"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever"

Lance Armstrong
 
Day #3
 

Woke in the morning at 04:30 and straight on with the daily tasks.

It’s strange how quickly you adapt to something that’s new to life when a huge part of survival & success relies on it.
 

I found there’s a knack to getting ready for a challenging day in the Jungle but you have to be totally disciplined in your prep and if you aren’t, then you just make life a whole lot harder for yourself.

With the rain still lashing down, dark, waterlogged ground along with insects that’d devour any uncovered flesh around camp, trying to staying dry, mud free and unbitten was challenging.

The first part of my routine was to get my running top on as soon as I’d vacated my hammock. Wringing it out as much as possible, grinning and bearing it to slap it overhead before getting my gortex rain jacket on ASAP to begin warming up.

Whilst heating the damp out of my top half I’d empty the rain water from my trainers that’d been hanging from support ropes during the night and then wrung out my socks and shorts before getting brekkie ready.

A soggy, muddy, boggy trek to the water station to crack open the day’s rations which I’d sealed in individual zip bags and marked them Day #1, #2, #3 etc.

Each had a specific calorie count and had everything from electrolytes for the run, brekkie, dinner, snacks etc.

Brekkie of the Granola & protein shake was starting to wear a little thin if I’m honest and force-feeding yourself when you have zero appetite isn’t a good sensation and makes ya feel pretty urgh. With as much as I could stomach quite literally shoved down the hatch it was back to the hammock for the daily dismantling.

I’ve been quite disciplined with getting all my race kit on prior to packing everything away but only because it keeps my dry clothes dry and the exertion helps to warm up the soaking wet clothes. 

I can’t begin to imagine laying in bed at the and of a stage and still being wet so keeping night kit dry is pretty key.

By far the worst part of getting dressed was putting feet into sodden trainers and knowing they’re gonna be in there for the next 6 hours. That said, it was always worth tentatively checking that nothing had occupied each shoe during the night and made them a residence. Those camp critters get everywhere and never sure if they can climb along ropes and abseil shoe laces to set up home.

Cold, wet and pretty rank smelling kit back on and then it was a case of opening the bin liner used to store all my pack kit overnight and loading up the back pack for the day.

If I had to give once piece of advice to anyone ever doing this it’d be to take a couple of heavy duty bun liners! Defo been the most useful item to mitigate kit issues and dread to think what I'd have had living in there if I’d not taken them.

Last nights camp floor was teeming with giant ants that’d hack your leg off in the blink of an eye and proper lumpy spiders that seem to flock to anything left on the floor within seconds and which could possibly win an arm wrestle.

So, backpack out and then the repacking began pretty methodically (sounds pretty boring but if you want an easier life at the end of the day, it had to be done).

Medical kit and all dry items were stored in 5 litre dry bags with food in a separate one.

After my mud and river experiences yesterday, the importance of making sure it was done properly was essential to avoind leaks.

Next to go away was the hammock (leaving the rain sheet in place). It buys you time out of the rain and keeps everything as dry for as long as possible.

With the pack done and the hammock back in its snake skin & bag, the final piece was the rain sheet.

Whilst Hammering down it was always a losing battle to get it even fairly dry before packing away so, a quick shake to get most of the rain off and pack it then it was all done. 

All packed it was just nutrition and water supplies for leg one to get sorted so another boggy walk back to the water station avoiding hammock guide ropes for a top up.

A twist of fate for this stage.
Due to the weather of the last few days, rivers were considered too dangerous and a totally new route was created. Not surprising really. The huge river beside camp was torrential, wide, deep and proper rapid so it was a good shout by the Race Director.

The RD had decided we’d cross the aforementioned river by the camp and do a huge loop in the Jungle before re-crossing the same river further down and then hit the gnarly tracks to the next camp. Sounded simple!

First huge challenge was getting 53 runners plus their packs and race crew across a fast flowing, steadily rising 100ft wide river.

The locals had a zip wire arrangement which in essence was a platform that whizzes half way and then the second team on the opposite side pulled us in the remaining half. Unfortunately, this takes time so we were set off in 4 waves approximately half hour apart.

Being in wave one (and first to volunteer!) we were strapped in three at a time and sent across. Sadly we had to wait for the entire wave to get over before we could race and that took the time so, standing about in the torrential rain was nothing more than getting us wetter for the first leg. That’s when I took the opportunity to find a couple of boulders and smash my poles straighter.
 

The first 12k to CP1 went without drama and had paired up with Simon to plod, jog & run the day away. In hindsight it possibly wasn’t a good move for me personally as I like to cover as much ground as possible whilst I had energy but hey, it was good to have company.

After the massive loop involving the jungle section we hit the second zip wire back across the river but it didn’t quite go as smoothly as we’d hoped after we’d crossed.

Getting to the CP2 was plagued with poor direction markers and spent ages taking different routes up and down rivers looking for the exit marker flags. Following flags to river crossings where in essence was similar to a crossroads but not seeing marker flags only gave one option. Go each way and if you didn’t see a flag, retrace and try a different one until you found the marker. A bit time consuming but we’d quickly worked out that if Simon took one way and I another it’d half the wasted time.

That’s always a downside to leading I guess but knew everyone else would have the same problem so swings and roundabouts and all that.

CP2 done and then it was pretty horrific roads from there on.

Gnarly, rocky, no soft verges, undulating, twisty, muddy and endless forces you to put your mind elsewhere.

We chatted for quite a while but before long we both fell into silent contemplation mode.

Broke out the newly straightened poles and power stomped / jogged.

Simon’s watch had broken on the previous day and I never took one because I was told they didn’t work out there so we had no means of knowing how far we’d covered or even what time of day it was.

