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

The sun dipped below the craters edge to the west just as we reached the CP, and as Amy greeted us with a warm smile and a “ Well done guy’s”, we collapsed onto her sleeping bag and chatted about the stage.
Food was quickly prepared and socks changed, warm clothes were donned against the cold breeze that was hitting this exposed elevated spot, and the slimmest of new crescent moons peaked over the rim of the crater as we watched another 4x4 appear on the far rim.
The Radio sparked up, and Jayne came over loud and clear saying she would be with us in 15 mins.
Joakim and I swore almost in unison “Bollocks” that had taken us almost 2 hours to cover. Then we just laughed. Namibian miles are definitely longer than British ones. Jayne arrived, and Amy sped off in the 4x4 towards CP4.

I had taken additional painkillers, and as we left Jayne I remember telling Joakim that I felt I was in heaven, for the first time the pain had subsided. I still couldn’t urinate, and my thighs were feeling like lead, but I was determined the next 35 miles were going to be better than the last. As we left the rim of the crater I picked up pace, and Joakim agreed that it would be best to stick with our own pace, so slowly the gap opened, and I took advantage of the pain free window to lengthen my stride.

Darkness was now well and truly upon us and I adjusted my head torch to leave an arc of darkness extending to 2 meters in front of me so as not to affect my night vision too much. Then I just pushed on, there is no other way to describe it, when you are out on your own it becomes hard to sustain, but you just settle into your stride and keep going. I started counting strides and checking the pace on the Garmin. Just under 5 miles per hour, and then I kicked the first rock with the ball of my foot and I felt the skin tear. I winced and hopped around for a bit cursing.
continued below...