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skier, Norwegian Christian Eide, in January 2011, and my attempt is
assisted. More than setting a record, though, I just want to get the hell
out of here and back to the mainland as quickly as possible, because
the sooner I do that, the sooner I will be back home in Australia.
I ran through a section today where yesterday's massive snow
dump made running on the track like negotiating wet cement, and
in other places it was an ice rink. I slipped and fell many times. I've
avoided frostbite so far, because I'm trying not to expose my skin to
the cold. I'm cocooned in my gear and resemble a big blue mummy.
Nevertheless, icicles form on my face, and when I blow my nose blood
flows out, because the snow and ice that get in and harden there cut
the membrane lining. My right knee is now giving me tremendous
grief.
Sometimes the only thing that can alleviate my pain is to run
out of sight and sound of my crew and stand on the ice and scream.
Scream at the top of my lungs. Once I have released the anguish from
my body I run on. I am not ashamed to admit this.
Running in the Arctic has definitely helped me down here. My
experience there has conditioned me to the extremes I'm facing and
has made me understand that the pain, the numbness and the fatigue
will eventually go away.
I cannot praise Eric enough. He is tremendous. He is supporting
me in every way. I appreciate his kind and gentle manner, which has
helped me to keep my own emotions under control.
Eric, Ming and I sleep in a tent, and Scotty sleeps in the vehi-
cle. All of us are doing our jobs well and combining as a team, and,
importantly, our spirits are high, while we are not underestimating the
enormous task that I still must undertake.
January 6
Today began cold and black. My alarm went off at five o'clock and
I went outside to find that it seemed darker, colder and even more
depressing than before. My boots were still cold and my feet ached,
and I hadn't even started. Eric heard me poking around before I left
and insisted on making me a cup of tea first. I think he could see I
was upset, and as I left he gave me a pat on the back and said, 'Good
on you, mate. I'm proud of you.' I ran for about 500 metres but then
