The long day is almost over and we are waiting on one more competitor to make it into camp.  Everyone is tired, sore and impatient to cross that finish line tomorrow.
 
I arrived in camp around 0110 and placed 44th.  It was tough and I didn't have much company along the way.  The day started well when  decided to run along side Lisa Tamaiti, Sam Gash, Dave Burns and Manus for the first leg and a half.  The pace was strong and it felt comfortable but I wasn't planning on keeping it up for the whole day.  The sun began to heat up and I slowed to a quick march around CP 2.  The scenery had been much the same as before up until this point but leg 3 proved to be be a treat taking us through the valley of the whales.  It was a joy to run through 400 million year old sea beds and whale fossils.
 
CP 3 - CP 5 was very hard going as the heat really began to hit me and the tedium of the day began to set in.  The ground was soft and sapping with no let up.  It seemed to go on forever but CP 5 was reached and I could refill on fluids food.  My feet were feeling very bruised so I decided to take some pain killers to help me through the next 40 km. 
 
The sun was setting so temperatures were cooling, the pain killers were kicking in and Rd Hot Chilli Peppers, Californication had just kicked in on my new pink iPod shuffle.  My mood was up and I got a large second wind.  I new that as long as I played it sensible from here on then I could get the course completed straight through.
 
It was beginning to get dark and there was a new moon above so it was just me and my head torch.  The course was well marked and navigation was not a problem.  I was briefly joined by Rebecca from New Zealand for a brief spell but the rest of the race was taken solo.
 
I reached the final checkpoint just before midnight and I prepared myself for the final 9.8 km to camp.  My right lower leg was throbbing and the final leg seemed a hell of task.  I walked down a valley onto the shore line of a lake.  My morale was low an I was stopping every 10 steps or so.  I suddenly heard the familiar sound of the camp drum, the drum is beaten every time a competitor enters camp.  If you here this then you know your close.  The pain left my mind and I headed straight for the sound of that drum.
 
The hardest part of the race was over and I was back with my tent mates.  The rest of the night was too painful to sleep but the joy of finishing was enough to make the injuries a minor inconvenience.
 
Two more kilometers tomorrow with the finish line by the pyramids.  Beer, food and celebrations.
 
Thganks for all the comments everyone there were too many to respond to and they all helped immensly. 
 
Bring on the next challenge.

The final day before D-day and all ok.  Developed a rather tasty blood blister on my right big toe but should be fine if left alone.  The course today was quite flat with a softish sand which was tough on the feet.  The first leg was sheltered from the wind and everyone began to feel the heat start to hit them.  We were all sweating buckets and it hadn't even reached 0830.  Apparently some guys got readings of 41 degrees at 0830.  Thankfully the course opened up and the wind kept the temperature manageable. 
 
Last nights camp was less windy than previous nights and we all slept sound.  The night sky was amazing, the best I have ever seen, and it was a joy to get up for a pee.
 
The tent is doing great and everyone is soldiering on despite some very nasty set backs.  Ed is particularly bad with some terrible blisters but nevertheless he is making it through every stage.  We have all been fantasising about our first meal and drink for when we return to the hotel on Saturday and cannot wait to jump into the swimming pool.
 
Back at camp now and most people are figuring out their strategies and tactics for tomorrow.  How much food to take, when to take it, supplements, pace, medicine etc...  We were thinking it would be much easier to compete in our new competition that we created aka EveryMan!  In which you have to complete general domestic duties either as well (girlfriend division) or as poorly (batchelor division) as possible.  Much easier than trekking across the desert and far, far cheaper. 
 
Time to rest.
 
Until tomorrow...

Not a lot to report today.  The course was longer than the previous two days but undulating and interesting.  I stayed steady and finished well.  Feet are a little bruised and the traps are a bit sore.
 
The heat was much more bearable but still draining with many competitors pulling out.
 
The sunset at camp tonight was spectacular and we all watched it sink below the horizon in about 10 minutes.  It was so nice in fact that a couple got engaged to the very same sun set just before they got into camp.  Some of the competitors who were on the course at the same time as the couple thought the gent had injured himself when he got down on one knee but he soon told them that he was stretching.  They went on their way and he got back to the important task.
 
Until tomorrow... 

