FINISHED!

Sorry! I sent an email when I finished, but I think I wrote the address wrong. The final stage was great - classic marathon at 42.2k. It was really good terrain, with dunes, flats, steep climbs and decsents and an final 3k flat run to the bivouac to finish. Anton and I ran togehter again and finished flying the Aussie flag (well, Aussie flag sarong anyway) which was really great. I think I ended up in the top half of the field and about 28th in the womens, which is very exciting!!! Thanks to everyone for the emails - they have really been great, if delayed in receiving them. They really spurred me on and were extremely encouraging. Sorry for the generic updates, but we were limited for characters as well. To answer a few questions quickly - no, it was not too hot, the sleeping mat did NOT get cut from the pack list, I hardly have any blisters, my tent mates were great, I had running buddies the WHOLE time (and a few comments on my ability to talk incessently while I run :)). We are not back in OZZ, showered and about to go to dinner. It was really nice to wash the dirt off and a) use a toilet, and b) not worry about how much paper I am using when I go to the toilet! I finished yesterday a bit before 3pm, and then spent the next 4 hours cheering in everyone from our 'team' - the Aussies, US, NZ etc. It was great to see some of the guys finish with injuries and SMASHED feet. I have too many stories to tell now (you see people do the most amazing things here - both good and bad) so will write a better report when I get time. The good news is that Mohammed Ahnsal WON, and my best friend Samir finished stongly yesterday for a 5th place :) We told him that whatever he did he needed to beat the American Mike, and it took him until the last day to do it. Thank you again for all your support both before and after the race!

Ineke - strong to the end

Ineke hasn't been able to email yet but she finished the last marathon 42km stage no problems, looking at the results. Her position at the finish is 364 out of the 806 who started. Her overall time was 35hours40'38, carrying a back pack with all her food and bedding, pretty amazing! Today she'll be enjoying the big social event after the finish. Hope to hear from her soon.

Stage 3 - 91km‏

Hello!  I survived the long stage - longest in the history of MdS at 91k.
I had a new running buddy today Anton (another Aussie), self christened 'Team Plod'.
Our goal was constant forward motion.
We went straight through all the checkpoints - I never sat down the whole time.

We finished just after 3am this morning with our time squeezing under the 18hr mark.
VERY HAPPY! It is now 3pm and there are still about 200 runners out there.

I am feeling well - no stomach troubles or anything, and only a couple of blisters,
so should still be able to go alright tomorrow.
Stage 4 is going to be the marathon stage (42k) and then we finish.
The last stage has had to be abandoned.
I got my emails before the long stage - thanks so much to you all for sending them,
it really makes a big difference.
ine xxx

Update from Byron

The results have just been posted and Ineke is flying! She's finished the third, and longest ever stage in the race's history, - 91 kms!! The results show that she has moved up over 100 positions and has completed the stage in 17 hours 52 minutes. Her placing is now 25th woman overall and 1st Australian woman. Her average speed for the almost 28 hours running in total so far is 5.09kms an hour.

Although her aim was just to finish she's exceeding all expectations. We're looking forward to her next post and hope she has pulled up well.

Day two

Hello again! Had another fab day today :) The stage was about 35km, mostly flat with some dunes. I am still blister free and feeling strong when I finished today. I ran with Caroline again for most of the day. We picked up another couple of Aussies for about 12km and then I went ahead for the last 5k or so. I am walking fine - not stiff and sore yet. Maybe tomorrow! The day was not too hot, although it got hotter towards the end of the day. It is definately an advantage coming out of our summer - if only it was as hot as usual it would make quite a big difference I think!Last night was so cold! We were all freezing in our tents. It was windy and very difficult to sleep. Tonight I will be wearing just about EVERYTHING to try and keep warm. It is hard when nobody has packed for the cold. Long stage tomorrow, so probably no update. Thats all for the moment. ine x

No update

Ineke has not sent a new update to post, but if you look at the official race web site http://www.darbaround.com/index_uk.php
You can see that she has finished the second stage in a time of 5hr 46min with and average speed of 6.25 km/hr. we just hope she is still feeling well.

First day of action

Hello! Had my first day racing today. The weather was fab, dunes beautiful and
I have pulled up feeling really good.

