Wow folks, getting a lot of lovely messages from so many, thanks so much for all the well wishes!.....well where do I begin today….first and foremost I with many others thankfully survived the long march….it was blistering out there. I was delighted to wake yesterday morn to discover my legs felt good no major fatigue but unfortunately @ 25KM in my stomach began to cause problems again….I was feeling quite unwell at CP2 and vomited….despite getting some meds from the doctor there was no relief…I decided after being sick a second time that walking was the only option. Walking is something I’d rather avoid as its always so hard to get going again once you stop, but I was feeling so weak and unwell it was that or end up being pulled from the event down the line. I spoke with Doctors at the next checkpoint and basically my stomach was not absorbing fluid due to heat exhaustion so every sip I took just sat there, it was very painful and worrying….I sat for 10mins in the checkpoint with Martin Hennessy and decided that the best path forward was to water up and march on walking with intent. Martin was suffering with a strained hamstring so the two of us headed off together across the scorched broken terracotta tiled landscape….it was boiling. We walked the next 50k or so across sunbaked river beads, 300 meter vertical sand dunes…..when we both clapped eyes at the ant like people attempting to climb the dune from a few KMs out….no words were spoken….a tear may have escaped ;-)…….hours went by and slowly as the day began to cool my stomach improved…. But I had not eaten for the entire day so felt very lethargic…..one we left the broken land and salt parched land…
(Running /walking on that stuff is like trying to traverse a frozen ploughed field)……we eventually met with a dirt road and headed in the direction of the valley of the moon…..Sun set was approaching and the sight that greeted was surreal….I have never seen such a beautiful site…. Not of this world, the red land in the purple haze of sunset was all a glow…the full moon rose and seemed almost touchable…the entire valley was like the surface of the moon from a scifi film……that sight was worth 10 desert treks….it was heaven at the end of a tough but rewarding day…I found myself picking up speed for the first time that day and ran the last few km back to camp like a new person…..today is our rest day before the final trot of 10km back to San Pedro in the morn…everyone is excited an all chat about the food we are going to eat and drink – obviously….and oh…. how wonderful it will be to shower and have clean clothes….the simple things we take for granted will be cherished at least for a short while……..So far I can easily say that this was one of the toughest events I have experienced, the terrain is beautiful but very very hard on the feet… God there are some very scary feet on display today….I for some reason got off scot free!!!!! Not one blister……not sure if I have a secret but I love my shoes and will never leave home without ‘skin shield’ which is the stuff I put on my feet everyday!!!. Will head now a grab some dried food for the final time this week. Thanks again for the great messages, its been an epic week and I cant wait to celebrate with all the great folks here xxxx ;-)

Phew much better day today tummy wise! Spent most of the day with one of my tent buddys

Another tough day in the office today, really struggling keeping food down, spent 45 mins trying to get breakfast down, sadly it was determined to make an escape 6 miles into to our trot across the frozen broccoli aka the salt crust section. I walked the next 20 miles mostly with Martin one of the other Irish competitors

Hi all, sent an update yesterday but don

Day1

Today was tough!...did not get much sleep, but that was expected due to nerves,excitement and anticipation. The desert gets so cold at night but thankfully my sleeping bag is great so that was not a problem. We all huddled around the camp side and ate breakfast before the start

I was about to comment on the epic circa 40hr trip to get there until I spotted three or four competitors arrive just a short time ago.... as it turns out they embarked on their voyage the same time as I!....3days to get here!.... I will never complaint again! The delays and diversions to the other side of the continent are all part of the experience and all worth it.... flying over the Andes was breathtaking and the desert lanscape is most definately out of this world... I may not get to boldly go where no one has gone before, but it not hard to imagine being on another world when you look around here, scorched red earth , volcanos ..... stunning The folks I have met so far have been great craic so all in all its shaping up to be a great week. Tomorrow we will set off for our race briefing and equipment check and for there its off to camp 1(10,000ft)... no going back now!

Well, the day has finally come! bags are packed and I'm almost ready to go..... feeling so nervous and excited, I'm looking forward to experiencing and seeing a place never visited but only dreamed about. I'm also very much looking forward to the people I will meet during the event, my tent mates, interesting strangers from all over the world who by the end of a short week will be strangers no more. My radlight bag is full to bursting, crammed with highfives, protein bars, expedition foods and all manner of electrolytes. I feel a little like the kid leaving home with all their worldly possessions in a handkerchief tied to a stick!. A reasonability heavy stick!, the challenge throughout the preparation for this (aside for the training) has been choosing and selecting gear to try and keep the bag weight at the minimum, with water its just shy of 8kg. Elverys Sports in Galway have been kind enough to support me with selecting some clothing and food for the adventure and while much of what I tried and tested during training worked well.... next week will be the real test. The race starts on Sunday until the following Saturday and hopefully all going well I along with 163 others will have experienced the highs, lows, pain, joy, and extraordinary place that is Atacama. I hope to drop a few lines on progress each day and will let you know how I get on with my food and gear. Time to go! Some Gear: