22-May-2012 12:08:16 PM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]

Thank you all so much for supporting me during the race. Every comment was hugely welcome. And young miss Chelsea, what a star you are to have earned yourself a scholarship. Well done girl, I could see you were going to go somewhere. You must be very proud of yourself. I'm glad that you guys at Doon Doon enjoyed following the race, it makes me very happy that I didn't let you down and managed to get the bling this time! It is a beautiful heavy pewter medal. But you know the reward really is in the journey, and what a journey it was. Jordan is a very very beautiful place, the desert is so vast, silent and serene, I feel very lucky to have experienced it so fully. Arriving at the he finish line in front of the Treasury in Petra brought me to tears, I was overwhelmed by so many emotions. I will mention a couple of moments from the race that I know will stay with me forever. One day we entered the shade of a deep canyon having been running under the sun for hours in the silence. And there in the cool of the shade you could here little bird calls echoing off the stone like music, magic. On the Long Stage after a very exhausting hike out of a rocky valley where the sun had been cooking us, by the side of the trail were a group of Bedouin men who beckoned us over and offered us the sweetest tea imaginable. It was a lifesaver. And the sandstorm, blasting through camp into our faces and anything else we had. we felt the full force of nature, and our relative insignificance. What a week. Last of all thank you to my wonderful tent mates, Carolyn in the medical tent who worked wonders on my feet, and Mary for having the vision to organise these events. Happy ending!