The day began with a 2 hr bus ride to the start, which wasn't great as it meant that there would be 2 hr fewer of daylight to complete the stage.

It was 8km uphill on a dirt track to CP1, and I was rounding up the back of the field with my "Jake the Peg" hobble. After CP1 there was 2 km of steep uphill and downhill over 10 - 20 m hills, and at that point, with a painful and stiff knee it didn't seem possible to complete the stage.

Fortunately it flattened out into a dry river bed and I pushed myself into a power walk, and by CP2 my knee had somehow improved and I was almost walking normally again. I caught up with Ian and we walked together until CP4, while I gave him an insider's view of living in China. This was great as it took my mind off my knee.

At CP4 (half-way point), I checked Tom's progress - he had been there more than 3 hours before me and in 8th place. This was incredibly inspiring but at the same time very demoralising as I pictured him crossing the finish line while I slowly trundled toward CP5. I had a brief battle for position with a nice Japanese woman, which must have looked like a race for geriatrics as we both struggled to keep up a fast walk. In the end she breezed past me.

At CP5 I had some blisters drained on my heels, and a quick bite to eat before pressing on. Ian came past again and very generously donated his walking poles to me before jogging ahead.

By CP6 a toenail on my left foot was almost off and had to be drilled to release the pressure. I continued on to the final checkpoint, by which time it was dark and I was walking with my headlamp. The last 8 km uphill to the finish line seemed to last forever, as I struggled to walk straight; again Ian's walking poles saved me from collapsing a number of times in the last few kms.

I got in at 1:30am, with every muscle in my body aching. I couldn't believe I had made it after the countless times I thought it was all over during the first 10km of the stage.

Today I am trying to recover for the last 15 km push tomorrow. My feet are covered in blisters but this should be no problem considering that I already made it more than 100 km with mangled feet. This morning in the medical tent there was a Japanese guy who had massive infected blisters on the front half of both soles; I'm amazed at how he can even continue to walk.

Thanks again for the emails and comments. Looking forward to finishing tomorrow, having a shower, eating real food and sleeping in a real bed!

Stage 4 started with a run up to Shipton's Arch where we had to climb narrow metal stairways in between the rocks. As there was only one way up, Tom and I pushed hard to be at the front of the pack and avoid getting bottlenecked at the stairs. The view at the top was amazing, although we only stayed for a brief photo and to catch our breaths. The way down was probably harder than the way up as it was important to keep control of your speed and avoid tripping and landing on a big sharp rock. I hate to think how long it would have taken to get to a hospital if anyone had been injured.

We hit CP1 flying, in 15th place and powered up into the next section, where we faced off with continuous up and down over 30-50m gravelly hills. After the 2nd descent, my right knee started to hurt with every downhill step. I never thought the day would come where I preferred climbing the hills rather than coming down the other side.

Tom was looking very strong and pulled away, on both the uphill and downhill sides, and within an hour he was out of sight (sha bi!). At CP2 I was feeling great everywhere except for my knee, so I the doctors gave me 2 Tylenols. Unfortunately these did very little, and by the final descent into the river bed I had given up a number of places and was mostly walking. Luckily, Nick and Virginie ran past. I then followed Virginie down the river bed until CP3, although the last hill before CP finally broke my knee for good and there was no more running for the rest of the day.

I made my way across the river, and was too lazy to change my socks afterwards, which means I have a few extra blisters to deal with tonight. After the river crossing, there was a small town and some nice flat paved roads. I can't begin to describe the frustration of being on a good running surface and then being unable to run with excruciating knee pain. I battled on through a number of fields, doing my best to walk fast but constantly being overtaken by other competitors.

Finally I reached the finish, which had been shortened by 3 km due to fast flowing water in the final river crossing. Tom had cracker of a day and finish in 9th place, more than 1 hour 20 mins in front of me! This was an amazing effort and will surely see him surge up the rankings.

I'm now just trying to get enough water into my body so that I can take some Ibuprofen to stop inflammation and hopefully allow me to at least jog for some of the long march tomorrow. Time to go rehydrate another delicious meal in a bag...

Road running gives you time to relax, reflect and clear your mind. Climbing 1200m at altitude, with a 10kg pack, in the hot desert sun doesn't offer quite the same benefits.

However, between the never ending gulleys and hills that we had to climb and then descend, I managed to sneak in a fleeting pensive moment about my feelings towards rocks.

Rocks I like:

Rocks I don't like:

1. fist-sized sharp rocks (in fact fields of them). These hurt the soles of your feet, are nearly impossible to run on unless you have hooves, and are generally to be avoided, although it seems the course director has taken a sadistic liking to this kind of rock.

2. medium (head sized) rocks. These tend to be strewn on the steep downhill section of a hill and take pleasure in smashing into the front of your shoe and toes. Fortunately for me, I don't really like my toenails anyway.

