Archive for running

26 May 2010

May 26, 2010 at 7:51 pm · Filed under 4deserts, endurance running, Gobi desert race, Gobi March, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons, Whakatane runner

I wasn’t able to run for two days because of  heavy rains and then when I did go out on Wednesday night, I got caught by a downpour.  I had only set out late, so decided to stay within the confines of town and run up and down the Hillcrest Hill ten times.  The rain came down on my 9th round, so I headed home right away.  I am taking no chances with my health, and somehow I seem to get sick every time I run in cold rain, so discretion was definitely the order of the day.

The challenge of Hillcrest is that there is a set of stairs that I have to negotiate … and repeated stair runs often cause my knees to complain for a couple days.  I was very happy to find that I had no such problems after Wednesday’s effort.  That felt like really good news!

The Hilllcrest stairs, home of Whakatane's vertigraph.

 I have reduced my backpack to 5kg and I am finding that this enables me to run at a good pace when I am on terrain that is not too steep.  It also helps me to maintain a good balance between distance endurance and speed work.

I was the subject of a project on nutrition recently, and my diet was found wanting!  I am now under strict instructions to make an effort to do some carbo-loading prior to the start of the Gobi event.  I guess I will try, but with the pre-race days being in China, I am not sure whether I will find carbohydrates to suit my tastes.  I am not an adventurous eater, so I hope I can find simple pasta or pizza dishes.  I also have to be very careful not to cause a tummy upset at the last minute.

I had to order two bottle holders to attach to my new backpack – surprisingly, they are not standard issue.  From experience, I know that the attachment straps provided on the pack are not adjustable, so the bottles can end up being at an uncomfortable height for me.  This means that I now have to take my pack and my bottle holders to an upholsterer, who will attach a longer, adjustable strap on each side.  Then I can start experimenting with the position of the holder to find the height that suits best.  This “personalised” strapping also allows me to fix the bottle holders so that there is minimal bouncing against my chest.

At this stage, there are 177 runners entered in the Gobi March.  I see my race number is 123 … which has a “lucky” ring about it!  At least that’s what I am telling myself.  Racing the Planet has sent us a breakdown of likely stages, and they look like this : 32km + 30km + 42km + 37km + 90km + 19 km.  Ninety kilometres makes the “long” day pretty long (!) and at 19km, a longer final day than I have previously had to run.  RTP also mentions that due to very high temperatures, it may be necessary to carry more than the usual 1.5L per checkpoint, so we have to carry an extra bladder or bottle.

I’m off to do my Thursday run …

Jo

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Five Weeks to Race Day

May 23, 2010 at 8:53 am · Filed under Atacama Desert Race, endurance running, Gobi desert race, Gobi March, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Racing the Planet, running, Tarawera Ultra, ultramarathons, Whakatane runner

As the countdown starts in earnest, my head is filled with lists of things to do.  I tend to make my lists according to my body … so I started with my shoes and legs this weekend.  I now have the Injinji socks I want to run in – great for preventing blisters.  I have also done a few runs in the new shoes that I will take, and they feel great.  Once again, I am using the Salamon XT Wings 2 (the new model).  Last week I had a cobbler sew on a strip of Velcro around the outer edge of the shoes, to which I will attach my gaiters.  I ran in the shoes last night, just to check that the sewing hadn’t caused any puckering or tightness around my toes, but they were fine.  So the shoes are good to go.

I also bought a new pair of Skins for running in.  In previous events, I have run in white, but these are no longer available so I had to buy a pair of black ones.  The next step is to organise for the words “New Zealand” to be attached down the front of one leg.  For my first Racing the Planet event, I had the words down the side of my leg and this “leg” appeared on the front cover of a German magazine :)  … I happened to be the runner just ahead of a German celebrity doing the race, and he was the subject of the cover photo.

Today I plan to purchase the pantihose that I will use as undies … I cut off the legs and then have very light, well fitting (!) support under my Skins.  Not a pretty sight!

