Thanks to all for your great messages of support. There are big line ups outside the Cypertent (the tent where we send messages) today as we all crave messages from the outside world after only a day away! Actually, I think you may all know more about the race than we do as we cannot access the website...
 
I think the overwhelming feeling today is one of relief after a very tough 80K yesterday. I struggled very badly during the first 40K due to some stomach bug but fortunately after some medicine at one of the checkpoints was able to recover and really enjoy the 2nd half. My feet finally gave out and the blisters started popping out after the 60K mark but at that point it didn't matter. We still have one leg to go tomorrow but this is more of a celebratory 10K "limp" into the old town of Kashi.
 
The best word to describe the course yesterday is "desolate". Most of the route hugged the mountains which border on Pakistan and Kyrsicstan (ah, no spell check) so that was pretty cool to think about what was beyond the snow capped ridges. The terrain was rocky and there was a subdued military presence with mud brick barracks along the foothills. I finished just after sunset so was on the trail for 13.5 hours.
 
We are all looking forward to finishing up tomorrow and seeing our families and friends again. Showers and real food are on the top of the agenda tomorrow although there are rumours that we might get pizza tonight. No idea where this will come from!
 
This will be my last blog as we finish up tomorrow. It has been really nice to get all your messages and I can't tell you how much it has meant at the end of a long, difficult day. Thank you!
 
Dad, I thought about you a lot on the trail a few days ago as I was coming down a large, dry riverbed into a beautiful valley. Hope you are well and miss you and Mom a lot but will see you soon.
 
S, D, and F, love you and can't wait to see you on Monday.
 
L, P
     

Once again the spectacular scenery made things easier..we climbed ladders up narrow passes, ran along ridge lines overlooking valleys with steep cliffs on either side, and scrambled down massive dry river beds. At times there is enough space between racers to leave you entirely alone with the huge sky and the massive rock formations. Hard to describe but quite an amazing feeling to feel that you are alone (for a few moments at least) in a place so remote...until the goats appear over a ridge and give you a brief "what are you doing here?" kind of look. It is definitely their home turf and they are extremely agile on the sloped trails. Dylan/Flo, I took some good pictures today and will show you when I get back. Still no signs of snakes and scorpions!
 
From a race perspective we all had a good day although Todd and Neal struggled a bit with foot issues. You wouldn't know it from their times though! They are really good at fighting through the pain. The other two guys on our For The Children team--Nico and Wes--are also doing great. Everyone is doing the race at their own pace and managing their own pain challenges. I am wary of jinxing myself but have to admit that I have been very fortunate and have so far avoided any major blister issues...OK, I didn't just say that.
 
Believe it or not I froze last night and regretted only having my thin, summer sleeping bag. We were up pretty high (2500m) but it was also windy. I think all of us were cold but we awoke to a beautiful clear morning and it managed to heat up to the mid 30's during the afternoon.
 
Tomorrow is our big 80K day. Today was the toughest from a course difficulty level due to the many ups and downs but tomorrow is long and appropriately entitled "The Long March". Fortunately, the terrain is less mountainous. Will be a great challenge and will blog again in 2 days since we will be on the trails late into the night tomorrow.
 
Love to my family and keep the messages coming!
 
Peter

Thank you to all who have sent responses to my blogs. I can't tell you how nice it is after a long day to receive messages of support from friends and family. Thank you very much!
 
Someone from our tent (there are nine of us) just asked what day it is and it took the rest of us more than a few seconds to think about the answer. It is really easy to lose track of time when all you do each day is basically eat, run/walk, and sleep! Hard to believe it is only Tuesday but nice to have 120K behind us.Tomorrow is one of the more difficult days as there are lots of hills and peaks to cross. We climb up to what is apparently the world's largest natural stone arch tomorrow called Shipton's Arch. I am sure you will see pictures of this on the website. We are now camped below the trail to the arch in a place called Heaven's Gate.
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We had another good day today and all of us are either maintaining our positions or improving. Todd struggled with a few feet issues; Neal and I were lucky and managed to keep a very consistent pace and finish 14th. but this ranking is actually better than what it should have been as some of the leading groups got lost for up to 30 minutes due to some misplaced flags (still a mystery at this point--this is sure to spark some controversy). The leaders are rightly upset by what happened. Anyhow, us tortoises prevailed and we are now looking forward to tomorrow--sort of!
 
Surprisingly, it is quite cold today after yesterday's official high of 40 degrees. Need to wear my jacket to bed--and maybe my hat and gloves tonight. We are quite high at 2500 metres.
 
Dylan, thanks for your message. It was so nice to receive a message from you. "Mars" was full of large red boulders and red hills so it looked a lot like what Mars must looked like. We went to sleep about 11:00pm when it was still light out but I think I fell asleep pretty quickly. Today we spent a lot of time running through fields, in and out of mud and rivers--I fell in the mud and lost my waterbottle but fortunately have a spare. It was a really fun day with lots of different terrain. 
 
Flo, are you feeling better today? Hope so. I miss you a lot! Write me a message today, OK?
 
Lars/Jeannette, Anders and I are ready to take you on in a game of doubles this Monday!. Don't forget to book that court. Anders has been doing a fantastic job fighting through some really painful foot issues but unfortunately I don't think he will be able to carry on further. The feet are just giving him too many problems. He has made an incredibly brave effort to get this far.
 
Reido, look forward to you carrying the flag next year and thanks for your encouragement!
 
S, thanks for your messages. Of course, I look forward to these each day. Haven't heard from my Mom so not sure if she knows how to check the site. Can you help her?
 
