By the time you're reading this we'll be in Death Valley, California, making our final preparations before Glenn Sutton takes on his third ever Badwater 135, 217km non-stop running race through the Californian desert. In some ways just getting to the startline here at Badwater in Death Valley National Park seems like the tough part, but for Glenn, the world's toughest footrace is a shimmering heat haze on the horizon and certainly the next 36 hours are going to be intense.
Leading the support team we have Bruce Adams, of Adams Flags. He crewed for Glenn in his 2015 race and learnt a whole heap about what works and what doesn't. He's got the gift of the gab, too. He could sell heaters and jerseys to Lone Pine's finest. He's a bit of a legend runner himself and will be the lead pacer during the 217km-ordeal.
Next in the hot seat is current New Zealand 24-Hour Track Champion, Greg Yee. He's a mechanic by day and loves it so much that he's always got a project car in bits and pieces. He's an incredibly funny human and will be charged with keeping spirits up when the lack of sleep starts to mess with our heads. I like to think of him as our mascot.
Then we have Steve Barton. He sells beautiful Volkswagen utes and SUVs to farmers and anyone else who can afford the kind of cars I will probably only ever dream about. He's switched on and has been training like he's in the Olympics. He wasn't always a runner, but Glenn inspired him to venture out and now he's hooked.
Joining us will be Glenn's eldest daughter Emily. She's crewed for him at numerous other races and knows when the time is right to push him and when to back off. She's briefed us all on how grumpy he'll get and how important it is to let that slide like water off a duck's back. I've never seen Glenn even slightly perturbed so I am really looking forward to this.
See you at the finishline ... Derek
PS Want to follow Glenn's race through Death Valley? The best way is through his Facebook page: Glenn Sutton Athlete. You know the drill: like share and share alike.
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