By Brad Howe

Hi everyone,

I am writing this blog in twice as much pain as the last blog. The good news is that we are all done with the long stage. Going into the race I was thinking the long stage was going to be around 50mi.. they decided to increase it to 58mi(bastards). The day started with two starts: a 6am start for those racers outside the top 20, and a 9am start for those racers in the top 20. I was unfortunately in the 9am start. I say that because we delt with the heat, and we had to cover more distance in the dark. On top of all that the wind was blowing 30-40mph much like is as I right this blog. The wind/sand looked liked snow blowing across the tundra, but felt like getting hit with a million blow darts. This lasted for a good 6hrs. Oh yea, the wind was directly into your face.

My total time on the stage was a bit over 16 hours I think? I believe I got in around 1:15 in the morning. The good news about this stage was I did not run out of water between any of the check points. The bad news was I had to get my blisters retaped with held me back at least 30min at the second check point. When the tape was peeled off the blisters, I noticed my blisters had blisters (not kidding). With the wind blowing 30-40mph, it was also had for the doctor to keep the sand out of the new dressing. Thus the tape in combination with sand makes for a good saw between the toes. the doctors here have been great, but their "softness" with the injuries leaves something to be desired. Every time they pop a blister, it seems they have to squeeze that as hard as possible to get all the nasty stuff out.. to say this is painful would be an understatement.

My other medical treatment I received this morning as a result of the long run was a tapped hamstring. I am not sure what I did, but 800mg of advil and a tape job still have not done much for the pain. It was so painful last night, that I decided to sleep in pain for a few hours imediately after the run despite having to go to the bathroom really bad. Just the thought of having to walk another 50 yards was too much.

Once the sun went down on our run, we were greated with much cooler temps and a bit less wind. It is a weird sensation going from glow stick to glow stick (about 50yrds apart) for hours on end without seeing another runner. The sense of isolation was at times amazing. We basically had two different views: one was the view within the beam of light provided by the headlamp; the other was the increadable view when you peered into the night sky without the headlamp on. The stars seemed so bright it seemed as if you could reach up and grab them. There was also enough light provided by the stars to give you an outline of the terrian.

The race ended with a four mile run after the final check point through an oasis area. They say it was four miles, but every racer I talked to swears it was at least 10mi. This part consisted of ups and downs, and a lot of really, really soft sand. It was truley the longest 4mi. I have ever experienced (and the most painful). With every peak you climbed, you were praying the finish line would be there. What mostly saw at the peak was just another ten or so glow sticks heading into the night. This was very hard on the morale, but you are this close so auto pilot just seemed to kick in. It was only after severl peaks and several switch-backs did you reach the finish. After starting at 9am and finishing at 1:15ish, this was the best sight of the day (obviously).

Now we just have to complete the final stage which is set to be about six miles and finishing at the pyrmids. To say I am looking forward to the finish would be an understatement. I am not sure I will ever be able to get out all of the sand I have acquired over the last several days of running. But one thing is certain, I am going to take great pleasure in trying in a nice cool bath.

Lastly, I want to thank you all for the awsome emails I have received this week. It truely does make a difference in the day to know there is great support back home. Any time I begin to doubt myself and think about giving up, the emails big play a role in keeping me going. You all are all truely AWSOME.

Thanks,
Brad

By Brad Howe

Hey friends,

Happy Halloween!! We completed stage 4 today, and just like the other stages, it was brutal! We traveled roughly 23 miles today. The temp today reached 115, but at least the wind was in our face.. as compared to yesterday when we were traveling with the wind. The race officials said yesterday