As I near my final few long training sessions in preparation for the Atacama Crossing I think back on the time when I had registered for the Marathon des Sables(MDS) thinking that it would be a once in a lifetime effort at an ultra marathon and here I am preparing to start in to my 3rd ultra!! MDS 2007, Sahara Egypt 2008 and now Atacama Crossing 2011.

The course for the Atacama Crossing 2011 crosses the stunning Atacama Desert that is more than 15 million years old and known as the driest place on Earth (fifty times more arid than Death Valley in California). In some places along the course, there has never been a single drop of rain recorded. The Atacama Desert also has the most lunar-like landscape on Earth and is frequently used by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to test it's Mars rover vehicles. The entire race is held at least 1.6 kilometers/ 1 mile above sea level and covers the distance required to make a horizontal crossing of the country of Chile (250 kilometers/ 150 miles)

The race is made up of 6 stages commencing on Sunday 6th March (just three weeks from today !!)
Stage 1  35.2km/ 21.9 miles   Stage 2   41.8km/ 26.0 miles  
Stage 3  40.0km  24.9 miles   Stage 4  42.8km  26.6 miles  
Stage 5  73.6km / 45.7 miles   Stage 6 16.0km / 9.9 miles

For my last four long training sessions (Saturdays & Sundays) I have done back to back long miles. This weekend I did 20 miles yesterday and today. There is no way you can prepare yourself for the intense heat of the desert when you train during our winter here but I tend to over dress myself so that I am uncomfortably warm all the time during weekend training. I have also worn the tops I will be using and the shoes, socks and the same bag that I have used for the other two ultras. I have been training carrying 8kg weight.

Competitors are required to carry all the mandatory equipment, and as I look at it now strewn in a heap on my living room floor I think 'how on earth is all that going to fit in to my backpack' but from past experience and carefully packing and folding everything I know that I will get it all in (eventually). In the Sahara Egypt on 'check in day' where they (Racing the Planet personnell) check that you have everything that is required my bag weighed 9.5kg which I was very pleased with and if I ended up with that weight this time I would be very happy.