Day 3 complete and all good. We’re currently at the foothills of some mountains that I can only assume we’ll be taking on a some stage…

Instead of a diary-style update, I’m going for the bullet approach:

-          I’m holding up reasonably well but was substantially limited in how hard we could go at it today on account of the treats that the course has served up on my feet so far (there are some pretty tasty snaps for you all to savor on our return);

-          Tom and I ran the day together; his company was both intellectually and sexually stimulating;

-          Biggest surprise of the day was Toni, who has all of a sudden discovered that he is an extraordinary trail-runner. He came in 14th place today which was unbelievably impressive for a host of reasons, not least the toughness of today’s course (1300m elevation today leaving us at 2000m above sea level)- those that know the dude clearly understand that he has a screw loose but his performance over the last two days has been simply amazing;

-          Still struggling with getting much sleep;

-          The novelty of eating food of a sachet has most definitely worn off (in particularly the Oatmeal). I’ve decided to throw away some of my food to lighten my bag (appetite also pretty much gone)

-          I haven’t returned to the bog pit since my last visit. Tim and Jack have really gotten into it, I don’t share their enthusiasm;

-          I shaved my legs in Bortala before we started the race. This has been met with mixed reviews in the camp.

The Gobi Boys march on, 42kms tomorrow before the infamous ‘long march’ which will be a 78km slog at altitude.

Ciao

Dudes and chicks,

Before anyone begins to read this, if you would like a more detailed account of our trip to date, I suggest you take a peek at VC’s blog which is a far more comprehensive account of our journey thus far…

My update begins with stage one complete: legs are dreamy, I smell like a Liberian slum and my feet have already started to succumb to leprosy that I’ve always feared was inside me. Admittedly we took it pretty easy today, but it’s nice to arrive back at camp feeling in reasonable shape ahead of what promises to be a ball-busting few days. Unfortunately, General Von Christierson’s knee fell apart today which was a bit of a bore for him, so Mr Muir and myself spent the last two stages of the race with the draatrek learning about the birds and the bees while JTD and Elbutt charged ahead. He’ll be trying to march through the remaining days and with a steady supply of industrial strength painkillers from Muir’s medi-bag he should be fine.

The living conditions are pretty basic but ok (save for the latrines, where you gain a pretty deep insight into the digestive workings of your fellow campers).  

Right- being lobbed off the terminal now- longer update tomorrow I promise