UPDATE: It is now May 22nd and the race is not over yet but I am sitting in an internet cafe in Keetmanshoop, Namibia, having withdrawn. I am embarrassed and apologetic to have to admit this, but although I knew this was meant to be a challenge, this race turned out to be totally preposterous!  Approx 20-25% of competitors have now withdrawn, the penultimate stage had to be cut from 28km to 20km because over half the competitors had to rough camp in the desert on the long stage and many were on IV drips because of dehydration - anyone following the website will have realised what the competitors have been put through. I withdrew knowing that given the "pace" (or lack of it) that I was setting (largely because of the incredibly rough ground), I was probably going to take 30 hrs + to complete the 100km section that we were notified of 2 days before the start of the race! (it was previously a more "manageable" 77km).  Not only that, but the 100km day STARTED with a 2am wake up call, a 4am departure and a 450km bus ride. I knew I simply could not contemplate starting out on a stage that I actually considered dangerous. I will email everyone about this but THANK YOU for your support. I did visit SOS in Windhoek where I met a delightful group of people. I hope that my lack of success doesn't diminish the fact that I did TRY and that in the process all of us together raised an excellent amount of money for a great cause.

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In May 2009 I will be participating in RacingThePlanet: Namibia. This is a 7 day, 250km race in southern Namibia encompassing the Fish River Canyon. The course will begin around Keetmanshoop, in a desert region across one of the toughest trails in southern Africa. We then traverse mountain ranges and enter the Wegdraai Valley, passing through slot canyons and over the Hunsberg Mountain Range into the Arimas Valley. Finally we will cross the Rekvlakte sand flats ending in the town of Luderitz, but not before facing the Skeleton Coast and 30 meter high sand dunes.  In addition to covering this difficult ground all competitors have to carry all their own food and equipment for the entire period.

In preparation for this I am walking the UK's North Downs Way (160km) and South Downs Way (210km) and a lot of Hong Kong's trails so by mid May at the end of the race, my legs will have carried me about 1000km in 3 months!

I confess I won't be breaking any time records - my aim is to complete rather than compete! However, given that I really do think this is quite a challenge, I would like to get people to join me in making a contribution to an excellent charity which I already support - SOS Children's Villages. I already sponsor two children through SOS, one of whom is in Windhoek, Namibia and it would be great to have something to show for it all at the end of what will be a gruelling experience! See www.4deserts.com for more info on the race.

Many thanks for your support!

Fiona