Absolutely brutal day yesterday.  86k in the desert heat lugging a pack, having already run 4 marathons. I was really enjoying the first 2 stages, hopping over boulders in stunning narrow canyons with pink sand and golden hued stones.  By stage 5 I was feeling less happy, with a massive long climb uphill in the noonday heat.  My body was encrusted with salt and I was sweating lots but there is only so much electrolyte drink you can stomach.  Felt pretty nauseous at Checkpoint 5 onwards but was happy to be running downhill finally – if only downhill for one stage (pretty cruel to set such an uphill course for the long day!). Stopped for 10 mins at CP6 for noodles and to put on my headlamp then headed in to the finish with some lovely Brits. 

The last 2 stages were agony.  Rough broken rocks so when your legs are like jelly, you just stumble over everything. The final descent to camp was horrendous.  A steep rocky zig zag so every step started an avalanche of rocks and yet seemed to take us no closer to the finish line.  We finally crossed the finish at midnight, 16 hours later in 49^th place for the day (my best daily overall position ironically).  Some of the 150 competitors behind us have still not finished which must be agony.

Camp today is like the walking wounded, but high spirits all round.  We are considering holding Camp Olympics, with a sleeping sack race, spork and stone race, javelin (using hiking poles) – the tent humour never stops….. The guys have really been amazing to be with. Alison, I did come up with a camel joke as a warm-up act for David’s comedy night but it is not repeatable on a public forum and was considered un-PC even by the boys… ;-)

Results will be up by the time this blog is uploaded.  Tomorrow is a short celebratory 5k trot to the finish line in Petra, so today/s end of day positions will be final.  

Day 4 done!  Matt, don’t worry if it looks as though I dropped out.  I lost my timing chip in the scramble through the narrow canyon but my time will be uploaded at some point.  Lying around 70 something overall and 7th female.  Sounds more impressive than it is since there are only around 38 women in the race but I admit I am stoked at having 100 men behind me ;-

There are a few interesting characters.  A guy who is an Olympic marathon winner, a past Marathon des Sables winner and a guy dressed as a cow.  Jo & Alison, no Borat in sight though.

Hard to believe we were cold and wet a few nights ago as it is steaming hot now and people are getting burnt in the sun.  I had a great day but tomorrow is the long day which we’re all dreading.  86kms.  It’s going to be all about staying hydrated, not getting burnt and taking in enough food – and just gritting teeth……  trying not to think about it.

Our tent mates are hilarious and I think I now know what it’s like to be on a rugby tour.  You can read their blogs as my 15 mins are up.  Simon Southgate, David Grosse – think the other 4 guys are blogging less. 

Josh and Sam, I am missing you guys a lot.  Love you loads  xxxxx

Day 3 over so we are halfway.  Had a slow start as we had to clamber through a narrow canyon one by one and we got stuck in the queue for 21 minutes !  Very frustrating when you only crossed the start line 5 minutes earlier….. Watched lots  of people run off into the distance but picked off dozens on the course to finish in the top half of the pack, but slightly irritating !

Beautiful sunny day and gorgeous course, including going past the camel racetrack. Finished in 5hrs 50 so loads of time at camp, though we literally go to bed at 6.

I have 2 blisters but got them popped and should be fine. 

Josh and Sam, my Arabic came in very handy last night when the local volunteers were putting up our tent.  I managed to secure a de luxe version of a side panel – ie one with no holes in it…

Matt, loved your message, made me laugh aloud J

We weren’t able to send messages yesterday as heavy rain turned the cybertent into a refugee camp but we have now completed 2 stages of the race. The landscape is spectacular, beautiful pink sand and giant rock formations.  Incredibly gorgeous. Josh and Sam, ask Daddy to show you the movie Lawrence of Arabia and you will see exactly where I am.

