when hopefully they’ll just be 10 miles or so left on Sat. The stars are amazing here so actually really looking forward to it.

Again thank you all for you messages which have really cheered me up as I sit here with wet towels around my legs for the sun burn (medical tent doesn’t have after sun…I think the reflections from the white salt flats got me).

Spyro – you are not wrong, there was a point this morning when I was actually thinking about how much more I enjoy my job than that particular stage of the day and couldn’t get my head around this holiday concept!

Andy – thanks for all your messages and the one you left on my iPod helped get me through today a number of times, thank you xx

Thanks all of you for keeping me smiling and hopefully the worst of this is over (clearly there have been some amazing views!)

Today was the gift that kept on giving...but not in a good way! We were told before the start that they thought it was the most technically difficult day and I hope that was true! The terrain was endless salt flat type mud, so uneven ground that the best analogy I can think of is like going over a ploughed field in winter, so pretty tiring. The soft sand and slate that went on for miles after CP3 wasn`t great either and nor were the massive dunes at the end of the day....you literally had to pull yourself over the top! To get into camp at the end of it all was a lagoon you slid down into and then a massive climb up the mountain side. So good to finally have got the day done but not looking forward to 25 miles of salt flats tomorrow, especially with very sore shoulders and now on antibiotics. Poor Clare who is my unofficial team mate had a blood blister under her big toe that the medics put a needle through earlier, so we`ll be the walking wounded tomorrow but still feeling mentally strong and finding things to amuse us during the pain!

Thanks again for all the great messages - you`re all fantastic.

Camp last night was interesting for a first night in the driest desert in the world with quite a bit of rain and a river that was coming a little close for comfort. Good news that we didn’t need to use any of the lightening advice that we got as the weather calmed down but it got pretty cold around 3am. Got up at 5am for an early breakfast and to warm up by the camp fire and see the most fantastic stars above.

So it’s been a good first day and quite fun as I stayed with another British competitor called Claire all day and we kept each other going at decent pace. Yes I have blisters, but my own draining and taping has worked well so far… It got pretty hot with a long stretch with no shade, but eventually we found an overhanging rock to get back our sense of humour again after some food!  My own going pain in my right foot came back with a vengeance but been rolling my feet over a tennis ball this afternoon to loosen it all and that’s helped so fingers crossed for the rest of the week that it keeps being manageable….

We are now camped up on top of a mountain side with strong winds wanting to lift the tents away given half the chance, so it might be a bit cold later as tiredness sets in. Got a great tent of fun people and all very good runners, one of which is in second place so far!! Thanks everyone for your messages and hoping that day 2 goes as well.

Two days to go until I depart for Chile and feeling as ready as I’ll ever be….or at least I was until I’d heard about it raining and flooding in the driest desert on earth! However, I’m thinking that us Brits are supposed to be used to the rain, so maybe for once all those grey rainy days might have actually been useful (but I doubt it).

So why am I doing this? I guess it’s seizing an opportunity whilst my body will allow me to do something like this and to go somewhere I’m fascinated by for an adventure and to meet some like-minded people who want to get out there and push themselves too.

I’ve been training on an IHE (Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure) machine for the past month as I couldn’t get out to altitude to acclimatize before the race. Hopefully that will make the start at 3300 meters less of a shock and help me enjoy the experience more rather than feeling ill with altitude sickness. I will not miss breathing through a mask for 60-90 mins every night with a loud whirring noise in my ear from the machine but if it works then it’s been worth it!

I think my brain has blotted out how painful Gobi was at times, well for my feet anyway having been told by the medical team at the awards ceremony that mine were the most blistered they saw during the race (the all-time low being day 3 with a large blood blister across the soft middle of my foot). This time I’ve trained differently, changed shoes, gaiters, orthotics,  socks, nutrition, taking trekking poles, and an even bigger blister kit in the aim of my feet allowing me to do what the rest of my body wanted to do last summer…run more! I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve asked for advise that they’ve generously shared for this ‘holiday!’

So I have just two more nights at home in a decent bed before heading out for a week of camping with the occasional marathon thrown in and a hill or two. Looking forward to meeting my fellow tent mates and remembering just how mentally exhausting Gobi was to just keep that focus and determination for hours on end to get that medal (a very proud moment indeed and special to have shared it with some fantastic people too).

Thank you to everyone that’s have given me so much support in these weeks/months building up to this adventure.