Here is a link to the photos that I took during the event:

Photos from the Gobi

We woke up to David's alarm clock before six for a two hour bus ride to the start line for the big day.  After the excitement of the day before we were all exceptionally nervous - we have all been exhausted on the 40km days so the 'Long March' loomed ahead of us perilously.  Just before the start Diana (who was leading the women's standings) ungraciously turned down my offer of a lucky rock.  I won't go into huge detail with the day - there is a huge queue for the blogs! After a quick briefing, the race started as normal at 0900.  We joined up with Ben and Mitch again for the first couple of stages, a long, winding yomp along a rocky river bed before a climb/descent over a large hill.  Both Ben and Mitch, who had been performing outstandingly in the previous days despite not really eating anything, went ahead of us down the hill - despite our efforts (frankly poor) this would be the last we would see of them.  Checkpoints 1-5 (about 80km) were probably my most miserable of the race - Arbs and I spent most of the time in silence praying for time to disappear.  We took turns slip-streaming each other (I assure you, at our pace, there was no slipstream) and spent most of our time trying to avoid slipping on rocks.  Most of the race has been on rocky/sandy landscape and we have found that we've had to permanently focus to avoid spraining/breaking our ankles on anything unstable - it has been mentally exhausting.  For some reason (probably the overdose of painkillers) after checkpoint 5 the pain subsided slightly and we both decided to try to enjoy the evening.  Arbs had (against my wishes - everytime I stopped my right leg seized up completely and it took about half an hour before it could be bent again) requested that we stop for some food - it turned out to be one of the most inspired decisions of the entire trip as our moods improved significantly.  Night approached and we put on our headlamps and trudged our way from checkpoint to checkpoint trying desperately not to stop, finally arriving home at around 0030 (15 and half hours after starting).  Our tent was there to greet us, an incredibly kind gesture that I would definitely not be generous enough to do, and we quickly made our way to bed, our sleep only occasionally disturbed by the drum beat as others rolled in.  Mitch and Ben had done outstandingly, getting the best rankings of the group (34/35 I believe) which have taken them into the Top 50.  It is a truly fantastic effort, of which Arbs and I are extraordinarily proud.  Arbs and I are currently ranked in the middle 3rd, which we are fairly surprised about, having aimed to get into the top 100 at the beginning of the race!
 
After 5 days and 150 miles we have done the hard bit.  I cannot explain the relief that I am feeling - there was been so many nights over the past 6 months when I haven't been able to sleep trying to work out how on earth I was ever going to complete this.  Tomorrow is the final stage, a 10km fun run into the city of Kashgar where beer and pizza (the rumour mill suggests) awaits us.  I have spent so many hours dreaming of proper food and cannot wait to return to normality (although I'm hardly enamoured with the prospect of college on Monday!).
 
Thanks for all your messages and support - they have been an awesome boost every evening and really are what got us through every day. This will probably be my final blog before I get back to the UK as my flight is soon after the finish tomorrow.  Although there is every chance that I'll find some way to shoot myself in the foot before the final mini-stage tomorrow, I'm going to say a mini-farewell now.  Thank you to our sponsor, Roof Tile Management, for helping us financially for this and to our clothes sponsor, Salomon, for helping kit us out with some extremely good kit.  I've really appreciated the support of house-mates and friends who have only bullied me slightly for being a square-pants and not drinking - your encouragement has been great.  Finally, thank you to Henry, George, M and D for everything - I can't tell you how much I appreciate all you've done down the years and you somehow managed to push me through this week.  See you when I get back!
 
I know these blogs won't have done justice to everybody else in the team - please give theirs a read as it will almost certainly be more concise, more truthful, wittier, and more informative than mine.  Thanks for reading and hopefully see you soon, Hugo.
 

We managed to have our tent on a diagonal hill last night, which is difficult normally but when you're wrapped up in a sleeping bag you end up rolling.  I therefore spent most of my night off the sleeping mat which wasn't perfect preperation for what was going to be our toughest day yet!  Due to the altitude it got extremely cold, something I was fairly relieved about as I have been lugging my 1.5kg sleeping bag around, so it was good to finally put it to proper use.
 
We were a bit slow in the morning so didn't have time to have breakfast - I've been trying to have one of my main meals for breakfast all week as the porridge breakfast is slightly too milky for my pathetic dairy allergy so I can't actuallly keep it down.  None of our team managed to eat and were therefore a bit apprehensive about going into the longest day yet without any fuel - the leaders, who have been taking roughly 4 hours per day, were expecting to take about 5 and a half...
 
