Hi all! It has already been a couple of weeks ago that I run through the finishline of the Atacama Crossing 2009 in the small village of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. I was totally exhausted and dirty but incredibly happy and satisfied. It had been 6 days of hiking fast, 250 km through extremely difficult terrain, lots of ups and downs through the sand dunes, passing river crossings, swamps, hours of vast sand plains, lots of rocky mountains and the infamous saltflats. Instead of my planned running I had been hiking, running was just too hard in this weather, every day it was between 35 and 40 degrees Celcius! My long day of 75 km appeared to be one of the most beautiful days in my life, amazing what your body can do, just kept on going!! Unfortunately I didn't loose the 5 kilos that someone had predicted, was very happy with the type and amounts of food that I had been carrying in my backpack. During the check before the start my backpack weighted 9.1 kilos, at the last day probably around 4 kilos. What made the experience even more unforgettable, was meeting the 85 people from all around the world who ran with me. Especially the 8 racers who I shared the tent with every night, I really got to know really well and sure we will remain friends for a long time. Although I never forgot I was in a race (I didn't want to stay long at a checkpoint because I wanted to stay ahead of a couple of people who were close to me in the rankings), the atmosphere was always amicable and friendly. The fact that I have finished 4th of the women and won an age group trophy, is like icing on a cake.. If you want to see more pictures and some videos, please check my page on facebook. For some videos you can also go to youtube (tags: atacama crossing 2009, Astrid Valks).. I raised in total £4100 for the SOS Childrens villages in Chile!!! Many many thanks again for all who contributed! I have understood that the money will be used to build a new water system in the villages which is great! Now up to my next challenge!!! If you know anything exciting, please let me know!... preferably not too close to home and not too cold! x Astrid