We ran about 33km. The first 12k was through the most amazing dunes - so beautiful!
After the first checpoint we ran across a salt flat, before hitting some hillls and
then another set of dunes.  My 8kg pack was a winner :)  I had LOADS of fun running
down the dunes!
I had a running buddy all day - Caroline who was a room mate of mine in the hotel.
We had a great day and were pleased to finish equal today.  We are hoping to run
together for the rest of the race.
We finished today in about 5.10 hours. VERY happy with my time!
To put it in perspective though, our Moroccan friends were finishing
not long after we went through the first checkpoint :)
We won't be getting any of our emails until tomorrow, so I am looking forward to
reading them then.
Here's to happy feet!
ine

Race still going ahead

THE RACE IS STARTING TOMORROW (SORRY - cant find an exclaimation point on this keyboard)

The rain has stopped and we will be running stage 2 tomorrow. They are quite sure stage 3 will go ahead but not sure what will happen after that. The course has had to be re-routed, so no one knows what we will be up for.

It has been so et that the organisers apparently lost 2 trucks - one swept away in a river and one in a sand bog, which might indicate just how extreme the weatrher has been.

My room mates and I head a great night last night with the Moroccan runners. They are in the room next to ours and are our new best friends :) We had the top 5 runners pulling our packs apart and cutting stuff out (I am now down to 8kg which is pretty good. The Moroccans are just under 7kg). It was just fantastic - I have idolised those guys for years. They are amazing fun - you all have to cheer for the Ahnsal brothers and Samir (cant remember his last name). BTW my newly christened Moroccan name is Malika :)

Anyway - keep praying for dry weather for us and you should be able to watch the progress and email me tomorrow (or tonight Aus time). Dont forget to sponsor my run - I am risking my life in the floods for this!

SO excited to finally be getting ready to be underway. Wish me luck!

ine xxx

Still Raining

Hello again. Things have not improved. We are still at the hotel. The first stage has been cancelled. No one is sure if the race can go on because the ground is so wet they think they cant get the trucks into the bivouacs. Also much of the course is along 'dry' riverbeds that are of course no longer dry but raging torrents. The race organisers are saying that they will do all they can to keep the race going, but I have just heard that there is more rain about to roll into town, so I think we are all about to cry. As you can i,agine, it is EXTREMELY dissappointing to say the least. I will try to keep you updated as we find out more. Sorry if the punctuation is a bit wierd. The french/arabic keyboard is very confusing.

Arrived in Morroco

Guess what!!! It is RAINING here, and instead of being at the bivouac we are now in a hotel for the night. The roads were flooded on the way here - we were stopped at a creek crossing for 3 hours before we decided to forge across anyway in the busses. Everyone is saying that it was a near death experience - the water was very deep and fast flowing.

We finally made it to the town at 8pm (we left at 9am) and - after another long wait - we are now installed in a hotel because the bivouac is under water! Who would have thought that I would come to Morocco to race in the desert and have it be flooded?

We are all hoping the rain will stop (the idea of sleeping in wet sleeping bags does not appeal to anyone) but now when the sun comes out it is going to be EXTREMELY humid.

Anyway - that is my update so far. Obviously I arrived here OK and made it to the hotel etc. I went for a run last night in Ouazazate and promptly got lost. Another lady was doing the same thing on Wednesday and fell over and broke her arm! SUCH bad luck. I think that is how I got lost - I was so busy looking at where I put my feet that I didn't watch the roads enough to find my way back. Got there after asking directions from a series of people that didn't speak English :)

Dont' forget to email me!!!

As I mentioned before, you can send emails via the race website http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php, (Ineke Kuiper, race number 835). Race kicks off on Sunday 29th March.

PLEASE email me - I absolutely know it will really help me along :)

ine

Off to Morocco

I am leaving the UK for Marrakech tomorrow. I am travelling alone down there, but meeting up with a bunch of runners in Marra where we have hired a minibus and are driving down to Ouazazate. I am starting to get very excited!

I don't know how often I will be able to send emails, but I will do my best. Byron (aka the wonder-husband) is going to do his best to keep the blog updated.

The other spot you can keep track of the race is via Lisa's (my US running coach and all round amazing person) blog http://lisasmithbatchen.blogspot.com/.

You can also follow the results on the race website http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php

Wish me luck!

ine

Sponsor my run!

