Day 2 - HOT! 1.4.08
After the easy (!!!) day yesterday in the biggest dunes I've ever seen, including in films, today was meant to be longer but easier as it was flat.. as it turned out it was 24 miles long, sandy, dry and 45 degrees without any breeze! it was hard work but good to have got through it again without any blisters.People are now beginning to drop like flies. Blisters are everywhere, as too are the number of people vomiting because of dehydration, but weirdly this is an amazing experience, I just hope I hold up OK.Tomorrow is the dune day (as if day 1 wasn't hard enough!) so again I plan to take it relatively easy so that I am in a fit state to run the 50 miler in 2 days time.Thanks for all the emails of encouragement that we've already received, it is so very much appreciated!All the best, runner 743!
Day 3 - another dune day! 2.4.08
Although not as high or dramatic as the dunes of day 1, we had 25 miles to cover today and about 22 of those we sandy - hard work to say the least. The race is living up to its name of being tough as they threw a mountain in for us to climb over.!The run went well again (thankfully) so I am in pretty good shape to finish the long day tomorrow barring injury. The route is 48 miles so I am expecting it to take at least 15 hours - nasty!Thanks again for all the messages, I had a good chuckle to a few last night which helped keep the spirits high. Amazingly I do not have any blisters yet so I guess the months training with sand in the shoes is helping - you should see some of the others though, it is carnage!All the best,Runner 743
The long day is done!! 3.4.08
Just literally finished the double day, and am in desperate need of my bed. Had a really good day and I think I did it in 11 hours or so.Will update you tomorrow, but now I need to find my tent and sleep.An exhausted but happy runner 743
The long day - 4.4.08
Well my prediction of 15 hrs was well off. Despite the various mountains to cross I managed to get in a good rythm and covered the miles as quickly as possible. Again it was very hot and you spend the whole time drinking, eating salt tablets and as much food as you can stomach. It paid off though as I was able to keep going to the end and run for just 1 hr in the dark.I said that it was carnage before but it has got even worse now - I have never seen blisters and chafing like it, there is blood, puss and hobbling people everywhere which only makes me feel stronger and thankful that I am not suffering like them. Yes I am tired but I have nothing to worry about physically - I guess thats where the training has paid off.The desert is a beautiful place, but that doesn't mean to say that I'm not looking forward to coming home - at the very least it will mean that I can stop running!Thanks again for all the messages, they have really helped!see you soon, 743
The legs have had enough! 5.4.08
Just finished another 26 miles, and I fear my body is about to pack up. It was seriously hot today without much wind, but I gave as much as I had to get it done and get back to the tent. With a couple of miles to go I bombed, but was helped by a mate who literally dragged me back up and I was able to crawl to the end - I had helped him in the long stage so he repaid me in spades!That's pretty much it now, just 11 miles to go so it will be another mad dash to the finish line and completely empty the tank.Will post another message when we get back, but thanks again for all your support, I had alot of you in my thoughts today.All the best743
Time is flying by - May 2008
I can't believe that we've been back for a month already - where on earth has the time gone?!Massive apologies for writing this so late. A full report will be written very shortly, but needless to say we're back in one piece. Despite the legs having had enough on the penultimate day, they recovered well enough on the final 11 miles back to civilisation, so I was able to give it a good push. It felt fantastic to be so close to the end, and as I had next to no weight in my back pack I was able to run hard the whole way back. It seemed to pay off as I later found out that I crossed the line in 77th position and 172nd overall. This was way beyond what I thought possible so I was extremely happy with the way it all went. As I said, I will write a proper debrief and keep the site up until the end of the year, but I wanted to thank everyone again for the incredible support that we received out there and since getting back. The donations have been incredible and of course I will let you know what our final total will be, needless to say it was far in excess of the £20k target. Since the MDS things have continued ti be incredibly busy as I have started a new job and have been manically preparing our house for a little arrival which is due in a couple of weeks. So you could say that my mind has been active but it doesn't mean that I don't miss the desert. It was an incredible place and I felt so fortunate to have been able to test myself out there, but I am also so relieved that it all went to plan and I came home without even a hint of a blister!
Trips to the Neonatal Unit & Discovery Channel. May 2008
Closure to the whole event is rapidly approaching and over the past couple of weeks we have fulfilled our final commitments to the whole project.Firstly it was fantastic to visit the Neo-Natal unit at St Thomas's hospital and see first hand where how all the donations will be spent. We are likely to finish around the £26,000 mark so thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing donations. The money is being spent on an incubator and the rest will be added to their overall fundraising target. It was great to be able to meet and talk to all the doctors and nurses and say a few words about the event.Secondly, we went to give a presentation to the lovely people at the Discovery Channel. As they were our main sponsors it was only right to give them a full account of our experience and answer any questions they had. They are used to sponsoring the likes of Lance Armstrong, so to get Little and Large must have been quite a thrill for them!
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