Wow,  what a day.  The long march was cut short unfortunately due to extreme weather conditions.  Snow,  hail,  freezing winds, and bitterly cold rain which made the course unsafe,  particular for those (like me) who were going to still be going late into the night.   I think only 9 people actually completed the course,  not sure what that means for the timings yet (not that it matters so much for me)  but it would have been great to finish the whole stage,  particularly as I was feeling in good spirits and energetic and my ankle was holding up,  but totally understand why it was cut short.  I found out just before the climb to checkpoint 4 which had the maximum altitude on the course (2,800m) that the course had been cut short at checkpoint 4.  I was with another competitor at the time and we were both so deflated and disappointed, but decided to continue on until we were forced to come off the course, and enjoy the amazing scenery on the way.  We made it to checkpoint 4 at the 2,800m high point and visibility was very poor due to cloud/fog and the wind was very strong and freezing.  Lucky I was wearing a garbage bag (with holes cut out for the arms and head!) which kept me protected.  For safety reasons,  a few of us stuck together and put on our flashing red lights and continued on.  We were able to continue to checkpoint 5 and a further 6km past CP 5 before we had to stop,  which meant we covered about 52 km of the 75 km long march stage.  We then sheltered in a farmhouse where we were given hot water before being transported to a campsite of yurts,  as apparently the campsite where the tents were meant to be set up for us was under water. The yurts are comfy and warm, a nice change from a tent!  So today we are resting and recovering before the last 14 km tomorrow,  which may or may not be affected by the weather. It is still quite cold outside here,  and there was fresh snow on the mountains this morning!  As some of you know,  I was a bit nervous about the climb to 2,800 m,  particularly with my history of the PE and my medication,  but I took it easy and had no issues at all, and felt quite ok when I reached the top,  so I'm glad and relieved that I got through that stage without any illness or incident. I'm also thrilled that so many things went well with my nutrition and equipment.  I actually think I got to use all my mandatory equipment,  including my gloves yesterday (my hands were frozen without them!) and I even used my bivvy blanket to wrap around me to go to the bathroom!  It's been an extraordinary week in so many ways,  and I'm actually a little bit sad that it's nearly over.  I've met so many amazing people, and the course (while it was challenging) was beyond expectations, with spectacular scenery.  Thank you again everyone for the messages,  they really lifted my spirits and have given me lots of chuckles and a few little tears :)  catch up with you all soon xx

Well today was not too bad,  but it seemed to be endless rocks,  rocky river crossings and wet river crossings (with fast moving water,  very tricky),  boggy lumpy, soggy grassland,  and animal excrement everywhere. hmmm!!  Tried hard to keep my feet dry when crossing the rivers,  but it was impossible,  after all the rain we're having, I guess there's more water in the rivers etc than expected.  I ran the first bit,  which was nice,  and then walked the rest, as the terrain was tricky and difficult to navigate.  I was also hoping to run a large part of the last 10km,  which was on tarmac and dirt road and downhill/flat  but when I broke in to a run, my ankle screamed with pain,  so I was reduced to a shuffle,  and ended up covering the last 10 km in 2 hours, which was frustrating, as I was hoping for a much better time today.  When I arrived at camp, the doctors said my ankle is inflamed, so they strapped it,  gave me some drugs and an ice pack,  and let's hope it's all good for tomorrow.  It's going to be a long day tomorrow.  Not knowing what the terrain will be like,  I was hoping to be done in 20 hours,  but with my ankle in so much pain,  I really don't know how tomorrow will turn out.  The rain has been annoying, and last night we actuallly had a mini storm,  almost like a mini tornado - we were woken at 1030pm  by our tent blowing away! So we all had to grab a corner of the tent and hang on and wait for it to pass.  The weather has been a real mix,  with hot patches and no shade,  then being rained on and storms and thunder in the mountains.  Very hard to know what to wear with different layers, and then trying to make sure we all have something dry to wear the next day.  The locals have been lovely and very curious,  with kids swarming around us as we passed through a small town.  Got  lots of great photos today,  looking forward to sharing them when I'm back.  I finally got your latest emails this afternoon,  I was starting to feel unloved when I didn't get any yesterday!  But it was great to read them today,  but there was a problem in downloading the messages apparently,  so I have only seen the first half of all of your latest emails - halfway through your messages,  they just stop! It will be so great to catch up with everyone in person when I'm back :)   Remembering your messages while I'm out on the course on my own has given me a huge boost,  thank you all so much.  Please send lots of positive vibes for tomorrow,  I'm gonna need it!  xx

Well we have all arrived at the firstcamp site and the atmosphere is great. Lots of excitement and a little bit of nerves. We were treated to some traditional local music and dancing on arrival, which was fabulous. We had to improvise a bit with the eating dishes - a number of us were going to cut the 1.25 litre water bottles (which we had in Sahara) in half to use for our food bowls - just add freeze dried food and hot water and stir, then throw away. But we only have 550ml thin plastic water bottles! So we are eating out of those or out of zip lck bags or whatever we can find! All part of the fun though :) Got some fresh rockmelon this evening too, which was delicious. The course looks challenging but picturesque, with over 7,000m of ascent and over 6,000 m of descent over the week. We can see snow capped mountains in the distance and we are camped on some rocky flat land at the base of some rocky hills. It's daylight from 630 am to 1030 pm, and quite warm. I'm writing this at 715 pm and it's still quite hot (not as hot as dubai!) but I'd guess low 30s st this time in the evening. I'm in a fantastic tent of people from the US, Canada, switzerland and the UK. Lots of great runners, some who I expect will be top 10 finishers, and I feel incredibly humbled to be in their company. My race plan is unchanged, run when I can, walk when I have to, never give up. My goal, given the past 6 months, is to finish and return home safely. I'm feeling chillled and really looking foward to the week ahead, as strange as that may seem to some of you! Thanks for all the messages of support on the blog, via email and text, and on FB. Big cheers to Maegan, Mark and Luke for taking care of the FB page. Ok, better free up the laptop for the next person, chat to you all tomorrow xx

After the thrill of completing the Sahara Race in 2012, I immediately signed up for Gobi. I love the challenge of these events, being taken out of your comfort zone, and testing what we are all capable of. However, my preparations for Gobi were interrupted after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism in December 2012, which has thankfully now cleared, but I'll be heading to Bole while still on medication for this condition. Not ideal, but I'm determined that this won't stop me from getting to the finish line on 8 June. So I'm all packed and ready to fly to Beijing tomorrow, then on to Urumqi and Bole - the land of Genghis Khan. The scenery looks spectacular! and it promises to be a great experience. I'm also looking forward to meeting up with a great bunch of similar-minded, spirited, friendly people, some of whom I met in Sahara last year. I'll be aiming to update my blog at the end of each stage. Those of you who followed me in Sahara will know what to expect - raw, emotional, rambling posts! I also loved getting everyone's emails during the Sahara Race, so please drop me a message of support and encouragement (or abuse, as my lovely coach Marcus did, haha!). It will really boost me along :) Go to http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/email