Highlights

1.       Finishing after 14 odd hours

2.       Taking back a few more places

3.       Knees held up

4.       One more day closer to a beer and hamburger

5.       One more day towards a shower and a bed

Lowlights

1.       Balls of both feet covered in enormous blisters

2.       40ks of uphill slog(but better than the downhill

I gave it all I had over the 5 days, ask whether ill do it again, I don’t know.

A great day to race, cool clear and sunny.

The field is fast as is our tent, all our guys in around 6.5 hours for around 40ks.

Only 2 uphill grinds with sand 5k a piece, and mainly on hard trail.

Ran everything but the uphills, the blistering has kicked in hard under the balls of both feet, but the painkillers will do their thing.

I am looking forward to a hotel,beer and a hamburger and getting out of the dust and sand of Jordan but the mind cannot wander from what is to be done tomorrow.

The pointy end.

Kids I hope Mum has got you to the 20 or so after school activities this week and that school is going well for you all.

Jane thanks for your blog, Matt is in fine fettle and is even eating from time to time but there is a lot of mention of hamburgers and chips.

To all those having a read and following me , thanks for your kind thoughts.

Lots of sand, lots of grind.

Feet holding in there, the body is asking the question, why? But the mind says it wants to do it.

Pushed again today to go sub 50 in a tad over 5 hour, that means you are running/shuffling the majority of the course.

Do not think this pace is good for me with one more day before then 86ks, could go pearshaped.

The campsite is set in another fantastic location, and as the sun goes down so does the temperature.

The only place to go is to the sleeping bag and try to sleep, 2 pills didn’t cut it last night.

My tenties are a great bunch,half of them were in gobi wih me and my good mate Matty who lead me in this direction…..there is talk of a catch up at the HK sevens at the end of march?

All is good here! Kids I hope you are playing fair with MUM!love to Kristi and the kids.

PS  I cannot write a blog, but if you want a good one to read each night, go to David Grosse’s.

This is the second race I have shared a tent with him and he is a very humorous man, subject to his camel jokes he arrives with each day

Today we knew we were back racing in the desert. Sun finally came through and dried all my wet clothes from the first day.

Temperatures have been somewhat unfriendly for the guys from the Australian summer, I got down to my last dry top last night

And with overnight temps of towards zero was quietly shitting myself.

This is the most beautiful ancient place to run a race, incredible rock formations coming literally out of the sand. The course designers have endless choices to put the competitiors through.

Day 1 was cold, and with the amount sweated under the rain jackets very damp, competitors came in very cold as they had spent a day in the wind and rain. But with 185 actually starting , only 2 dropped out to their credit. Other than thentents leaking and having to wrap your sleeping bag in a survival bivvy bag to stay dry as a last resort the sun came out!!

Day2 course was a lot more sandy , with many long uphill drifts to go over another ridge and into another perfect vista.

Ran on the hard packed sand/trails and downhills and slogged the sandy uphills . the knees are ok and im thanking god every time I pass another 10k checkpoint that we are still in the game.

Kristi I did do the Petra touristy thing the day before the race, ticked that box but was fascinating!