Thursday: Stage 5 - 72km
The big day. Finally, after four days the weather cleared. As we lined up on the start line there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I can't tell you how much the sun lifted my spirit, my knees were in a pretty bad way at this point but it didn't matter!
Stage 5: Looking back at the past four days
The first part of the stage was dropping into another lava field, scrambling over these uneven surfaces had definitely begun to take its toll on my joints. Constantly having to readjust my feet for balance over boulders and loose stones was good fun but incredibly tiring.
After 16km the scenery changed dramatically as the course slid into what is known as 'little Sahara', aptly named due to the presence of mini sand-dunes. This hidden valley was such a pleasure, having been tumbling over ash and rock for the past four days. In fact, the dark and barren landscape which was beautiful in its own right was relatively devoid of colour (apart from different shades of grey/black and the occasional red). This had induced me to dream in wonderful technicolour, making up for the absence of colour in real life. I had read about his happening to arctic explorers, experiencing the same colourful dreams in an environment which could only offer white (which isn't really a colour anyway is it?). Inside this hidden valley there was a quiet mountain stream flowing and one could be forgiven in forgetting that they were in Iceland at all.
Dropping into 'little sahara'
Alas this moment was soon over and I re-emerged back onto the rocky plains, passing through the first checkpoint to restock on water before continuing. Flags now pointed the way to Dettifoss, the World's second most powerful waterfall. From a checkpoint at 41km the next two hours seemed to go on for ever. The theme of rocky ash plains and lava flows continued, until I began to see water vapour rising up on the horizon. This was dettifoss. Upon running up rise after rise, the waterfall wasn't getting any closer. This was the most difficult part of the race for me so far. I knew that there was a checkpoint at 60km next to the waterfall and once I had made it there, then I would be on the home straight. I tried not to get ahead of myself and instead focussed on reaching each flag in front of me, and not thinking about the finish. After what felt like hours (it had indeed taken several hours) I emerged from the rocks next to the waterfall, apparantly to the surprise of a gaggle of tourists who looked incredibly awe struck upon seeing this gaunt, wild-eyed mountain man bursting out of the wilderness in front of them. In my daze I thought it would only be appropriate to put on a show for these apparent fans, and proceeded to power through towards the checkpoint at a much higher pace than I had been travelling for the previous 7 hours. This although incredibly foolish, did improve my mood a bit and I arrived at the final checkpoint for my last H20 re-fill in good spirits.
Dettifoss (not my picture)
With only 12km to go I ramped up the pace again and pounded towards the finish, which was up on some moorland. As the sun set and I had been running for 8 hours, the landscape in front of me began to shine and ooze colour. I had heard of hallucinations occurring in these long races, and I think that a mild version of this sort came over me. The previously bland colours of the dirt track shouted Orange and green, while the skin of my hands appeared to glow bright pink. This dream-like state is like nothing I had ever felt. A wonderful euphoric episode. Mike, one of the course team had told me of hallucinations that he experienced while on many ultras in the past. He mentioned that while racing in Antarctica, after many hours on his feet and stuck in a blizzard he came upon a tent. Inside the tent was another competitor who was inviting him inside to get warm and have some hot chocolate. He was about to jump inside when he noticed that there were no footprints or evidence of activity around the tent. It was a hallucination. If he had been any more tired he could well have just crawled into the snow thinking it was a sleeping bag and frozen to death. I don't think I hallucinated but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.
What I saw
In reality...
My legs had been running on empty for hours but they just about managed to get me to the line, in just over 8 and a half hours. After sitting down in the course vehicle before being carted to the campsite, my legs refused to move. Pain would shoot up and down from both my knees whenever they were bent and I could feel that the one blister that had arisen a few days before had worsened. The brain does a good job of blanking out pain when it's not necessary. I slept well that night, regardless of how rocky the surface was.
Friday: Rest day
Friday was a rest day. This was because in these multi-day races, some competitors can take up to two days to finish the long stage. Jing, a Canadian man of Chinese origin had been walking the whole race. He finished the long stage in over 16 hours. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to walk the race. He mentioned that he did get quite depressed at the start of the race, but such was his determination that he just put it to one side and continued to walk. He is an incredible man with a fantastic story, and a true inspiration to everyone taking part in the event.
Getting slowly boiled. Can't understand how it's good for you...
We camped next to some natural hot springs, which we were permitted to wallow in to soothe any sore muscles. The water was full of minerals and in particular silica, giving it a soapy feel on the skin. I didn't enjoy the baths as much as most of the people who were floating around in them. I felt it similar to being a lobster on the boil. Still the day of rest was much needed. Having finished the long stage, everyone was happy and looking forward to the stage 6, the 25km 'sprint' finish on saturday.
Saturday: Stage 6 - 25km
The final stage of the race led us through steaming mud pools, up and round steep volcanoes before looping around to finish at the start line. It was an incredibly quick race. Since it was the final stage I wanted to exhaust any remaining reserves that I had left. Once again I finished third in behind Mohamed and Julen, but this time only by two minutes. Since I had finished every stage behind these two, I had managed to come in third in the overall standings. Something which I had not expected or planned to do at all, my main target before the race being to finish the race with or without injury!
Trying not to step in boiling mud. My least favourite kind of mud.
Following finishing, we were treated to our first normal meal in over a week. Although my ration packs and freeze-dried foods weren't that bad at all, it was a real pleasure to taste some freshly prepared food and veg.
I am so happy to have finished this race, something which is topped only by the fact that we have managed to raise over £3500 for the charity KIbera Mpira Mtanni in Nairobi. It was a real privilege to travel to Iceland and take part in such a fantastic event, something that many people around the world do not have the means to do.
The first time a Kenyan flag has been flown in Iceland?
I have to say one final thank you to everyone who has been following, supporting and donating over the past few months. Your generosity has been amazing and I can't find the words to say how grateful I am!
To anyone who has been stirred to donate the page is still live at www.justgiving.com/fireandicekibera and any final donations are of course welcomed!
I hope that this blog has been enjoyable and not too difficult to read, as at times I understand that it has been plagued with atrocious grammar and questionable english! That aside, it has been a great way for me to share some of my experiences over the past few months so thank you for bearing with me!
"If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried!" - Steven Wright
Thanks for the report and well done!
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