Team A

A creature, Elke found on her trousers...

Passing over the Torch...

The body is an amazing machine...

After a longer run of 21 km one day, the following day can feel like little more than you are dragging yourself along the road. How did the same body ever run 2 marathons a day in an ultra-race. But the memory that you have done this, keeps the legs moving.

Now the next day the body is rejuvenated and I am back to running freely, surprising myself and the rest of the team as I run a quicker time than yesterday.

It must also have a lot to do with Elke’s delicious coconut curry last night and chocolate someone slipped me as I was typing up the report.

We see very little wildlife running through this area so yesterday and again today we were surprised to see cattle near the road. Some looked like cattle you might see in India.

Nataliya is loving running through the desert on these 'beautiful' sunny days … actually she always loves running any and every day. She runs extra miles each day, soaking up the sun in this environment.

It is often difficult to pin her down for comments in our report because she is out somewhere … out on the road, extra running with her brother Dima, stretching, sprinting, bounding, playing volleyball and we must not forget her second love, swimming in the sea … always on the move.

Down by the river at Fortescue River Roadhouse...

The largest road train we have seen on the road...

– Nishima Knowsley (New Zealand)

Team B

The Pilbara region of Western Australia is iron ore country, with some of the world's largest and richest iron ore mines. The hills are red, the soil is red, and if you stay long outside you soon match their complexion.

Sun and wind were our gracious hosts for the second day running through the Pilbara.

From the comfort of a speeding air-conditioned sedan, spinifex might seem a little too austere – even harsh – with its cunning crouch and terse spikes for leaves. But spend an hour or two running through its domain and your appreciation, even admiration for this hardy species increases immeasurably. Whether it drew the long or the short straw when habitats were being dispensed, it has seized its limited opportunities with eager precision.

For much of today's run, where the soil should have been, was only rich purple-maroon coloured rock. And even here, the spinifex persisted. If the going got tough today one had only to glance across at the spinifex for the most eloquent lesson in endurance.

In a treeless landscape, trees are signals of water. Gum trees not only line the creeks and rivers but grow also as much as several hundred metres from the usually dry watercourses, demonstrating amazing resourcefulness in drawing precious water from a long distance, and storing it for prolonged periods of drought.

Today, by one such creek, were gum trees so white you could swear they were painted, or else had applied a face mask.

Our resting place this evening is by the shores of the Fortescue River. Though its level is low at this season, its cool waters were unimaginably refreshing after a hot day's run.

The bridge pylons were wrapped and entangled with logs and roots from obviously much higher water levels.

The dry riverbed offered a stark contrast...

Even at this low water level, the river pulsed vibrantly with life and activity...

Barry Clements of the Fortescue River Roadhouse is very kindly accommodating our entire team in this beautiful little oasis.

Even in the 'middle of nowhere', we have become accustomed to surprises on this Run. Coming back from our swim, a helicopter came from the blue and landed beside our tents.

Darren Stockton, flying for the HeliWest Group, is working on contract for what will become the largest magnetite mine in the world, only about 30 km away. While on contract, Darren is staying here at the Fortescue River Roadhouse, and was just flying in after work.

Even this surprise did not prepare us for what was to come. Having worked together in Canberra, Sydney, Oslo, New York, Thailand, Bali and East Timor, I had lost touch with a dear friend for these past 4 years, only for him to drive up to fill his tank at the very roadhouse where we are staying, in one of the more remote corners of the planet! Normally I would be astonished at this almost unbelievable coincidence, but today the humble spinifex had warned me: expect the inexplicable!

– Prachar Stegemann (Australia)

Team C

Today we ran the last 53 km into Fortescue River Roadhouse.

Starting off for the day we were met with quite a strong cross-wind which at times made it difficult to keep the Torch flame alight, let alone run easily.

There seemed to be many more vehicles on the road also, both holiday and work ones, most acknowledging us with a friendly wave or toot as they passed us by, and some becoming familiar as we had seen them from previous days.

This particular area, the Pilbara, is well-known for its richness in minerals and as a result there are a lot of mine sites in the vicinity. So there was no coincidence when we reached our first highway intersection to Pannawonica, and there was a huge tractor scoop marking the way, a perfect spot for a group photo.

As we progressed along the route and paused to change runners or refuel the torch, our roving photographer Prabhakar would take every opportunity to find a new angle or scene to photograph.

The terrain was varied with rugged outcrops of red rocks forming ridges across the landscape, quite stunning. These provided ideal backdrops for many a shot. At one location we noticed a bright red object on the opposite side of the road,

and on closer inspection found it to be a bush of Sturt Desert Peas, an incredibly delicate native flower with intense colour.

The road, as we have progressed around Australia, has become a friend and we are appreciating  its personality, shape, curves and lines more and more as we stride happily around the continent.

As we approached our destination, both the other team vans passed us by signifying a well-orchestrated day's schedule.

– Prabuddha Nicol (Australia)

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Team Members:
Prabuddha Nicol (Australia), Kritartha Brada (Czech Republic), Nishima Knowsley (New Zealand), Edi Serban (Romania), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Iva Nemcova (Czech Republic), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Prachar Stegemann (Australia), Misha Kulagin (Russia), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Angela Muhs (Germany), Veeraja Uppal (Australia), Miro Pospisek (Czech Republic), Elke Lindner (Germany), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic)

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