Love to all,
Peter          

After chasing Todd all day yesterday and eating his dust in the last stage, I took on Neal "'The Goat" Gemasser who certainly put on his racing hooves today and taught me a lesson. I had him in sight most of the time but he was frequently a hazy dot in the distant horizon.Well done, Neal! We all had a good race today and ended up finishing within a span of about 15 minutes of one another--Neal, Peter, and Todd in that order--not that we are competing against one other!
 
The race stage today was called "Mars in the Gobi" due to the red rock formations at one section of the trail but there was a lot of variety--long stages through dry riverbeds, scrambling over rock and shale, and an interesting section at the end through the dunes. Not sure of the exact temperature in the dune area but probably over 40 degrees. Yesterday apparently hit 44 in the afternoon but exaggerated temperatures may be the runner's equivalent of the big one that got away!
 
We are now camped in a freshly cut wheat field...apparently Racing the Planet had to purchase the wheat and then donate it back to the farmers who own the land in order to secure a space for our nightly camp. Back into our tents tonight after spending last night in very comfortable Kyrgyz homes and extremely large and comfortable rooms with camel hair carpets--absolute luxury compared to the wheat fields. It is all good though as every place has a different atmosphere and flavour, just like the runs each day.
 
You may see some pictures of us dancing with the local village children last night in Tashpushka. We were innocently watching and enjoying the old men and the children from the village dance when many of us onlookers were made to join in. The dance is pretty unique and you will see what I mean if there happens to be a video of this. Needless to say many of us struggled to find the beat. OK, I may struggle at the best of times but this was really different. We all had a great time. 
 
S, love you and missing you and the kids! Not sure if my Mom read the blog and saw my Birthday Wishes--may be sending her a video later tonight. It is great to receive your messages each day!
 
Back to hanging out in the camp and resting up for tomorrow's 3rd. 40K leg. Lots of great people and really enjoying the internatiional flavor of the event.
 
Talk to you all again tomorrow.
 
L, P       

Happy Birthday, Mom!
 
Thinking about you today and wishing you a very Happy "65th." (wink, wink--this is a public forum after all) Birthday! Sorry I could not be there to celebrate with you and hope you have a great day.
 
We had a great day today. Nice cool temperatures to start so we managed to run the first 20K and then slowed down a bit on the last 2 legs. The scenery is spectacular--beatiful river valleys, stark, barren hills, little villages lined with trees where you get a respite from the brown and yellow earth. Doesn't sound like much of a desert yet, does it? However, there were a few hours of slogging through some flat, shale covered landscape and it did get pretty hot for a few hours. 
 
Dylan/Flo, still no snakes...sorry, but I did see a lot of salamanders. Lots of donkeys and camels also.
I am writing this message just after the finish line where they have set up a small hut with computers. Coming through the finish line after 40K was fantastic and I had 4 very young children--maybe 3 or 4yrs. old--run with me for the last 200 metres. We are staying in village houses made with mud walls tonight. The rooms are very large and very cool even in the heat of the day. I will take some pictures for you and show you what the mud walls look like. would love to hear what you have been doing. Are you missing school yet? (:
 
The only real aches and pains today are from my much too heavy pack...lots of shoulder pain but I think I am lucky to only have this problem. Have so far escaped blisters. Wishing I had my Flo Pack on instead of my Golite!
 
I am off to have one of my quite tasty freeze dried dinners. Rice and chicken tonight. Day 2 of the race starts tomorrow at 9:00am and will be sending you all another message tomorrow. I had a good race time today (40th. out of 130 runners) and ran with Todd most of the way. He finished slightly ahead and placed 36th. Hope we can keep it up in the days to come. One section of the race on day 2 is called "Mars" so that gives us a bit of a hint as to what is in store for us.
 
Hey Chris, we met a runner today from Calgary who blogs for the Calgary Herald. There will be an update from her each day this week in the paper so check it out if you get a chance.
 
L, P/Dad

Race starts tomorrow but we are now in camp at the start gate! It was a fantastic welcome into Gazi Village tonight-the villagers from all around the area came to clap us in and then entertain us with music, dancing and a horse race...feels very special to be here, a mix of cultures all enjoying each other. At some point we will get down to actually racing but for now it is nice to enjoy the very friendly build up.
 
Our camp is beside a river, rocky and barren with quite spectacular hills all around. We start our first leg running beside the river bank. First day's distance is 42K.
 
A word to Dylan and Flo. No snakes or scorpions yet but some cool two-humped camels. I will let you know more about the other animals I see in the days to come. I did sit on a horse and was offered a ride on a donkey...Send me an email when you get a chance and tell me about your day! It is 11:00 at night and only now getting dark so the sun sets very late here.
 
Love Peter/Dad

We will soon be on our way! Nice slow journey to Kashgar from HK via Guangzhou and Urumqi. Today is Thursday and we leave tonight for Guangzhou. The race starts Sunday morning so we have a few days to take our time and enjoy the trip. Come Saturday the Blackberry gets shut down and life gets simplified rather dramatically! Just trails, camp at night, and the odd message along the way to friends and family. Thanks to all our friends and family who have been so supportive. I think Dylan and Florence are already excited for me to return since I have promised Florence my Spork (at 6 yrs. old this is a pretty cool thing) and Dylan my flashlight. A special thanks to my wife, Sihui, who has had to put up with all the training, the many trips to the gear shop, and some rather tedious (but absolutely fascinating!) discussions on the subject of electrolytes...thanks, honey! Next update after day one of the race... Peter