critsy 6 hours, me 8.5 hours, billy 9.5 hours, dog, dapper and crabs 11.5 hours.

we started the day with a 2km hike up the steps of heaven`s gate. critsy flew, billy looked good and the rest of us struggled with altitude problems.

this was followed by 7 mountains to get to the second check point. holy cow! by the last mountain i was pushing off my knees to take each step.

i was able to pick up a bit of speed in the 3rd stage which was 12km long and mostly down hill along a dry river bed. i was looking good until i hit a few streams at the beginning of the 4th and final leg. my feet started to deteriorate quickly. the support crew told us it was an 11km leg but it turned out to be 13.8km. i am not sure you can fathom the disappointment a mistake like that creates. by the time i crossed the line i was hobbling.

i watched the others cross the line and given some did not arrive until 7.30pm, it will be a super human effort for them to finish the 77km run tomorrow.

despite this i am looking forward to tomorrow because (besides being the final hard section of the race) we will all be walk/running together. we intend to enjoy some of the spectacular scenery and take a dip in a stream a long the way...maybe take a few snaps.

final notes......crabs looks good and pulled dapper along to finish today. great to see him back in form. dapper looked pretty sapped by the end. he suffered from altitude sickness. dog`s legs and shins are finally giving in. he has injection ready to go so we will see if he needs them tomorrow. billy`the billy goat` biffin looked strong as an oxe despite his strained groin muscle. he said he would have died with out the poles. crabs replied `if you die you die`. this is the team motto.

we can barely stomach food and if i never see another bottle of water......! taste buds are shot!

so, i am anticipating tomorrow will take around 20 hours. we leave at 6am for a 1.5 hour bus ride before starting.  wish us luck.....we are going to need it!

Started low grade training for the Gobi March 18 months ago & SERIOUS training began in January 2008.
Despite competing as 6 individuals in the Gobi March we had a common cause of raising money for the Scott Kirkbride Melanoma Research Centre.
Our expectations of the Gobi were that we were going to have an extremely tough time in the driest & unpredictable deserts in the world.
The dirty half dozen finally got to the Gobi after 23 hours of air flights & a 3 hours bus trip to the beautiful rural setting of Gazi. Our eyeballs hanging out of our heads, we expected very average food & boring pre-event lectures. When we got off the bus we were surprised to see one of the greatest welcomes you could ever see. In a territory that has seldom seen Westerners we were greeted by fanfare of local dignitaries & local villagers. They cheered us as we walked from the bus to the local feast put on in our honour.
The next day was race day & all the competitors were chaffing at the bit to get going. We started at approximately 6000 feet in 35 degree heat…..it was on for young & old! The world class competitors sprinted off into the distance (including my brother Critta), whilst the more intelligent veterans traveled at gentleman’s pace. Despite this the conditions took their toll on all of us. I hit the wall at the 28km mark with dizziness & nausea due to fluid balance issues. Critta also popped all four tyres around this mark in the race. One of the things that kept us going was all of the money owing to the Scott Kirkbride Melanoma Research Centre. We survived with cramps & aches & pains. Billy Bentbeak Biffin was the outstanding performer on the day….coming in 33rd position.
We are now in recovery mode & will give the next update ASAP.

Regards

Jamie Prendiville

Tomorrow we set off from Perth to Kashgar. It will take us 3 days to get to the site where the race begins. I have a feeling the long trip may suck my energy. Still, I feel good and ready for the task ahead. So stick with me.....I'll try to keep you posted. Lizzie just reminded me that I have a bruised shin muscle....thanks Lizzie! The adventure begins!