After doing a few miles (nothing longer than 90 minutes this week) we took a trip down to Patong Beach to get my sunglasses fixed and to look around the shops. Our experience of St. Patricks Day was limited to standing outside an Irish bar for a minute where they were offering free Irish stew - I think it is close to 2 months now since I had a drink! Let's see if I can add a photo (I know I have uploaded 3 to here...): [View Full Entry]

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ok - I knew it would be hot, I like the heat - but running for hours on end in this weather is seriously difficult - when I am not running I am trying to work on my assignments for my masters - I can tell you - there is a permanent imprint on my company law notes where I have melted into them! - pity one cannot learn by absorption. But training is going better - we are just getting out there and doing it. Jon did some research on running in humidity and it basically said - suck [View Full Entry]

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My little sister just sent me something which she believes sums up what Jon and I are doing: 'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' Mark Twain This is definitely how we feel about the MDS. [View Full Entry]

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Jonathan and I arrived to a lovely 32 degrees and 90% humidity - on day one we realised just how much acclimatisation we would would have to do to get to the scorchio temperature of the MDS ( between 35 and 50 degrees) and whilst we are definitely geting used to the temperature (I went out for 5 and a half hours yesterday and don't feel too bad today) unfortunately we are learning a MDS lesson early - both Jon and I have developed blisters on our feet. We are hoping that we can bandage them and that they will not [View Full Entry]

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So after some frantic packing and organising - we are now on the next stage of our journey, to Thailand. I am currently in the KLM lounge in Kuala Lumpur airport whilst we wait for our connecting flight to Phuket (the one big advantage to Jonathan spending most of last year on an aeroplane - KLM gold card!!!). My plan in terms of training is to " conquer the pack" I am currently having problems carrying the pack when it is at its heaviest - 11-13 kg which it will be on the first few days of the MDS (before I [View Full Entry]

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So Jon and I are back in Amsterdam until Thursday night when we fly to Phuket in Thailand. We are getting all our equiptment for the race in order and buying last minute items as when we arrive back from Thailand we have only 30 hours until we have to then head off to Paris to get our flight to Morocco. Today we did our fitness tests and our ECG. (Why so late, you may ask?) but the ECG has to within 30 days of the commencement of the race. So it is now official - I am fit!. I was [View Full Entry]

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Septima - the super sleeper Having been here for about two and a half weeks, one would think that we would be sufferig cabin fever - yet surprisingly we are not. Although that may have more to do with the fact that given the amount of running we have been doing (yes - running on sand is now my personal hell) , Seppy has been designated the "super sleeper" of the group - having sucessfully slept for 14 and a half hours one night! oh the pride. Sal is as expected sandy, although what surprised me is the fact that the [View Full Entry]

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1 240km over different terrain: sanddunes, rocks, soft sand, roads, mountains - who knows what else 2 In the Western Sahara Desert in Morocco 3 Carrying your own food, sleeping bag, emergency kit, clothes and anything else you may need 4 The organisers will provide 9 litres of water over the course of a day which will have to be sufficient for drinking, cooking and sanitary purposes. They also provide a rudamentary tent to be shared with 7 other competitors Now travel the 240kms with your 12kg (25lb) pack on your back and sleep in the desert for a week: No, [View Full Entry]

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