Blogging from Home

Hello from South Carolina; it’s great to be back. The trip home was long, over 24 hrs and my feet were less than cooperative with nasty blisters and swelling to twice their size. But things are returning to normal, the swelling is going down and I can walk around with a sense of normalcy.

It was such an amazing trip; from the incredible rain storms to the mountainous sand dunes. Although my feet ached I felt strong throughout the race. I do wish I’d had more experience running a 50 miler; I would have attacked that day differently with some experience. But overall I’m happy with my results and the overall experience. They say you face your demons while out there and I suppose that’s true. I’m not sure what my demons are; maybe fear of failure but if that’s the case, they have come and gone. I’ve posted a picture of me after my finish. I’m a little (a lot) dirty and skinny but truly happy.

I meet so many wonderful people and became inspired to participate in some additional ultra races (greater than 50 miles). I’m not sure I’ll head out tomorrow and log in a big fat run but I am looking forward to lacing on my shoes soon, running without a back pack and enjoying the beauty of South Carolina.

I am most proud of all my running partners and how y’all were with me every step of the way. I thought a lot about you while there. Whenever I was feeling weak or sorry for myself I would think about you all and my responsibility to those of you who got on board with this effort and supported me. I knew I would do everything I could not to let you down. It helped during those weak moments. So thank you all for standing by me, for supporting Girls on the Run, for logging those miles, for the cards and letters and emails, for the gifts, and send offs, and the great show of love. I am overwhelmed by my good fortune to have you all in my life.

Happy Running.

One Last Blog - April 5, 2009

Back safe and sound in OZZ. The feet r starting to heal but when I look around at everyone it looks like the night of the walking dead with all the hobbeling. We had hot showers, a nice dinner and wine last night and it was glorious. Now we all wait for the final ceramony tonight then its off to the good old USA tomorrow. North Africa has been amazing, beautiful, sad, heartwarming, but I am ready to come home to my family, friends, and DOG Sam. Thanks to you all for following along. Its been an incredible journey that I will never forget. Thanks also to my running partners. Go Tate! You guys rock.
Love to you all and happy running!

Marathon Day - April 3, 2009

Well today was the marathon day. it's also the last day. they called off the short stage due to water crossing, which we had today. It was a great day, blisters and all. I think I came in 15th but that's prelim. I felt wonderful and the terrain is a geologist dream. It was all I could do not to pick up rocks while running. Tonight they are feeding us and giving us WINE! what a treat. We leave tomorrow for town and a hot shower; truly needed, I think I'll take 2 or 3. Thank you all for the emails, support and good wished, they helped so much. I was the envy of all my tent mates with my emails and even shared some. I'm so thrilled with this experience. It was worth it every dollar and blister.
Love to you all.

Newest from the Desert - April 2, 2009

First let me thank you all for the emails. I finialy got them last evening and it was such a treat to read them. I almost cried but of course didn't :) Keep them coming, they are much appreciated.
So today, or rather yesterday was the long stage, 54 miles (or 56 , they can't quite get it straight). I was reallly ready to go and kicked it for the first 36 kilometers. As the dark came and we had to climb a mountain and crawl up 5 story sand dunes. It was fearful and my feet finally gave way to blisters. They cover them toe to heal. It's very odd and beautiful and scary to be in the desert by yourself with only a head light to guide your way. I made it to the last check point and then had the doc trotters work on my feet. I'd only let them have at the heal but MAN it hurt!! I finally made it in around 6:45 this am. Everyone in camp is limping and cringing so at least I'm not alone.
Keep up the good work run partners. Love to you all from the Sahara

March 31, 2009

what a beautiful day but hard. my feet are starting to hurt and that slowed me down a bit. For clarificaiton I was the 2nd american woman yesterday. another girl kicked it and is in third place. I probabably dropped a few places but i'm giving it my all.
It was a cold and windy night in the tent but it could be worse. My tent mates are all good sports and no one snores! It will be an early night tonight, tomorrow is the 50 miler so I probably will not be able to post tomorrow. I'll do it on the rest day. I'm a bit nervous about the 50 miler. The dunes are brutal; they really take it out of you. I need to keep a slow and steady pace. today I was singing out load; most people are french to they don't understan d me any way.
I hope my running partners had a good day today. Hang with me tomorrow. I'll need your help for sure.
Love to you all.

First Day Finished!

