Tag Archives: 250km

Stage 1: Traversing Ancient Waters

…A desert as vast as the United Sates… so arid that most bacteria cannot survive there… the Sahara remains a desert without compromise, the world in its extreme.” – William Langewiesche, Sahara Unveiled It would have been wonderful to be able to neatly wrap up the events of Stage 1 for everyone in one choice word. But since when did the Sahara Desert give due thought to something so trivial as ... Read More »

Sahara Race: The Prelude

To begin a journey into the Sahara, one could hardly go wrong with Cairo. A sprawling Islamic city of mosques and minarets, prayer calls to Allah co-exist with  trinkets made in the image of polytheistic gods of ancient Egypt. The bazaars, or souks, live up to their name here, for anything from miniature pyramids to sheesha pipes to mint tea to kisses can be bought, sold, and traded by the dozen.  Out ... Read More »

Thank you

It’s hello to all from good ol’ Singapore again! And lest I forget I’m in the tropics once more, a torrential downpour hit while I was out on the trail for my morning run. And 23km run cut to 2km = heartbreak :( In any case, this forces me to sit down and go through the horde of photos and stories from the blitz desert run. And boy, do I ... Read More »

Blog From the Desert: 250km Done and Dusted

Greetings from Cairo, Egypt! Have duly completed 250km of the desert and gosh, civilisation seems a bit strange now. I’m still somewhat in a catatonic state of shock, having witnessed some astounding human spirit and majestic natural beauty in the past one week. In comparison, the fact that I just did 250km on foot seems like nothing! Imagine this will take a little while before all this sinks in. I’ll go through the ... Read More »

Blog From the Desert: Living the Dream

Hellooooo from the end of the 94km long stage!! Good grief. If all the other days seemed tough they were just child’s play compared to this leg. It took every ounce of willpower to keep going. Though happily none of my worst fears were realised (spraining an ankle in the dark, taking sleeping pills as painkillers, tripping and falling flat on my face just as I get to camp, etc.). ... Read More »

Blog From the Desert: Going the distance

Another 38km bites the dust! Today was mostly about conquering the pain and showing the dunes who was boss. While sorting out blisters at checkpoints, I discovered a whole new range of pain-related noises I am capable of making. (I totally should’ve done a “$10 for every blister developed” option for World Vision fund raising.) But did you know? There’s a strange sense of peace that settles in once you ... Read More »

Blog From the Desert: Tough as nails.

I’m talking about myself, not the course today, though it comes a close second. But hey hey we got 42km done and dusted! Another stunning day – we ran though dunes and a fossil area (Denvy, you in particular would have loved to be here. Also, we get to see whale fossils in the long stage. Yes, I am rubbing it allll in.) The feet decided to throw a blister ... Read More »

Blog From the Desert: Blister count:1. Spirit: 10/10.

A big hello from a very scenic (and windy and sandy) camp! This is going to be a short one because after getting into camp, I spent all my time hanging out with others, which is how it should be… seeing as I am on a desert vacation. :) And now it is 7.42pm and we have a 42km sand marathon ahead tomorrow so time to turn in soon. Firstly, THANK ... Read More »

Blog From the Desert: How’s this for a start?

Hola from the desert, folks! Some 150 desert runners were gathered at the hotel yesterday and sent out to the desert in the evening. And good golly, I have never seen so many fit people in one place in my life. There were people with poles for legs and others with Big Macs for calves. Such a fascinating study of the human body. We camped by a lake and had ... Read More »

Running 101: Above all, have fun.

Friday was a public holiday because our Muslim friends were celebrating the end of Ramadan and the whole of Singapore got time off thanks to this. And day off = extra training for all the jittery bugs who have a date with the desert in less than 3 weeks! Total tally over 4 days: 101km with a 7kg backpack. I hit the trail, pounded on concrete, and shuffled on sand. ... Read More »

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