I have my top sorted, as I plan to wear the same one I wore in Namibia.  It has served me well and doesn’t need to be replaced.  It has long sleeves, and I am aware that they may prove to be too hot but I can always cut off the sleeves if this is the case.  The top is very close to its use-by-date, so it won’t break my heart if I have to do that.

The big project over the next couple of weeks will be to organise my foods.  I am very keen to lighten my backpack to the bare essentials.  I have even invested in a vacuum packer … several of the competitors in previous events have reduced the weight of food items by vacuum packing them.  It not only reduces the weight but also the volume … which means that space is also saved.  I hope that this works out for me.

I have been anxious to prevent a recurrence of my tummy troubles on the long day … for the Gobi, the long day will be 90 km.  Taking advice from the Distributor of Perpetuem, I tried using a lower strength mixture when I ran the North Face 100km last weekend, and this was definitely easier to digest.  It worked very well and I am hoping this will make a big difference for me on Stage 5 of the Gobi.  I have also purchased the new flavour of Perpetuem, Cafe Latte, and I like the taste too.  So Perpetuem should form a good base for my nutrition during the race.

I plan to vacuum pack several mixtures to which I will add the boiling water provided.  One mixture will be Cup a Soup with olive oil, another one will be a dehydrated meal with added mashed potato powder and then the third combination will be sweet : flavoured milkshake powder, milk powder and sugar.  I also make up a sugar, coffee and milkpowder combination as my hot drink.  Other foods will include biltong (dried meat = jerky), parmesan cheese, some crushed crisps and some lollies.

Before I pack my foods, I will be testing each combination to ensure that they taste okay and they don’t upset my stomach.

I have already got my Buff (essential gear), my cap, my warm jacket, a sleeping mat and sleeping bag.  These items were ordered in for earlier events and they are incredibly light.

As you can see, my backpack is filling up and this will be on my back for the duration of the race.  Hence the anxiety about getting it as light as possible.

My training is going well.  I had a hiccup when I was forced to take time off because of a bad cold, but the break didn’t affect my schedule too much.  I have now completed three competitive races as part of the build up … the Tarawera 100, the 42 Traverse and last weekend, the North Face 100 in Australia.  Each of these events demonstrated that my legs can cope.  As I always say, it is my head that will make all the difference during the Gobi March. 

I want to thank Jim Robinson for the article published in the latest edition of VO2 Max.  He is a very talented writer.  Hopefully the added exposure will help boost my fundraising efforts.  At this stage I still need all the help I can get to achieve the goal of $10,000 for Hospice EBOP.

http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/jo4hospice/

As the countdown begins, I will make more regular entries into this blog …

JO.

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11 weeks to go …

April 16, 2010 at 9:51 pm · Filed under 4deserts, endurance running, Gobi desert race, Gobi March, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons

Since my last post, I have had some really awesome training runs.  Our week in Queenstown and Te Anau provided the ideal location for running.  The only problem was that I didn’t end up taking my racing backpack with me, so I was definitely training “light”.  Running without the backpack is so much easier and more enjoyable.

I discovered that the Remarkable Runners’ Harriers Club had a race organised for Easter Sunday, so of course I couldn’t resist entering.  The ”Long Arm Race” started with a steep hill at Jack’s Point, but once that was accomplished, the rest of the 26km was undulating, along the shore of the lake. It was really picturesque right up to the Queenstown Gardens, where the race finished. It meant that I got a good distance under my belt, and being a race, it meant that I was running under pressure.  I was determined to finish under 2 hours, and only just managed to achieve that : 1 hr 59 min.

I was able to go on exploratory training runs every day, and I must confess that I would often end my runs reluctantly as the tracks were so interesting and so beautiful.  My routes included the Ben Lomond track and the Queenstown hill track.  Needless to say, as soon as one achieves some altitude in Queenstown, the views are stunning.

Outside of Queenstown, I also had a run along the shores of Lake Te Anau and a little way along the Kepler Track.  I ran the Routeburn track as far as the Falls Hut and then back out again.  Each of these runs simply served to whet my appetite for more … so there is definitely a plan in place to return to the area to enjoy more of these beautiful tracks.

