So, it's been two weeks to the day since I returned from Egypt, and the Sahara 250km race.  The delay on writing this was intentional to give me time to reflect and put the entire experience into perspective.. Plus the inevitable time to settle back into "normal life"

The whole adventure now seems like a distant memory, but one I will never allow myself to forget.  I never signed up for this to be anything other than a personal challenge - I don't believe in all that self-discovery stuff, and even if I did, I wouldn't have gone to the world's largest sand pit for it.  This was nothing other than me vs. me, with the added benefit of raising an amazing amount of money for the Children's Surgical Centre in Cambodia.  I also decided when my daughter was born that I want Sophia to be proud of me.  Yes, it's corny, but that's my prerogative!

The experience itself was nothing short of amazing (this is also why I waited two weeks to write it - as anyone in camp would agree, I had a very different and "colourful" description of it towards the end).  The Sahara is an absolutely beautiful place, but also the cruelest place I've experienced.  The heat is like running in a fan-assisted oven, and the terrain is unforgiving.  I went there thinking that sand was sand, and I would be doing 250km on a big beach with a few dunes to contend with.  Fool.  Like the Eskimos have 40 different words for "snow", the Egyptians should have 40 different words for their different types of sand (and I've got a few choice phrases they are welcome to use!!!).  You could run for mile after mile on sand so solidly packed, you'd swear a gypsy had just been through and tarmaced it, and then it would change within a footstep into sand so soft that you'd sink 6 inches into it wondering how the gypsies had missed it!  Then you'd face a dune where you take a step, and your foot sinks backwards to where it started, filling your shoe full of talcum powder like dust.... If I'd taken a swear box with me, I'd now be bankrupt!  That said, I spent the early part of the week getting cramp in my face from smiling so much, such is the beauty of the place, and the various never-ending terrain is nothing short of breath-taking, and there are times where you feel like you're the only person on the earth; it also made talking to myself a lot less weird, as no one got to hear me laughing at my own rubbish jokes or putting the world to rights.

People have asked me what was the hardest part of the race, and it's something I've thought about a lot.  I think the inability to run from early on in day 2, knowing I had over 100 miles left to go was pretty mentally damaging, and I had a very low period on day two where I seriously wondered whether or not I had what it takes to complete the race.  I went there to run but by the end of day two I decided that I wasn't going home without a medal, so if all I could do was walk, then that's what I'd do (at this point I should thank the doctors for the steady supply of painkillers and time spent fixing me up - Dr Mark and Dr Tom are heroes!).  To add to that, at the end of day two, the biggest blister I'd ever seen consuming my right heel didn't really help matters!  Other than that, it was being away from Noreen and Sophia.  People that know me know I'm a family man, so not having contact for days on end, especially when I was at my absolute lowest, only added to the mental anguish I was already going through.  Thankfully, I got sketchy reception on my phone, and my ever supportive and wonderful wife Noreen sent me some emails that kept me going, and more importantly, reminded me why I was doing this... 

The other question people have asked is will I do it again?  After the final 86.4km stage, I was adamant that I would never again even put on a pair of trainers, and I even asked Alina (from Racing the Planet) to ban me from future events!  With hindsight, I may have been a little emotional, and the real answer is of course I bloody will!  It was without doubt the most amazing thing I've personally ever achieved in my entire life; the training, the diet, the restraint and the commitment I had for the best part of a year has made me realize that whatever I put my mind to I will achieve, and I've proven to myself that I'm not such a girl after all! 

The highlight of the week is a tough one to single out, because there were so many.  The Valley of the Desert Whales was nothing short of amazing, with its whale fossils from eleventy billion years ago, and of course, the finishing line surrounded by the Pyramids of Giza where I finally got that bloody medal were probably my two greatest highlights.  However, the whole week was an amazing adventure and I loved every minute of it. 

The worst part of the week would be a combination of the 11kg backpack rubbing sores into my shoulders through the salt crusted, 6-day old t-shirt, and the blisters on my heels, that although taped up, got sand in creating a sandpapering of my heels with every step... Again, being as vast as the desert is, no one got to witness the tears of pain or hear the swearathon with each step.  I'm not sure these feet will ever heal, but the various sores are now thankfully long gone.

The most amusing part of the week was about 82km into the final march, where having walked for about 19 hours I became delusional with tiredness.  I was walking with John Warren for the whole day and we kept each other going both at pace and in spirits.  As we were midway into the final stage, out of the corner of my eye, John was dressed as an Arab in the full white clothing!  Then moments later, he was dressed as The Stig, helmet and all!  I guess you had to be there, but it made us both laugh through the tears of pain and desire to get that bloody horrible day finished!  

