Mission Complete!

Mission completed!! 21km in 3hrs 30mins, not bad for a first go.. nevermind the 30 degree heat and dusty sand of the desert!! Photos and blog updates to follow, I'm recovering from the journey - flights through Algeria are somewhat of a marathon in themselves, nobody is in a hurry in Air Algerie - and catching up with many emails, whilst trying to overcome withdrawal symptoms for the Saharawi hospitality, the lazy hot afternoons hanging out in our family's khyma (tent) and the sugary Saharawi tea. The whole trip was an experience that I will never forget and the Saharawis are nothing short of inspirational. The need to raise awareness of their situation is pressing, they need more than anything for their story to be known across the world. Severe human rights abuses are being tacitly condoned by the EU and the international community in general and we are none the wiser - by voting for our governments we are party to this abuse. It is our duty to find out more about what we are implicitly a part of... watch this space.

We're off!!

Thank you everyone for the good luck wishes and generous donations, the time has come, the backpack is packed, the running shoes are in and we're off!! Tomorrow we'll be at the refugee camps in Algeria with the Saharawi. See you all when we get back for some feedback on where your money has gone and lots of pics, insh'allah!! Think of us on the 23rd, we'll be sweating our way around the desert in the Sahara Marathon!!

Nashoofkom fi el-sahara bukra.

T-7 days!!

Thank you Danielle for the Facebook plug, I feel I had better scribble an update for potential new readers/followers!! Time has flown by and I've been struggling to fit the gym in around course reading, classes and a new job doing some research at uni, and suddenly here we are at 7 days to go before we head off to the camps! I showed a BBC documentary on the historical and political background to the situation in Western Sahara to my MA class on Wednesday and fished out a few pics from the internet from last year's marathon to give them an idea of where we'll be next week - it was a great success and resulted in lots of questions and interest in the cause. We're aiming for another film screening next week here at Sussex and possibly a fundraising night at one of the campus bars if we can get ourselves organized in time. Looking forward to meeting the rest of the gang at our pre-departure gathering at Danielle's tonight!

The Algerian Consulate

Nina has a shiny Algerian visa in her passport - oh yes, Sahara here we come! The two cheery guys at the Algerian consulate took one look at me armed with my letter from the Polisario and did some hand motions somewhat akin to running and laughed, before asking how my training was going and ernestly warning me to drin...k lots of water and take sunscreen. Thank you for your kind concern messieurs consulate clerks.

New Year Novelties at the Gym

After an extremely snowy Christmas hiatus, filled to bursting with copious amounts of delicious mummy food and daddy red wine, the ice is finally thawing, the essays are aaaalmost done, and the focus is returning to Saharan exploits. I joined the gym this morning. Yes, for the first time in my life I spent 15 mins on a "cross training" machine - now I know what one is. I even know that I burned exactly 120 calories in the process and watched Countdown on the personal TV screen as I flailed about attempting to look like I knew what I was doing. Anyway, all is not lost, I am booked into a personal training session, all included in my shiny gold membership - John the friendly instructor looked amused but encouraging when I told him of my plans to run a half marathon in less than 2 months. He has faith. Lets hope he's right. Off to negotiate the Algerian consulate on Thursday for the visa - we're on our way!

Hove metamorphoses into the Arctic

Trainers have been put on hold as Brighton and Hove seafront has temporarily metamorphosed into the Arctic and the promenade is currently an ice-rink... literally. The minor factor of a couple of 5000-word essays due in in a few weeks also weighing in on the brain and time schedule. Go-faster-stripes will be back in force in 2010, meanwhile the hiking boots will be on and mother will have me out tramping the damp hills of Argyll for some endurance training I'm sure. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Early morning madness in Hove

There were two people SWIMMING this morning (in the English Channel, in nothing but a little pair of swimming trunks, mid-December on a Sunday morning at 9am) as I did my little spin along the seafront.. Bonkers... That is far more bonkers than running in the desert if you ask me! Made me feel better anyway.

Yesterday there was a Santa convention on the seafront.. yep, I'm totally serious.. around 100 red and white rotund figures converged on the Hove Lawns in front of Palmeira Square. Some could be seen jogging along the promenade fluffy beards a-flowing, another was to be seen removing his Santa suit on the corner of my street and hopping on board a vespa, several more were spotted marching along the main road towards Brighton.. the bizarre world of Brighton and Hove...