Hello Everyone.

Well after two amazing weeks in Egypt, one week touring and one week racing, the 48 hours of flying back and forth, add in the jet lag, now having to pay my credit card for supporting the Egyptian economy while there........all I can say is "I miss it!" I mean the race of course. The Desert, the camp, the crew, even the outhouses (Not really!). For the entire week after getting home, both Janet and I dreamed of the desert. Could not stop thinking about it!

So, after promising to write my final entry for weeks, here it is. No advice, no descriptions of all the moments, just alot of thank yous. Why? Because that's what I thought about while out there. Just how blessed I am to be given such a wonderful opportunity. How and why it happened and came together. Who I met that inspired and taught me. It was an amazing experience for both of us. Completely different perspectives as a volunteer (Janet) and mine as a competitor.

A big special thank you to everyone who sent so many wonderful emails to Janet and I in the desert. It meant so much, and really appreciated each and every one of them.

Personally, I can't thank the volunteers enough for their hard work....some long hours (20 hrs. in stage 5 for Janet). They were dedicated to helping every competitor to realize their dream of reaching their goal, to finish The Sahara Race. Personally, I could not have done it without any of you. Your upbeat, positive attitudes were always a welcome treat during some of the hottest days on record for this race. Back at camp, the medical staff were some of the most sincere people. Greeting with hugs, smiles and wonderful senses of humour that made the pain lesson. Thank You to you all!

Mary, Sam, Anthony, Eric and the rest of the Racing the Planet Team who worked tirelessly around the clock to make this the best race ever. Great job!

To everyone of the competitors, whether you finished or not, congrats for stepping up to the plate! No one knows more than a competitor, what it truly takes to get to that startline. The hard work, perserverance and dedication to get there is commendable. It was a tough go with the heat, conditions, blisters and not all were able to finish each Stage. But, some of these people would step back up to the plate the very next day and try again the next Stage. I found this so inspiring. What it taught me? Never quit, and never give up on a dream. Wow!

Tom Adair and Ron Hackett, one word....incredible! Thanks for the memories and friendship.

My tentmates could not have been better. All great personalities, who showed tremendous courage. John and Daniel, father and son, wow! I look forward to the day that I may have the opportunity to share a similar experience with one of my sons or perhaps when I reach my 60's, maybe my grandson...??? Mr. Sang Oh, one word to describe you... gracious. All my tentmates, we helped each other, made each other laugh but most importantly, we respected each other. We all will have pictures, memories and stories to tell for a quite a while. It was an honour, Thank you!

My family and friends, who have put up with this bazzaar dream for the past year. In the beginning, many of you thought that, "really he is nuts, see this proves it!". Eventually, you all realized my passion, that it was not about the race at all but about the CHARITY! You supported me tremendously from that moment on, coming to our fundraisers, bringing friends and spreading the word of our courageous opportunity to making a difference in childrens lives. The donations are still coming in. I love you all!

My grand-daughter, my precious, my inspiration. Who is struggling right now with Cystic Fibrosis and a bad chest cold. She wanted to know if there were any scorpions out there? I told her no, just butterflies, lots of butterflies. I told her, "everytime grampa saw one, I thought of you!".

My wife, which none of this would have ever been possible. To have her there sharing this with me was the best. As well, to cross the finishline and have my Janet place the medal over me.....PRICELESS!

Teammates! We did it! Got the medals for show and tell. We hit all the checkpoints and every finishline as a team. There is no "I" in TEAM! (You won't have to hear me say again.)

Great moments, memories to last a lifetime. Many thanks again, Marc

Please watch Trailwinders video: http://trailwinders.com/video.html or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEpy351-IMA

Here we go!..........I'm all packed and not quite ready to go (or so how I feel). One always feels as though your forgeting something. I've packed and unpacked and packed again, double checking the lists.But, I think for the most part, I've got most of it.

When ever I go away I'm always worried about my dogs. They are like children and sense we are going away. Our Retriever suffers from separation anxiety, and will chew stuff (like Janet's couch). Ouch!!

The last 2 weeks have been quite the slog with having to do the heat acclimation, Media promotions, working at a real job, Thanksgiving (Canada celebrates differently than US) and everything else that life throws at you. It's also flu season and I think all three of us are coming down with something as we have been in such close quarters with heat acclimation. But, we will have a few days to recover and I am sure we will be ready for the "Main Event"!

We are very excited about the support and media coverage of our project and the response has been extremely well received. I've had emails, phone calls and people coming up to me on the street congratulating me on our mission. Nice.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my wife for her tireless support and love. To all my family for their love and support (So nice to have everyone together again). My run buddies (The rest of Team Trailwinders) for showing up and getting us through all the training (this would not have been possible without your smiling faces on those tough long runs!).

A special thanks to Adam Francillia (Mr.Miyada) and crew at Fitlife Sport Performance (Maple Ridge) who taught me about the possibilities, if I chose to believe!

If your wondering why I'm doing this? It's for my grand-daughter Reaghan , who has Cystic Fybrosis and for all children and families who need help in times of crisis or support. To donate to Variety BC Children's Charity, go to www.trailwinders.com and click on donate. We thank you for the support!!!

Also go to the event website: www.racingtheplanet.com/sahara and follow our progress. Cheer for us by sending a message (email a competitor).

TTYS, Marc.