Coma:
 
- took 19 hours striaght to finished round 5 - 80kms...got back at camp at 3:30 am in the morning.
- super cold and in so much pain, can't fall asleep
- shin splint on right leg was super painful, managed to walk 80 kms like a frankestien
- tofu keeps making fun of my cankle (calf and ankle) because my anke is so swollen it looks the same size as my calf
- thought about my entire life from birth until now on the course. was running of of things to think about while trying not to think about the pain
- took 12 advils in 19 hours...probably not very good for me...but couldnt help it
- met up with Heather at check point 5 and power hiked with her for 5 hours in the dark
- my light went out of battery, thank god heather was there, otherwise i would have had to walk in the dark, scary
- 10 kms left, the race is basically over....i am going to miss this, but also glad that i am coming home back to civilization. lived like a caveman for the past week.
- had problem taking a dump all week....i finally took the biggest dump on the course yesterday. it was my first time taking a dump right in the open public...not something that i would want to do again
- glad that kevin and tofu are here....couldnt have done it without them....
- can't wait to see wifey
- just checked email and saw soooo many messages from everyone....so touched. thanks guys....love you guys for thinking about me...most of all, thank wifey so much for sharing what's going on out here, thank you for all your support and thoughts
 
Kevin
 
- started the day off pretty rough. it was iniitally my intention to "tough out" the day running on my bad anke trying to finish under 10 hours
- i could barely walk at first with Heather, tofu, jay going ahead of me
- we reached the 10 km checkpoint in 1H 40 mins
- tried running at the 15km mark hobbling pretty badly but still manage to pass 15 - 20 people getting into checkpoint 2 ranked 56
- i made a goal to myself to finish 28th or better and kept running/walking through the pain
- i felt pretty crappy by the 40 km having the most difficult time trying to pass the 40th competitor
- i got my second wind at 45 km, pass 22 people over the next few stages and managed to finish 18th covering the last 35 km under 4 hours
- pretty happy with the day, we all made it and spirits are good
 
Mike
 
-woke up at 5am to catch bus at 6.45 to start point hour half away.  so cold this morning, very glad when we got packed n dressed n on the bus.  race started at 9am.  wrapped left ankle and felt pretty decent.  strategy was to hike first 40km and run second half.  ran from 35-50k and got extremely bad blisters on right foot.  popped them (6 of them) at stage 5, and for next 30km, had to worst hike of my life.  every step hurt bad.  sucked because felt had energy to run more, but the blisters hurt so bad.  from 65-80km, was in complete darkness (from 11pm on), which was an experience.  finally finished at 12.45am, nearly 16 hrs for the day.  4 out of 9 from our tent already finished and was sleeping, so i changed into sleeping clothes in dark and went to bed dirty, tired, exhausted, cramped, cold.  slept liked crap, couldnt wait til morning.
 
-this morning felt great, everyone was congratulating each other for finishing and we had racers coming in from night before until 2pm today.  in total, we had about 20 drop out out of 130 participates throughout the week.  no one from our tent (tent 13) dropped out.  sunny and warm today, feeling gladness worst is over, physically beaten up, but spirits very high.  not yet emotional, but maybe that will come tmrw at finish line.  will say you experience alot from this event, extreme highs and lows.  highs from simple things like a meal, crossing checkpoints, and a wet cloth to wipe yourself down.  lows from physical injuries, a feeling of the end is so far, extreme hot (day 2 of 108F) to extreme cold (day 3 at night was insanely cold, and in the mornings), and not getting to shower for a week.  also, interesting to see how the competitiveness in everyone pushes them to do things they didnt think they could do.  counter that with how the competitiveness can get physically beaten out of you (or at least it did out of me a few times this week).  i'm so amazed at the top 10 competitors here, how their competitiveness pushes them to overcome physical pain. 
 
-overall comment, very glad kevin and jason talked me into doing this race.  i seriously did not think i could do it in the beginning, but those guys were very optimistic and encouraging.  it sucks they got injured and couldnt perform at the level they wanted too, but the way they sucked it up and endured injuries to finish (finish well for kevin, he had a great day yesterday) is inspirational. glad to have shared this experience with them, as well as new friends i've met here this past week.  miss all of friends and family very much as well, thanks very much for the support and sarcasm, a good laugh helps so much to keep spirits high and things in perspective.  bananas in the ear, keep laughing everyone. 

Day 4:
Mike - injuries.  everyone is getting injured.  jason has itb and hip flex issues, kevin has a stress fracture, i twisted my left ankle, heather pullled hip flex as well.  day 4 must be breaking point in the race.  i finished at 9.5 hrs, longest day yet and it was only 44km.  non stop hills and ROCKS.  i hate rocks, there were on 75% of the course.  i have a very weak left ankle that easily rolls, rolled it every day of the race, today was more severe.  took advil and was able to finish ok.  will wrap it for tmrws long march.  good notes, saw the most amazing site yet in gobi.  its called gates of heaven, you climb up to around 10,000ft and see thru this arch to the mtns in the back.  the altitude today definitely affected me.  couldnt breath on the hills, non stop hills for 30km.  last 14km was able to catch second wind and run/hop most of it.  tnrw is going to suck. confident we'll all finish though. miss ya baby.
 
