Toughest and most extreme physical and mental challenge ever! The 75.5km stage proved to be the most intense day yet and showed the reason this race is considered the toughest on the planet. Starting out on poll position just after 9am I made good pace for the first 7km to be greeted by massive mountain that would see us scale 200m vertical incline. During the climb half way up as people scrambled to get up quick a very large bolder dislodged and fortunately just missed taking us all out by a matter of centimetres. Very lucky not to wipe out a number of us & really shook us up! There were another two major climbs through this stage and I arrived into checkpoint 4 the 46.5km mark just as the sun had set. There were a further 29km to go until the stage was over. Having struggled with the right food & having a funny tummy I stopped for a short rest before meeting up with some English lads Brett & Pete for the next stage. The company was invaluable on what was now a pitch black landscape.
With temperatures dropping, head lights on & green glowsticks in each of our packs the desert landscape resembled a new world from the previous days. In an effort to stay warm I rugged up though was soon too hot when on the move. It was more like the day temperatures than the night. Finally pushing through to checkpoint 5 we were greeted with the event camera crew that interviewed me to get my thoughts & check in on my pain tolerance! Only one more checkpoint & then on to end. As we refreshed & prepared to set off a fellow tent mate of Bretts, Paul called out & joined us. With Pete keen to set cracking pace it was agreed Brett, Paul & myself would see it through to end. The next 2 stages would transform us all pushing physical & mental pain barriers. Brett & Paul are both great guys & for some reason a major topic of discussion continued to revolve around food! I am sure the thought of getting back home to enjoy the pleasures really pushed us ahead. Tired & sore. Result #525 18hr 58min.
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