The weirdest part of the week was the morning after we'd finished the 86.4km 20.5 hour stage, and following 2-hours sleep - I was an emotional wreck!   I was hobbling around talking to people and bursting into tears at random intervals... I went into the cybertent to email Noreen to let her know I'd made it, and cried throughout; then I cried my eyes out when the final finishers came in after 27 hours - I didn't know a single one of them!  I don't think anyone actually believed my excuse of getting sand in my eyes, but it seemed like a reasonable excuse at the time!

The people I met throughout the week from all walks of life, each with their own reasons for taking part were fantastic.  From the amazing seasoned athletes, to those that finished the event through sheer determination and the will to never fail - you were inspiring.  The organizers Alina and Sam - you are brilliant and should be proud of the perfectly executed event you staged.  To my tent mates, you were a joy, even the two of you that have serious potential for the world's loudest snoring record!  John Warren - thank you for getting me through that last day, and for the giggles and snakes!  To friends that couldn't complete the race - be proud of what you acheived - you got to the start line which is more than most ever will.  And last, but in no way least, to the volunteers that never failed to cheer you up when you were low, have a laugh with you when you were high, and feed you water until it came out of your ears: Hayley, Amy and Chelsea - your unwaivering support will never be forgotten!  

Most importantly, I want to thank everyone for their support, both in terms of sponsorship and supportive messages before, along the way and since the event - I have been truly humbled by each and every one of you, and appreciate every word and every dollar you were kind enough to send my way.  I set an unrealistic target of USD$50k for my sponsorship, but am nearly at the USD$25k mark which I never dreamt possible.  I've had donations and words of encouragement and kindness from good friends and even from people I have never met.  Each donation proved that human acts of kindness know no boundaries when the cause is as amazing and worthwhile as CSC.  I had the pleasure of having dinner with Dr Jim Gollogly (founder and CEO of the Children's Surgical Centre, and a personal hero of mine) and Ian Mullane (who has worked tirelessly for years with CSC and through his White Collar Boxing events across Asia with Vanda Promotions) last Friday and their appreciation of the amount we raised was truly humbling.  Dr Jim's dedication and commitment to the Children's Surgical Centre has changed the lives of thousands of Cambodian children, and makes the Sahara run look like a walk in the park.  His heart felt appreciation of the donations made by so many of my wonderful friends will help him to continue this amazing work.  For that, I am indebted to you all.

So, what's next?  Well, with Sophia now running around like a child possessed, and another baby on a slow bake until January, I'll have my hands full for a while... In the meantime, it will be a steady collection of smaller events a little closer to home!  Charity wise, I still owe CSC a fundraising comedy night, so watch is space!

Well, as I write this after 2 hours sleep following over 20 hours of the silly long march, I have pretty much nailed this all bar a 2km finale cum medal presentation at the pyramids of giza tomorrow morning... Given that my now-broke body has somehow got through what it has, hell will freeze over before I don't get that medal!!!
 
I can say that without doubt, yesterday was the most mentally, physically and emotionally draining thing I have ever done in my life, and after this is over, I am binning all my kit and giving up all forms of exercise and sport (Noreen, remind me to cancel the sports channels too, as that goes for watching them). 
 
The entire 84km course was beautiful, with the highight being the Valley of the Desert Whales, where whale fossils remain from a billion trillion years ago when the Sahara was underwater.  There was also a shop at checkpoint 2, where I had about 2000 kids calories in crisps and coke - never tasted so good!!!!  The course itself though was designed by a crazy man, as it was unrelenting to the end, and I personally believe that it was like being slowly beaten to death, one decent punch at a time!
 
I am going to forget course specifics for now, as i'll write one big blog on the whole thing when I return.  For now, i'm battle weary and 99% broken, but proud to have completed this event, and looking forward more than anything to getting home to my gorgeous girls...
 
I want to thank each and every one of you for your messages of support, there have been some seriously dark hours over the past week, and every message has contributed to getting me through them...
 
Signing off now as it's time for some sleep!!!
 
Lots of love
Chris

OK, so it sounds like a lot, but once the next 86km stage is out of the way, i'm home and dry!
 
The past two days - stages 3 and 4, 42.6km and 40.6km respectively, have been incredibly tough... both heels have blistered the size of golf balls and blown up, I have 5 other blisters on my toes, and have had to have my right leg strapped because i've buggered something around the hamstring area... Needless to say,it's slowing me down to slower than walking pace, so stage 3 was 10 hours and 20 minutes and today's stage 4 was 9 hours and 20 minutes - ordinarily that much sunbathing would be pretty cool, but the heat here is unreal and not somewhere you want to be for hours on end... i've taken to covering various parts of me in rotation as the factor 50 suncream might as well be olive oil!  In the words of one of the volunteers, I have a farmer's tan :-)
 
Anyway,enough about me.... the past two days have taken us over so many different terrains that I can't even begin to describe it... The Sahara is so unbelievably beautiful and (this is in no way an excuse for my timing) just strolling through taking it all in makes this an even more pleasurable experience... Over the amount of hours we are out there, we obviously get very split up, and there are times where you can do a 360 and be the only person on the planet - it's something else!   I would however recommend a day trip from Cairo rather than entering this race to experience it; or maybe a DVD...
 
