Stage Three at MDS

George packing up in the morning before the start.

Kira, George and Leigh, ready to tackle Stage 3. Love the Flip Flops Kira!

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.
Henry Ford

Stage three went rather smoothly. I have to say that I thought this may have been my best day. The mileage was about 24 miles 40,5 Km to be exact. I do remember that we got off course just for a bit and ended up going around some dunes while others went over them. Kira started out this day in flip flops. She was having trouble with her gaiters and did not get serious until the long stage where she cranked it and had an awesome finish.

just when we thought the dunes were over...

starting up the gorge

We had to climb up a steep gorge and George was afraid to point this out to me as we got closer. I loved the climb and the view from the top was incredible. Looking down where I had just climbed up was hard to believe. I was able to hip hop my way up the gorge with little trouble. Going down the other side was a trip too.

Kira and Greg climbing up the gorge.

at the top looking back

One thing that I will never forget from this stage was the orange sand dunes as we crossed
them in the heat of the afternoon. It was a place of surreal beauty and I heard this over and over again from many.

if you think this was easy, you are wrong!

George getting close to the top! what a climb!

thankfully, what goes up...
gets to come back down!

one of the most memorable spots of the whole 152 miles. cresting the dunes!

a child asking for candy.

As we got closer to bivouac 4 we came upon this grave yard. You can see the jagged rocks that have been used for headstones. Many runners missed this as they did not know what it was.

grave yard

someone lives here.

We lost Georgia on this stage. She was overcome by the exptreme heat and the severe swelling of her feet. The heat really did a number on her since she came from Alaska. It would also be the last stage for our youngest runner Andrew who is only 21. The first three stages proved to be too much and he walked away with some great insights into what it takes to be an ultra runner. He has the desire to continue on and he has learned lessons that many do not learn until they are well into their 30’s and 40’s.

This would be a hard night for all of us in camp. We had a windstorm kick up about 1am. Many of the tents came down during the night including ours. If some were lucky enough to finally drift off to sleep, they would awake in the morning to find their tent lying on top of them.

By this time, sleeping on the ground was getting much better, but not any easier. I was thankful for the food that I did have although I was never quite satisfied. And it was cold during the early morning hours but I did enjoy the comfort and protection of my sleeping bag.

Stage Four would prove to be horrendous to me mentally as with many other runners, so stay tuned for this exciting stage…