The day was again split into 4 checkpoints: 8.5, 8.5, 13.5, 13.5 (km).  We joined up with Ben and Ian for the first stage, a steep steep climb (ladders, rock climbing, etc) up to the highest point of the race a place called Shiptons Arch.  Apparently it is famous (not that I particularly cared at that stage) for being the highest arch in the world and was only discovered as recently as the early 90s.  I'm fairly certain that it was discovered earlier than that by the local tribesmen, but that is just me being cynical.  I will concede that it was was the best view of the trip, however we couldn't stay for long as there was a fierce wind and a couple of footsteps away from a several thousand foot fall followed by death.  After the first stage (one steep ascent following by steep descent) we were hit with a depressingly repetitive series of mini-mountains that we had to cross until the 2nd checkpoint.
 
So far, once we've got to the 2nd checkpoint we haven't tended to change our positions at all (maybe 4/5 places) - so I'm not particularly sure what happened next. Having got to CP2 in 70th Arbs and I decided that the best way of saving our knees was to do the stage as quickly as possible.  We then, out of nowhere, began to speed up the field, nailing it down the river valley into the 3rd checkpoint, where we were up to 52nd.  We decided to keep up the charge, knowing that the quicker we were, the more time we would have in the evening to recharge our batteries for the Long March tomorrow.  Somehow we ended up in 40th equal position.  It is undeniably the greatest sporting achievement to date for either one of us - we once had to race each other to determine the dubious position of being the slowest person in our year.  We were over the moon (over the moon - what a terrible phrase), and are still absolutely thrilled.  Ben and Ian came in shortly behind us, so we've still got a long long way to go if we want to catch them!
 
My mood was hugely deflated when I got into my tent and managed to knock over my ration of food for the evening onto the floor and then tread on it.  It went everywhere, and although I tried to salvage some of it (eating off a filthy floor - another low for Adair), I had to throw most of it away to avoid joining the stomach bug brigade.  Not only have I carried a useless item for 100 miles, but I am now heading into tomorrow's double marathon with an empty stomach.
 
I do apologise if this blog appears to be incredibly self-serving - some of the stuff I have written as a diary in order to remember this when I get back!
 
I am incredibly nervous about tomorrow.  Next time you here from me I'll almost certainly know whether I'm going to complete the challenge (the final stage is a 10km run-in).  It is going to be a big day ahead...
 
Thanks for the comments/messages:  George, apparently you are sending me messages on facebook - I can only read messages sent via the racingtheplanet website, so I'll have a look when I get back.  Nic - thanks for the sports update - hugely appreciated around the camp!

Several weeks ago I proposed the idea that today would be the hardest day, given that you begin the day with a couple of days worth of aches and pains yet you know at the starting line that you've still got over 100 miles to cover in the next 4 days.  So it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I begun the day.  There have been a few stomach bugs going around the camp which have knocked a few people out of the race - we live in constant fear of catching something that might make the difficult close to impossible.  Fortunately for the team we haven't experienced any 'calls of nature' until yesterday evening.  Desperate to avoid the infamous black tents (a hole in the ground accompanied by several thousand flies) we had a team outing to the bush to go about our business - I will definitely appreciate not having to do that sort of thing once I'm back home! Unfortunately over the night Mitch managed to throw up the previous evening's food - incredibly dispiriting for him, especially since he had carried the food over the past couple of days at great damage to his right shoulder.  He couldn't take any foods down in the morning (therefore essentially facing the prospect of going 40 hours without food), but incredibly barely mentioned it throughout the entire day - his stoicism astounded us all...
 
We dipped into a rare bit of farmland in the morning, trying to balance along irrigation ditches without falling into the mud/water below.  Fortunately the weather wasn't as hot as the two previous days, which only meant that I became more complacent and failed to drink the water I should have done.  I was thoroughly enjoying myself (the first hour was taken up by a team discussion about an 'Animal Rugby XV', many of the positions were fairly straightforward but some of whom weren't, such as Fly Half - a lion or a golden retriever guide dog.  We plumped for the guide dog on account of its excellent decision making.), until the first of the river crossings.  I am currently wearing knee supports on both legs to try to slow the damage, a decision I immediately regretted when we sunk into the river and I completely soaked them both.  The next 35km were spent with the constant grind/rubbing on the back of my knees, to the extent that I've now got blood dripping down the back of my right leg - lovely!
 