The terrain and the desert itself can make you laugh and cry, mostly the former, but sometimes the latter.  The former is where you are walking along something that feels like someone cemented over it in the middle of nowhere, pure and untouched, and then you fall down a bloody great big 6-inch hole full of sand that is finer than sugar... the latter is when you are faced with a 200 metre dune on a 30 degree incline at the end of a 40km stretch, and every footstep just takes you backwards after plunging another 6-inches into soft sand....
 
The experience itself has, so far, been amazing, but definitely the last big challenge i'm setting myself - ever!  In fact, when it's over i'm giving up exercise forever and taking up gardening or knitting!  I have been fortunate enough to exchange emails with my ever supportive and loving mascot/wife, but despite the crowds of people all here to achieve the same end goal, there is hour upon hour of solitude and loneliness that make me miss Noreen and Sophia like you wouldn't imagine!  I guess I take technology for granted in that wherever I am ordinarily, I have Skype and email and can see them whenever I want - however i've now gone without comms due to no cell signal for about 24 hours and it's tough! 
 
Anyway, clearly i'm emotional and exhausted, so now seems like a good time to sign off....tomorrow at 7am we start the silly 86km stretch which will no doubt be another roller coaster of emotions ending in jubilation when I finish!!  Then there is a quick 10km on Saturday to finish up followed by pizza and, no doubt, a significant amount of beer and showering (in that order!)
 
Thank you for all your messages, they are wonderful to receive, and it's great knowing that I have your support from all corners of this magical globe.
 
Lots of love
Chris

Today was significantly harder than day one, and the 42ish kilometres took me about 9 hours in total, so this is going to be a short entry as I need to sleep for tomorrows marathon! 

It started out with endless plains that seemed to go from one end of the earth to the other, and together with the sun, it made for a tough stage.  The day ended with an 8.6km stage that took us up and over multiple dunes that seemed to last forever, and seeing the camp from over 5km away was just a cruel way to end the day.  Nevertheless, the course continues to inspire and take my breath away, sometimes a little too much J 

I got back to camp and got out of my soaking clothes to realize I had a huge blister that covered my entire right heal, that I managed to burst when taking my socks off.. I thought the worst, but the doctors stuck it all back together, and fingers crossed, that will be the last I’ll have to see of it. 

Anyway, another day down – one third through… tomorrow is going to be tough, as the aches and pains are setting in now, and I’m doing a lot more walking than I am running! 

Over and out…. 

Love
Chris

The expanse of the Sahara is bloody awesome, I reckon there is a trillion billion tonnes of sand, but more amusingly there are two lakes that we spent our first night between prior to the first stage that started at 7am this morning... Naively I always believed that the Sahara was just a gazillion square miles of sand, but on our four hour drive here, an hour of it was lake which I reckon is bigger than Scotland!
 
Anyway, the start of stage one was surprisingly emotional, which I guess is because the wait was finally over and my year-ish of training was ready to be put to some use! 
 
Day one was, in total, about 38km, with stage one being about 8km.  The stage was breathtaking dunes and soft sand, which despite being a bugger to run in, managed to force a permanent smile on my face.  The expanse and beauty of the views and landscape are hard to explain or even capture on camera, so I was glad I wasnt running so fast as to miss it all :-)  Suffice to say that I felt so privileged to be here taking part in this amazing event in this amazing part of the world!
 
Stage two was 11ish kilometres and was where we cleared the lakes and got into the Sahara I imagined - miles and miles of endless sand and shingle, with amazing landscapes guiding us through... This part got particularly difficult as the heat was relentless and the stage seemed to go on for miles and miles!
 
Stage three was also about 11km of more of the same, and it reminded me of the movies you see where you start to believe youre seeing things that arent there because of the surreal reflections from the sand and the sun play with your mind.   At the checkpoint I was pleased to hear I was in the top half, so was happy with that, and thankful for those behind me :)
 
Stage four, the final one before camp was only 7km but seemed to last forever.  By this stage I was down to walking, as the sand had buggered my legs and feet, but it also seemed that everyone else was too.  This
 stage seemed to go on forever, and people were dropping like flies - literally!  Thankfully the medical staff were quick to react, and sort them out.
 
I finished the stage in about 7 hours 20 minutes, which I was relatively pleased with, and glad to get the first stage out of the way.  Having talked to a few other competitors who have taken part in other events, they said that the first day is always the hardest because people arent mentally prepared for what they are going to be hit with.  I spent the day in great spirits and loved every minute of it (pain aside!) so hopefully the rest of the week will be more of the same!
 
