By far the most daunting day yet. Having been injured and exhausted by the previous single marathons, the idea of doing double that in a single 50 mile day was sheer murder. I was concerned that we had overdone it the previous day as I still felt wasted and worried that our various injuries would not hold up.
 
We started off as a four and set of quickly, mirroring the pace of the day before. However after the first 10km Ben and Mitch soon reasserted their natural authority and accelerated away on a sharp descent. This left Hugo and I to grind out the the next 70km. Hugo's knee was deteriorating seriously and the heat, the monotony of the terrain and the miles ahead meant that this was one of the lowest periods I have had.
 
At Check point five, 50 km in, we took down another spaghetti bolognaise (on the food front I owe Mitchell an apology - the Salmon in a Dill sauce was in fact delicious) and despite it being my 9th spag bol/lasagne in 5 days, it provided a huge lift. From then on our pace dropped due to fatigue but our spirits were strong and the closer we got to the finish line the higher they got. Hugo was even indulging his passion for photographing cheesy silhouettes against the sunset - I was only to happy to model.
 
Night eventually closed in and with the course was lit up by glow sticks, we switched on our head torches and ploughed on. With about 70km gone my feet suddenly started throbbing and I realised that blood had drained down to them and was making them swell so with Hugo's knee also twanging, we took our final industrial collection of painkilling pills and forged ahead.
 
Finally at around 12:30 we arrived at the camp, with banging drums and Ben and our tent mates waiting for us. Crossing the line was a moment of delirious relief and a desperate urge to lie down.
 
Ben and Mitch had a phenomenal day and finishing in the low 30's - they put us to shame. We finished around 60th I think on the stage and around 70th overall.
 
Tomorrow is just a 12km stage into the finish in Kashgar, so barring a disaster we should complete this thing. It has been an extraordinary experience, we have met some brilliant people, gone through stratospheric highs and the deepest of lows.
 
Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored us and supported us. You guys provided the motivation to keep plugging through. Massive thanks to my family and in particular Guggy, Gumps, Mum and Dad who really made it happen.
 
Brillinat messages. Well done Kid on finishing exams, brillinat sporting updates. Thank you Chalks. Thank you Gary. Thank you mine, Hugo and Ben's Mum and Dad.
 
Return to civilisation tomorrow and fly back to Beijing on Sunday so I shall be in touch more fully then - will try and get hold of a phone in Beijing.

I'll try and keep this lucid.
 
Wednesday
 
By far mine and Hugo's strongest day.
 
It was a bitterly cold night so we all slept fitfully, but the camp's stunning setting over the endless red canyons of the Gobi made it well worthwhile. The race kicked off with an extremely sharp ascent to "Heaven's Gate" at over 10,000ft above sea level. You could see across the mountains into Kyrgyztan and it was a spectacular start.
 
There was then a series of sharp climbs and downhills which really took their toll on the foot and I was holding up the others. It was at this point where one of the weakest attempts at chivalry ocurred. Ahead was a woman struggling to keep her footing on the path that was cut into the side of a canyon, so I offered her my poles. She kindly accepted and Ben and I shared a pole each. After about 5 minutes I realised that this arrangement meant that I was going to hobble to the end in a time of around 20 hours, so I had to wait for her to catch up and then explain that my initial offer was rescinded and I wanted them back immediately. She was very understanding.
 
At the halfway mark I took some strong painkillers and Hugo and I launched off in an attempt to get as far as possible during the window that they were effective. In the end we got into a good rhythm and carried it through to the end, eventually finishing up 40th equal.
 
It was good to put a respectable performance in before The Long March which involves catching a 6:45am bus tomorrow and then doing 50 miles to the finish. Its very daunting and will probably involve us racing through the night.
 
Anyway today was good, so fingers crossed it goes off OK. Everyone is in good spirits.
 
Thanks for the message Anne-Marie. Can somebody keep me updated with Gumpy's progress.
 
Yours truly
 
George
 

Tuesday
 
Thank you so much for all your comments. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks a lot for the sporting updates Ned - everyone around the camp has appreciated it.
 
I am so sorry to hear about Gumpy. A huge relief that he is recovering - please keep me updated with progress. Can you post me Gran's email address so that I can message her.
 
Less importantly, I slept far better last night, pretty much passed out -albeit because we have to drink about 9 litres of water a day, I did have to go to the loo 3 times but overall it was a great improvement.
 
My main concern for the day was the onset of tendonitis in my foot on the last 6 miles of the previous stage -The doctor gave me some very strong pain killers and I combined that with paracetomol and went on my way.
 
Mitch was sick in the night, so he and Ben stuck with Hugo and I for the first 12 miles. This was great -however good mates you are with someone, 16 hours one-on-one is a long time to hold a conversation.
 
The start was through arable land and rivers - some of them knee deep and that was followed by long slogs up huge canyons and finally a long climb up to the mountain camp.
 
The journey was eased by the presence of an Aussie lawyer ex-tennis pro who used to coach Martina Hingis. His stories of the of Wimbledon drew us away from the road ahead and back to the green grass of home.
 
In the afternoon the pain killers started to wear off and I struggled up the final 8-mile ascent (I can't take the pills more often than once every 12 hours because they rot the kidneys apparently). Once again we were greeted with banging drums and a fantastic reception from our camp mates (one of whom is still leading the women's race).
 
Overall we are very happy with our progress. Mitch seems to be recovering from his sickness (he produced a remarkable effort today to plough through on an empty stomach), Hugo and Ben's knees are both very sore - but the medicine seems to be keeping it bearable. And it was a huge relief to complete the stage today after panicking a bit about the foot last night.
 
