Stage 4 and 5 completed! Stage 4 was eventful, it was supposed to be very technical and the hardest single stage. I actually found it right up my street. It was full of short (50 m) steep hills with lots of scree and rocks. It suited my style of climbing so I raced up. I came across some fellow contestants that needed some help along the way so I decided to stick with these racers and make sure they came down the mountain in one piece. I lost quite a few places in the rankings due to that, but it was the right thing to do. But I am happy to say that we all made it down within the cut-off time so mission accomplished.

Stage 5 was the double-marathon and I finished earlier this morning after racing through the night under a wonderfully starry sky. It was hard, really hard. But I made it and now resting in camp before tomorrow's last stage.

My feet hurt a lot and the medical team worked on them for 50 mins straight this morning. I have also developed tendonitis in my right ankle so running is very painful. But I only have 15.2 km to go tomorrow in the final stage of the race. It is a slightly hilly start but with a nice long downhill section into the old town of Kashgar. I will push through the pain barrier to ensure I finish the race and get my well-earned shower!

Will blog one more time on Saturday afternoon to let you if I made it or not.

Made it through stage 3! But I will be honest, it was tough. Really tough. We are now at 2,600 m and we did 1,200 up. Hard work. I have developed some big blisters so I had to drill my toenails. Unfortunately my good friend Kwanie had to withdraw, that is how tough today was. I am exhausted.

Tomorrow is 41.6 km and max elevation will be 2,960 m. It will be very tough, but I am looking forward to seeing Heaven's Gate. It is very cold here and the cybertent is totally exposed so I will keep today's message short and sweet.

Thanks for all your messages, it really gives me a boost. Please excuse me for not commenting on individual emails.

Viking Hugs!

OK, stage 2 completed successfully. It turned out to be 39 km today and not 36 km as I advised yesterday. We started in the Tashpushka village with nice foliage before we headed into a surreal landscape nicknamed Mars in Gobi. A 10 km long red valley with lots of loose rock and some sand. There were quite  a few technical uphills and, especially, downhills. This suites me as my shoes have terrific grip and my time rock scrambling in the hills of Wales finally paid off. After that we raced along a dry river bed with the Pamir or Kunlun mountain ranges supplying the backdrop. The last section was on an asphalt road up the hills that provided a great view at the top of the forested valley below. Overall, today was tougher but more scenic than yesterday. True wilderness stuff.

I took it very easy at the beginning and only started to run at the 32 km mark, as I very felt very strong at that stage. Overall my speed today was 4.9 km but the slower pace was to be expected as the terrain was much harsher and the distance was longer. I placed 110 yesterday but think I finished higher today as the heat (it hit 36 degrees at 2 pm and was still going up…) took its toll on some of the European and North American competitors. Overall, I feel strong and have no major aches and pains. Some blisters developed during the race today but nothing I cannot handle. I feel sorry for some of fellow Singaporean competitors as they have developed a stomach bug that is affecting them.

Tomorrow will one long (36 km) gradual uphill as we race towards Heaven’s Gate at 2,300 m. I have raced within myself so far conserving energy as much as possible and I plan to continue that tomorrow. I  am worried about over-stretching myself so safety first is definitely the name of the game.

Thanks to everyone for their kind messages of support and supplying sporting results! Great to hear about Denmark winning! And the Montreal F1 result, what a fantastic season!

Miss you all very much, but please keep the comments coming as it definitely gives me a boost.

Viking Hugs!

OK, first stage completed. Due to heavy rain in the mountains overnight there was a last minute change to the course, it was reduced to 32.5 km. But the scenery was fantastic, through canyons and dried up riverbeds with the majestic Tian Shan mountains in the  background. Conditions were good too, sunny and around 26 C with a breeze for most of the course.Fantastic. The stage finished in a village, we are staying in the village hall and sleeping on some antique silk rugs, typical Xinjiang style. The running water to clean ourselves up was an unexpected treat.

I am pleased with my effort today, my plan was to go out slow to make sure I don't pick up an injury on the first day or simply fade due to exhaustion, it is an ultra-marathon and not a sprint after all! I ran the downhills and some flats, but most the day was spent walking at a fast pace. I took 5 hrs and 42 mins to complete today's stage with an average speed of 5.75 km/h. No injuries and no blisters, so that is a great result.I think I am placed mid-table which I am very pleased about. But I am focusing on finishing, not placing, so that is my target and so far so good.

I miss my wife and my family, not being able to talk to them is hard. Also, the organisers are having troubles downloading blog content so I have not been able to see if anyone has left messages on my blog and thus comment accordingly. I hope everyone back home are ok.

Tomorrow is a 37 km stage through a bamboo forest and then into a valley. Looking forward to it and plan to take it slow again, if I feel good after tomorrow I might start running a bit more. But now I am going to rest and eat my freeze dried culinary delight.

Viking Hugs from Gobi Desert.

Ok, managed to get 5 minutes in the cybertent at the starting campsite. The mood is great amongst the competitors, there are 160 of us from 42 countries. Only one Swede though! The local villagers put on a variety show including an impersonation of Britney Spears and Xinjiang Polo, but using a dead goat instead of a ball...don't ask!

We are 4 hours drive North from Kashgar and conditions are good. Around 31 C, 25% humidity and with a nice breeze. Coming from Singapore it feels distinctly "fresh".

Tomorrow is 42km stage through canyons and riverbeds, mostly dried up but some actual rivers need to be crossed. Our starting altitude is 1,700 m and we will finish at around 2,000 with some undulating terrain in between.

I am very anxious to  get started, feeling strong and happy with my gear. Famous last words, but hey, you  have to be confident to get anywhere! Will blog more tomorrow so stay tuned.

So I finsihed The North Face 100 (TNF100) in Thailand earlier this month. I finished in 8 hrs 43 mins. This is about 45 mins longer than my target finish time before the race. So what went wrong and what went right. 

I ran for the first 2 km and then started walking until my HR reached 130, at which point I started to run again until I reached a HR of 165. I did this for the first 20 km of the 50 km race. At the 20 km checkpoint I was ahead of schedule and pretty much dead on target at the 30 km checkpoint. But then I started to tire and at around the 44 km mark my knee started to hurt, badly. I managed to limp home, but of course my pace was much reduced for the last 10 km. 

I should have started with gels and slow energy drinks much earlier (I ate my first gel at the 15 km mark and mixed my first Hammer Perpetuem at the 20 km checkpoint). I now know that just because I am feeling strong (as I was the first 25 km) I must stick to my nutritional schedule. I will start with a pre-mixed Perpetuem (which I loved BTW) and also eat my gels without fail. 

Saltsticks capsules worked great, as did my RaidLight Evolution 2 backpack with frontmounted bottles. I used a mixture of gels, e.g. Hammer, GU and Carb Boom. They all tasted the same and I did not notice any difference in performance.

My footwear, Inov-8 Roclite 319, and Injini socks were a pleasure to wear. Not a single blister or any shearing of any skin. GREAT! I did develop pain the following day on the outside of my left foot, but I put this down to not wearing my orthotics. 

Overall, a fantastic event and a great learning experience. Now I know I can do 50 km in one day and still feel strong the following day. Just need to get my calorie intake right and use orthotics. And oh yes, strengthen those muscles around my right knee!

Happy Practising!