I think that when you are woken up in the morning by one of your best friends sobbing with his hands over his face, lying next to you in his sleeping bag, the reality of what we are doing hits home! Poor old Hollers was in complete agony with an infected blister. A few minutes later a girl started wailing in pain in the camp. Suffice to say that Day 5 was hard work!
It looks like most people got through the day which is great and there are now 87 people left in the race, of 111 starters. However, as I write this, there are still two more finishers to cross the line 26.5 hours after we set off.
Read more
I did manage to take my foot off the gas today, thank goodness. The first stage was very sandy with plenty of dunes, followed by a long long section of shale and then a drop down into a river valley via a very steep and dangerous sandy slope. We crossed the small stream a few times (not getting wet feet this time thank goodness) and then climbed a steep hill up to CP1. Soon after we went through a very sleepy town where we met a black dog, who started following us. It ended up following me, right on my heals, for another 20km! I gave it some water when we reached a water station and it continued to follow me until CP3, 6km from the end of the stage – it looked pretty hot by then!
Taking my foot off the gas. Well.
A shorter blog today I think as some of my previous entries have been a little long!
Day three was absolutely brutal. Brutal, brutal, brutal. Horrible surfaces, hot hot sun, sand dunes and pain. So much pain. The finish was at the top of a 45 degree sandy slope and I got over the line, threw down my poles and felt like bursting into tears. I managed to keep it together until I got to the medical tent and then, as the doctor drained one of my many blisters of blood, I firstly felt faint and had to lie on the floor, and then starting blubbing in front of the three doctors who politely tried to ignore me! I felt so physically and emotionally drained that I could not hold it together. Embarrasing, but unavoidable as I had given every ounce of energy I had – easily the toughest physical test in my life……so far.
Read more
After a relatively good night’s sleep (went to bed at 8.30!) we headed out onto the course at 8am. Within five minutes we had our first of over river crossings. We then went uphill to a nasty rocky section where it was ankle-twisting territory if you tried to run. So Gibbo and I walked across it carefully. I tried to run but I tripped over and landed flat on my face cutting my hand and grazing my elbow. My big toe, which thumped into the rock now has a huge blister under the toe which the doctor has now drained by drilling a needle through the nail!
Tom Soper and Chris Gibson on Stage 2 (RacingThePlanet Ltd/Zandy Mangold)
Well I survived! It was unbelievably tough but I got through it, so that’s a bonus.
Tom, Ian and Chris at the start line of the Atacama Crossing RacingThePlanet Ltd/Zandy Mangold