Once I returned to Whakatane, it was back to running with my backpack.  I am using 7kg of rice on my back, which combines with my bottles to make around 8.5kg altogether.  I am using Horley’s Replace at this stage, but I plan to add Perpetuem soon – just to make sure that it works for me. 

I also want to tweak my “menu” for the Gobi March and this means testing any of the foods I decide to take to check that I don’t react to them.  I find that I lose my appetite very quickly over the 6 days of these long events, so I need to take lots of different food items.  Variety and strong flavours will be my goal.

I have started running in what were to be my racing shoes, because my previous pair is definitely past its use-by date.  The only trouble is, the mileage that I need to cover over the next 11 weeks is enough to wear out this pair as well, so I am looking at purchasing a back up pair. 

This stage of training is tough.  I am having to run for at least 2 hours most nights, and trying to do this after work is a challenge.  Most of the time, I am running in the dark and this is tricky.  My head lamp is pretty good for illuminating the path ahead, but I still have to concentrate very hard not to trip up on roots and ridges on the tracks.  I guess it is good preparation for day 5 of the Gobi March (the “long” day – 80km), which will have me running well into the night.

I managed to do 8 hours between Monday and Thursday this week, but found that I was just too tired to run again today (Friday), so I am taking the night off and I will catch up on some hours of running over the weekend.  The amazing thing is that in both the Atacama and Nambian events, I ran for approximately 31 hours over the week of the race – and yet here I am struggling to do more than 8 hours in a week. 

I am taking some care with my nutrition; eating high protein snacks after each training run, for example.  I also take Omega 3 and Chondroiton/Glucosamine capsules every day, which seem to help keep me in shape.  I do need to do some upper body strength work, but somehow haven’t managed to fit that in yet.  Perhaps this next week  …

In any event, my training is now in full swing, and so far, so good. 

Cheers,

JO

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Home Sweet Home …

June 1, 2009 at 8:30 am · Filed under 4deserts, endurance running, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibia, Namibian Desert Race, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons, Whakatane runner

Well, I am back in Whakatane after my Namibian adventure.  It is really good be back in familiar surroundings and to settle into normal routines.  I am fully recovered from the race, and I will be taking a break from running for a short while.

I had my first good night’s sleep last night.  Since the race, most night’s have had waking moments where I feel confused, with questions swirling in my head … “Which camp is this?”  “How far do I have to run today?”  “Will I have enough fluids?” 

The best part of the week-long event was when I reached Luderitz, hand in hand with the two front-runnng ladies (Lucy and Lia) and Rob Jarvis, of Christchurch.  That enormous sense of relief at not having to run/walk/stumble/crawl another step, together with a huge sense of achievement, is the most wonderful feeling in the world. 

Having Craig at the Finish Line was very special.

Having Craig at the Finish Line was very special.

I sat and watched other competitors coming in, savouring every minute of my own pleasure : it is difficult to describe how “high” one can feel in those circumstances.  Every competitor would have felt this. 

I ran the race under two banners ... Hospice and NZ.

I ran the race under two banners ... Hospice and NZ.

We all recovered remarkably quickly, and by that evening, everyone was scrubbed up and ready to party … albeit not until terribly late.  It was only the young volunteers who stayed up until the early hours of the morning. :)

Canon Lodge in the Fish River Canyon where we enjoyed the Awards Ceremony and our first night back in a real bed.

Canon Lodge in the Fish River Canyon where we enjoyed the Awards Ceremony and our first night back in a real bed.

My constant companion on the race was my good luck charm, little Kiwi.  Every morning, I would arrange him in the pocket of my bag so that his feet and face were towards the front … onward and upward! :)

Wide-eyed and bushy tailed

Wide-eyed and bushy tailed before the race.

Unfortunately, Kiwi also played a role as my “pillow” every night, so by the end of the week:
A little bedraggled (and weary) seven days later!

A little bedraggled (and weary) seven days later!