Well, i've finished my first day. It was hard but beautiful. The dunes are amazing and very steap!! Tonight will be my first night in a tent. If you want to see what it was like during the night I got stuck out there go to the official website and look at the videos.
I was the first american woman to cross the finish line today, but not sure i can keep that up. I'll try and get another post tomorrow after the run. Thanks for keep up with this. I hope all my running partners had good runs today too.
Love too you all.
Daphne

Hello From Africa - March 26

I"ve finally made it to Morocco. It took 1.5 days with lots of layovers but I'm here. OZZ is beautiful and the hotels looks like a palace. I.ve met many of the other runners and they are all so different but nice and just as excited as me. Today after lunch a few of us went shopping and I puchased a geni lantern. I plan on rubbing it in hopes I get a few wishes out there in the desert.
I hope you are all doing well back in the states. The running starts on Sunday. It.s really here now.
Happy Running!

Last Update From Home

It’s getting close; only one more day before I leave for Morocco. While racing across the Sahara, I’ll be posting daily updates on the blog. The updates will be short and sweet; we are only allowed 7 to 8 lines per computer visit but I’ll try to make them informative and upbeat.

The competitors can also receive emails from March 28th through April 3rd. These are unlimited. At the end of each day, the race officials print out the emails that each participant gets and then delivers them to the racers. I expect to get a wheel barrel of emails daily from my family, friends, and followers. From what I understand it keeps the spirits of the racers uplifted to receive chatty, encouraging messages from home. You can not send any attachments. If you do I will not receive the message at all.

Here is how it works:

1. Go to the following website: http://www.darbaroud.com/
2. The website will come up in French. Go to the top, right-hand corner and click on the US/England flag.
3. You will click on a link that says email – phone – fax, write to competitors.
4. You will be able to click on my name and number which will start the message to me. However, they suggest that you put my surname (Williams) and my race ID number (863) in the subject line as well to ensure I get the message.

I’ll be expecting updates from my running partners to hear how your run went.

I’m grateful to all of you for your positive thoughts. Keep them coming over the next two weeks. I’ll be relying on them.

Wish me luck!
Happy Running

Thoughts for the Desert

“The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed." : Jacqueline Gareau

Getting Close

18 days and counting and it’s a wild scramble to get the final things organized and together. I’ve made list after list. I’ve got lists of my lists. The insanity continues and I suspect it will not end until I cross the finish line on April 4th!

Back in February I went to meet my running partners at Tate’s School of Discovery in Knoxville, TN. The 5th Grade class has agreed to run 26 miles with the last mile being run during a race on the day that corresponds to the first day of my race. They were such a fantastic group of kids; each one wanted to run with the pack. We did about 2+ miles, they asked a bazillion questions; high-fived me and sent me on my way. Thanks guys; you’ll keep me smiling across the desert!

I'm working hard on the final preparations; the biggest challenge is convincing a shoe-cobbler to sew the Velcro to my running shoes. I’ve not had any luck with that yet, but I’m hopefully for today. Any suggestions are welcome. Glue will not do!!

My Company NewFields has generously provided some sponsorship support. What a huge surprise and I’m so grateful for the financial aid. Thank you E&E!

Snowy weather this past week has put a little bit of a damper to running but it’s been a nice break. Just a couple more long runs and then it’s time to pack it up. I’ll finalize the running partners’ spreadsheet and will send it out to all that have agreed to run with me. I so appreciate your support and know it will make me stronger.

Happy Running.

MDS Update

Yes, I’m still out here running my heart out; I’ve just been remiss in my posts.

First let me say a big hello to my two new followers, Jim and Judd!!! Thanks for joining the group; I’ll do my best to entertain you.

Secondly I’d like to thank my Dad for his very generous donations to GOTR. I know they are thankful for the contribution and I’m so proud of you for stepping up. To all the rest who are on the fence about donating please consider how beneficial even a small donation can be. This is such a worthy cause, providing an opportunity to build confidence in young girls through the simple act of running. It’s tax deductable and every dollar counts. The donation link is as follows: http://www.active.com/donate/teamtiara2009/dwillia873

Next let me say that the partner run idea has really taken off and I’m overwhelmed with the enthusiasm from my friends and family. It looks like I’ll have a lot of people out there with me and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your support. One group of runners I wanted to single out is the Tate Elementary School in TN. The entire PE class has signed up to run 26, yes count them, 26 miles in support of this effort. They are running it over time with the final portion to be done during a fun run on March 29th (my start date). I’m heading over there tomorrow to run with them and thank them all for their support!!! I’ll send out the final list to all those who have signed up (it still not to late to sign up; the more the merrier) and every morning when I take off to run across the Sahara I’ll know you are out there with me too.

