That's what I'm calling this camp because we are here for a full day as people come in to finish the long day (stage 5)

As I'm writing this,  I have my head covered in a bandana as I slowly pour water to cool myself off. My heart rate at rest is over 90 beats per minute due to the altitude, heat and general exhaustion. But....

You know what? I finished stage 5, still in the race!  This one was particularly tough, not just because of the double long distance, but also the heat and the long section across salt flats (again). I watched a strong racer from Austrailia quit right in front of me after the first section that was brutally sandy and slippery.  It's sad to see people get to that point where they just don't want any more because I know how important it must have been to get them here in the first place. But then again you don't want people getting hurt so I just have to see that and move on.  You really have to think about what your made up reason for being here is and have it clear. For me again was not quitting no matter what and getting that medal. This plus the fact you all are following  has made it important enough to continue when MANY times I've though about how crazy this is, etc,etc, etc.

Right after doing the first miserable half (about 22 miles)  of the day  I came up to a large wall of sand.  I wouldn't call it a dune because it was blown up against a rock wall that led the way to a mountain pass that would take us into the Valley of the Moon. Literally, its the kind of thing that walk up to and say no way the'yre going to make us go up that!  Um, yeah, there are those damned little pink flags.  This is after spending 3.5 hours by myself in 35 centigrade heat trying to keep moving and forcing myself to drink water without gagging and vomiting. I was literaly talking to myself saying, ok body, just hang in there, you can vomit later, just not now.  Vomiting is bad when the water you are drinking is so essential to keep from, well dying, but also cramping, focusing, mabe having a sense of joy and appreciation for the beautiful landscape.

So I climbed the wall of sand best I could, thanking god there was a cloud that passed overhead to provide some shade as I made that trek...and as I get to the top I am greeted with a 20-30 mile head wind as I start into the pass. Holding on my hat to not lose it (I was not going to go down to get  it if it blew off). I looked back in to the valley I had just crossed and could not see a soul as far as the eye could see. I knew there was still a few people out there but honestly I was just happy it was not me. I tightnened my hat strap and turned back into the wind.

There was no trail or road in this mountain pass, you couldn't just walk step after step easily. The ground you are walking on  looks like snow, but is just salty, raised, crusty ground you are constanty weaving back and forth to find a clear place to walk.  I knew there was a checkpoint on the other side of the pass, but I didnt know how far to the other side.  After pressing my way though the wind for about 30-40 minutes I slowly came over the ridge into the valley of the moon.  An even stronger wind now hit me coming up from the canyon, but there was the next checkpoint! The view was so beautiful and I was so happy to so humans I put my hands up in the air and let out some kind of primal scream I guess because the checkpoint people far below heard me. I ran down the other side joyfully to check point 4 (of 7).

In the valley below I continued walking with some Japanese guys who were at checkpoint 4. Within 30 minutues, I saw dust clouds forming in the distance.  It is not uncommon to see little whirwinds/mini tornadoes of sand in the Atacama but this was really a big brown cloud that I was taking shape quickly.  Suddenly I saw that a could racers I could now see in the distance were totally engulfed in the cloud, I couldn't see them at all anymore!.Then the cloud started moving toward us.  I've never been in a sand storm, but I've seen them i the movies so reached for a bandana to cover my mouth and nose and prepared for the worst. Within 30 seconds the Japanese guys and me where overtaken by the storm.  At first it was kind of cool, lik "hey I'm in a sandstorm in the Atacama desert" but then the pain started.  Rocks, sand, and water all started hitting my in the face, legs, everywhere. We all had to immediately turn around and crouch because it was too painful to walk into it!  I found out later from the locals that if you are driving and are caught in these, they really can damage your windshield so that gives you a sense of the imapct of the rocks, etc.  Fortunately it passed quickly and we recoved our pace and kept going.. until night, and the lightning came.

