I’ve  now heard from both Alan and Tim over in Athens, thanks on the one hand to Alan’s mobile broadband and on the other to the efforts of Tim’s wife Shelley.

Alan tells me that as far as pre-race preparations are concerned everything is going well and that things are taking shape at Race venue.

Alan has managed to get the tent up, which is just as well as it will be “home” to him and William for the next couple of weeks (plus sheltering Tim while he is there as well). While we tend to think of Greece basking in the Mediterranean sun, there is a fair chance of rain during the event, so the tent is going to be essential for periodic protection from the elements.

The logistics of setting up for a multi-day race in another country are often a bit more complicated than you might imagine, so it is a relief that everything so far has gone smoothly. William and Alan have taken the majority of their supplies for the up-to-sixteen days of the event with them (as once the race is on, if anything is needed there will be little opportunity to go foraging). Apart from the tent this includes such things as shoes, clothing for all weathers, in-race nutritional supplements (thanks to a rush delivery from William’s sponsors at Myprotein), basic medical supplies, sleeping bags, Alan’s laptop, sleeping masks and ear-plugs (it can still be bright or noisy when trying to grab a short sleep), mp3 players, drinks bottles, a small field-kitchen – and so on – (but not, as far as I know, a kitchen sink!).

Alan will be doing a little local shopping (with any luck) but this, by necessity, will be kept to a minimum (quite apart from anything else, I doubt Alan can read Greek and no one wants to risk confusing “skimmed milk powder” with “talcum powder” or something…!) – that sort of thing might sound funny, but it really wouldn’t be amusing during a race…

Tim tells me:

“I’ve arrived in Athens and met up with William and Alan. Now we’re sitting in the car having our team meeting, going over the schedules and working out the routines.”

All now looks set for what will be a very interesting event indeed  hopefully the weather will remain good – Tim tells me “Athens isn’t too hot at the moment.”

More news as it comes in,

Shaun