Dream... Struggle... Victory .... cont

And so it was for me on 7th April as I lined up in Namibia with eight other (nutters!) hardy competitors for the first ever Namibian 24hr 120km Extreme Ultra Marathon organized by Across The Divide Expeditions.

Despite my efforts to engage the other competitors by email in a bit of pre-race banter in the UK, I had only succeeded in making contact with Joakim Jonsson, a Swede living in London, and who appeared to be very focused and determined in his efforts to succeed. I admired his excellent command of the English language, and immediately warmed to his sense of humour by email and telephone prior to meeting in person for a pre-flight beer at Gatwick.
Ken Dune was the second competitor who I had bantered with; Ken was based in limerick and along with Alan another Irishman, they were both hoteliers and accomplished marathon runners with many of the big city marathons under their belts, and equal quick wits and senses of humour.
I knew very little of the others, I thought to myself, they are either all eyeballs out competitive, or shy, either way that was going to be a bundle of fun for a week in the desert… I couldn’t have been more wrong, what a great bunch of guy’s. There was Chris and Will from London, two really likeable lads in their mid twenties, full of life and adventure.
Then there was Tom, a wild eyed Irishman and mad as a box of frogs, but I knew he was serious and I was quickly in awe of his running accomplishments, and eager to learn anything he cared to share with me.
Finally there was Bill and Pete, who both worked for the Plymouth Herald. Bill came across immediately as a sensible type, with an easy smile and an eye for detail which fitted his role as Editor of the Herald. Pete the last member of the group was Bill’s training buddy and photographic editor for the paper. Pete wasn’t born, I think he was quarried from some granite on Dartmoor, at 56 he still had the physique and there was no doubt in my mind that mentally he was as tough as when he was serving in the Marines and I knew that whatever happened these two were finishing the event, even if that meant Pete had to carry Bill!

So within minutes the meeting at Gatwick saw Steve the race director from ADT and Amy the expedition doctor, shepherding us into a group and then the banter started, laughs were soon flowing one after another, as we settled into our group dynamic. It was going to be a great trip. Steve was calm and collected, and very much in control, and Amy was quietly sizing us all up looking for signs of trouble, or potential problems, she would find very few of either with this bunch.

Namibia is a vast country, and apart from the polar regions, it must be one of the most sparsely populated regions on earth. Home to the Oldest desert on earth, of endless blue sky, magnificent views and warm sincere friendly people, and very very hot conditions.
We were met at Windhoek airport by the bus that was to ship us 6 hrs to the start camp and by our white Namibian expedition guide Kobus Alberts. Kobus was going to lead us on a familiarization walk the following day to help us acclimatize and give us the do’s and don’ts of the local environment we were to run through.

We reached the camp, and debussed rapidly, keen to stretch our legs, grab a tent and settle into our new home for the next two nights. It was here that we met Faan.
Faan was the Boss, a quiet Namibian ex-special forces officer who now leads extended expeditions and Safaris into areas of Namibia that are largely uncharted.
I watched as he cast his eye over the camp, and quietly instructed his team, who made adjustments immediately to the setup. He had a charisma that made you want to respect him even though you didn’t quite know why, he just epitomised for me, a man of great depth, of few words, and an economy of actions that let you know he was always in control of his environment. He made you feel at ease immediately.
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