Well we're back and we finished!! After the disastrous start in the biblical floods the event organisers eventually managed to find a dry bivi site and a safe route for Day 1. Day 1 comprised 33km of mostly monstrous dunes after which we took up residence in Tent 76, with Mahmood my old friend from 2006. There wasn't much snoring overnight but I had Paul on one side and Justin on the other both of whom seemed to think sleeping on me was more comfortable than on their Thermarest!! Day 2 comprised 39km of mixed ground, once again in reasonable temperatures and strong winds.
Day 3/4, which should have been the 80km "overnighter" was turned into a "92km" overnighter to satisfy the whingers who were complaining at the cancellation of the original first day. It was hell, taking us 26hrs.....but more to come in the Race Diary which I will eventually post on the website, when I remember the FTP password!! Day 5, the traditional Marathon Day was just that, but also turned into the last day, the organisers deciding to cancel the final day which is generally only a 15km "exhibition day". No explanation was ever offered but we know they were having problems identifying safe routes. There seemed to be little protest after the extreme exertions of the overnighter.
We both finished the race in reasonable form but with badly messed up feet....check out the website (soon!!) for some interesting photos of Paul's feet. The total distance was about 205km and we covered it in about 49hrs. We may have knocked off some with a bit more training and our feet may have hurt a little less but the main impediment was the weight of our sacks.....far too heavy again. There needs to be a serious re-think for 2011.
Thanks to all those who sent emails to the bivi, they helped enormously, especially in the very dark moments such as being hopelessly lost in huge dunes at 0200hrs in the morning on the overnighter.
Thanks to all those who have generously sponsored our efforts. Every penny is going to the charity (nothing goes to cover our expenses for those of you who suspected some would!!) and every penny we raise is a penny the charity would not otherwise have received. The Justgiving site will be live until 23rd June and we will continue to raise money over the coming weeks. We both have a Triathlon on the last May Bankholiday which we will make our closing event.
Keep checking the website......it will be live and updated soon (www.teamodyssey.co.uk).
Day 3/4, which should have been the 80km "overnighter" was turned into a "92km" overnighter to satisfy the whingers who were complaining at the cancellation of the original first day. It was hell, taking us 26hrs.....but more to come in the Race Diary which I will eventually post on the website, when I remember the FTP password!! Day 5, the traditional Marathon Day was just that, but also turned into the last day, the organisers deciding to cancel the final day which is generally only a 15km "exhibition day". No explanation was ever offered but we know they were having problems identifying safe routes. There seemed to be little protest after the extreme exertions of the overnighter.
We both finished the race in reasonable form but with badly messed up feet....check out the website (soon!!) for some interesting photos of Paul's feet. The total distance was about 205km and we covered it in about 49hrs. We may have knocked off some with a bit more training and our feet may have hurt a little less but the main impediment was the weight of our sacks.....far too heavy again. There needs to be a serious re-think for 2011.
Thanks to all those who sent emails to the bivi, they helped enormously, especially in the very dark moments such as being hopelessly lost in huge dunes at 0200hrs in the morning on the overnighter.
Thanks to all those who have generously sponsored our efforts. Every penny is going to the charity (nothing goes to cover our expenses for those of you who suspected some would!!) and every penny we raise is a penny the charity would not otherwise have received. The Justgiving site will be live until 23rd June and we will continue to raise money over the coming weeks. We both have a Triathlon on the last May Bankholiday which we will make our closing event.
Keep checking the website......it will be live and updated soon (www.teamodyssey.co.uk).
