The Long March is an apt title, we marched a long time.

Up at 6am then a 2 hour bus ride and a 10am start.

I thought we would have a long hot day, but the conditions were mixed.

Up to 30 deg early, then mid 20's as we skirted the snow capped Kunlun mountain range.

Then a storn, some sand some rain. Temps down below 20 and a lower wind chill.

Jackets on for a section.

We ran away fron the mountains, the sun came out and back to 30deg. from 7pm.

As for the curse, we had a steady uphill on vehicle track, then a section of the typical short sharp hills and stony river beds.After reaching the highest point, the second half was gradual downhill on track and river beds.

We ran sections of this, but used all of Matts energy with still 10k to go.

At times It became a bit monotonous, our feet were feeling it and we all wanted to get it done.

No more so than Matt and Roger, who both endured some uncomfortable hours on their feet.

Eventually it was job done.

A relieved Born to Run team crossed the finish, collected our water and crashed in out tent.

Matt, Greg and myself were slightly delayed, as we are volunteers in a mecdical research program.

We have been blood tested for sodium levels pre start and after Stages 1, 3 and 5.

I had trouble producing enough blood, requiring 2 stabs twice, and a lot of finger squeezing.

Today we are relaxing at a great campsite.

A grassy field amongst a grove of trees. It's quite protected from the hot sun and frequent wind blasts.

Our media man, James "Hot Knees", has been busy filming and photoing.

Numerous interviews and photo shoots of us, and fellow competitors of interest.

Tomorrow it's a 15k run into the old Kashgar City.

We are all really looking forward to a few comforts, hot showers, fresh food, nice bed etc.

 

I might not be able to post again, so a few closing thoughts.

We now realise that we had a dream race at Atacama. 5 runners, 6 stages, travelling a long way, the leadup training etc gives plenty of opportunity for something to go wrong.

This time our fortunes chnaged, with sickness affecting Matt and Roger.

They both prevailed in a great team spirit and we all pulled together to get us home.

We finished in good shape and a still reasonable performance had we all been well.

 

Thanks for all the comments, they are are very encouraging.

Also a good mix of State of Origen feedback.

This looks like a NSW year, I reckon.

The Day started with a climb to Shiptons Arch/Heavens Gate.  200m rise on a vehicle track, then 200m climb of steep track and Ladders.

An amazing spectacle, advertised as higher then the Statue of Liberty, I think.

We stood underneath it at 2900m elevation. Access through the arch is blocked, but it would take an experienced climber to decend the other side. Then we retraced out steps back down 300m to Cp1. All slow going.

Then next 12 k or so, was the most difficult terrain so far. All between 2600m and 2700m. When I say between, it was up to 2700, down to 2600, up to 2700, etc, etc.I lost count of how many hills, all very steep. Many parts were slippery scree and most runners had a slide or two.

Eventually we decended to a stony river bed, and followed that for a long drop to CP3. Then mostly flat road and river for the final leg.

Matt was much improved today, much stronger. However running was an issue as it upset his stomach as soon as he started. So we walked almost all the course, except for a short fartlek section on the road where Matts stomach had settled somewhat.

The rest of the team is going well. No issues for Jess and Greg, and Roger is much improved from the first day.

For me, I enjoyed the Stage. Although we went a little harder today, I finished feeling quite fresh. Additionallly, I was able to handle all the hills well, so much better than I have for a long time. I could run down steepish slopes painfree!

Weather was good today, 10 at start, 8 near the arch, 30 at CP3, and quite cool tonight at 8pm.

Tomorow the long day and we are so much more confident after today. We are up early for a 2 hour bus ride to the start. Start time is 9:30, so we will be going right through the hot part of the day, which is usually 3 to 7 pm.

STAGE 2 Mars in the Gobi.   About 39km. 6:14

 

Homestay was amazing. Each tent stayed in a room of the house. We slept on an elevated platform with layers of carpet. Despite temps of 30+ outside it was really cool in the house. Also very dark, headlamp required. We fund the candles just as we were leaving.

Team started well, but about halfway, Matts Stomach problems slowed him, as well as a knee injury. Roger was improved, but still not comfortable.

So for the last 2 sections, we walked almost all the distance. We felt the first real heat today, on a bitumen road in a valley at the end of the stage.We got in ok and camped in a recently slashed field in a town called Langerfville.

A feature of the villages and farm areas, is the use of a border of trees as weather “shields” around the areas.

 

STAGE 3 The farmlands of Langerfield.

Matt awoke with a fever, no appetite and feeling washed out. From the start he was struggling. He walked strongly, but was unable to run.

It was supposed to be an easy day, but in the middle sections we came upon kilometers of ravines, 10-20m deep. They were steep and extremely slippery going down  That tested us all, but Matt, with a loss of strength had to battle really hard. He had a 15min rest at CP2. By CP 3 the terrain was easier, and Matt got to his feet after only a 5 min rest. That was a good sign, as well as a strong walk out of the CP. The last section was a vehicle track, which sounds, but we climbed 400m in 8km.

