Because this is a multi day event for which we have to carry everything in our rucksacks for the whole race - apart from water, which is replenished regularly at race checkpoints - we have done a lot of practice runs wearing our rucksacks. They have been loaded with lots of bottles of water and other weighty items to simulate the 10kgs - 12kgs of weight it is anticipated most of us will need to carry to provide our food and equipment needs for 7 days in the Kalahari desert. The Kalahari is a rocky desert with lots of rough terrain and steep climbs up dried river beds and hills. Both Ed & Phil live in great areas in which to train, so long runs along Cornwall coastal paths and over the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire have featured significantly in our training preparation.