Once Again -The Eve Before.....

Well once again its the evening before departure. The 2012 Marathon des Sables becons. We fly out tomorrow, are shipped to the desert on Friday and start on Sunday. My food is packed in little bags for each day and I've had a trial run packing of my rucksack, which weighed nearly 12kg.....way too heavy. I may have a culling before we start on Sunday.

It's 10pm and I still have a stack of work to do before I can go to bed, and the lingering chest infection is beginning to annoy me.

I've been surprised by the amount of sponsorship I've managed to raise and by the people who have sponsored me, some of whom I haven't seen for 20 years!! I can't thank everyone enough.

The nerves are really kicking in now and every little ache, creak or sniffle is to be viewed with horror!!! I am concerned about my left ankle though, which is in poor condition!!

Anyone who hasn't sponsored me who wants to can do so at;

http://www.justgiving.com/odysseysolo

If you feel inclined to send me the odd message of encouragement while I’m out there you can email me from Saturday by going to the organisers website at;

http://www.darbaroud.com/index.php?lang=en

Click on "Write to a competitor" (ENG) or "Ecrire aux concurrents" (FR) and use my running number 517 (DOS). Messages are delivered in paper form at the end of everyday and you cannot imagine the lift a message from the outside world gives in times of forlorn hope!!

There will also be a finish webcam on the above page, so you might spot you crossing the line each day! I will also try to update the blog when I can while I'm out there...though its never easy hobbling to the email tent and trying to type on a French keyboard!!

Well, time to crack on with the work still to be done....then off to bed....off to Gatwick.....off to the Sahara.....all systems go.......FULLBORE!!

Mike "Agamemnon" Rudd