Today we climbed 700m to 2500m. It’s cloudy now and quite cool. A bit different to yesterday when it was over 30deg at this time 8pm.

Tomorrow will be more difficult, so we all hope that Matt wakes feeling a lot better.

We go to a feature tomorrow, called Heaven Gate. A huge natural arch.

I’ll detail blog on it tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the emails received so far. Please reply with the State of Origen score if you are emailing.

This will be the first one I have missed watching.

The stage started in cool weather, and warmed a little, although a nice breeze kept things comfortable.

Course was reduced as the river bed first part of leg 1 was too deep.

We ran long stretchs of 4WD road and firm but rocky ground. A few hills and riverbeds slowed us down.

Team Born to Run moved at nice pace early on. Just before CP2 Roger became hindered by stomach issues. Matt also was affected.

They ran a sollid pace until about 3 hours when they were forced to back off a little.

I also slowed from 3 hours. I felt the weight of the heavy pack. I started to fatigue and my hip joints were quite sore.

Jess was her usual self, running with little effort.

Greg had a great day, leading us for the first leg then keeping a steady pace.

 

All up a good effort, the same time as Stage 1 Atacama, 1.3km longer and 120m elevation gain compared to 400 drop.

 

We are living it up tonight, honestaying in a local village, Tashpuscka.

Half the field, about 80 runners are staying in a massive house.

10 to a room, the same as the tents, but a lot more comfortable.

 

tbc tomorrow...

Currently about to have lunch, then at 2pm a 2hour bus trip to the overnight camp. All through the pre race checks, so it's all go. We have received the course notes. The first day is a full marathon, although not rated too hard. Day 4 has mostly difficult sections, and is 40+km. For the long day 5, we have a 2 hour bus trip before we start. Start elevation is 1800m. Day 3 has a gain if 1200+m, finishing at 2600m. Highest CP is 2900m on Day 5, so there is plenty of elevated running. It's great that we have Atacama behind us. The team is all fully fit and raring to go. We have had a look around a small part of Kashgar. It's quite large at 650000 ppl I think. 90% Middle Eastern, 10% Chinese. We went to a bazaar yesterday, all Middle Eastern. The whole scene is so different from Sydney, as you would expect. We have eaten in the hotel, street food , and a very small restaurant last night. All very different. Yesterday we had a bit of fun on the Ferris Wheel and Dodgem Cars. The weather in town is mild to warm. Max about 27. Sunset is 10:15, due to being based on Eastern China's time zone. It's still warm until midnight, cooling to 18deg at 7:15 am Sunrise. It is supposed to be more variable in the desert where we will race. 30+ max, and dropping to 10min in the higher regions. Next post will be after Stage 1

A quick, and late summary of activities since completing Atacama Desert in March. I had the first week off, apart from a light jog. By the following Sunday I was feeling quite recovered, which was a nice surprise. I returned to hard training, but the old knee niggles came back. So I was a little conservative leading up to a big program of track races. One week before Easter, I did the NSW State Track Champs over 10000m. I was very happy with 38:21, in 25 evenly paced laps of 92 seconds.The following weekend, I raced 5 times at the Australian Masters Champs in Melbourne. Only 4 were track races!, the other Cross country. Efforts were mixed as could not go flat out for all of them. Next up was the Canberra 50k road race. This was to be a good test of my endurance speed. I started at a steady rate, but at 15k, still feeling fresh, I sensed a tight calf. This got worse and I pulled out at 20k, and limped back to the finish area. I think an after effect of the track races, so I had an easy 2 weeks. I recovered well in time to do the Sydney 10 road race on May 6. At this stage I was feeling my best for maybe 18 months. 2 weeks later was the North Face 100k in the Blue Mountains. For me, it was a very tough course. Although I was still running well after 16:20 hours at the finish, I did not handle the hills at all. I lost a lot of time in the many large climbs and descents. In the last 2 weekends, I completed a mix of races, Bondi Barefoot, 10kms of Beach Sand. Next weekend- Sydney Striders 10km road race, and a wet and muddy 4k Cross country leg of a relay, that afternoon. Next day, the Great Nosh race. 15.5km trail race, again very wet and muddy. I pulled up from all the latter races, and my training, in good shape, so I'm looking forward to Going to Gobi. As for gear preparation, it was so much easier the second time. The compulsory items are almost the same, and I know what works for nutrition. So preparation was quite smooth, I was close to fully packed a week before the race. As I write this, just after midnight Thursday, I have only to fine tune the food I will take, which I will do in the morning. Then it's the gear check and we leave Kashgar at 1pm Saturday. I will try to post again before we leave.