We were now running in darkness; me with my head bowed and only vaguely aware of other blurred shapes around me moving in the same direction. One was definitely Russ but there were others, and I had the impression that we had caught some more up. �When was this stage ever going to end?� That�s all I could think as we ploughed on through the gloom, passing endless light sticks. After what felt like an eternity, there in the middle of this godforsaken salt-flat, was a faint glow - the stage finish.
The organisers has parked a couple of lorries at the finish line and had them running with their lights on full beam, just so that we could make out where the end was. This patch of dull white light in the midst of the darkness and gloom perked me up somewhat, and despite the burning feet and the manky eyes that weren�t working, I knew that if there was a few of us, there�d be a dash for the finish.
In the final couple of hundred of metres we all upped the pace and made a dash for the line, but to be honest, I didn�t know or even care if someone had taken me on the line. All I cared about was that this wretched stage was now over and I could sort my eyes out. We picked up our water ration, a total of 4.5 litres and made our way to the nearest tent � the official reception tent. The conditions at the bivvy site were now appalling: a terrible wind was raging and there was sand covering absolutely everything several inches deep. Inside the reception tent Russ and me sat ourselves down on some crates to compose ourselves before finding the tent. Russ, himself looking a state, just sat and laughed out loud whilst I sat in my own blurred world, only able to see vague shapes and outlines. In the corner sat an American athlete who after just sitting quietly for a few minutes asked if someone could escort him to the medics as he had lost his sight completely.
MDS staff walked in out and several just tapped us on the shoulder and said �well done�. Having slightly recovered ourselves in the reception tent we now made our way, laden down with fresh water, through the dark and the sandstorm to find our tent. After stumbling around for what seemed like an eternity, we eventually found Heinz 57 and plonked ourselves inside. The tent, if that�s what you can call it, was a real mess. There were several inches of fine sand covering everything and the strong wind just ripped right through the open sides of our shelter. Despite the way I felt, I knew I had to get some food and water in me in order to aid my recovery prior to the next stage, so set about getting some fluids down my neck and preparing some food. I knew there was something seriously wrong with my eyes as I could still not see out of the right one and had only partial vision in the left. My mouth was full of the sand and both nostrils were plugged solid with the stuff.
The other members of Heinz 57 arrived back at camp all through the night. Richard was the next one back, just under a couple of hours after me and Russ, which meant that he�d put in another storming performance, seeing as he�d started two and a half hours after us and that he�d had to cross the dreaded dunes in the dark. The rest of the team arrived at various intervals throughout the night and into the next morning and it was a delight to see Frank coming in and it meant that Heinz 57 were still all in one piece.
Summary of Stage 4
Distance 71km
Position 41st
Time 10hrs 47 minutes