A number of people are already asking, “What next?” 
Right now, I need  a rest.  I don’t know what is next, but I can’t see myself doing another self-supported race too soon.  One a year is very demanding : one’s motivation, time and finances are too stretched for comfort.  
I won’t be able to resist finding another race or goal to aim for, but a shorter distance is most likely. An endurance event might have to wait until 2011.
In the meantime, I have lots of stories to share and I look forward to doing so in a way that will raise more funds for Hospice. 
Cheers for now,
JO
http://www.hospiceebop.org.nz/ 
You will find a link for making donations on this website.

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Thank you!

May 26, 2009 at 6:56 pm · Filed under 4deserts, endurance running, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibia, Namibian Desert Race, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons

There won’t be much news until Jo gets back to NZ with a first hand account of his race and some of the “inside stories”.  He is really, really happy with how his body has already recovered so well and all that remains is for the blood blisters on his toes to heal.

Not very serious afflictions after such a physically challenging week.

We both want to thank everyone for their kindness and support during Race week … Jo feels very humbled by everyone’s kind messages and once he is back, he will be in a position to convey more personal thank you’s. 

After the Atacama event, Racing the Planet sent him a list of all the emails sent to him during the race, and he expects that this will happen again.  Plus of course, there are the many comments posted on this blog, to which he will respond when he gets home.

A HUGE thank you to all those kind folk who have contributed to the Hospice Fundraising appeal.  We realise that it is not always easy to contribute to these appeals, and so every dollar donated is very much appreciated.  If you haven’t done so yet, but feel that you would like to make a small donation  …

http://www.hospiceebop.org.nz/donations/

Until next weekend, when Jo will be back in Whakatane, it’s …

Bye for now,

Ann

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240km down, 10km to go …

May 23, 2009 at 8:55 am · Filed under 4deserts, endurance running, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibia, Racing the Planet, running

From Racing the Planet:

1345    22-May:

143 competitors have crossed the finish line already. Despite being forewarned that the stage had been shortened and that it would be “difficult”, most breezed through the stage with ease. The sight of the sea as they came over the very last dune of the section may have provided incentive to hurry their pace along, as many opted to walk though the camp, put their bags in their tents and take a dip in the Atlantic Ocean, straight away.

Compared to the stifling heat of the previous two days, the water is a refreshing 16 degrees (Celsius). The shirts are off, and the vibe at camp is relaxed as the hardest part of the race is over, with only a 10km sprint tomorrow remaining.

Norma Bastidas (Canada) said, “as I came over that last dune, it was just so beautiful to catch sight of the sea, I can’t say that my eyes didn’t well up a little. Everybody I have spoken to feels the same way, and it is these parts that make you keep coming back for more races.”

The first team into camp was Team Illinois Denmark at 11:43:00. Team Swana had decided this morning that they would take it easy, prioritising dune surfing over running.

Out of the 42 that didn’t complete stage 4 yesterday, 23 non-finishers attempted stage 5: Out of Africa.

For now, those who have arrived at camp are making the most of a relaxing afternoon in the stunning camp 6: Skeleton Coast laid out on the beautiful shore of the Skeleton Coast, Namibia. Cynthia Lao (United States) and Jennifer Murray (United Kingdom) just arrived at camp, elated to have seen the boundless beauty of the sand dunes.

1745    22-May:

Bonita Choi (United States) was the last person to cross the finish line. She was resolute and brave. Choi has apparently made up an imaginary Kingdom where Guinevere and Knights are the lords of this majestic landscape, and she had a starring role in her fantasy.

The camp is happy to be resting, and soaking up the last minutes of a dramatic sunset.

Looking at the results schedule, the placings for the finish are virtually decided already.  The spread between competitors makes it unlikely that these will change.  So Jo will finish in 6th place if nothing goes wrong for him on the last 10 kilometres.  His goal was to be in the top 10, and he will be very happy to have achieved that.   He may also be the first person to finish in his age group … Olmo Marco (a “legend in the trail running world” as his Bio states) is in third place, which is an amazing feat for someone who is older than Jo.  One can only take one’s hat off to him.