3. Any other rock not mentioned above.

Stage 3 was a 35 km "easy / moderate" stage according to the morning briefing. Not so.

The first 8 km was an nice gentle uphill out of the village and through some farm land. After checkpoint 1, we quickly entered the worst kind of rock field, where it is nearly impossible to run. 2 days ago I was laughing at people carrying hiking poles... my attitude towards these poles is rapidly changing after seeing Guy breeze past us 2 days in a row.

After passing through the rock field, it seemed there was some respite, but it was shortlived and we entered a long section of rocky dunes. Going up and down these without rolling an ankle or falling onto sharp rocks requires serious concentration and I wasn't a happy bunny. Luckily Tom was leading the way and I could follow his footsteps.

After one final big descent we entered a riverbed surrounded by cliffs, which was a continuous gradual rise until Checkpoint 3. What followed was a climb of around 800-1000m over 8.5km to the camp. Tom and I put our heads down and made up a few places to finish in just under 6 hours in places 34 & 35, but the altitude, heat and exertion had taken its toll.

The lactic in my legs soon spread to the rest of my body and I could barely put together a sentence even when lying down. 30 minutes and 400 calories later I felt a lot better.

Stage 4 is meant to be one of the hardest, with some treacherous, narrow ridge climbs and 2 water crossings. I just don't see how it could possibly get any harder though!

Loving the emails and comments. Keep it up!

Stage 2 completed! A tough 39 km stage through "Mars", with lots of up and down over steep gravely hills with both Tom and I falling down the hills at least once  each and lucky to escape with only minor cuts and bruises.

If you ever find yourself running through a desert, try to avoid stepping on small bushes. I ran over a seemingly innocuous bush and immediately felt pain under my big toe. After removing my shoe I found that a small wooden spine had pierced my sole and made it all the way through to just under my toe.

After checkpoint 2 (CP2) we ran through riverbed with the wind at our backs, which was a refreshing change, only to be confronted by a long, gradual incline that was strewn with sharp rocks and nearly impossible to run on. We were mentally beaten by the time we reached CP3, and sitting in position 44 & 45 but there was good news; most of the remainder of the stage was going to be on a paved road. There was another long uphill climb, where we made up a few positions, culminating at the peak with an amazing view over the valley.We set a cracking pace down the road, making up 3 places and enjoying the even predictable surface. The final 3 km were off road again, but with the finish line so agonizingly close we kept pushing hard and came in 32 & 33 in around 5 hr 40 mins.

The feeling of crossing the line pushes the sore muscles, dehydration, and hot weather out of the mind - at least until sitting down in the tent and seizing up.

A few more blisters and hot spots appeared on my left foot today. I wish I could work out why it is so much more prone to blisters than my right foot. Luckily the guys in the medical tent do a good job of draining them and taping up my feet.

Thanks for the emails and encouragement! Its nice to have something to look forward to at the end of the stage and to kill some of the (seemingly endless) downtime in between stage.

Bring on Stage 3!!

Last night was a bit of an ordeal. Apart from being light until 11pm due to the ridiculous GMT+8 time zone imposed by Beijing (the locals use their own unofficial time system), one of my tentmates snores like nothing I've ever heard. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep.

This morning, after tucking into a delicious dehydrated muesli in a bag, we set off on Stage 1 at 8am. The course had been shortened to 32km due to high water levels in some parts of the course. Some amazing scenery and steep hills confronted us for the first 10km, before flattening out into a large riverbed area. The flat river bed looked so inviting, but the jagged stones wreaked havoc with my feet and I could already feel a blister hot spot on my left foot arch.

By the second check point we were sharing relatively flat but dusty roads with the local trucks. Everything felt good and Tom and I were setting a decent pace, that was until about the 25km mark when the heat and weight of my pack (12.5kg) really started to take its toll. Headaches - I couldn't figure out if I was dehydrated or over-hydrated. We walked for a few minutes, then ran for a few minutes, continuing until we finally reached the stage end in a small Kyrgz / Uigher town; a green oasis in the middle of a stark and barren desert. We placed 37 & 38 with a time of roughly 4 hours - all-in-all a good start, although I have to admit that there were a few moments when I questioned why I signed up for this in the first place.

As this stage was shortened at the last minute, we are staying in local houses, which is a nice change from last night. Hopefully I might end up getting a bit of decent sleep tonight, if I can tune out from the snoring!

Tomorrow is a 42km stage through an area the organisers call "Mars". I'm hopeful my blisters don't get too much worse, and that I can push through a run/jog the whole stage. At least my pack should be almost 800g lighter each day as I get through my amazing dehydrated food packs, energy bars and gels, and various other unpalatable creations.

Congrats to my Beijing running buddy Virginie, who is currently placed 4th amongst the women and will surely push for a podium spot by the end of the week!

Thanks for all the donations and messages of support! If you haven't donated already, its still not too late to support Operation Smile China and help to transform the life of a local child.