An eletrical storm was brewing and in the valey over the mountains where I had come from the lightning was intense.  By now it was now dark and each bolt of  lightning illuminated the entire valley for just an instance which is a great spectacle. I left the Japanese guys behind and caught up to 2 ladies who told me their hair was starting to rise because of all the electricity in the air. This was not  good sign  The rain starting pouring on us now, we had to talk by light of headlamps and follow the course carefully to avoid getting lost.  I tried to stay with them as much as possible for general safety and just plain fear of being out alone in this awesome display of nature.  We made it through to the rest of the day dead tired, hungry, blistered, but safe.   Many times in this race I have been humbled by the intense power of nature and it was very clear that I am not "conquering" any thing  here. I am just a fragile traveller here visiting for a few days.

Honestly there are so many details I would love to share here, but I need to go prep for the final 11km into town and the end of this awesome experience.  I am so looking forward to a great finish tomorrow.

John, you have not idea how extremely awesome those Blue Dog burgers sounds right now.Byan, your blog about your daily adventure was hilarious.

Alex, Dianette says hello to you and could you also post for here a  thanks to her friends from Malibu fitness for their kind words to her.

Ashley, Mike(s), Emma, Sergio, Melissa, Bob/Betsy,Gobi Rabitts, all of your thanks for the kinds words as also.

Today was different. we actually just went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool with cold beers and free massages for everybody.

Ok, no it was 30+ centigrade heat with lots of dunes,  and a salt flats section that was a minor nigtmare. ok that might be a bit dramatic, but this was not an easy day.  My back started to sevely spasm today and just carrying the pack was like someone jabbing you with a stick every step.  Emma, your medicine helped  a lot today. Although it is really painful to sit here and type this email.

We really got deep into the atacama today, flat hot, ground that crumbles under your feet on every steep.  Quite fun.   I was really motivated to get the hell out of there as quick as possible, so I did ok on the last half.  Still was out there for over 10 hours and that has taken a toll on my body.

Its about 8:30pm and they're closing down the computers and I have to get ready for tomorrows 50 miles.  Which right now seems like a bad idea.  But I will make it, I am really clear about that.  By finishing today, I made it officially further than I did at the Gobi race, so tomorrow is my big day. I'm to go straight through all night, whatever it takes.

To everyone I got your emails and blog posts, I read them every night. 

See you after stage 5.

I have this one speed called “my body doesn’t want to move anymore” speed.  If I go that speed, I won’t meet the cut-off times.  I  basically ran the first 2 checkpoints because I knew there were DUNES today. Which are my nemesis.  Once I hit the sand my body quit and I just had to keep moving on willpower and just plain stubbornness. But I just kept at it.   Today was very adventure-racing like, canyons, water, climbing over sand walls, very cool.    No blisters, feeling dead tired but good.  Tomorrow is day 4 where I was cut-off at Gobi, so getting past tomorrow will be a good mental achievement.   I’ll be honest not being LAST is not as epic as being the last one in, but I have a much more sense of “racing” this time.  This is a great event, everyone should try it.

The camp is starting to bond more which is cool, everyone is limping and getting to know each other….  The adventure continues

Thanks for the kind words Gobi rabbits,  I met Dolors today Jaume,  I ran my fastest stage ever just trying to stay ahead of her for once, but she always passes me at some point.

Dianette  went crazy today and ran most of the course, which on her bad  blisters sounds horribly painful, but she’s pretty hard-core.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Alex, wish you a great one.

Ready for more, bring it on Atacama.

