Yesterday I witnessed my first tornado, sand storm and thunderstorm in the desert all the space of about an of each other. Those were the upsides of a truly miserable day. The ‘Long March’ stage took us 11 hours 40 mins again the scenery was pretty special, with the imposing figure of K2 in the back ground keeping an eye on us. More people die on K2 each year than any other mountain and yesterday I would have probably taken my chances getting to the summit and felt better than I did crossing the finishing line.

Blinky was hugely strong again, keeping his head down and plodding along as I whined about my foot and ankle. One thing this trip has confirmed is that I will not being have a rock feature anytime soon, feet and stones do not get along! All I could think of as I hobbled through the rivers beds was of a scene in the film Midnight Express when the young American guy is arrested in Turkey for drug smuggling and has the soles of his feet repeatedly beaten. At this precise moment I think I know how he felt.

Sadly due to my struggles we slipped down the rankings slightly but if you had offered us this position at this stage before the final day we would have bitten your hand off. The last person took 25 hours to complete the stage, which is just a terrible amount of time to be on your feet.

Again, time is limited so with 15km still to go, until tomorrow…………………………….

Today was one of those tough ones so I must start with a massive thank you to my running partner. How he is doing this and being so strong with so little training is unbelievable and today he might as well have had me on his front in a "Baby Bjorn"

The preparation for the day wasn't the best as one of my tent mates accidentally butchered my blow up mattress with his pocket knife while trying to sort my blisters, our patching effort was less than successful and my nights sleep was like trying to cross a swimming pool on a half inflated li-lo!

There were no exaggeration when they said it was going to be the toughest stage, the start was a "gentle" 4km hike up to "Heavens Gate," which is a natural arch that is higher than the Empire State building. Apparently the views were incredible at the top but I was too busy trying to keep down my granola and powdered milk to really appreciate it.

The next 20kms saw us up and down the canyons, and the views were spectacular. The climbs were tough but the terrain in HK had prepared us well. What we didn't do as well were the multiple river crossings that followed. Cleverly we plotted our way across the first river without getting our feet wet, what we didn't notice was that in doing so we had just picked the strongest and fastest flowing section of river 2. The water was knee high (yes, Scoular shoulder high for me!) and moving as fast as the Log Fume at Thorpe Park. In total we crossed 7 or 8 rivers but the upside in the desert is things dry pretty quickly.

The last 15kms took us through fields and villages and up a dust track to a desperately needed finish line. Can you believe I have been  in the desert 4 days now have only seen one donkey and a tame camel? I was promised tigers and monkeys.

My body is holding up pretty well, the fact that everything hurts and nothing in particular i have been assured is a good sign.

Tomorrow we have the long day - 80kms is a pretty daunting thought at this precise moment but after a nutritious supper and a good nights sleep I am sure we will take it in our stride, literally.

I therefore will not be blogging tomorrow but should be back online on Friday to let you know how we got on.

Thanks all for your messages, too many people to thank individually but they are really appreciated and HUGE congratulations to the Armstrongs on the arrival of Sophie.

It has just started raining.................no joke!!

So day 3 all done and there has been a trend developing..............each day is getting harder.Not helped by temperatures getting to 42 degrees yesterday.

Today consisted of running 8km over the side of a hill covered in tennis ball sized stones. not hugely fun on the feet and even more sore on the ankles. I was quite impressed though at one stage when I managed to tee a rock up with my left foot and volley it about 15 yards with my right foot. Think Zidane in the Champions League final without the celebration and a lot more pain!! The Japanese competitor who I past described it perfectly by shouting "fck up stones"

Today really showed how mentally challenging these races are, I really struggled for about 15kms and Blinky did brilliantly to drag me along, I managed to repay the favor as he started to tire going up the final hill, all 11kms of it.

