Hello everyone from home. I have spent a heap of time reading everyones comments from the last couple of days. Thanks so much for all the support and love. It means a lot to know people are thinking of you so thankyou.

Yesterday was the "long march" and im glad to report that the team made it through the day in 12 hours and 13 minutes; just beating the sun as it dipped below the mountain range and night fell. Falling across the line in exhaustion and pain I was greated with a med student eager to stick i needle in my finger to draw blood to measure sodium levels... the perfect reward for pushing hard through the desert all day. Me and rodger were still not fully recovered from the sickness during the week but performed well given the circumstances.  

Apart from the sickness early in the day and the intence pain and fatigue which increased steadily during the day, there were parts that were truly amazing. The diverse landscapes are really hard to believe, from barron rocky planes, himalaian like mountain ranges to lush green pastral land. Again we traveled through may small villages and rural properties with very confused local people watching the stream of lycra wearing westerners trudge through the area. Im pretty stoked also to have my picture taken next a camle chilling of the side of the coarse.

Right now we a camped in a grassy area with a stream and shady trees, cool breeze, circled by shape snow capped mountains. im thinking about chasing down one of the sheep grazing in the paddock and having a celebratory meal early... ill let you know how i go with that. Everyone stinks and is walking funny but the vibe in camp is pretty up beat because the end is so near. Today will be all about enjoying the sun and the cricket. Next time you hear from me ill will be through this ordeal so im looking forward to then. Next stop.. Kashgar, where it all began.

Thanks everyone for the messages, especially Emma, Mum, Laura and Steve. You guys are the best support. xo  

Im sure by now most people are aware of the minor hiccup we faced on days 2 and 3. I’m actually very surprised to be sitting here and reporting on today because I very nearly pulled myself on stage 1 day three; hence no blog on day three. Day three started pretty bad, being very dehydrated from a stomach bug. On top of this I skipped breakfast and started out the 40 km run… which turned to a slow trudge very quickly. I don’t remember much from the day either because my head was spinning and vision blurry or maybe I subconsciously erased that experience from my mind. Rodger bought me a coke from a road side vendor and I managed to get a little down which gave me a kick… for about 15 minutes, then it was back to the death march. The team tried all they could to relieve the pain by taking some of my pack weight and then my whole pack. Maybe that made the difference. When we arrived at camp I went straight to the medical tent where I lay down, shivering, headache and nauseous. After a long while I managed to eat and drink some food which stayed down.. Tick.

Stage 4!

I woke up very late and was on the loo twice before the gun went off. However I managed to get breakfast in.. tick. When I woke this morning I still didn’t know if I would start the day considering my condition the night before. My through’s were “if im not dead in the morning, I have no excuses to prevent me from starting” so I did. Energy was still very low all day long but heaps better than day three. Im very glad I made today because the coarse was stunning in many sections. The first 20 km was very steap ups and downs and ridges. “Heaven’s Gate” or “shipton’s arch” was a real treat and the long climb was well worth it. Google it and check it out.

Anyways thank you all for your very kind messages, they mean a lot. Tomorrow is the long stage. Wish me luck!      

Today's effort was 40km of hell. For the second morning in a row i woke up unable to eat anything. I spent the night with stabbing pain in my stomach and a painful inflamed patella tendon. It was a struggle to rise out of bed. I and the team fronted the start line with no expectations for what the day might hold. During the first stage i finished very dehydrated loosing 3 kg after being weighted for a study looking at sodium levels over the coarse of the week. This plus my GIT problems made recovery poor and it showed during stage 2. For the majority of the stage i could manage no more than a walk. We finished in about 70th position compared to 30th in stage 1.

There was some amazing scenary along the way and it was cool passing through the remote villages and seeing the local people. Unfortunatly because of my condition i could not enjoy it as much as i would have liked. I;m optimistic for a better run tomorrow as i have been able to eat my first meal of the trip and am feeling a little better. I;m looking forward to everyones comments so don't be shy!

Hello everyone from the western world. Sorry I was unable to upload anything on FB until now, I totally forgot about censorship from the Chinese government. Oh Well. First an update about the trip so far. WOW! I  could have not  imagined some of the crazy things I have seen so far. Kashgar is the farthest west city in china and has a crazy mix of extreme eastern and middle eastern cultures. Afganistan is literally a stones throw away. We spent the first 2 days exploring the city and getting A LOT of people looking at us as we roved around with bright red shirts and a camera man not far behind. Remembering this is a very sensitive area of china where very few people are allowed to go. There is a very strong military presents in the city with troops on nearly every street corner. On one occasion I nearly shat myself as one troop pointed at me and James our camera man: “YOU.. HERE (pointing to the ground in front of him)… NOW”. We didn’t argue and did as we were told. He was happy enough to see the pictures on the camera and delete the ones where the troops were present. Disaster avoided!

We cruised around and ate at a lot of very suspect places… And I think me and Rodger paid a pretty high price. I’ll describe the first stage in Chinglish and see if you get the picture.

Born to run team have unfortune because tummy devil bug live with Rodger and Matt. Heat and condition make difficult run but ending running anyway. Team is wishing fortune reverse with happy spirit fixing pain.

I hope that makes sence.

We arrived at the first camp greated by the local village who put on entertainment in the form of music and dance and a game of polo played on horse back. This game was somewhat different from the traditional game you might imagine played in England. Two teams of three played on a stoney field as they tried to rip a dead goat from each other and race to drop the carcass in a hole. Awsome!

Anyways that’s enough from me. Please leave your love and comments… and the score from the manly game. Thanks!