Part way between CP2 and CP3 the rain stopped but the following heat and humidity beat down with a vengeance.

Sweltering beyond belief it wasn’t long before we were pleading for rain again, puddles were a blessing and any kind of breeze was heaven.

20-25k done and feeling energy levels waning there was a long way still to go and to make it worse, the sun was relentless.

To help me mentally, during our silences I’d taken to counting distance in my head and this is how it went.
One pace equals approx 3 feet, 3 feet to a meter, 1,000 meters to a kilometre right?
So I’d count 1,000 paces and click over 1k in my head. Boring shit yeah?!? I’m embarrassed to say I did this for 7k before I’d had enough but figured it wasn’t much further to the next CP.

Running past a village school we were cheered, greeted & accompanied by the kids that emptied their classroom hut to run with us.

High fives, laughing and running with the kids was amazing and a lovely distraction. They have so little but were the happiest kids in the world!!

CP3 was the final one and by this time I have to say I was NOT a happy camper!

Tempers were frayed, feet on fire and being told by the medic we still had 12k to go was not what I wanted to hear and lost my shit (Don’t worry, I made a point of apologising later).

Simon was in just as much pain as I was. Shoulders and back screaming in agony with every step, probably because I wasn’t used to using poles if I’m honest. Toenails sending searing pains up my legs was horrendous and made worse by the constant pounding of the rugged roads. God, I wished for some mud and downhills.

Nearing the end of the stage, Simon slowly crept ahead and I teamed up with Hilary who’d caught me and was currently the leading lady (and what a star!)

We stomped/ jogged, talked incessant crap and just put one foot in front if the other to cover distance as quickly as possible.

Finding small any stream was THE most welcome relief. Splashing through each to get feet and legs cooled down was amazing. Makes you totally appreciate the small things in life.

Passing a field of pineapples Hilary’s temptations couldn’t be held back and it was time to crack open my trusty knife. She leapt across a ditch, through dense undergrowth and plucked a couple of what appeared were obviously totally un-ripened fruits. Used the knife to cut them up but jeez they were rock hard. That said, it didn’t stop Hilary from tucking in but for me, nah.

Heading into the finish line we were met but a small group of local village children. Again, high fives all round and they joined us running down the winding hill to the finish line. To say the track was rocky would be an understatement and there were these kids sprinting with us laughing and mucking about at absolutely full on speed with NO shoes on! Unbelievable.

Crossing the line we were greeted by the village Chief who presented us with traditional village made necklaces. Again, another priceless moment.

Sticking to the routine, it was hammock up and do the basics as soon as I found my pitch. Got admin done for tomorrow and then showered in the very basic (and I mean very basic) wash huts.

Embarrassed to say it took me well over 20 mins just to get my socks and shorts off with the pain in my back, neck, shoulders being as raw as it was but managed it feeling a bit of a wimp at not being able to lift arms above shoulder height.

Damage report was: loads of cuts to both legs and hands, back was ruined, shoulders were killed and my left foot big toenail looked like it needed to be removed ASAP and hurt like hell. Right foot big toe had also blown and put it down to the gnarly road surfaces.

To say today was tough would be an injustice. Whilst I appreciate we’d covered 78 miles in 3 days my body felt like it should’ve be in a hospital bed and got getting ready for another session tomorrow.

The village had invited us all to attend a performance by the village children where we’d be their guests of honour. So, assembled and seated in an overgrown boggy field. The chief welcomed us and then the kids performed a “killing of the animal” traditional dance for us. Obviously they’d practised for months and with the simple beat of a drummer they acted out their routine. Although I’m sure we all felt exhausted and simply wanted to eat, repair and sleep we all appreciated the huge gesture with a resounding round of applause and felt pretty honoured to have been invited.

A call to the medics to see the lovely Zoe straight after the performance was only to join what seemed like an endless queue of patients with an assortment of injuries, cuts, scrapes, blisters, and general damage.

She re-repaired blisters and lanced both big toenails before taping them by headtorch and then hobbled back to my hammock.

Thought long and hard about tomorrow’s strategy. We had two options, one was an easier route and the other is a little longer.

By doing the longer one you’re in a position to be placed on the leader board. The slightly easier meant you can compete the last day however, if you do the longer on day 4 but can’t race on day 5 it’s a game over scenario and an inevitable DNF (not an option!). Either way it’s ALL uphill and jungle terrain – aghhhhh.

Laying in my hammock and giving it serious thought, I decided how it was going to play out the next two days. Slightly shorter one tomorrow and aim to complete all 5 days OR risk the long route and hope my feet weren’t too ruined to get 5 day + doing the 2^nd long one?

Hours of deliberating and fighting with my head I decided a few things. Pulling out was NEVER an option no matter what and after the Day 2 medical advice to stop was proof I could do this and then made what I considered to be an educated decision.

I’d run tomorrow and do the slightly shorter route with the intention of making sure I was on the start line for day 5.

T
he theory was, I knew my feet were in tatters and was unsure if they’d last tomorrow let alone Day 5 so, assuming I completed day 4, day 5 was going to be a mental stamina challenge rather than physical one despite the injuries.
There, made the call and was gonna stick to it (for now). If by some miracle my toes were good in the morning I’d do the longer one but we’d see how it panned out.

Would love to say I slept like a log but didn’t. The local dog chorus started at around 2am and then the cockerels kicked off at 3am and didn’t let up until the camp started bustling at around 5am.

Up and out the sack to start the dismantling routine for another gruelling day…

 

Next week it'll be the day 4 recollections that held a world of pain but looked forward to the awesome support from the wonderful medics and ever lovely Linkenbach family who always had time to cheer, smile, dance & sing us into CP's with much needed encouragement in dark moments.

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