Last night we all slept outdoors and felt relaxed, refreshed and ready for today.  After yesterdays heat I planned to set off at a steady pace and improve my nutritional intake.  I was kept my electrolytes the same but also took on some nuts and pretzels at each checkpoint, I did and and it worked.
 
The first checkpoint came quite quickly and I walked in with Ricky Paugh and Dave O'Brian, two grand slammers attempting their third race of the year.  Ricky was feeling in a bad way and complained of an upset stomach and a raised heartbeat something that is unusual for him as he is usually a top 20 finisher and a very fit individual.  He sat down at CP 1 asked to see a doctor and unfortunately withdrew.  Another grand slammer, Trig, had to withdraw yesterday due to a severe leg injury. Get well soon lads.
 
CP 1 to 2 I did with Dave and the distance went by very quickly and as usual he was a ball to talk to.  He struggled a bit towards the end of the leg and needed to rest.  I'm glad to say that he is now back at camp after completing today.  Most of the grand slammers are now really feeling the effects of what they're trying to achieve and the end task is looking that much harder.
 
After CP 2 the rest of the stage went to plan and I continued on through to the finish feeling a lot better than yesterday.  The heat is a little bit more bearable and I think I should be used to it after tomorrow.
 
Big shout out to the Gobi guys for emailing and commenting on my blog, would be great to have you out here. Thanks also to everyone else who has done the same.
 
Until tomorrow...

First day done and it didn't take long before the hardships of this kind of race came flooding back and the elation that comes with crossing the finishing line seemed oh so far away.
 
We started at 0700 and the temperature was bareable with a cooling breeze.  The first leg went well but it didn't take long, about 90minutes, before the temperature started to rise and the wind was doing little to cool me off.  Water turned warm and the evapoorating minerals left a nice coating in my mouth.
 
Checkpoints one and two were reached in good time and I was around the top third.  After that, checkpoint 2 to checkpoint 3, it was a real struggle and the heat was draining in a very big way.  The sun was cooking me and I found it hard to maintain my pace and I started to loose places.  I didn't do myself any favours by only taking electrolytes and energy gels and my stomach began to cramp.  I was feeling sorry for myself but a quick stop at checkpoint 3 soon reminded me that everyone was suffering.  I was met with roughly 20 competitors all sitting down and trying to recover from the energy absorbing sun.
 
We were told that the next checkpoint was only 7.4km away and this was a huge mental boost.  The last leg was doable and the sun didn't seem so bad anymore although that thought will soon be thrown out the window when tomorrow comes.  We have roughly 25 miles of dunes tomorrow and a 0600 start so breakfast will be boiled at 0400.  It will be a slog and a real test of ones charector.  We also have the same sort of stage to look forward to the day after.
 
The temperature is making this race harder than Gobi but the terrain is manageable so far.  Tent mates are absolutely brilliant, as good as my Gobi tent mates, if your reading this lads?  Everyones on top form and now the relaxed campsite socialising is going on and final preparations for tomorrow are being topped off.
 
Until tomorrow...
 
Sam 

Arrived in Cairo yesterday and all went well until I asked the taxi guys at the airport if they could take me to the hotel, a new build in an entirely new part of the city.  Non of them knew where it was but after an hour of frantic phone calls and all of the drivers shouting at each other I got a lift there.
 
The hotel is large and Thai themed?  But very nice.  All the check ins went smoothly but I'm a little annoyed that my pack weighs in at 10kg. 
 
We left for the desert at 1500 and arrived about three and a half hours later to a pitch black camp.  Had a feed and listened to a group of men play traditional music.  Nothing else to report but just wanted to touch base. 
 
Tomorrow will be slow and steady as the heat and terrain are very different here compared to the Gobi.
 
This was an interesting blog...

Well the race is so very nearly upon us and what can I say but HURRY UP!  I’m sure everyone is feeling excited, a little nervous and apprehensive and all are very much looking forward to Wadi El-Hitan or the Valley of The Whales.

 

Training has been going pretty well and considering the short space of time I have had to train for this, I only signed onto the race about 4 weeks ago, I am feeling confident.  Although I have not had a lot of time to train I have the advantage of being unemployed so I can spend nearly all my time preparing, every cloud has a silver lining.  In order to prepare myself for the Sahara I decided to take myself to my grandparents in South Wales and use the sandy coastline that is only miles from their house to my advantage.  I talk about my initial experiences with sand in an earlier blog.