Since I am going to great effort to drag my butt 250km across the Sahara, it would be great if you would sponsor me....

When I was travelling in Africa a couple of years ago, I was struck by just how little so many people have. I personally found the extent of AIDS epidemic in many African countries very confronting, with the number of infected reaching 50% of the population in some areas.

This epidemic is resulting in the death of the entire parent generation for many families, and the children are either completely alone or are being raised by grandparents.

Saidia Childrens Home in Kenya is a small charity funded 'house of hope' for orphaned and disadvantaged children in the town of Gilgil. They provide food, accommodation and education children, community projects helping local 'grannys' caring for their grandchildren and also work towards the goal of self sufficiency for the orphanage.

The organisation is a registered charity in the UK (No: 1099611), and all UK trustees and fund raisers, and the administration team in Kenya, work on an entirely voluntary basis, so every penny collected goes directly to the children.

Please visit the website to learn more about this great charity:
http://www.saidia-gilgil.org.uk/index.shtml

I would like to make it clear that ALL money donated will go straight to Saidia Childrens Home.

This is an issue that is very close to my heart, and it would really mean a lot to me if you would show your support for both me, and this charity, by sponsoring my run. No amount is to small - you would be amazed at what a difference even a few dollars can make to a childs life in Kenya.

Ways to donate:

PayPal
Log in, click on the tab 'Send Money', and send to my email: ine_kuiper@hotmail.com

Bank transfer:
Westpac - B Biffin & I Kuiper
BSB: 732 718
Acc: 678 455
Description: MDS sponsor

Or you could send it directly to the charity via the website (but if would be great if you could let me know so I can report back on how much we raise).

Thanks!

ine

Info about MdS - the toughest footrace on earth!

OK. To set the scene, here are some links to give you some background on the race, how it all works....

Video of key facts from 2008
http://www.darbaroud.com/uk/html/mds/23mds/videos/uk_23mds_videos_keyfacts.php

And here is a link to the website of a guy who ran it last year and wrote a book about it. There are some excerpts that you can read (click on the magnifying glass on the left) and a link to a US news piece with some interviews and footage
http://www.tedarcher.com/

And here is the link to the official website where you will be able to email me throughout the race
http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php
To email you will need my name (Ineke Kuiper of course!) and my race number is 835. I would LOVE to hear from you throughout the race, so please email as often as you can :) You will also be able to check the results on the website and see how I am progressing.

More info to come soon!

ine

Ine in UK!

OK - as you may or may not know - I am not a blogger, but I am going to try so if you are interested in my run, you can follow my progress.

I am now in England. The weather is nice (for England - ie it is not raining). After a whirlwind arrival, I made it to the National Shire Horse Show on the weekend. Lots of lovely horses, and being outside during the day certainly helps with the jet lag - I hardly felt it at all!

I went for a little run, but really spent most of my time at the show.

Monday and Tuesday were a bit wasted. I went for a good run on Tuesday, but have to be careful where I go because I am not familiar with the area and get lost easily! I had a few bad experiences with the footpaths here (which are not like ours down the side of the road, but cut across the fields willy-nilly). I spotted a well signed one with a worn path, so thought I would be safe. I headed off down it (all good), over a few stiles (still good) and then out into a field, where the path promptly disappeared. This wouldn't have been too bad, except for the fact that the lovely green grass was hiding a BOG! I sank up to my ankles in mud - great. Not to worry, I decided, but I'll keep on anyway. So, I slogged it out over the field, but of course when I got to the other side I couldn't find the path. So I slogged it back and headed back to the road.

This happened TWICE. You would think I would have learnt the first time, but I guess once your shoes are covered in muck it doesn't really matter h0w many times you go through it. Anyway, I figured bog-running has got to be good training for sand dunes :)

Today I went to a Shire Horse sale. I was not tempted to buy anything, but found the constantly offered drinks (brandy and coke!?! Actually not as bad as it sounds) difficult to refuse. By this afternoon I was quite cheery and having a great time. The show and sale were handy, because it meant that I managed to catch up with EVERYONE here in the Shire scene without having to trip about much.

Tomorrow I am off to visit my best friend Joey. Can't wait! I'll have to go for a run in the morning before I set off though.

see you!

ine