The race is now over and I basically survived intact by trusting the only thing you can really count on – yourself. The only issues I really had were some things that required a bit of technology… And they failed me.

Camera…
The 3 batteries I brought for my brand new camera all quickly died so I only ended up with maybe 5 or 10% of the images I would have normally taken. The camera ended up being dead weight for most of the race. Maybe on the bright side, it forced me to focus on the race and truly “live in the moment”.

Music…
Same thing, batteries died on my ipod earlier than expected so ended up conserving and using it only when things could have gone to a “bad place”. But it did definetly keep me in my happy place when it was used.

Stove…
I was warned (by Frank my trainer) not to take this but I thought I was so dependent on my morning Starbucks, that I couldn’t live without it. Lighting the stove in the morning was a hassle, and I basically got to the point where I couldn’t be bothered to unpack it. Yes the stove was only 11 grams, but the pot(58g) and fuel(80g) all became more dead weight and probably cost me a placing or two … NOT that I really cared!

Email sent to competitors…
Normally I should have recieved emails nightly, like my tent mates, but for some reason I only recieved them once late in the day of the rest day (just before the marathon stage) but I did get a huge number that one day. Unfortunately I’m sure I missed a few that may have been sent after that. A big Thank You to all that took the time to email or follow me during the race.

Postings…
As I predicted, I was unable to post to my site during the race. I did sent emails to my sister and Mo that were forwarded to some people, but I will post them to the site now if anyone missed them. Since I was limited in the emails I sent, I may now add some post race comments or observations to these reports as well.

I now understand why the Inuit will trust their sled dogs over a snowmobile or Berbers trust their camels over a Land Rover.