I made it!!! 

It was a lovely day, it all went very well. My legs and feet are still in good shape. Because of the rain last night the rocks were very slippery so I was super happy with my poles. It rained a bit at the start of the race but the rest of the day was just cloudy. Of course I applied sunscreen this morning for just in case ;-)

I really enjoyed the nature, I was surprised to still see many flowers. We passed many small villages, some deserted but many still with people around. The place we’re now at is rather cold and windy, we will be sleeping in huts tonight.

I just had my recovery drink, later I will eat my deluxe dinner and then early bedtime…

Thank you so much for all your messages! Love it! 

Just that you know: the email messages are not really private…all the other competitors can read them ;-) but they are just not visible on the blog.

So happy I made it to Greece! I had an issue with my flight ticket so I got lucky someone didn't show up at the gate and I could take his seat....

It's 7.20 am right now, I re-packed my food yesterday night and put everything  back into my backpack :-).

I just had breakfast and a last shower ;-).

At 8 am will be the race briefing and at 9.30 am my backpack will be checked if all the mandatory items are in there.

We will leave the hotel with the bus at 1 pm, the bus journey will be 4-5 hours.

Weather forecast says rain for tonight and tomorrow....we will take it how it comes...

Can't wait to start the odyssey!

Hi all, dear family and friends,

In a few days (this Sunday 8am to be specific ;-)) I will be starting my first 250 km footrace. Almost a year ago I finally decided to give it a go. The first seed of my dream was planted in 2019, it was the year our good friend, Paul Redbourn, was undertaking his first Racing The Planet race in New Zealand.

I was intrigued the first time he told about his new adventure and my fascination only grew by following Paul’s race through his blog. It was at that point that I started wondering if one day I would be able to complete a race myself. Of course, I love running and have been doing this on and off for the last 30 years but I’ve never undertaken such a long distance….

But yes, now 6 years after I got to know RTP, I will be doing my first race, in Greece, crossing the beautiful Peloponnesos.

As you can imagine I’m super excited, although, I have to admit, also still a bit in disbelieve this will be really happening….

The journey to get to this point was, beside the running, an undertaking.

Researching the light-weight material and food needed, buying and trying them, changing ideas…and starting all over….it took more time than I had expected…

But everything is now in front of me, here on the kitchen table. Total weight: 8,8 kg.

I cross my fingers everything will fit into my backpack once I will have put the food into smaller food bags in Greece…otherwise I will have to carry an extra bag the first days ;-).

So, yes, I’m ready to go, to run the race, day by day, step by step.

I will remember the words I saw on a sign during one of my training days in the Ardennes: “Ne crains pas d’avancer lentement, crains seulement de t’arrêter.”

That way you know my mission: crossing the finish line on day 7.

I will do my best to keep you updated, the plan is to write a message, from the cybertent, every evening. I’m not taking my phone so you can only reach me by writing an email or reacting to my blog through the Racing The Planet website.

Already looking forward to your messages :-)

It will be great to read them at the end of each day!

Can’t wait to get started…

Ine