Team Flip at the ultramarathon 

So Martin and I did our big run for charity on Friday morning. My friend Vishal Bhatia had organized a 60-kilometer ultramarathon which was to be run in teams of three. I was a little apprehensive heading up to the big day. Building up to that day, my training in the previous two weeks consisted of: -Flying to Australia and back for a wedding, which involved lots of drinking and partying. -Straining my foot by walking around Sydney in flipflops for a week -Going for two runs in those two weeks -Smoking sheeshah every night (actually, I stopped two days before) And then on Thursday morning, the heavens opened, and we had one of those classic rainshowers Dubai gets once every five years, when the drains flood, cars float away, and we remember what life would be like if we lived in cold-assed England. Going to bed on Thursday night, I looked up and thought that the skies would actually be clear on Friday.

FRIDAY MORINING

4:30 a.m: My wakeup call from Martin, saying "dude, have you looked outside?" And to my horror, the heavens had opened once again - the rain was pelting down. So I pack my bag with towels and warm clothes and head off for Jumeirah, where our first team runner (Natasha Young) was expected to arrive around 6:00.

5:30: Martin picks me up in the darkness and rain, and head down to Jumeirah Beach Road.

6:20: Natasha arrives, and Martin takes off on his run. With one of my runners in safe, and Martin off, my thoughts turn to the cup of coffee I have been dreaming off all morning. I head to the gas station, and then go off in pursuit of Martin.

8:00: Shit! Martin's taken a wrong turn and has arrived twenty minutes too soon! Without enough time for me to warmup or stretch, I take off running with only enough time to slip on my iPod. The rain has stopped, but dodging puddles and busses spraying water onto the sidewalk is enough of a challenge.

8:30: The rain starts up again, but it's very welcome. It makes for a very cool Friday morning as I run through the streets of Deira.

9:15: Reaching Garhoud Bridge after a long run along the creek, the sun starts to peak out from behind the clouds.

10:00 :Arrival at the Grand Hyatt for the completion of the race. There's no band, no ticker tape, no press. Just Martin and a couple of the other guys who finished.

11:00: Home for a quick shower and a massage, and back to the Grand Hyatt for Vishal's arrival.

12:00: Vishal arrives after running 60km by himself in 8 hours to everyone's applause.

Overall, it was a good event, though I wish we had a bigger turnout. There were only five teams running in a city full of runners. When I ran the creek half-marathon in December, we had hundreds of participants. Additionally, the press turnout was quite poor, given that it was a Friday and they had more attractive atheletes to cover - the women at the Dubai Tennis Championships.