Articles

Last year a dear friend died quite suddenly. Ellen was only 29 when she was diagnosed with Leukaemia; she died 13 days later leaving behind her 4 month old son and her fiancé. As well as being an amazing person Ellen was also committed to helping others and was a great supporter of the Tabitha Foundation.

Tabitha works with the poorest of the poor in Cambodia to help them build a better life. At any one time Tabitha is assisting over 33,000 families to save their way out of desperate poverty. Some of the programs include; House building, Community and Family water wells, and the sale of Cottage Industry goods around the world. I will be covering all expenses so donations will go directly to the Tabitha Foundation.

The aim is to raise enough to have a specific project named in Ellen’s memory, ideally a school as Ellen was a teacher in Singapore, whom took kids to Cambodia on house building projects.

To help Paul with this cause visit www.justgiving.com/gobimarch2011

Not Just a Walk in the Park: Final Preparation:

This is my last article before the big race. Gobi March 2011 is in less than a month away so it’s all really about that final preparation now.

Having spent a lot of time trialling different types of energy food, I have now chosen and ordered what I am taking ensuring that it is as light as possible but still containing enough calories to get me through each day. Although there are many brands out there you do really have to try them during training to see what your body and taste buds can tolerate. I have selected a brand called “Expedition Foods” with wonderful meal options such as custard and mixed berries, porridge with sultanas, custard with apple and that’s just for breakfast. In addition to the dried food packs, which you mix with water I am also taking some dried fruits and mixed bags of nuts. For electrolyte replacement I am taking an endurance fuel in the form of a powder, which is then mixed with water.

So that’s the fuel out of the way, next is the kit itself. My wife Clare has been excellent in this, reminding me to buy the very best kit I can afford to ensure it doesn’t hinder me and I have the best race possible. I have chosen “Salomon” trail shoes, which have been excellent in training. My rucksack and sleeping mat were ordered directly from the race organisers shop in Hong Kong. I have adapted the rucksack so that it doesn’t move around causing friction burns. My clothing is as important as the rest of my kit so having tried different options I plan to run with compression shorts on during the day, with a very thin almost seemless t-shirt and of course a light coloured hat and sunglasses. At night I will wear leggings designed specifically to aid recovery.

With only three weeks left of training there is little more I can do now. My fitness level is there or there about so now its down to good packing, ticking off from the kit list to ensure nothing is forgotten and then getting out there and doing it. I do plan to take a camera but I am not sure how often I will actually use it. The organisers are pretty good at getting photos and videos so hopefully there will be some great shots.

If you are interested in following the race the organisers website is updated daily with results, photos and videos. Each competitor has 30mins blog time every evening so if you want to share my pain you can always read my blog. http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/

However please remember that this is all for a fantastic cause. The Tabitha Foundation does really amazing things in Cambodia and I feel very proud to be running this race in memory of a really wonderful person and dear friend, Ellen Mainwaring. So if you plan to donate to charity this year please view http://www.justgiving.com/GobiMarch2011

Paul Bell – Osteopath