This morning we were pleased to have the opportunity to offer our gratitude once again to the Pacha (Mayor and King's Representative) of Sidi Kacem and to meet his two children.

Special thanks to Bahbah El Mostafa and Abdelillah Lebak for being our constant companions and guides during our stay in this beautiful town. It was nice to see the familiar faces of our friends from the running club. They set a good pace as we headed towards Rabat, the capital of Morocco.

Sometimes the spontaneous ceremonies we have during the day are the most rewarding, as was the case with these children from the Akhlak Fadila Primary School. They took a break from their lunch under some nearby trees to join us for a few moments.

We are never alone when we run through these small towns. The local children are our constant companions and a huge source of joy.

As we pulled over to wait for our runner, we noticed these strange balls of mud stacked up along the road. Curious about what they were, we asked a family that was having a Sunday picnic under some trees. From what we could gather, the balls were there to advertise that someone nearby was selling a potato type of vegetable.

It turned out that this man's two daughters spoke very good english so we had a great time introducing our team. Just as we were about to take off, the family reappeared with some homemade cake and biscuits for the long journey ahead. We were so grateful because it was after 3pm and we still hadn't eaten lunch. This was Moroccan hospitality at its best.

After a quick bite to eat and a few more miles we decided to take a break from the scorching sun and visit the Atlantic ocean

This was our last chance to see it on our journey.

When the going gets tough out on the road a smile like this can really change your day and keep you inspired. It's a shame that we couldn't spend more time with this man because I am sure that he has many stories to tell.

The road to Rabat was long and by the time we arrived at the City border it was nightfall. We were lucky to have a full police escort and the assistance of the Rabat Running Club to bring us to the centre of town.

As we came closer we could hear a marching band but nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to experience. Thousands of people lined the streets cheering and clapping as we entered the City Square. Upon our arrival we met the official representative of the Governor of Rabat, members of the Sports Department and numerous delegates.

It was a great achievement to finally reach Morocco's Capital and we could not have been more satisfied.

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Team Members:
Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Nelson (Homagni) Baptista (Australia), Aleksander Namitabha Arsic (Serbia), Marc Schrader (Germany), Honza Minarcik (Czech Republic), Zoltán Theobald (Hungary), Pierre Lantuas Monfouga (France), Enrico Eugenio (Italy)

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