Around 30 people will be running on the Friday morning, but only 8 of us could make it for the Thursday night camping part.
A vicious 11kph Easterly wind highlights the chilly 18 degrees max temp. To keep warm, and get a run in – because why not – Sarah Whittington and I went for a night run through the desert. I have not run with a head torch for a while and it was quite fun picking a path along the rocky desert track with only a circle of light to pick out potential trip hazards.
Overnight, my tent was buffeted by the wind from all directions, it was chilly too. Two t-shirts, a jumper, a wooly hat, socks, in the sleeping bag, with the sleep bag hood over my head and I was able to keep quite warm. But the wind is noisy and the desert floor is hard – even with a sleeping mat. The relative luxury of a back seat in a car was mere meters way from my tent and a tempting alternative but I resisted. Cold and uncomfortable, a little smelly from the run earlier. This is fun, this is what one does when one camps and run in the wilds. right?!
Friday
Waking up just before 6am on the morning of the 12th, the wind unrelenting, but the tent has survived the night. The day looks clear. It’s a good day to run.
We headed out a little after 7am. As with my other desert running experiences. Running out here is all about the look, the feel, the experience. So I will tell this in pictures.
After 2 and a bit hours I made it back to camp, one of the final few stragglers at the back. But I enjoyed myself. I took it easy, took some photos, remembered to drink. Over a 15 hour period I tackled a total of 30K’s with some rough camping in the middle.
Post run chat and food is always fun and insightful with the DBRC crowd. I met some awesome ultra running peeps, Sarah Whittington and Tim Drew. I doff my hat to you both, thanks for the geek chat and advice.
The Muddy Masochist 
Looks amazing!
And you can’t beat a good sunrise/sunset 😉
Thanks! It’s great being able to run in the desert out here. I do miss the forest though