well
the long day is done
pushed hard through most of it and was done in like 22 hours
should have been done in 20 but pack and sand slowed me down
didnt think it was that hard but was hard enough especially after 4 marathons
sun was hot but eat drink rest cycle went as planned
 
only one blister to speak of on my r little toe
takes uo the whole toe though
trying  to keep the skin intact until i get back to civiliation and some soap
 
all but one the the 8 in our tent made it
the last guy finished around 1000 this morning
his feet are just trashed
spent about 30 minutes wrapping them up with the little supplies i have
hope it holds
 
well right now we are just waiting for the last of the competitors to come in
it is about 1200 and there are still a few out in the in desert baking
why i pushed through the night
 
bob hope u a doug enjoy the hill country
christina too bad about your countryman, glad your feet survived.  it was my pleasure to be of assistance
brad feet are fine, very thirsty though
bert i still have your pics, i swear i will send them i suck at things like that but do come through in the end
bert why the hell did they take the trialer
 
 
too my love without you none of this would be happening
you are what makes me strong
you give me the will to survive the blood and pain
 
phillip
good luck on your run
i am proud of you
you are stronger then you give yourself credit for
keep putting one foot in front of the other
 
so the ops game should be out soon
how long will it take you to beat that
 
someone tape the game for me this weekend
need something to do while i sit on the couch and drink beer
 
to the rest of
thanks for being there for me
it made it worthwhile knowing that you were looking after me from an air conditioned living room
 
 
vince
end of day 6 and now just waiting to cross the finishing line
all of those out there that have done it in the past know how that feels
i cant wait

well four marathons down
98 k to go
 
for me this was a hard stage
even though I had one of my best times
feet are holding up
only one small blister on my r small toe
just hurts from pounding so much
was actually able to make it to the third check point without problem
if the go to hell tomorrow it is ok
as long as I get through half the day before it does
have enough tape and meds to get through the rest
 
I was so hungry tonight had to eat two meals
jasenka the hash browns were pretty good
had good water electrolyte plan today and was actually able to pee on the course
 
good day tomorrow get to change all my clothes
eat a good meal and then start walking
 
this desert is about 50 million years old and we spend much of our day tramping over small coin like fossils
there is a physicist from isreal who taught me a little about sand dunes and how sand storms develop
interesting what you can learn from people when you take the time to listen
something im getting better at doing
 
well time for an ambien and a good nights sleep
 
thanks all for your well wishes
thanks to brad and ken perry for their e mail
again always nice to hear from your guys out there
makes it seem worth it when I know you are watching
 
jasenka I love you my baby girl
we should do one of those runs together
take the boy and baby to your parents
have a honey moon
actually there are two couples on their honey moon here
 
phillip
be strong my boy
take care of your mom sister and your crazy dog
I love you
 
isabella you are my love and life
miss you my baby girl
 
good night
until sometime friday

so third marathon down
hot and most said it was a hard day
they havent been in the hill country though
joe puts on an equally hard run
 
ran through an area that used to be an ocean
lots of soft sand and sand dunes
 
pushed hard through the first three stops ten kind of played around
got in later then I wanted
but still going well
feet are doing well
only one blister and some hot spots
 
baby girl
nice to hear that all is well
soon isabella wont be able to ride lena
always funny to see that
 
phillip my boy thanks for taking care of the girls
 
thanks to rob lilly and bob howes for their support
always nice to hear from all of you
 
even better to hear the fsu won
rob ill hold you to the crown

hey guys
most importantly my wife who bought me this torture
and my baby boy and little girl
thanks for all your help and encouragement
 
day two is done
about 10 people out so far
the famous and legendary badwater jak dennes left yesterday he will be missed
what a great guy
 
well day two wasnt bad
wind behind your backs
not as hot
but sand dunes some from hell
 
they say tomorrow will be harder
41 k or about 25 miles in what is termed difficult terrain
 
bag still heavy
just cant seem to eat all my food
 
a little stomach irritation today
man do i hate to drink plain water
always makes me nausous
 
tent mates are all making it
some are competitive as well
will see how tommorow goes
 
thanks again everyone for your wishes
 
thank you SFC Archuletta for your encouragement
 
oh yeah
who won the FSU game this weekend
think they palyed virginia

hey every one
day one went well
long hot day
wind blowing non stop
9 hour in over 100 degree temp
pack to heavy
shoes a sieve for the sand
but doing well fighting through the problems
blister under second toe nail already
one starting under l great toe
the walk around the lake was nice
tomorrow the sand dunes
we will see how it goes
it is almost 7 at night and folks are still coming in
 
thanks my love for your encouragement
also thank to rob lilly, marc smith and vanesa miller for their messages as well
 
every bit helps
end of day two
3 more marathons long march and short day

got to cairo without problems
went to the pyramids and saw the sphinx.  pyramids are impressive, shinx was smaller then I would have thought
met two german guys volker and rafael and hung with them it was a cool experience
currently at the base camp
8 people in the tent
three from the us, one f from brazil, one f from mexico, and the lone brit and m from peru
had a good mre enchilada meal and got my gear together for tomorrow
hot here even at night
so far any way
tomorrows leg is around a lake and they say it should be pretty easy compared to the rest of the stages
jasenka it was good to hear from you last night
nice to know you can track me down no matter where I am
phillip my boy good job on finishing halo
take care of your mom and sister
wish me luck
miss you and all those out there cheering me on
vince

so thought i had another day to prepare
was at work and my tech was talking to me telling me to get things done 
told her i would be fine
had a whole nother day
she reminded me that i leave today not tomorrow
so last night was a busy one to say the least
getting ready to leave for the airport in a minute
wife made good coffee for the trip
see you in the sahara
vince