I made it. Woohoo! 

The final stage was just 10km downhill along a winding dirt road. My pack was significantly lighter, with all consumables either eaten/used or tossed away.

I've been struggling with a sore achilles tendon since day 2, and a sore shin on the other leg since day 4. But with the end in sight,  I managed to ignore the discomfort and make it to the finish in under an hour. (It also helped that I had someone trying to overtake me and I couldn't let that happen!).

I have a huge smile on my face now.

It's been an incredible experience. I felt it was over almost before it had begun. And in many ways it was much easier than I anticipated. 

For me the worst part of the experience was sleeping dirty. I was also really cold at times and and  running through mud every day was a bit tedious. But even that wasn't  too bad, as I was mentally prepared for pretty much anything. 

The best part of the experience was the comeraderie amongst the runners. By and large, trail runners are an encouraging and  supportive bunch, and there is nothing like sharing the highs and the lows of a tough adventure to bring people together.

It was also so inspiring to hear about some of the amazing and incredibly tough events that many of the racers have done or are preparing to do. I am in awe of them and their extraordinary achievements. 

But now that I know that I too can manage a pretty tough race, I am already dreaming about my next event. 

Next time, my pack will be a little lighter when I start though!

Before I end this little blog for the final time, here's my last request for you to make a donation to Good Return to help fight poverty. The link to my fundraising page is https://goodreturn.raisely.com/rose-anne-hawkeswoodhttps://goodreturn.raisely.com/rose-anne-hawkeswood

And thank you to those of you that have already made a donation or a loan. 

And now a final goodbye from my Georgian adventure. 

Sun

We have registered and had our gear thoroughly checked to make sure we have all the mandatory equipment. The guy who weighed my bag told me it's not the heaviest. Hmm. Close perhaps.

Now about to head out to the race camp at Algeti National Park.

Only about 42 competitors. Looks like a lot of serious runners and I hear rumours of a "fast race". I'm wondering where the other "back of the packers" are. Hope there are some slow coaches like me. Otherwise I guess I'll just bring up the rear on my own?

Next update at the end of day 1 (assuming I survive).

Before I clock out for the day, in case you've not read my previous posts, I am taking the opportunity to raise funds for a not for profit organisation called Good Return.

Good Return started in 2003 and aims to end the cycle of poverty through economic empowerment. Good Return has already had a significant impact on the lives of people living in poverty and has provided financial skills training to 50,000 people, creating flow on benefits to 200,000 people. 

You can see more of Good Return's great work by watching this video: https://vimeo.com/349801152

Please consider making a donation to Good Return through my fundraising link. Together we can help to transform the lives of people living in poverty.

Simply click on the link below to view my fundraising page and make a donation.

https://goodreturn.raisely.com/rose-anne-hawkeswood

Or you can lend money directly through the Good Return web platform to someone like Chum Chhueng of Cambodia to help her restock her grocery business and grow her income. To do that, use this link: https://goodreturn.org.au/how-it-works

Thanks for your support. 

I arrived in Georgia last Friday and have spent a wonderful few days exploring this beautiful country with some fellow racers.

We have visited some very ancient churches and monasteries, walked in the Greater Caucasus mountains, watched the ballet, walked and walked the streets of Tbilisi, and eaten delicious food. 

The wine tasting tour didn't quite work out as planned. An awfully long drive to somewhere that didn't have a vineyard. Or even much wine. But we did get a sumptuous Georgian meal.  

Today was preparation day. Again. I reckon if I add up all the hours I have spent packing and repacking it might be nearly as many as I will spend on the course.

I have reduced my food and I am now down to about 4kg of food.  But the pack still weighs 10.7 kg without water. Ouch.

Day one has a long long long uphill, and the weather has been been hot and humid (30-34 deg) on the lowlands. I expect that won't change on Sunday. Will be a tough day with maximum weight. I'm scared!

On the other hand, the weather is likely to be wet and cold in the mountains during the week, so RTP introduced a new requirement a couple of days ago: waterproof pants. I bought some a while back specifically for the event but I left them in Sydney as they weren't mandatory. Consequently, I spent today trying to find some more. But no luck. Not sure what will happen at gear check in. Hopefully they will be reasonable given last minute rule change. 

Other than that little stress, I'm getting excited. It's starting to feel real. Tomorrow we move to the race hotel and register. On Saturday we have a gear check and then head to the race camp for the night before our race start on Sunday. 

I've decided to take the opportunity to see if I can do some good while doing this event.

I will be raising money for Good Return, a not for profit organisation that seeks to break the cycle of poverty through economic empowerment. Good Return gives people living in the lowest poverty brackets the financial capability to help themselves to become financially independent by facilitating access to responsible loans and financial education and business skills. 

I'd love you to make a donation to Good Return through my donations page here https://goodreturn.raisely.com/rose-anne-hawkeswood

Alternatively, you can make a loan directly through the Good Return platform to help fund someone trying to start a small business (such as a market stall, basket weaving, farming etc). These are people with limited means and no collateral, who would be unlikely to be able to access funds through traditional lending channels. 

When the loan is paid off, you can take the money out again - or you can reinvest it in another entrepreneur. 

You can read about these people and how they plan to help themselves out of poverty and make a loan here  https://grloans.secure.force.com/MicroFinanceLoans#!/home. 

Thank you.

Did a test pack on the weekend. Sad to say my gear did not all fit into my running backpack and I shall have to discard some items. 

The good news about this is that my pack is way too heavy anyway, so it would be good to reduce weight. The bad news is it's difficult to know what to remove. Apart from some extra food, the only 'luxuries' I have (items not on the mandatory list of gear) are a thin 3/4 sleeping mat (a little something between me and the hard, cold tent floor); a spare T-shirt and a fresh pair of socks and undies for every day (the idea of running and sleeping in the same set of clothes for the whole week is very unappealing); toilet paper, toothbrush and toothpaste and some extra meds; and my phone.

Here's what it looks like:

We have to have a minimum of 14,000 calories of food. I currently have around 17,000. About half of that is made up of electrolyte powders, gels, bars, nuts and biltong - stuff I can eat on the go. There will be hot water in camp, but no cooking facilities, so for breakfast I've made up packages of pronutro and oats with seeds (just add cold water), and for dinner I've bought dehydrated meals (just add hot water). 

An altogether unappetising menu! And it weights about 4.5 kg.

In addition to the optional extra kit, for the mandatory items, rather than something minimalist, I have elected to take a thicker puffer jacket and a decent sleeping bag to ward off the cold in camp. I will pay for this with a heavier pack.  Not only do the items weigh more, but they take up more room and I've had to get a bigger pack, which weighs about twice what some of the smaller packs weigh.

Mandatory gear shown below (toilet paper not technically mandatory):

Currently my packed weight without water is about 11 kg.  It hurts just thinking about it!

Yay! I'm on the final countdown to the start of the race and I'm starting to feel that I might actually make it to the start line. 

I've been wanting to do one of the Racing the Planet multi stage events since I first heard of them more than 10 years ago. It's always felt like more of an aspirational goal than a real possibility because of kids, and the cost, and well, you know...the bit about running 250km. With a pack.

But I finally signed up for my first multi stage in 2020. Not a Racing the Planet event, but a similar event in New Zealand. Without a pack, which seemed a bit more manageable.

Unfortunately the event was cancelled due to COVID. And then cancelled again (at least for internationals) in 2021.  

So Georgia it is. With a pack. And mountains. Yikes!!!

Can't wait.