 

I only have a couple of weeks until I taper off in my training and the initial beauty of the beaches, dunes and cliff routes has lost all appeal.  I now curse certain features and landmarks, as I know what awaits me around the corner.  This was a theme that occurred to me earlier this year when I trained for the Gobi.  Unless you really live in the sticks (wilderness) your rather limited to what you can do for an interesting, fresh training session, a training session in which you don’t have to repeat your route in order to make up the mileage.  I thought I found it when I trained in Great Windsor Park near my parents home.  The scenery was perfectly kept with beautiful monuments everywhere and to top it off one of my checkpoints was Windsor castle.  Surely I couldn’t get bored of this wonderful route?  Alas, I did.  I could picture Elizabeth looking out of her bedroom window and telling Philip,

 

“Look dear, there is that awfully strange young man running up to our gate again!?!  That’s the third time today!  Should I send the Corgis down there?”

 

But there is no escaping the fact that mileage is an Ultra runners best friend and it can get very boring and lonely.  Thankfully through the phenomenon that is Facebook I have been able to find a training partner for this weekend.  A quick thanks to Samantha Gash for introducing Ed Matts, check out their blogs.  This will be my first session in a month where I can actually talk to someone and not rely on my iPod as my only company.

 

Maybe I’ve been a little unfair on the scenery as it really is a joy and I have had a bit of company.  Not far from the beach where I start and end my runs there is a fantastically large stables.  The same beaches and dunes are also their training grounds.  Nearly every session I have I will find myself trudging through the sand next to my equine brethren and both of us are panting and sweating as much as the other, well, maybe me a little more than them.

 

My 77 year old granddad and myself have started up a bit of a film club to pass the time.  I have introduced him to The Bourne trilogy, The Expendables and Scott Pilgrim VS The World. The Expendables being his favourite and Scott Pilgrim not amusing him in the slightest, how could it?  He was asleep by the end of the third trailer.  He, in return, has introduced me to countless Westerns most being shown on a film channel called Movies for Men.

 

Now all that is left to do is a couple of weeks training, some kit to order from the net and to get those gaiters sewn onto my trainers.  I can’t wait to meet the competitors, volunteers and staff in the Sahara and to reunite with some friends from the Gobi.  Keep at it and not long now!

It’s been my first full week training on sand and it was certainly a surprise to the body.  I recently returned from the Gobi March 2010 where sand was the exception.  One quick look at the initial course satellite photo and it is clear that sand in the Sahara will most certainly be the rule.  I have clocked up 7 hours of crossing beach and dunes and if you haven’t got yourself onto the sand yet I highly recommend that you do. 

The first thing I noticed was how energy sapping running on the loose stuff is for an extended period of time.  It was probably about 60 – 70 % of the effort put in that actually propelled me along the beach and even less on some of the dunes.  There is one particular dune I now call The Travelator for reasons that anyone who has seen the game show Gladiators will know. 

A quick look at the Taklamakan race status sees the front runners, including current leader Eric LaHaie, only clocking 4.5 km/h over soft dunes.

Timings increase and distances decrease as a result of this new terrain but one should not be disheartened.  Part of spending time on sand is to get the brain correctly adjusted to experiencing how far has been covered in a certain time and therefore working out your speed.  When you know your speed and the distance to the next checkpoint it is a huge moral boost to correctly estimate how long it will take before a water refill and a rest when all you can see around you is empty desert and no sign of life.

I also found my running technique changing for different types of sand and a whole new set of muscles in my legs firing off that are under used with other sports and running surfaces.  So spending considerable time on sand allows you to work out an efficient energy saving running technique and to strengthen those previously under used muscles.  Actually a good alternative if you cannot get to sand, in terms of using the right muscles, is a lateral trainer but this should not substitute running completely.

During the Gobi I didn’t suffer from blisters at all but after just 7 hours of sand I have found a rather tasty one on my right heal.  Keeping up the sand runs will allow my feet to get used to dealing with this abrasive terrain and will keep my blister care skills up to scratch but obviously don’t let the blisters get out of hand.

Only 5 weeks come Sunday till the race and plenty of time to get your body and mind used to the extra challenge that sand offers.

Keep it up!