Day 2: Writing on the wall

The heat is a challenge in this part of the world and getting an early start is paramount for a successful day. We're up by 6am and on the road by 7. This is a critical test day for me and my foot. Having the physiological expertise of a Dr. Greg Wells on board as well as the running knowledge of Ray makes my chances as good as they can be.

The foot this morning is not swollen or bruised - a very good thing according to Doc Wells - but the pain is sharp and distinct.

We're being joined for the first week of the run by the master of Chilean ultra-running, Cristian Sievking and he will accompany Ray this morning, their speed surely to be better than mine, while i2P executive director Bob Cox will join me. Bob, who abandoned his hope of a continuous coast to coast run yesterday, feels well enough to pace me along and keep an eye on my injury.

We start day two at a gentle pace with Ray and Cristian slowly pulling away from Bob and I. We march along the side of 4-lane expressway with me plugged into an iPod in hopes of loosing myself from the pain and Bob focusing on his own discomforts. The ache in my foot proves to be a manageable enough by altering my gait, so not to aggravate the injury and by maintaining a slow and steady shuffle but for Bob things are worse. He begins to dry-heave shortly after the start and is forced to abandon.

As opposed to many expeditions Ray and I have undertaken in the past, the Expreso De Los Andes expedition is a completely supported effort with an assistance vehicle always close at hand. It's not long before they arrive and Bob can get off his feet.

The heat of the day begins to build. It's hard to believe the intensity of it, certainly for this Vancouver boy who just a few days earlier was running in 5C and rain, but the 30C temperatures, magnified by 10-15 degrees by the pavement, is overwhelming. The sun is unrelenting - searing and baking - forcing itself on me through every pore in my body and through every super-heated breath I take.

Ray would tell me that in his Sahran run in 2006/2007 the heat would reach such blistering levels that he and his two teammates would truly begin to panic. They would manage, he would tell me, by practicing an almost zen-like perseverance, by taking deep breathes and becoming one with the heat, by relaxing and accepting it rather than wasting energy fighting it.

His prescription for heat seems to be working for me today as I pass the 21-kilomentre mark about 30 minutes behind Ray and Cristian and my foot maintaining a steady ache. It's not long before another pain begins to make its presence. I was worried about this as altered gait can lead to problems and for me now it's my Achilles tendon. By the 30-kolometre mark I'm forced to a walk and am confronted with the reality that I can't keep this up.

After 15 years of adventuring I've never been forced to quit because of injury but here it is. Ray and my running efforts through Expreso De Los Andes are their to encourage youth to take on their own running challenges as a means to a healthier way of life. The idea of pounding ahead risking long-term or permanent injury flies in the face of this. The decision to step out is an easy one.

Ray manages a great day clocking in an impressive 65km with Cristian accompanying him almost all of it. The expedition is over for me but it is far from over!!