HSX are planning to return to Nepal in 2013. More details to follow shortly.

Alan and Rich crossing the finish line after Day 6, and 250km running across the desert behind them. Chris followed shortly after, competing the final stage despite having to pull out of the penultimate stage after suffering from a bout of vomiting, unable to take on fluids and any food – an extremely tough yet ultimately sensible and necessary decision given the conditions the team were racing in. Alan and Rich finished in joint 23rd place, a fantastic achievement given the exterienced international athletes that surrounded them. Rich also become the youngest people to have completed the crossing. A huge well done guys!

I’ve spotted a picture of Alan and Rich crossing the finish line of ‘The Long March”. The guys look very pleased to have made it, looks like it took a lot out of them. A little worrying that Chris is not in shot. Keep an eye on the website for more info, and cross your fingers that the team are still all on track.

~~UPDATE~~
Results have been updated, and unfortunatley it looks like Chris has pulled out somewhere in stage 5. I’m sure it’s nothing serious, as there is no way the others would have continued without him other unless they were happy he would be okay. My guess is that Chris’ problems from stage 4 came back in full force on the killer 76km stage and the others left him a a mid-stage check point.

On the brightside, Rich and Alan completed the mammoth leg in just 11h58, placing 17th for the stage! I bet they realised they were close to a sub 12 hour stage and really pused on in the latter stages – hence why they look so tired in the photo below. The pair have now rocketed up the leaderboard back to 23rd overall and top placed team with a 5 hour cushion on the next placed team.

Now an easy rest day and a “short” ~20km jog to the finish line tomorrow. Let’s hope Chris recovers well and the whole team completes the race together. Great work guys.

Another challenging day. I went through a bit of a low patch between 10km and 20km but Alan and Rich carried me through and we crossed the line together, although not as quickly as we’d have liked. No idea where we are in the team standings, but I was happy enough just to finish.

Tonight’s campsite seems a bit on the windy side, so I reckon we have a 50-50 chance of making it through the night without the tent collapsing. They’re not particularly well anchored…

Tomorrow is the 74km “long march” which we’re not looking forward to. The idea of doing the same distance we have today with another 30km tagged on doesn’t really appeal, but once that’s finished we get a rest day before the final short stint to San Pedro.

If anything it looks like we’ve got a bit too much food, so no worries on that front.

Thank you to Russ for answering our question about the Japanese celebrity. Much appreciated!

Full blog on the official site here

The guys remain in 23rd after another 7 hour day. The distance and the climate seem to be taking their toll on the field, as it looks like around 17 people have pulled out already.

We’ve had another good day. Not quite as strong during the race as stages 1 and 2, but we all felt pretty good at the end so can hopefully keep up the pace tomorrow. Feet and legs are in reasonable shape although my rucksack straps are starting to take their toll on my shoulders.

A Japanese film crew are filming a documentary about the race, and allegedly we have a Japanese celebrity taking part although so far we’ve failed to establish who it is or what they’re famous for. Hiroshi (or anyone with Google and a lot of time!): can you shed any light on this?

Hope all is going well for those in Barcelona. 3 days in, I can confirm that this is a piece of piss compared to winter testing. The tent is only marginally less comfortable than the Granollers, and I’m getting 9, yes NINE, hours of sleep!

For the benefit of Tom and everyone else from HSX, we agree that this isn’t as hard as advanced training!

I hope you’re all enjoying the photos and videos on the race website. We can’t see them from here, but I’ve just had a look over the shoulder of  the event photographer and his shots look stunning. I think they give a pretty good  impression of the terrain and scenery we’ve been running through.

So, onwards to the infamous salt flats of stage 4…

A long second day, taking the guys over 7 hours to complete around 41km – but teamHSX are the top placed team! Will their competitive edge get the better on them and tempt them to push too hard? Let’s just hope their steady approach continues to work for them.

We’ve now ticked off the 41.8km of stage 2. It seemed much harder going than yesterday, but looking at our finishing position it seems to have been a similar story for everyone. Amazingly, we’re still the first placed team, although this really isn’t part of our game plan: we’re not here to win!

We’ve had another delightful freeze dried dinner. Tonight it was 800kcal of chicken korma followed by a well-earned cup of tea while watching the spectacular sunset. Once that’s disappeared we’ll no doubt be treated to another awesome view of the stars.

Thank you very much to Alex for his concise summary of Licancabur volcano, and thank you to everyone else who has sent us messages of support. We really do appreciate it.

Tomorrow it’s another 40km. Bring it on!

If you’d like to drop the team a message, you can do so here. I’m sure it will give them a big boost, just as tiredness starts to kick in and the finish line still seems a long way to go.

teamHSX seem to have had a great start, sitting in 25th place. 5h11min. Keep it steady guys

Latest Race Results Here

Photos from http://www.4deserts.com/

The Belize team will be hosting the annual HSX Christmas dinner this weekend.

Fourteen Explorer Scouts and four Leaders set off at 4am on Tuesday morning for their expedition to Peru. Travelling via Houston to Lima and then onto Cuzco, the 6-week expedition will include community work at the local orphanage, hiking the Inca Trail, and experiencing the local culture including Macchu Picchu.

Meanwhile, the topics at the departure preparations on Monday evening included how to keep iPods charged during the trip, whether bags were within the weight limits, and how short haircuts needed to be to last 6 weeks.

To follow the expedition’s progress, visit http://hsx.org.uk/. The team are due to return on September 11th to an official reception – more details later

Scouts from across Hampshire will be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime on Tuesday 3^rd August.  This will be one of the largest overseas expeditions from Scouts in Hampshire this year.  Their 6 weeks expedition will include trekking, undertaking challenging activities and working in a remote central region orphanage.

The party of 14 Scouts and 4 adult volunteer Scout Leaders will be trekking along the historic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, a World Heritage Site.  They will take part in a variety of different adventurous activities from hot air ballooning to white water rafting.  They will then undertake a vital community project at an orphanage set up to cater for abandoned children, to enhance their living conditions, improving sanitation and creating an outdoor playground.

Expedition Leader, Dave King, a Scout Leader, said "The Scouts have had an intensive 18 month training programme leading up to this unique expedition.  They have been working hard fundraising not only for themselves, but also to help buy materials to enhance living conditions at the orphanage.  The orphanage was set up for abandoned children and we want to help improve their living conditions and to create an outdoor playground for them to enjoy”.

Katie Bass, from Hook, said "This is a huge adventure for me.  Being a Scout has given me this opportunity of going to the other side of the world to have a great time and help children less fortunate than me".