Thank You

A big thank you to all our friends and family that have allowed us to get to this point ! It is truly incredible being up here in Resolute Bay and feeling some idea of what true Polar Explorers experience in their endeavours. As Iain mentioned in the last blog earlier today one silly mistake creates a tidal wave of problems which all end up in one being Cold or dehydrated or both and the week we have been here preparing has allowed us time to try and overcome those difficulties and work on solutions.
On a personal note I wanted to thank Lara ,Alec, My Parents and my Sisters for there good wishes on my Birthday (today) which I was handed earlier today ! Thanks all your messages brought a tear to my eye , luckily I was inside otherwise they might have frozen to my face. Thanks all I love you and miss you .
We have calculated we can make approx 2.2 nautical miles across good ice and snow without becoming sweaty messes at the end of the day .(There are aprox 1.1 normal miles in a nautical mile).However broken ice/ rubble fields or hillsides etc do slow us down .First leg (65 nautical miles) should prove a good testing ground to see where we stand against other teams etc. On the move we are among the faster teams we still need to get faster at creating camp and breaking camp if we are to save valuable time ,but as everyone noted in our de-brief following 2 day mini expedition, speed in packing up can lead to errors . Safety remains the watch word and above everything else we will remain safe.
A huge thanks personally from me to Lara, Jane and Kate and all our collective families for letting us try to do this . You support and encouragement really are the difference . Having two great friends to do this with could make all the difference in the weeks ahead. Wish us luck and keep the mesages of support coming so we can catch up on them in checkpoints .
Race starts at approx 2PM from Resolute tomorrow . Wish us luck !!
The birthday boy.