I will post any emails I receive from Craig or Jo … I am hoping that one will arrive some time this morning.

Ann

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1.5 hours to go … the race begins!

May 17, 2009 at 6:41 pm · Filed under endurance running, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibia, Namibian Desert Race, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons

Here’s a description of the first 39km stage of the race :

http://www.4deserts.com/beyond/namibia/rtpnmb.php?SID=3&SBID=RC4

Jo and all the other runners are likely to be awake now, fuelling up for their first day on the run.  Craig will be setting off to help man Checkpoint One.  All very exciting.

GOOD LUCK BOYS!

PS Don’t forget to support Hospice if you haven’t done so already … Jo’s run is dedicated to this good cause and he needs your help:

http://www.hospiceebop.org.nz/donations/

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4 days to go …

May 13, 2009 at 7:56 pm · Filed under endurance running, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibia, Namibian Desert Race, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons

Hi,

Today’s post is actually a lovely long email received from Craig:

10 May : Dad’s Birthday! In Windhoek

About to hop on the flight to Windhoek

About to hop on the flight to Windhoek

Our flight for Windhoek left at 9:40 from Johannesburg, and after finally finding our check in counter and terminal, Dad and I jumped on the plane. While waiting for the bus to take us to the plane, Dad mentioned that we might start seeing people wearing backpacks like his (i.e. competitors) and funnily enough, as he said that, two girls got on the bus, wearing Racing the Planet tops.

We had a chat with them: two first-time competitors from Hong Kong. Both were very friendly and one had even been to Whakatane!

On Namibian soil

On Namibian soil

Arriving at Windhoek, our driver Fernando, met us, with a sign and big smile. What a character! The 30 min drive to Windhpek went quickly, while he told us how his life story – born in Mozambique, moved to Senegal, and eventually ended up in Namibia. We knew we were in Africa, by the speed of cars passing us on the roads, and the fact that Fernando’s car had no working speedometer or tachometer and seemed to stall at every stop. Anyway, we made it to our B&B with no dramas and said goodbye to Fernando.

Our B&B was close to Windhoek city centre and the friendly German owner (Ziggy) showed us to our room and told us all the house rules.  Dad and I were shocked when she told us that our mates, the Jarvis brothers (from Christchurch), had been staying there a few days earlier and had been mugged on their way back to the B& B one evening. Fortunately they managed to fend off the tsotsis with their shopping bags (the baddies were armed with sharpened bicycle spokes and the only damage done was a dent in a tin of tuna!). The Jarvis boys are touring the north of Nam at present so they will be out of harm’s way.

It wasn’t a comforting thought that this could happen to us! Invincible Kiwis!!? With this in mind, we left all our valuables in our room and went for a walk into town, while it was still light. We strolled around the very quiet city (it was a Sunday arvo) and feeling a little peckish, decided to sample some of the local delicacies – Petersen style…. 2 Mega Wimpy Cokes, 2 Mega Wimpy Coffees and 2 Toasted sandwiches really hit the spot.

That night, we gave Fernando a call, so that he could give us a ride to ‘Joe’s Beerhouse’ – a World Famous beerhouse in Africa! We both had the biggest steak on the menu and washed it down with some Windhoek lager.

The Petersen Boys in Joe's Beer Garden

The Petersen Boys in Joe's Beer House

It was Dad’s Birthday, but I told him I wouldn’t hold him to the “1 metre beer” – 13 x330ml’ listed in the Drinks menu – especially for birthdays! At 120 Rand (20 NZD) I was tempted to have a go, but knew I’d be rolling home after that (Kent would’ve done it … haha!)

After being dropped back at the B&B by Fernando, Dad and I decided that Windhoek wasn’t really for us, and with the whole Jarvis bros’ incident in our minds (no going out after dark) we decided that we were hitting the road early the next morning – Swakopmund our destination.

11 May  - Swakopmund and Walvis Bay

We began our day with a breakfast at Tamboti, and started to enquire about rental cars. For anyone who has been to Namibia, you will understand, but for those who haven’t, BEWARE!!! renting a car in Namibia is EXPENSIVE!!!

