It’s now the following morning & I have had ‘some’ sleep.    We started yesterday with a 1 hour boat crossing to the start point.. skies were grey & we were warned of rain.   The start gun was 0910 with some drizzle… after 10km of snaking up a road we had to scramble through rough bushes to the beach… this is when the heavens opened - the rain was so heavy that you had just 100m visibility & the beach was flooding with rain gushing from the mountains behind.   Fortunately these conditions favoured me and before I knew it 20km was done ( although I had tripped on a boat line on the sand & all the stuff in my bags outside pockets emptied - after a quick repack we ascended to an almost 1km height peak and had a check point at a beautiful monastery.   Some of the track was shoe deep in very sticky mud or shin deep in water, I was soaked to the bone from rain & sweat.   By 30km the competitors had thinned out completely and by 40km I didn’t see any competitors until the finish @ 78km.   By this stage I knew that I wasn’t competing for a place, but against myself.   Initially I wanted to hit the finish by sunset ~1930, but as the KMs went by this changed to a 10 hours tim target, ie 1910.    I put some music on for the last 10km, had an energy gel, a wee and then went for it… by the time I hit the finish line it was 19:10:40, I had just run 78km, climbed 1750m ascent, battled heavy rain, shin deep puddles, soaking clothes all in 10 hours - I was delighted, emotional & dazed.

With almost no energy left, I peeled off my clothes, got some food down ( I needed solid, the day was mostly liquid calories ) and went to bed in a very uncomfortable wet sleeping bag and damp pants ( even though they were in a waterproof bag everything was soaked - maybe the humidity ) on rough ground.. despite all this, it felt great.

I am now airing out some awfully smelling clothes, having a can of coke and recovery is almost done.  5-7km tomorrow until the finish line where I will see Pia to celebrate an emotional week of 250km & 7300m of ascent all with a 10kg back pack… it’s amazing how hard you can push your body out of a comfort zone.. I learn more with every race.

Wow ! That felt like the toughest last 10km stage that I have ever done. Position went from 8ish to 12ish ( TBC ) as the heat and the crazy climb over 8km to the finish line took every bit of energy that I had ( I could feel my body eating into reserves ).    We came across a few dogs on the run today, but luckily they were all friendly.  Running through a Greek village was great as all the old locals were sat outside coffee shops cheering and clapping - this helped to boost moral soon after check point 2 !   I have now had a chance to eat & drink and feel much better, but I literally had nothing left by the finish line & it was the beating drum that carried me in for the last 500m.  Luckily we have hot weather now to dry out some very sweaty clothes.

It's looking like we won't be blessed by the good weather God 😬

We are about to do the kit list check-in then jump on a bus for 4 hours to the start camp. Hopefully the rain stops!

This will be the 5th RTP for my back pack (including numerous other races and training).   I reckon I've run > 1500km through deserts, ice and trail with it on me ... good job North Face. 
the best news - this is my most efficient packing to date, weighing in at 8kg 💥

Flight to Greece in 20 hours. Bring it on 😳 

Can’t believe we’re here already!

The countdown is officially on, ultra marathon week has arrived. All the gear is locked in, the running load is tapering off, and even the flight seat and food plans are sorted. Now comes the hardest part: waiting. A long week ahead of trying not to overthink every detail.

Bring it on. 🙄💪

Once I saw that Dean would be at the event, I pulled two of his books back off the shelf for some inspiration. I especially enjoyed revisiting the chapters on his previous RTP stories - so crazy that he talks about my cabin mate in Antarctica (Rob James).

It’s funny to think that when I first read those books years ago, I never imagined I’d end up taking part in a 4 Deserts event, let alone be preparing for my 5th race - Maybe that was my subliminal inspiration all along ?!?!

Wow! Less than 6 weeks to go until the start line.
I’m so excited to be racing in Greece this year, although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about the total ascent… and of course, the heat!

It’s fantastic to see so many familiar names signed up. I can’t wait to catch up with you all on the course.

Training has been steady, I try to fit in at least a short run each day. Last week I enjoyed some tough, but beautiful Cornish coastal runs, and now I’m in Denmark putting in the miles on the beach with a 5kg pack.

Most of my gear has been recycled from last year’s Jordan and Antarctica races, but I have treated myself to a another new pair of Hokas, I'm doing my fair share to keep the store in business over the past few years !