hey folks....

well once again its that time of year...sheesh

as most of you know, the last few years, i have put myself through hell and then some to do this event. this is my third and quite likely last time of doing this event. whether i will do a similiar event or not, remains to be seen after this one. the rigours of these things is beginning to tell on me and already have injuries that are permanent (!), so a lot of time and decision making will follow this event, so who knows....

ANYWAY....

i leave for Morocco on March 26th. we are transferred to the north-west Sahara Desert on March 28th. Admin day is march 29th and the race proper starts on March 30th and will finish on April 5th. A seven day event, with six stages. the "long" day will take place traditionally, on April 2nd *gulp*

the support i got last time, really cannot be put into words, so i am asking one-and-all, once again, during this time, if you would kindly offer some words of support during the event.

around march 29th, the organisers open up a page link on their webpage, details can be found here:

http://www.darbaroud.com/detail.php?pub=146&langue=en (english page)
http://www.darbaroud.com/index.php (french page)

i am not sure which page this will appear on, so please check both!

the section of the page you need to look for is: "écrire aux concurrents/write to competitors"

you need my details:

Race Number: 530
First Name: Alan
Last Name: Silcock

it will ask you for these details, which you will in and then do a TEXT ONLY e-mail. do not attach anything, it must be text only. if it isnt, the e-mail will get ignored by them on transfer.

at the end of each stage, they come round with all the e-mails for competitors that have been sent that day. each evening, the competitors are allowed to send ONE e-mail. i sent this to my boss at work, who has a list of e-mail addresses of mine, who i want my e-mail to go to.

if you would like to be on this list, please PM me and i will make sure you get the msg, so you can hear in my words how much hell i am going through

on the website itself, if you have a look around at the race time, you will see that you can see the course we are running (we do not know this until we are on the coach into the desert) and can also follow our progress, and they give you a bit of blurb each day as well, as well as video footage and photos.

I hope that some of y'all will take an interest and offer some support - some did last year (you know who you are) and it was massively appreciated....you have noooooooooo idea

sorry to veer massively off-topic here, but i think everyone appreciates that this is a one-off kinda thing and it really is pretty interesting stuff!

many thanks in advance for all your help and support!

the countdown begins!

Al

Good luck Al.  I will send some words of encouragement.  You look a little rough in that last photo.


Martin

If it is possible to win, may you do so. If it is a test to see if you can make it toward the end, then so let it be done. I used to be able to do things like that, so I envy you much. Good luck, have fun, and be safe.

Good luck Al.  Keep it real and think of Gencon when your bored or wandering

Seriously man, have fun.

Really Good luck Al!

Don't forget to pack extra socks  

ummm thats just how my right leg is turned to the camera frank....as they say in the UK "he has a right pair of rugby legs him".....

i DID have shin-splints in that leg though - man that was painful.

Al

Tegel will miss you those days Al, I'll keep you reminded about it though

ShaneG.

North Carolina sends you some energy for when you need it most!
Good Luck!!!

hey good idea!


Al