I am beat today.  It was hot, lots of river crossings.  I was a little upset this morning because they had to re-route the course due to safety reasons (too much water!), but it was a very scenic day.  Incredible vistas all around.  I was feeling really tired this morning and quickly most of the racers passed me, I just couldn’t move faster.  There were 3 cut-off times today and the first one was a bit “aggressive”.   But as you know, I AM going to cross the finish line and get a medal so I sorted my head out and got moving. (Alex you’re right about running with music it helps).  I made the first cut-off with 30 minutes to spare, for the rest I was way ahead of time. There was a HUGE sand-dune we ran down (150+ ft?) which was very fun.  I’m sure they put pics of this on the website.    There was a massive climb to the first checkpoint, which I breezed through. What I learned is that even if I’m not going too fast, if I don’t stop at the checkpoint, just get water and go, I pass like 5 people that are hanging out there.   I started calling the checkpoint people “sirens” because they get you to come into the shade, sit down, drink some water, maybe you can lie down in the medical area, next thing you know you’re in a Chilean bar drinking a beer…  my point: it’s hard to get moving again once you stop for ANY reason.  

I am slightly concerned about tomorrow because my feet and back is spasm-ing due to the weight of the pack, but I’m going to put my recovery gear on and see what I can do to get better by morning.  Tomorrow includes DUNES which where my big challenge in the Gobi race.

Sergio, unfortunately I can’t upload any pics during the race,  basically we send an email and have a staff member post the blog for us. Thanks for following!

Emma, Natalia, Diego, I love you very much and miss  you.  Tell Diego when he’s bigger he can come with me and we can race together.   Also Emma, please pack the Ergo baby carrier for the trip!

Papa y Mama,  looking forward to see you both soon.

Ok, they’re kicking me out of the computer because they are shutting down for the night.  Thank you all for following and commenting it’s a huge highlight at the end of a very challenging day.

-R

Today we all started the race, but last night the adventure started.  An approaching lightning storm brought rain upon the whole camp site.  Unfortunately the tents are not waterproof which was quite crazy trying to get all the gear out of the way. While rain while racing is just part of the fun, rain on your sleeping bag is a recipe for misery.  Then the lighning was getting closer and we all got our "lightning breifing"....  if you are caught in a lightning storm in the desert , throw your metal trekking poles far away, squat down as low as you can, but dont lay down.... basically hope you are not the highest point around, which in the Atacama is hard because for miles there are no trees brushes,  nothing.

Well, the storm passed and we spent our first freezing night at 10k feet.  All our gear is designed to be so light that its hard to get warm. 

The race start was exciting everyone getting geareup for the big event.  Right at the start the front runners just took off which is impressive given the altidude and ruggedness of the terrain.  Dianette is faster than me so she put her music on and went off on her race, she is doing well.  So it was me and the Atacama for the next  (almost) 7 hours.   I was feeling pretty strong but the altitude was afecting me, we are above 3000 meters so the air it pretty thin, which isnt too bad until you try to move up a hill.  The main effect seems to be your heart rate is much higher for the same amount of effort, so I felt like I was running when  was just walking fast.

I am really committed to finishing this race 100% so I am very aware of the cut-off times.  Today there was 2,   2:00pm for checkpoint 2, and 5pm for checkpoint 3.  Checkpoint 4 is the camp.   I was moving pretty fast for me,  fast walking the hills, running  the downhills, I was feeling good.  But then I looked at my watch and I saw that it was noon and I was going to miss the 2pm cuttoff, on Day 1? I panicked and started moving faster and huffing and puffing made it to the chekpoint 2 min before  2pm!   The problem was that I was actually at checkpoint 3, 3 hours ahead of the cut-offf.  Bottom line, read the directions or ask!

I made it to the end of Day 1 at 2:40pm,  6:40 after the start.   I was ahead of 8 people which out of 150+ racers is not great, but Im not  last!!!  I have the start of a couple blisters and the heat was pretty bad but I am feeling good, ready to go tomorrow.  Tomorrow is a 26.2 mile day (today was a little over 21 miles) so that should be fun.

The Atacama is beautiful  and in the distance there is  a snow covered mountain range, really cool, I am glad to be here.

Lots of love to mi familia y amigos.

Ruben

Alex:  Dianette asked if you can post as facebook update, link to the race and tag her to get the word out for her