Stage 6 - FINISHED!!!

Hi everyone! Well, just a lazy 17.5km today to the finish line. I managed to make it in one piece, uninjured and still with only the remains of one blister on my right foot. Compared to some of the people I see hobbling around here I am extremely fortunate. Of the 15 0r so Aussies, 4 guys had to drop - one got a stomach bug and crashed in his tent on day 2 (before even started). He needed a couple of IVs to get his hydration back up, but by that time he had missed the start of the stage. The other three had really bad infected blisters on their soles - they all look pretty miserable. All of the Aussie chicks managed to finish though! Today we had a pretty straighforward run to finish in a town. It was amazing to have all the locals cheering you on through the 4 or so kms through the streets to the finish. Almost as amazing as the cold coke at the end! However, we all agreed that the most dangerous part of the entire race was the bus trip back to Ouazazate... we had to travel up the most amazingly steep, rocky mountain, where if the bus had gone over the edge it wouldn't have stopped rolling for a very long time. This went on for 15km at least, and most of the bus had to draw the curtains to avoid looking down :) It was another amazing experience for me. Completely different to 09 but still excellent. They days were long, sandy and very hot for the 2nd half of the week (once the sand had cleared from the sky and the sun could get in!). My tent mates were brilliant - there was much laughter and we all had a great time together. My Moroccan friends again did well. Mohammed was knocked off by his friend Rashid who is the new champion. Samir came in 6th I think and Lhoucine 12th or so. I think they finished first team though, which is great for them. More updates to follow - I am off to bed now for a nice sleep in clean sheets after a decent, not freeze-dried, meal. How wonderful! ine xxx

marathon satge

Well, hardly a marathon pb, but I certainly managed to finish today faster than I anticipated. Again, considering my lack of training, I am very, very happy with my progress. By next week I should be fit enough to run the race! I have held up well and the body is in good shape - hopefully better than when I started :) Today was a great mix of terrain, with climbs, flats, sand, an oasis, a town and loads of little kids running with us for parts. It was hot, particularly towards the end where we ran over a vast open plain covered in black rocks. I was very excited to see the giant silver teapots (yes, teapots) that mark the bivouac at least 3/4 hour sooner than expected. 2morrow is a 17k final leg, and then it is all over. I can post some more stories once I get back to town. Today is our last day to receive race emails, so dont send any more. Thanks to everyone for their support - it has been great!

Wish me luck for the finish :) ine

long stage

Well, I have survived the long stage - 82k in a bit over 16hrs I think. VERY happy. Yesterday was hot - 45 according to the staff here, so I took it easy for the first half until the sun went down. Then of course you have to take it easy because it is dark and you have already done 50k. The course was hard, with a mamoth climb, dunes and a massive dired up lake (which wasnice). The dunes were close to a villiage and when it got dark kids stole the glo-sticks marking the course so loads of people got lost. Luckily a local guided me to the CP. It is all good tho- I feel fine and only have 1 blister still from day 1. Today we are laid up in the tent (which is HOT) watching to see just how close to the bivouac people will pee and crap. I guarantee it is closer than you think! Clothes are also interesting... nothing but undies and anti-chafeing tape seems to be popular. There are also loads of blue plastic booties for people with open blisters.

Marathon stage 2morrow! i x

Hi everyone! Just got my emails for the past 2 days... thanks so much 4 the messages and birthday wishes! Today (for you) will probably be the last day you can email me via the race, so after that I will be back on ine_kuiper@hotmail.com. Today was very hot and I thnk tomorrow will be the same. The marathon course looks very tough which equals slow. Today we have had much fun watching people strip naked to wash themselves, like 5m from their tent. Unbelievable. On stage 3 I discovered that my tent-mate Ricky, was carrying his own tent!! We have persuaded him to drop it so his pack is now 1.5kg lighter. He thought it would come in handy if caught in a sandstorm. He only carried it for 110km :) my tent crew is great but as I am the only aussie they keep making fun of my accent- as if I have one! Next update after tomorrow's stage. thanks again, ine xxx

Third stage

38km today, and about 30km of soft sand. Torture.