We spent the first 2 checkpoints with Ben and Ian (they are going quicker than us so we haven't had the privilege of their company when racing), and when they faded off at the halfway point we were joined by an Australian called Toby who proved an excellent companion.  He kept us amused as we faced the hardest part of the race so far - a 13 mile permanently uphill stint up through a canyon, rising through the mountains up to camp.  Our ascent took us to 2800 metres; due to the speed of the climb a few of the competitors have been suffering from altitude sickness.  I was an absolutely brutal second half - I was incredibly relieved when it finally came to an end, especially since we had tired of our Ashes related chat about half an hour previously, making out way silently, desparately hoping to see the finish line.
 
I cannot even begin to describe the awesome atmosphere at the camp - every single time anybody approaches the finish line the drum starts banging and everybody starts streaming out of their tents where they have been dressing their wounds to cheer each person in.  The evenings are brilliant, everyone mingling with different people getting to know each other - there are no cliques.  We are incredibly fortunate to have such a great tent - James (UK), David (SA), Diana and Shirley (Both Ireland) have done loads of these things before and are constantly energetic and talkative.  We've been extraordinarily lucky.  Diana and Shirley are 1st and 3rd out of the girls - fingers crossed they'll take gold and silver together!  There is also a wonderful rumour going round the camp that Ben has proposed to his girlfriend before coming...
 
This has been rather a long blog so I'll probably leave it there.  Tomorrow is meant to be the hardest day so far.  If I'm still here this time tomorrow then I'll be preparing for I'll probably be panicking about the 50 mile stage on Thursday.  Farewell until then...

DAY 2: After spending so much time in the sun yesterday, Arbs and I decided to go much quicker today in an effort to avoid the heat of the day.  We found out after we sent out yesterday's blog that the temperature reached 45 Celcius - which is unreal, especially since during that period it was completely still.  Today was just as hot - although we had more wind today it was mostly blowing straight into our faces.  Apart from the obvious annoyance, it was particularly frustrating as it meant that the flags that we follow are pointing towards us and become pretty much invisible; this meant that we got lost a couple of times and covered a bit more ground that we had planned!
 
This stage is called 'Mars in the Gobi' - we spent a large proportion of the first couple of stages in an incredible red landscape.  Today was far more spectacular than yesterday, it was unbelievable how much the scenery changed from checkpoint.  It is incredibly frustrating not being able to take as many photos as I would like; it is such a mission getting my camera out, and even when I do I'm not sure I do the place justice.  One thing is for sure is that it was incredibly arid - if Mars really is anything like what we went through then I am fairly confident that there is no life out there!
 
We made decent time through our first 3 stages and then pretty confident about knocking off the final stage of 11/12 km.  However the final 5km was a beautiful but deadly collection of dunes - we were climbing up and down 45 degree inclines though the softest sand we have faced.  It was exhausting but nothing could come close to the satisfaction we felt when we reached the top of the final dune and saw the finish line.  The finish line is equipped with a massive drum which beats when every competitor appears - the beating of the drum and the accompanying encouragement from the amazing staff/fellow competitors is enough to stir anyone into action so I forced myself into as close as my body would come to a sprint and came in, shaving an hour and a quarter off yesteday's time.  We've covered over 50 miles now - we've got two more marathons and then the biggie on Thursday.
 
Injury and blister update: My foot is now slowly disappearing under bandages - I think I've only got a couple of new ones today which is pretty good.  My knees haven't deteriorated much (I don't think), mostly thanks to a knee support (an inspired last minute buy!).  The leg wrappings have left a pretty tasty heat rash (at least I hope that's what it is), but I'm pretty sure it will have disappeared by the morning.
 
I apologise about the quality/spelling/repetition in these blogs - we write them on a laptop not much bigger than a standard paperback book and my mind is frazzled by the time I get to send it!  Another day down - more to follow (hopefully) tomorrow...