The training is going well. I feel strong and excited and just a bit nervous as the time draws closer. If I think about it too much it can freak me out just a bit. For instance I just learned that rodents come out at night; yikes, I hate rodents. I hope they stay away from me. Then there are the scorpions.

I’m finalizing the equipment list (thanks so much Steve!) and learning how to eat freeze dried turkey tetrazzini (ugg). A big portion of my run diet will be mini snickers bars. How’s that for a healthy diet!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally I wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to all my friends for the wonderful MDS surprise party last week. You really pulled one over on me! The Team Tiara party gifts were amazing; the water bottles, granola mix (yumm), beautiful cake, MDS trivia game, and lovely Tiara!! You almost made me cry……………almost. I’ll think of you all as I power up my iPods running across the desert, listening to “Running Down a Dream”.

Happy Running.

Snowy Sunday

It was a long but strong week of training. I count Sunday as the last day of my training week and as usual I use that day to run trails at Paris Mountain. The weather yesterday morning was less than inviting to go running with sleet falling at my house. I almost, I ALMOST bagged it……………but told myself to buck up, not be such a baby and go. What a wonderful surprise was in store for me. When I got out of the car, put on my many layers of cloths, secured the pack and set off down the trail it started to snow. It was a soft, peaceful snow that just barely coated the ground and trees. It was so beautiful and a perfect way to end the week. Granted, it’s not optimal training weather for the Sahara Desert, but I SO enjoyed it none the less.

Happy Running.

Link to the Partner Run Spreadsheet

I've shared a document with you called "partner run":http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=ph3Ns3Sja602ABV_qT_DBPw&inv=ddwilliams@newfields.com&t=6304838055474900523&guest

Sahara Running Partners

You have all been such great supporters of my upcoming effort to run across the Sahara Desert. I have a favor to ask. It wont cost you a dime; just a little time.

Here is what I propose; I want to know that you are out there thinking about me and wishing me luck and strength through a rather crazy time. So I thought it would be helpful to know that you too are out there running/hiking/walking with me. The idea is that you, should you agree to participate, sign up to run/hike/walk a few of those miles with me. So while I’m out there running 26 miles on Day 6, I know that Kathy is running 6 of them with me, and my Mom is hiking 4 of them with me, and Robin and her cross country team are doing 5 miles with me, etc….

The objective is that each mile I run, I have someone running/hiking/walking with me. It makes me accountable to you when I start feeling sorry for myself and allows me to know that I’m not alone out there. I’ve posted the spreadsheet on the blog, you can fill in the miles you are signing up to run, and then once you’ve run them; add a comment telling me how great it was and I’ll do the same. The goal is to get 155 partner miles.

The goal is to remove the negative (red) by posting your forecasted miles. I’ve already got 18 miles accounted for. You guys are the best!

Happy Running/Hiking/Walking

2009 Progress Update 1

Happy New Year everyone!! I hope you enjoyed the holiday season. I certainly did but to be honest, I’m glad to be back to normal. All that merry-making distracts from the training goal. Speaking of, we are down to less than three months before MDS kick-off. Yikes!

Training has actually been going really well. I’m keeping up the routine of long runs on Saturday (did 18 last Sat, will go for 20 this Sat), then running trails with the pack on Sunday (7 to 10 miles). The rest of the week is typically 7-10 mile days with some gym time sprinkled in there. I feel good; strong, and encouraged.

Had a good friend write an article about me in the Greenville News a few weeks back. It was great press for GOTR, which is the point. I have received a few random phone calls in response to the article, so word to those peeps calling at crazy hours; keep the creep to yourself please.

I’m beginning to work on the equipment list; a daunting task I must say. But the forum of others participating is wildly helpful. I’ve not quite figured out how I’m going to get my snakebite syringe through airport security yet, but I’m working on that.

Thanks to Megan for the wonderful donation to GOTR and looking forward to working with you!!!!

Finally, thanks to all my friends and family who continue to support me and my efforts for this event. I know most of you think I’m crazy but you are trying desperately to keep that sentiment to yourself and I appreciate it.

Happy Running.