Jason - Worst day so far.  I took 10.5 hrs to finish.  ITB is better, but hip flexer is killing me on the uphill.  and got a new injury today.  i think its what they call shin splints, a shooting pain up my shin up to my knee.  good thing is kev and i took alot of photos of us in pain today.  need to rest.  miss my family and friends, especially wifey, christina.  body is wrecked, but spirit is still high.  need to rest up for the 80km tmrw.
 
Kevin - left second toe looks like its going to explode.  stress fracture in left foot is getting more severe.  looking forward to tmrw.  excited to see cath soon.

Day 3:
Mike - woke up feeling not so great.  jason n kevin wanted me to try and cut another half hr and come in at 6 hrs.  i dont feel very optimistic today.  the trail was awesome on day 3.  a ton of river crossings (one up to your thighs), muddy trails, cut through trees n bushes, everyone got dirt and mud everywhere on their body.  had a highlight during the run, ran by this village in stage 1 and there was a row of 15 kids standing by road cheering us on.  i ran by and hi-five all of them and they all giggled.  that gave me a high for a bit.  stage 4, i completely hit a wall and was dying.  for the last 5km, all competitive juices drained from me.  every step i said the f word and felt the weakest so far in this race.  managed to end at 6.38 hrs.  hip flexer continues to bother me.  tents are very sandy and alot of ants.  a good note, today was cloudy and cool, weather was low 80s.  been thinking of different people in my life each day to motivate me.  i.ve used tam, bubs, fly, david so far.  baby/sillybear, i am saving you for the 80km day.  miss you tons.
 
Kevin - was lost for 1 hr because someone moved the flags.  he ended finishing at 5.20 hrs.  the person he's suppose to be beating is now ahead of him by 45 min. also, left arch collapsing, so a little worried about tomorrow. he fell in mud and fell down a ravine as well today.  overall bad day.  a good note, he made 2 new friends (patrick and sean, americans) and he helped pat through finish line because he was struggling a bit. 
 
Jason - my nightmare came true today, injuries.  woke up barely able to stand up, got up and felt sharp pain in left knee (IT band) and soreness in right hip flexer.  wanted to run with tofu today, but fell behind at start.  was so depressed as people passed me, 100 people passed me.  almost wanted to cry. pain was killing me, worried i may not finish the race.  stayed positive, took handful of pain killers and kept on.  pain finally started to go away at 20km mark, caught up to tofu at stage 3, and we ended up finishing together.  came in at 61st place at 6.30 min.  pray to wake up tmrw with fresh pair of legs.  going to stretch now.  christina, i miss you and cant wait to see you at finish line.    

Day 2: Mike - woke up sore but overall feeling pretty good.  we ran through these beautiful canyons on day 2, amazing colors and contrasts.  extremely hot today, temp was 108F. was inspired by kevin and jason from day 1, so picked up pace on second day.  ended up finishing at 6.30 hrs / 54th place.  kevin and jason ended up with similar time as day 1, and placed 5th and 21st again.  at camp, a few comments.  had new muscles (hip flexer) that were hurting that i've never had hurt before.  also, no stream near camp so had to wash up with a wet sock.  didnt sleep well at night because so humid, woke up a dozen times. 
 
Jason - Ups: finished 5.5 hrs, lasagna with meat sauce, chilling with tofu, kevin, heather, saw christina in my dreams last night, got emails from friends n family.  Downs: cant take a dump, keep on farting, flies up in my butt when i take a dump, IT band and hip flexer hurts, more blisters on feet, PK on the trail and got a cut on knee, ants and flies everywhere in tent.
 
Kevin:  i miss catherine very much.

just completed day 1.  it was definitely much more difficult than i imagined, mainly because the weight of my bag came in at 23 lbs  i had been training with 12-15 lbs.  ended finishing around 7 hrs, 73rd place.  my two friends kevin and jason came in at 5th place and 21st place, 4.5 hrs and 5.5 hrs, very impressive.  i'm inspired, will do better tomorrow.  the course was difficult, alot of rough terrain, hard rocks, parts where you have to climb cliffs, and the heat does get to you eventually (although himidity here is really good, low).  legs are really sore, also shoulders.  food never tasted so good.  looking forward to sleeping tonight.
 
recap of last night and this morning, start of race.  we took a 3 hr bus ride from kashgar to starting point, very scenic ride but extremely bumpy and rough.  we had a welcome ceremony by local xinjiang villagers along with cultural dance and the horse/goat sporting event.  went to bed around 11pm, was pretty cold at night, took a piss in the middle of the night and saw the most amazing, clearest view of stars in my life.  there were stars everywhere, unbelievable.  woke up at 7, race officially started at 9am.
 
emily, miss you baby, thank you very much for the t-shirt with messages. i'm wearing it now.  i'm fine, no serious injuries. day 1 was definiitely harder than northface 40km. going to stretch tonight, hope no cramps tmrw morning and hope to log in a better time.  also, kevin and jason wanted to send messages to their significant others.  catherine, kevin said he's fine, feels good, his heel is a little sore but overall good (just look at his time!).  christina, jason said he's well alao and that the scenery is amazing.  he misses you and will write more tmrw.  he didnt ask me to say this, but i think he's really proud of his time (i'm proud of his time). 

leaving tomorrow morning for kashgar.  haven't finished packing yet but wanted to get this blog set up so I can update during race.  current feelings:  very nervous yet excited and tired.  i really hope i finish the race.