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