We are now half way and in good spirits. Tomorrow we visit Shipton's Arch, the highest natural unsupported arch in the world apparently, so should be an exciting day.
 
Please keep me updated with Gumpy's news and thanks again for all the messages, it really helps.

Monday
 
Very little sleep again. Odd because we had a roof over our heads unlike the night before. I guess I'm just still finding it hard to adjust to the jet lag. Patching up my blisters took me ages. Pathetic considering how tame mine are compared to others - they have them taped up in seconds. I've never been very practical.
 
Our dried food is delicious - the lasagne was an absolute pleasure last night (the salmon in a dill sauce is still to be sampled - Mitch's extrardinarily impractical and pretentious choice) and the Raspberry Oatmeal slips down a treat for breakfast.
 
First two 6-mile stage were OK. Dramatic red earth and some slippery sandy ascents made footing quite tricky, but physically I felt decent. The third stage was over sharp rocky ground and it was ripping everyone's feet to shreds. I got off fairly lighly but my toes were pretty battered.
 
The final stage is where things got tricky. It was a fast descent down our first proper experience of dunes and that combined with a wearying body made it seriously tough. The fact that the temperature apparently hit 44 degrees was also a stumbling block. The finish is addorned with banging drums and cheering locals and it was a sweet sight.
 
I may have a bit of a foot problem emerging. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. - I've been given some really strong pain killers.
 
In answer to my lovely sister's question about whether Hugo and I are currently last - the answer is no, but we were about 100th of 130 competitors after the 1st stage. We were an hour and a quarter quicker today so I think we moved up, but I think from here on in I will be significantly slower.
 
One of the girls in my tent is winning the women's race - so great atmosphere and very exciting.
 
Once again thanks for the comments - absolutely brilliant support, its hugely appreciated.
 
All the best.
 
 

Sorry this is brief. Just completed the first stage; very sore on my shoulders and feet, but few bliters thank God. Here is a quick update of the last few days:
 
Friday
 
 Adair and Mitch finally arrived in the small hours in remarkably good spirits. Mitch even found a restaurant that would serve him a steak at 3 in the morning.
 
Saturday
An epic kit session, desperately trying to work out what we would need for the days ahead. We passed through the kit check and medical assessment and then sat on a bus for 3 hours as we were taken deep into the Gobi. The terrain was dramatically steep, but pretty foreboding knowing what was to come.
 
We drove into a canyon that would not have looked out of place in Lord of the Rings and were welcomed by hundreds of locals and the towns Lord Mayor. A remarkable opening ceremony ensued dominated by a man with charisma of Simon Cowell, the voice of Tom Jones and Astaires moves.
 
Later won a 20 quid bet with ben on some headless goat wrestling. My local knowledge Kazach knowledge from 2005 really paid off.
 
We then got a complete schooling on kit by our brillinatly helpful and morale-boosting tent mates (Marlows 5kg duck tape reel was a particular source of hysteria).
 
Woeful nights sleep as the locals carried on Karaoke into the small hours and the rocky ground the back.
 
Sunday
Tough day, but I couldnt have expected to feel any better afterwards. Few blisters, sore back. Raced with Hugo and with our suspect knees relatively unscathed we cant complain. Mitch and Marlow finished well ahead putting us to shame.
 
Ill write tomorrow. Thanks a lot for the messages. Great boost.
 
Love George

One hell of a long haul, but finally arrived in Kashgar last night at midnight. 

The Heathrow authorities had messed up so my delayed flight meant I missed my connection to Beijing. The worst part of that was that  the aeroplane I was rescheduled to fly on contained a certain Marlow. I was happily settled into my seat when his sizable shadow loomed over as he bobbed down the aisle towards me. "Aaah mate, what a fantastic surprise," he said as he squeezed in beside me leaving me stuffed against the window.

Unfortunately such difficulties pale in comparison to our two teammate's:
This is a report from Adair and Mitchell about an hour ago:
Things are getting interesting now - having already had to rearrange 3 flights, we have now taken that number to 4 as our flight from Beijing to Urumqi is now delayed by 2 hours so we have missed our connecting flight.

To make matters more interesting Mitch has just been violently sick and shat himself in the Beijing airport loo.  This is even more concerning since we have eaten exactly the same (dish for dish) since meeting at midday on Wednesday.  I fear when the time comes for me to turn my guts inside out will not come in the relative luxury of an airport but at 30,000 feet.

I'll update this as soon as I can.

Night before we fly out. Massively nerve-racking. No idea if I'm even close to being fit enough. Time will tell. The amount of gear I've got is ridiculous. Pretty much two of everything. I've always tried to use rubbish kit in life because then you always have a get out clause - "I lost because I couldn't afford your stupidly swish bat/racket/boots". However when people have been as generous as they have in donating to the cause, such excuses are not really an option. Went for my last training walk today with Dad. Put all my kit on and my pack for the first time - felt like a nonce to be honest. If I saw a bloke strolling in the Cotswolds wearing huge wrap-around sunglasses, wet-suit shorts, a bandana and two ski poles I'd think he was a right ****. I'll be updating this blog every night during the race which starts on Sunday so I'll try and keep everyone posted on our progress. Marlow is currently sweating over the accountancy exam he sits tomorrow morning. Mitch will be craning sofas through windows until a couple of hours before the flight tomorrow. Adair has spent the last week making a perfect spreadsheet of all the things he needs to get. He should finish it tomorrow morning, so that will leave him about half an hour to actually get everything. Good work. I've no doubt I will be lending him half my kit...which is exactly why I have two of everything. All the best.