When we were out of the dunes we were running in flat sandy valleys. Such hard work. There was one amazing climb up a massive rock mountain, and despite being a mamoth climb,it was great just to have a break from the sand! one of today's highlights for me was running through a village and having these beautiful little girls hold my hand and run with me. So sweet. I had an upset stomach today, which limited how much I could eat, and hence my energy levels. I hope I am feeling better tomorrow - I am trying to work my way through some bland foods tonight, so I will see how that goes. Long stage tomorrow, 81km, so you won't be hearing from me until the day after.

Thanks so much for the emails! Wish me luck for tomorrow... ine

second stage

Last night the wind came up and nearly blew the bivouac down.

Today was no improvement. Sand everywhere and glale force winds all day. Apart from that the stage was great. I took it easy (as I want to go into the long stage in goodshape) and had fun chatting to a few people along the way. I spent most of the stage with Tim from the UK,and also Mike from canada who helped me through the dunes yesterday. I feelreally good today, which is probably because there was only about 6km of dunes - much better! Now we r bunkering down in our tents trying to limit the sand in our clothes, food, sleeping bag etc. not much luck so far. Thanks for yesterday's emails-it was great. Caroline and Anton - I really miss you both!

Would you believe there is talk of rain tomorrow? Jay says I'm a jinx...

First stage completed

Well, stage 1 is done and dusted. 12km of rock and then 13km of DUNES. Then 7kms of rock to the finish. It was a tough day. 3 hours in the dunes with your pack at its heaviest is not a barrel of laughs... I really need to change where I put my food etc to make it easier to get on the run. But the dunes are unbelievably beautiful. They are massive - really sand mountains, not dunes.They are so golden and the sky behind them is so blue it is just like a movie set. Buggers to cross though! I finished in just under 7 hours, which I am happy with given the toughness of the stage. Tomorrow is longer but with only 3km of dunes.

Yay! Off now to rest.

7 kilos!

So this morning we are getting picked up in the busses and heading out to the first bivouac, which means that this will be my last post before the race starts (unless there is a flood. Again.). Bus ride today, check in tomorrow and then start the first stage on Sunday. I packed everything up yesterday into my pack and weighed it at an amazing 7 kilos! That makes me officially one of the lightest packs in our group and the envy of many of the other competitors. Muwah, wah, wah, wa. My main weight saving comes from the food, which I have strictly capped at the minimum 2,000 calories a day. Aside from that, almost everything has come out of its original packaging into a ziplock bag. To give you an idea of how far this goes, I even have my sunscreen in a ziplock bag. Well, actually I have double bagged it, just in case… I thought the extra weight of an extra ziplock was well worth avoiding having sunscreen over everything! Aside from the pack success, I am feeling very under-trained and apprehensive about the race. Hopefully my conservative race strategy (constant forward movement is my motto. Note, no mention of speed…) plus my light pack will save me from dying in the desert and ending up a desiccated corpse under a sand dune. I will be very happy with just a finish, so I am gunning for any spot in front of the camels I have met a great bunch of people here (all much fitter than me!) and we have been meeting up in town for our meals… mostly at the same place since we all ate there on the first day and haven’t got sick, so we figure it is a safe bet. Most of our group are Aussies and Canadians, with a couple of Kiwis thrown in. Ouarzazate is a lovely town. It is funny here that many of the shops are closed during the day and only open for a few hours at night, when the town really comes alive. All the locals come out and mingle in the square; there are kids playing soccer and parents doing their shopping. It is really amazing. Well, that is about all I have to report for now. Please don’t forget to email once the race starts – go to http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php and click on the link to contact a competitor that should be appearing soon. I am not sure if it will come up before the actual start or not, but just keep an eye out. Emails are a real highlight, so it would be great to hear from you! ine x