Links to use

Ok, these are links you'll need to follow the race:

http://www.abudhabi-adventure.com/ - event website, with sat tracking
http://www.checkpointzero.com/ - race reporting [I'll meet Paul (aka Yak), the editor for the first time in person - and I've written for him many times over the last 5 years!]
http://www.sleepmonsters.com/ - race reporting

And, of course, we'll post content and images here during the race.

Passport woes solved

Alex's temporary passport came through today; and the good news is that his lost passport is now found. It was handed in to a police station in Portugal and Alex is having it couriered home. So, we're waiting for the original to arrive and have the temporary passport in case it doesn't get back in time. Phew!

FoodState gives us a boost

After the Rogaine, in early Nov, Christo, Francois and I are sitting down chatting and eating. Mark, my friend, comes up to say hi, meet the team and ask how things are going for Abu Dhabi. We chat a while and then he goes off to join his partner Debbie, one of my teammates in our all-girls Triumph AR team.

I then tell relate who Mark is to the guys (partner to Debbie, did the car race with us on bikes etc) and I add, "He's the FoodState guy".

"Ohhh... that Blitz stuff," says Francois. He attended some of the Blitz MTB events, organised by Uge Events, out at Pelindaba. Blitz sponsors these fun events.

"They make that recovery stuff too," says Christo.

"Reignite!" I contribute.

"That stuff is good!" adds Francois. It's the glycogen, amino acids and proteins (glutamine, PeptoPro and whey protein concentrate) and FoodState vitamins and minerals that give Reignite its kick.

Indeed, SPN is part of the FoodState supplement company - and these supplements are included in the SPN products, which are made for sports people.

There are five products in their range:

• Blitz, the carbohydrate drink (powder, in a sachet; add water)
• Blaze, the carbohydrate gel
• Reignite, the recovery formula (powder, add to water)
• Flame, a meal replacement formula; and
• Stoke, a carbo loading gel

My personal favourite is Blitz - it is great tasting too without being too sweet.

Thanks to Mark and FoodState, we've got Blitz, Blaze and Reignite for Abu Dhabi. We'll keep fueled during each stage with Blitz and Blaze and the Reignite is really going to help get our bodies ready for the next day. Thank you!

Sand gaiters - done!

Yay! This afternoon I finished sewing the gaiters for our team. Gaiters are probably the most crucial pieces of equipment that we're taking to the race. They're for the desert trekking stage - to keep the sand out of our shoes.

In thinking back to last year... we used mini gaiters last year, which stopped sand coming into the top of our shoes but did nothing to stop the flood of sand coming in through the mesh on the front. I cannot begin to describe how fine that desert sand is; it infiltrates and just does not stop. In fact, it pushes your toes out of the way so that within an hour you're walking with scrunched toes and you just have to stop to shake the sand from your shoes and socks. And each time you stop it probably costs you 10 minutes.

I don't know how many times we stopped last year but saying that we lost two hours is a conservative estimate... probably a lot more. With gaiters alone we should be able to improve our efficiency on this trekking section.

These new icy blue lycra gaiters in this picture are the Rolls Royce version of the sand gaiters I made for the Namib Desert Challenge, which I ran in the Soussousvlei area in February this year. I stitched them on to my shoes and purposefully dragged my feet through the fine dune sand. Limited infiltration. This new design is a half-leg variation because when you go down dunes the sand easily comes up mid-calf. I have also included a velcro strip on the front for access to laces.

The gaiters have been my biggest stress to get them done; I spent the whole weekend at it and finished the four pairs off today. Yay!

*I'm wearing one of the guy's gaiters - they're a bit longer than mine, thus the 'crinkle'

Adventure World Magazine interview

How exciting! We're featured in an interview on Adventure World Magazine Online.

AWM is an electronic magazine, covering all kinds of adventure sport and adventure racing from around the world. They also run various features, interviews and releases on their website. Great resource.

Racing with diabetes

Alex is an insulin-dependant diabetic; and this is a condition that gives less trouble within a race environment than you’d expect.


“It's all about managing my insulin vs. carbohydrate intake vs. Exercise,” says Alex. “Exercise and insulin push my blood sugar down, eating carbs pushes it up.”

He explains that the short term problem is low blood sugar. “It’s like 'bonking'. I'm pretty good at preventing it. If it happens I just eat something sugary, go slower for bit, feel flat - and then after 10-15 minutes, I'm back. This can be avoided with steady eating. It rarely happens to me in races.”

Alex has briefed our team on what to do in an emergency situation. If his blood sugar level gets crucially low he could slip into a coma. “I’ve never come close to that, but we should be aware,” he explains. Simple sugars, like Coke and sweets work best to deal with low blood sugar; and for emergencies he carries a glucagon kit. Glucagon is the hormone that facilitates the release of sugar into the blood from the liver. “You’ll have to inject it into my butt,” he adds.

What about high blood sugar? “It isn’t a big problem in the short term. When I'm 60 my kidneys and eyes might not work too well, but that’s only if I have long periods (like weeks and months) of high blood sugar.”

Within the sporting environment diabetes can be easily managed and over the last few years, as he has moved into longer distance events, Alex has learned to manage his blood sugar and to recognise the signs of low blood sugar early. Indeed, racing is actually a diabetic treat. “I generally avoid sweet stuff and junk food because of my diabetes, so I enjoy opportunities to eat sweet things. After the race I'd really like a donut.”

Alex home and passport application is in

Alex came home safely during Wednesday and he shot off to Home Affairs. He has submitted his paperwork for a temp passport, which should be ready Wednesday next week. We do have a backup Plan B (another mechanism for getting a passport through Home Affairs quick-quick) and a Plan C, another team applicant on standby. I hope we won't need either!