We managed about an hour of sleep due to a multitude of things, but lying on rocks and a massive party that the locals were having until the small hours didn't help.  The Gobi is meant to be the windiest desert on earth, which was demonstrated during the night when every single gust of wind blew the wall of the tent up in the air and gave me a mouthful of sand.  After six months of waiting the race was finally about to begin.  We woke up to an astonishingly hot day and before we knew it the race at begun (9am local time).  I had spent the last couple of weeks proudly showing off my special Gore-Tex waterproof trainers to anyone who would listen, but my pride was scuppered when within 5 minutes we were wading across a river and my shoes had turned into buckets of water that, be waterproof, wouldn't dry.  The first 13miles were outstanding - incredible scenery, relatively cool weather - but that was followed by a stifling afternoon.  Some rolling gravel dunes at about mile 14 brought the injury I have been carrying into play, and for the rest of the afternoon it was pretty sore.  We stopped a couple of times to tape up blisters and finally reached the finish line in the late afternoon.  Day 1 finished.  If I'm going to finish this I'm going to have to beat both my staggering incompetence and my incompetent staggering.  It is a long long road ahead.  Time for bed...
 
PS I can read emails sent via the website apparently.  Keep me posted on Lions news if you could!

Prep Day:
Having arrived in Kashgar late on Friday evening we had to wake early for breakfast then had a meeting about dealing with blisters.  Following that we had an extraordinarily stressful couple of hours trying to fit everything we had bought into our bags (stressful because we had all bought the different items needed separately and didn't have any confidence in each others resourcing abilities).  We somehow managed to pass all our kit checks, although they had reservations about the weights - my bag weighed in at 13kg before I took on water, an unnecessarily heavy pack bearing in mind my weak shoulders.  We checked out (last) and when on a 2 hour bus journey into the desert, where we were met with great opening ceremony.  We ate our last proper meal and went into our tent to meet our tentmates.  These tentmates spent the best part of the next two hours laughing at our incompetence and unnecessary items which dented our confidence a little.  At one stage on of the girls was actually crying with laughter (which made rather a nice change from the normal awkward silence I'm used to...).  The highlight was Ben getting rid of a proper pair of Oakleys in favour of a pair of Ray-Ban wayfairers (which block out about as much sun as a pair of John Lennons spectacles) because he thought it "would look cool in the photos." 

Have finally arrived in Kashgar with Ian after a nightmare of a journey involving 4 cancelled flights and a total of 67 hours. The tube strike meant that the half hour journey to Heathrow took 2 hours. The fact we managed to make our first flight to Paris was about as good as it got for the next 3 days - we sat on the LHR runway for 90 minutes, a delay that meant that we missed our connecting flight to Beijing and were stranded in Paris for 24 hours. This also meant that we had missed the following two connecting flights (bought on a separate ticket) and had no way of contacting China Southern Airlines to change our tickets. Having been put up in a hell-hole in Roissy on the outskirts of Paris we decided to do some last minute training by climbing the Eiffel Tour and visiting Sacre-Coeur/Montmartre. In hindsight it was probably unwise to jog up all those steps (and consume a plate of snails teeming with garlic) as our spare clothes and washbags were lost somewhere in Charles de Gaulle airport. Three days without washing/changing/brushing teeth is standard fare for my younger brother but can't have been pleasant for those next to us on the flights. When we finally returned to CDG in the afternoon we were further delayed by a bomb scare but this time somehow managed to make the plane. The 9 hour journey to Beijing was fairly relaxed apart from a turbulent 20 minute stage in the middle of the night (call me paranoid but flying through a lightning storm in an Air France Airbus isn't my idea of fun). However, this was the perfect opportunity to catch up on the romantic comedies without interruption (my flat mates constantly delete my recordings on Sky). We arrived at 1100 on Friday morning with the great news that somehow CS Air had managed to change our flights - but the terrible news that our next flight was, you guessed it, delayed. There was then a worrying moment when Mitch decided to visit the Gentlemen's after a disagreement with his food. Meanwhile I popped out to find some internet to give George and Ben (who had arrived the day before) an update on where we were. When I returned to the loo after 5 minutes I bashed on Ian's cubicle door to give him some forceful encouragement only to be slightly surprised a moment later when a slightly sheepish elderly chap appeared from within (with Ian chuckling behind me). My email to the boys had ended with the line: "Arbs - if there is any chance that you could set up my blog (if it is easy and you can actually do it) that would be awesome." Unfortunately he did take that opportunity and managed to savagely sabotage my blog before it had even begun. I'll try to work out how to mend it, but that'll have to wait for tomorrow. We disappear into the desert tomorrow and I have had 5 hours sleep in the past 3 days. I am exhausted - which doesn't bode well for the next week... If any of you get the chance to read the Ben/George/Ian's blogs then give it a go - I'm sure they'll be good value.