The cheapest car in town we could find – a Toyota Corolla (which is what we ended up getting ) was R450 per day!! By comparison, the same car in SA would be R200 per day! We toyed with the idea of maybe renting a big ute and hitting up some game parks/sand dunes, which is what the rest of the (mainly German) tourists were doing, but decided we liked the creature comforts of a hotel/B&B.

We collected our car and began the 450 km trip to Swakopmund

The drive took us from the relatively green, mountainous region of Windhoek, down through hills, fields and eventually to the arid plains near the coast. The drive was stunning. Desert stretched as far as the eye could see.

A map showing the location of Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Luderitz, where the race ends.

A map showing the location of Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Luderitz, where the race ends.

We eventually arrived at Swakopmund, and looked for a place to stay. With the large numbers of European tourists, prices in Swakopmund are seriously inflated, and a reasonable B&B was going to set us back a small fortune.

We finally settled on one in the town of Walvis Bay, 20 minutes out of Swakopmund. A long day of driving had taken it out of us, and we crashed out at our new accommodation in Walvis Bay.

Both Dad and I are amazed at the development in Walvis Bay, with new houses everywhere – built on sand, right on the beach! Also, just off the coast were four drilling rigs and many large ships.

Dad went for a short run along the lagoon promenade and we grabbed some fish and chips for tea.

Looks pretty chilly!

Looks pretty chilly!

12 May -

Today we have come into Swakopmund to check emails and check out the town a bit more. Dad went for a little jog again this morning and thinks it will be his last run before the race.

It is overcast here and very cold! The town is SO German–we feel as if we are in a small coastal town in Germany.

The trip to Swakopmund was great- Dad had forgotten how bleak the countryside is around the town. The sand dunes between Swakopmund and Walvis are INCREDIBLE–the different colours/shapes are an artist’s and photographer’s delight.

Cheers,

Craig.

If you are reading this and you haven’t yet made a donation to Hospice EBOP on Jo’s behalf, now’s your chance:

http://www.hospiceebop.org.nz/donations/

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8 days to go …

May 9, 2009 at 3:40 pm · Filed under endurance running, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibian Desert Race, Nutrition, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons

Hi …

Jo is enjoying himself in Benoni with my Dad, where he is taking daily trips to his favourite South African restaurant for coffee.  He tells me that he is not sleeping well, due largely to the effects of jet lag.  Unfortunately, when he does wake up in the night, his brain goes into overdrive, worrying about whether he has done enough training (YES, you have Jo!), whether he will have enough food to sustain his energy requirements (I would think so Jo: you have put a lot of time into planning  your menu) and of course, what the race itself might throw at him in terms of running conditions.

A clue about the race conditions arrived by email today from Racing The Planet:

 

Dear Competitors,

Our course director, Dave Annandale, is currently in Southern Namibia putting the final touches on the course.  He is reporting that it gets down to almost 0 C (32 F) at night and reaches between 35 and 40 C (95 – 104 F) during the day.  He is also now reporting very light winds in the early stages of the course.  Remember that it is likely to be very windy on Stages 5 and 6.  We have updated the website with a brief description of each stage.  A complete Course Book will be provided to you in Namibia. 

We also wanted to clarify two Mandatory Equipment List questions that we have been receiving.  1.  You must bring a pair of tights (or long pants) to wear, and you must bring a lightweight jacket with lining (or a lightweight jacket with base layering underneath).  It gets chilly at night, and since it gets dark before 6 pm each day, some of you may end up spending part of every stage in the dark.”

You can see that it is going to be tough.  The organisers are very strict about compulsory gear and a thorough check is made of the backpacks to ensure that every runner is carrying the required items.   Jo has an excellent jacket for those temperatures, and I hope his tights make the grade.

Having lived in Namibia in the early 80′s, we are familiar with those windy conditions.  One is literally “sand blasted” by the wind.  It hurts!  Not to mention the danger to one’s eyes.  So here’s hoping it isn’t too bad for the competitors, although the email indicates that stages 5 and 6 are going to be a challenge.

