“A large bowl of spaghetti Bolognese”. This is what I had on my mind for the last 3h of the race. I can’t tell you how hungry I was, despite the fact that I kept pushing gel packs. When you burn 6500 calories you just run on empty.

Let’s start with the key fact. I made it through! Yes. Mind 2: Body 0.

38,7km in 9:45min. Again it was extremely hard.

But in sequence. After I almost dropped out yesterday,  I slept in coma-like state. Light went out at 8 pm, I closed my eyes and was gone. Complete exhaustion. I woke up at 11pm for a short restroom break – which meant stepping outside the wooden shack in the Himalayan Mountains. I mention this because it was freezing cold! We had been warned but I didn’t believe it. Until I had to close my sleeping bag up to my nose.

That night of sleep worked miracles for me. When I got up at 5 am I had even time left to watch the sun rise. What a scene! Mind blowing and very energizing. After the usual routine of hygiene and packing, we enjoyed the usual breakfast – peanut butter toast and instant coffee.

Start was at 7 am and initiated by the Lama of the monastery. We again received a blessing and where off to the race.

The first 2 km was again uphill (there is always more uphill available it seems), followed by some more even trails, followed by a steep, stony, muddy 10 km downhill. Brutal!

And as I mentioned before, a downhill always served what? Yes! You got it. A steep uphill. We crossed another pass. So, 10 km up … I started to curse at myself again but decided to take it one step at a time. One hour at a time, until you reach the finish line. In between beautiful woods, lots of friendly locals – they probably wonder why we idiots run through the woods.

I finished the pass and was hoping for the much needed break but it just didn’t come. The upcoming 8,7 km downhill were again very difficult to run. One has to focus any minute or might trip or go down in the steep hills. Try to stay alert for 9 hours while you are running or hiking and you know why you’re exhausted.

Well, I arrived. Day 4 done. The end is near.

The treat of the day was a hot bath with heated stones in the bath tub. That felt like heaven. Before that we received a scrub from the woman that runs the place. She did a pretty good job. Except for her joke of pouring ice cold water over my head. Well, she got me jumping and everyone else laughing.

Tomorrow is a 54 km run, that apparently is flat (ha! I don’t believe that for a minute). I will again take it step by step and see what happens.

It’s 7:53 pm and I need to get my water ration for tomorrow, brush my teeth and crash. I need every half hour I can get.