He's done it!!

I am so pleased to report that Ian has crossed the finish line in 229th place in a total time of 38h 16m and 52s. Would you believe he finished today before the webcam came on so we were denied seeing the moment. I have just spoken to Him in the hotel in Morocco and he sounds great. 'I feel fine, it dosnt feel like I've done anything today'. The doctors have done a great job on his feet so he 'only has a couple of blisters'. I was relieved to hear he has just had dinner (well two dinners to be exact) and he was heading off to the bar............ I'm sure everyone will join me in saying well done, what an amazing, awe inspiring achievement. We are so proud of you. X X X Michelle.

I crossed the line with nothing left, though did make a feeble attempt at a sprint finish - must have looked like a pensioner running for the bus!

The last stage was underestimated by many, the first 6k were a steady jog along a nice sold wadi, however the final 10k was straight across some of the biggest dunes in Morocco.  They seemed to go on forever, and Adam, who had stripped to his 'hot pants' regretted it after over two hours with no sun lotion on his shoulders!

I finally crossed the line with a bit of a wobbly chin as I thought about looking down the webcam at Michelle and Jess, but soon toughened up when the packed lunches and bus tickets were being handed out.  Brilliant system where you got a ticket for the next available coach, so you had an hour at the finish line to cool down and chat to runners that had finished somewhere near you.

Utter relief and pride came over me, whilst the aches, pains and lactic acid start to kick in.  The bus journey back to the hotel was quiet, as most people were asleep.  It was a time for me to reflect and add up my calorie count for the week - 26,000 expended during the race stages, not including recovery.