I went on to the Racing the Planet website and looked at the Google Earth map of the route.  It is very interesting and definitely worth a look.  The canyons and sand dunes and hilly bits look very scary to someone like me. 

For anyone reading this for the first time, please be aware that this race has been dedicated to Hospice Eastern Bay of Plenty.  Hospice fulfils such an important role for people facing terminal illness and Jo is very keen to help them as much as he can.  He is appealing to you to contribute to his fundraising effort.  It’s really easy … just go to the Hospice website to make your donation:

http://www.hospiceebop.org.nz/donations/  There is no pressure for large sums of money – every little bit is welcomed.

Until next time,

Ann

PS  In case Jo reads this …

 

I we keep our eyes averted, Ann won't know we are on the bed.

"Hey, Shadow, if we keep our eyes averted, Ann won't know we are on the bed."

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9 days to go …

May 8, 2009 at 8:58 am · Filed under endurance running, Hospice EBOP donations, Jo Petersen, jo4hospice, Namibian Desert Race, Nutrition, Racing the Planet, running, ultramarathons

Hi,
Jo has arrived safely in Benoni and went on his final shopping trip for foods …
“I bought 5 individually wrapped portions of Parmesan cheese (average weight 20g)–the lady at the cheese counter was very helpful (if somewhat bemused by my strange request!). She had to cut a huge cheese (about 10cm in diameter) in half to get these tiny portions for me.  I’ve bought a few Sparkles lollies to take too and I purchased two packets of crisps (salt and vinegar and tomato-flavoured) which I have crushed and divided into 5 small portions. 
There was a biltong shop in the Mall — the lady there was equally helpful and she vacuumed-packed 5 x 20g portions for me.   I now only need to get some peanuts and then my food requirements are completed.”
We have also received a newsletter from Racing the Planet  http://www.4deserts.com/beyond/namibia/ 
I thought you might be interested in some of the facts:

“RacingThePlanet:  Namibia 2009 gets underway in just two weeks with two hundred and fourteen (214) competitors from 38 countries expected to participate including a record number of past champions who will be vying for top places

  

(9 May 2009, Hong Kong) — RacingThePlanet is set to stage its next endurance event in Namibia on 17 May 2009.  Traversing some of the most spectacular dunes and stunning landscapes of the oldest desert in the world – the Namib Desert,  RacingThePlanet’s six stage, seven day, 250 kilometer self-supported footrace, features a field of 214 from 38 countries.  The event kicks off with a steep descent into the Fish River Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world, an area rich with local wildlife such as Mountain Zebra, Giraffe, Oryx, Steenbok, Springbok and even leopard. Competitors will make their way through the African bush traversing lunar landscapes and over some of the most demanding and challenging sand dunes in the world to finish at the Skeleton Coast in the charming town of Lüderitz. 

 

The field of 214 features a record seventeen (17) former champions including 27-year-old Ryan N. Sandes of South Africa, who has won two previous RacingThePlanet events and 60-year-old Marco Olmo of Italy, a recent champion of many top ultramarathons. 

 

Seven teams will be competing including a four-person team from Israel, a Spanish team, a father/son/daughter team, a Japanese team, an HSBC bank team, an American/Danish team and an all female team.  A record number of women will be competing with 54 on the roster. The largest contingent of competitors hails from the United Kingdom with 58, and a record 63 competitors are coming from Hong Kong.”

It brings home the fact that the race is just around the corner and that each one of the competitors will be experiencing the same sense of anticipation and anxiety as Jo.  For first timers, it will be even more intimidating, as they prepare to face the unknown.  

 

 

It goes without saying that we wish every entrant the best of luck.

 

 

Thank you to the many friends and others who have made donations to Hospice.  I can’t stress enough how much we appreciate your generosity.  If you haven’t yet done so, you can go to this link to add a few dollars to Jo’s fundraising effort.  Please record his name as your reason for donating :

 

http://www.hospiceebop.org.nz/donations/
till next time,
Ann

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