I am off to eat some more powdered crap now and get to bed early for another night on the overly packed sand for more sleeping pains to ensure I get the most out of my nurofen! 
 
More nonsense from me tomorrow.
 
Lots of love,
Chris

It's about one week since I emailed my sponsorship details to everyone I've ever met in the whole world.

I have been completely blown away with the generosity and kind support of so many people - some of which are friends of friends that I have never even met! Watching the donations roll in together with the fantastic words of encouragement have provided even more inspiration, and I just want to get out there now and fulfill my part of the deal. So, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has contributed - when I hit $10,000 this morning, I was told that we'd raised enough for 57 children's operations which is mind blowing... Thank you, thank you, thank you!

They say time flies when you're having fun.... well, it also seems to go a lot bloody faster the older you get! I remember writing my first blog entry with about 40 odd weeks to go - now I have less than 11!!!

As I write this, it is 75 days until the start of the race, and it's going way too fast!

The training has been hard, and I am doing something or other in preparation every waking, non-working hour... My strict training schedule sees me running ludicrous numbers of hours each week, and I've even been taught various stretching techniques I can do in bed - which are great for me, but not so much for the wife!

I took part in the Singapore Trifactor half marathon last weekend, which was a bit of a mess that saw me cross the finish line on two occasions (but I got two medals!). The really smart race organizers converged the 5k, 10k and 21k races together towards the end, and some daft fella running towards us shouting "half marathon route is this way" saw me finish the race at 17.5km. Not content with that, I went back out in search of the proper route, and again crossed the finish line at 22.5km. Timex need to work on their logistics for next year, but overall an enjoyable race and I was happy with my finish time (all of them!). On my to-do list for 2011 was a 2 hour half marathon - in this race I finished 21k in 2hours and 7 seconds - typical! 

On the kit side of things, I went to see my good friend Ian Mullane on Sunday (who is responsible for getting me into this mess) who gave me copious amounts of kit ranging from rucksacks to sleeping mats to sleeping bags to nutrition. As a participant of last years race, Ian also gave me plenty of tips which I'm never going to get tired of receiving - preparation is key, and for someone who ordinarily relies on luck and wit, I'm very well aware that those two qualities will only produce failure - something I will not allow.

I've got another heavy training week ahead, with another half marathon this Saturday evening where I hope to cross that 2 hour half off the list!

Again, thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far - I truly am humbled by your endless support and generosity.

It's been sometime since I last posted on here, so i'm going to make a concious effort now that i've remembered how to login!  Passwords shouldn't be that forgettable when they are siblings names - especially when you only have one!

My training has been slow to date, primarily due to personal and professional commitments, but now that there is less than 13 weeks to go, I am going into over-drive!!!  Not to say i'm unfit, i've made some great progress, and am feeling really good going into the last 13 weeks, but am well aware that they need to be intense!

Training in Singapore is great, and the heat is constantly a challenge - which when the event is the Sahara is actually a positive!  The downside is the redneck tanning i've managed to get, with silly brown arms and a perma-pink nose!  Also, hydration is fun as you tend to drink excessively and are then hypnotised by the swishing noise you make when running....

I've started looking at kit which is fun - I never realised there was so much of everything out there!  Food - clearly my priority has been fun, as I get to test everything to make sure my body is happy with it.  The freeze dried meals I will be living on for the week are interesting - they are like grown up Pot Noodles - who'd have thought you can get a shepherds pie in a bag!  One thing though, they do need salt and pepper, so I must remember to steal sachets!

The rest is trial and error and I continue researching and playing.... The one piece of kit I am still pondering over is the bucket and spade......

What a fantastic adventure - I don't want to wish time away, especially valuable training time - but I can't wait to get out there now!

So, after years of deliberation and dreaming of running the Sahara, i've finally signed up for the event in 2011...  Ask me in 43 weeks if continuing to deliberate and dream would have been a smarter move.

The training has begun, after being put slightly on the backburner since the birth of my beautiful baby girl 4 months ago, and I am in the midst of working out what i'm going to do for the next 42 weeks to complete the race (or "run" as I shall be calling it, as i'm the one consistently at the back!).

I am fortunate enough to live in Singapore, which will certainly help in getting used to the heat of the Sahara.  With regards places to run, there are plenty of good off-road places to train in and around Singapore, but there is a distinct lack of sand - a complaint also shared by the kids trying to build sandcastles out of soggy dirt.  Nevertheless, last years winner resides in Singapore, so I shall be hunting him down for tips.

Anyway, i'm keeping this first post short - suffice to say that I am extremely excited to be running in the Sahara 2011 event...

In the meantime, I shall be mostly training!