Victoria and I are running together and had 2 great days, with a time of around 6 hours both days – came in around 70^th which we’re pretty pleased with. It’s hard to run when your feet sink in soft sand and you are lugging your week’s kit on your back  - it’s not so much about speed as much as pain tolerance.  Which is probably why we’re doing so well against a lot of the men ;-)

If Lawrence of Arabia country conjures up images of flowing white Bedouin tents and romantic nights under starlit skies, then you’re not on the same planet as Racing the Planet.  Think instead rows of heavy woolly mats tied to sticks with huge gaping holes in them.  It absolutely poured down last night and we all got soaked.  Our clothes were all completely drenched and we were froze. Tent 19 put a brave face on – as ”endurance athletes” we clearly enjoy misery.  We imagined ourselves in a 5 star resort (you could see the stars through the holes) and our tent boasted its own ‘water feature’ and en-suite shower.  And who needs to go to the Dead Sea to experience a mud bath when you have one in your tent?

All part of an endurance event!!! Sun came out today and it’s gorgeous and hot. The competitors and volunteers are all such a great crowd and Victoria and I are having so much fun that they can hear us laughing before we reach each checkpoint.

ps- Lorna. You and the boys should be proud of Scott – he is doing incredibly well!

Josh, Sam and Matt, love you loads.  XXXXXXX

Well, ready or not, I am on my way to Jordan. When I crossed the finish line at the Gobi in June last year, I would not have believed I would be taking part in my next “Once in a Lifetime” adventure quite so soon after..!!  There is an inexplicable addiction about these races!  Despite wishing for more time to train, I am really excited about getting out there and getting going!

My training has been sporadic due to a bout of bronchitis and other commitments – but I have taken part in 7 races in the last couple of months, from a half marathon to a one-stage 100K, so the distance doesn’t worry me, or my stubbornness to finish.  But the pack has become my enemy!!  I really dislike, hate and loathe running with a weight on my back. On my last training run with the pack, the little old Chinese biddies doing their early morning Tai Chi were moving faster than I was….

But when you’re sleeping on the floor, in a cold tent, eating freeze dried food, wearing the same clothes all week, with no running water and no luxuries whatsoever, cutting back on the optional ‘luxuries’ from the list below isn’t really much of an option unless you’re happy to be completely miserable all week. Tough as I am, I don’t feel the need to completely torture myself by denying myself a mat to sleep on, warm clothes to wear at night when the temperature plunges, the odd cube of Parmesan cheese to eat with my dried gloop…. So here’s the list of what I will be lugging around on my back all week:

I am both scared and excited about taking part in this race.

Scared because the list of competitors is more than daunting ! It includes an Olympian athlete, a MdS winner, a guy who is competing in his 20th RTP race - and other numerous impressive racing pedigrees. Even more daunting is that there are only 35 women out of 190 competitors, making up just 18% of the field. Reading blogs about people putting in 100k of training a week doesn't help much either! And as for trying to get my pack to weigh less than 20% of my body weight without tearing my hair out....!!!

I am an average runner. I fit my training in around a full time job and 9-year old twin boys. I would love to have time to train more, but my days are one long juggling act. So it is what it is.... I am not an elite runner and, looking at the list of competitors, I feel like a fish out of water. Had it not been for the fact that I competed in the Gobi race last year, finishing in the middle of the pack (of again a mostly male-dominated field), I would be petrified (no pun intended!) that I was in way above my head. 

So I know I can do this. My aim is to complete, not compete. For me, this is an adventure and a personal challenge, not a race. And, I hope, in a very small way, an opportunity to make a difference.  

I have chosen to run in support of a small charity called War Child, whose aim is to help innocent children, no matter what nationality or religion, rebuild their lives which have been torn apart by war.  It seemed appropriate since I will be running across Jordan, neighbour to many war-torn countries and home to many refugees. As a half Lebanese who was brought up in Beirut, Christened in the Syrian capital Damascus and whose family fled Lebanon during the civil war when I was 12 years old, I know only too well that children have no idea what is going on around them and don't care if you're Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Lebanese, Syrian, Israeli, black or blue. They just want everyone to stop fighting so they can have a normal childhood.

War Child helps children in war zones live in 'safe spaces', safe from the violence, and receive education, tools and building blocks to rebuild a normal life and to help them cope with the traumas they experienced.  So the least I can do is run 250k across a desert and I would be thrilled if my friends would be willing to sponsor me both to support this cause and to motivate me to keep going. http://www.justgiving.com/Janine-Canham

Finally, scared as I might be, it is humbling to see that there is a blind competitor taking part in this race with his guide. It's always good to put things in perspective.