The start of the stage took us through the village of Langerville where the locals all lined the street and starred in amazement as 160 people race past.One house had just skinned a sheep and was preparing a spit roast which was a cruel reminder that real food does exist and that you don't have to "add boiling water and allow to stand for 7-8 minutes" to all food!!

Tomorrow is meant to be a seriously tough stage which will be a test before the "Long March" but also the most picturesque stage so we are hoping that the views make up for the pain.

Physically the body is holding up, a few blisters here and there and a bit of a sore ankle after going over on it but I am in much better shape than some poor people limping around the campsite this afternoon. Blinky had the joy of having his toe nails drilled today!

A note to anyone working for a private equity fund reading this and who is interested in responsible investing, this is the place you want to invest in a windfarm. I haven't worked out how you will bottle the wind up and as sadly, as I just missed out on getting an engineering degree and also please don't ask me to run the project as I think by Saturday I might be a little "Gobied out"

Hopefully more positive news tomorrow about stage 4............................until then.

Stage 2 done.....................................and i have been to Mars and back.

After an amazing nights' sleep in the home of the village chief we set off for stage 2, I did however leave the village feeling slightly guilty to find him and his family sleeping in mattresses on the road when i got up this morning. I  did though have the pleasure of sharing a room with the oldest competitor in the race and can happily say if i am in the same physical condition as Hutch at the age of 70 i will be a very happy man. He also helped me tape my blisters, which was hugely appreciated.

We knew that Stage 1 was classed as a fairly straight forward stage and today was going to be more of a test. That was certainly an understatement!! Stage 2 was aptly named "Mars of the Gobi", which we were told was because of the red rock, i personally think it was because nothing could possible live in a environment so baron and hostile. As we left the village the sun was rising and our friend the ever existent head win was in full force. Luckily 5kms through the bright read canyons was enough to take one's mind off the testing terrain but it was certainly the biggest test yet, sheer walls of rocks and shale made for tough and treacherous progress.

The second half of the stage was much easier going with a long and winding road with the snow capped mountains of Kazakhstan as a breath taking back drop. Blinky and i both felt good as we entered the campsite for tonight. The wheat field which will be 'home' for the night will certainly not be as luxurious as last nights' stay but it is certainly something different.

Apart from a few blisters i really enjoyed today the wind really is a life savour as it keeping the temperatures in the mid 30s rather than any higher.

Meeting some incredible people from all walks of life which helps pass the time in the afternoons and evenings.

My time limit has now passed so...........................until tomorrow.

PS. Thanks for all the emails and messages of support, they are all appreciated. xxxxx

If you are traveling in China I would highly recommend flying on China Southern. I don't know another airline that manages to get all their passengers to participate in the pre landing exercise video, the fact that the food is complete inedible and their latest movie was "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" should not put you off.

Kashgar was a remarkable place, the security resembles a city under marshal law with groups of SWAT teams roaming the streets. I nearly didn't make the start line though as I was almost decapitated by a flying pop up tent on the way to the local supermarket.

On arrival in the first camp yesterday the locals put on a fantastic performance of "Xianjang's Got Talent" which finished with a game of tag on horseback using a goat carcass as the "ball"

The first stage was absolutely stunning with snowcapped mountains in the distance defying the desert temperatures. The stage in general was relatively easy with a few river crossings being the most challenging feature. I have also now experienced first hand why the Gobi is the windiest desert on earth, at one stage I was sure I was almost going backwards running into the headwind.This did however keep the temperatures down which was a bonus.

It was great to get started and have a relatively pain free first stage.

Tonight our camp is in a local village and we are staying with local families, let's hope the nights' sleep is better than the 4 hours I got last night. The bathroom facilities are in a cowshed!!!!

I am not sure how you sign off a blog but ..............................until tomorrow

- See more at: http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/gm_comptetior_blog.php?pid=MTU4OA==&blog=24#sthash.wNYYFl7q.dpuf

Looking forward to leaving on Friday. I have a massive build up of nervous energy. I think Kirsty is looking forward to me leaving more!!