Feet of Endurance
Standing in the check-in queue at Gatwick airport surrounded by lots of other nervous looking people all carrying the same red backpacks and cradling water bottles, it was clear that the event that has dominated my thoughts over the past few months was finally happening. There was a lot of the inevitable nervous glances comparing yourself to the others and thinking, “do I have the right kit, have I trained enough and am I really able to do this?” No one was saying it, but I’m sure most people were trying to find that one person who looked less organised and who made you feel more confident. Thankfully I didn’t need to look too far as my mate Duncan was on the floor next to me gaffer-taping his roll mat to his rucksack as it couldn’t fit in his suitcase!
I had been warned that there would be a lot of bravado before the race started (“willy-waving” was the actual term used) and we should avoid the type of people who bragged about the quantity and quality of training he (or she) had done. I did my best to turn my back on these people and thankfully met up with some very like-minded people who shared the attitude that this was going to be a great adventure and were prepared to “man up” as this wasn’t going to be a “bloody hen-do”!
Having arrived in the Moroccan town of Ouarzazate, we spent our time endlessly queuing, drinking (water of course) and eating enough to burst. The following morning we were hustled on to a coach and driven for 8 hours out to the middle of the Sahara. I am sure that the journey would have been a lot shorter had it not been for the constant toilet breaks, the first taking place after just 20 minutes!
Even out in the middle of nowhere, the waiting, queuing and bravado avoidance continued until the race started. There was no avoiding the constant kit checks but, in fairness, it was very useful as backpack weight is so crucial. With the exception of our “tent” (if you can call sackcloths stitched together and propped up by sticks a tent) and meagre salt and water rations, we had to carry everything that we would need for the week. So if there was any way of reducing the weight of it all then that could only be a good thing. Again Duncan made me feel a lot better. Having weighed my bag, it was around 13kgs, including the first water ration. Duncan’s food alone weighed 11kgs! Needless to say the rest of Tent 91 gladly helped consume his vast excess of food, but I’m afraid that his Golf World magazine didn’t make the final cut!
The nervous energy in our tent and throughout the whole camp was obvious as we got closer to D-Day. The night before the start we were given the first speech by race director Patrick Bauer. He is famed for his long rambling speeches and he didn’t disappoint. He spoke at great length in French and his announcements were then translated into English in a comical fraction of the time. However, his welcome was warm and we were made to feel very special to be taking part in such a challenging event. He also gave a demonstration of how to use the distress flares. The 3rd one he attempted worked fine, but seeing as I would be carrying only one, I was determined not to get in a situation bad enough to have to rely on it! Even with all the pent-up energy and eagerness to get started, I managed to get a great night sleep: the earplugs definitely helped!
Stage 1 – 31.6kms (19.6 miles). 5hrs 58 mins, 423rd / 801
Today was finally the day that we got the show on the road. From the time we woke we would be totally self sufficient until the finish line– just 7 days and 152 miles away. We woke at 6am to a sandstorm, so immediately our kit was completely covered in sand – a definite sign of things to come. Everyone was clearly keen to get going though and people were fed, taped, lubed, and packed very early, so there was much sitting around until the official start time at 9am.
We had been camping for the last two days at the foot of some amazing sand dunes so we knew what to expect. Even though the route changes every year, the first day is traditionally the easiest day; short and designed to introduce you relatively gently into the race. If this day was supposed to be easy then we were in a lot of trouble.The start was a fantastic occasion in itself. 801 competitors took to the start line, 707 men and 94 women. After yet more ramblings from Mr Bauer, we set off to the sounds of ACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”, whilst overhead the Eurosport helicopter was going mental filming us. It was a real buzz and we set off running the one kilometer to the foot of the dunes. Our plan was to walk the first day so that we could ease into the race and try and acclimatise, but in actual fact we literally had no other option as we faced over 18kms of the highest dunes in the Sahara.
It was hard work but the views were absolutely stunning, so much so that it took the attention away from the 38º temperature, the weight of our packs and the fact that we were scrambling up and down mountains of soft sand. The experience was fantastic and I got through the day unscathed. I was relatively unaffected by the heat, my gaiters didn’t let a single grain of sand in and I was keen to experience more. However, if there was any chance that I may get over confident I was brought back down to earth by one of my tent mates. Hilly did just as well as the rest of the tent that day and he had drunk all his water rations, but he hadn’t eaten enough salt tablets. He became groggy and very ill, and even though we joked for him to “Man Up” we were actually pretty concerned for him. After nailing a lot more salt and an early night he woke up the next day feeling slightly more human, but it was a good lesson for us all: if you lose respect for the event and the conditions it could easily come back to bite you. Six competitors were unable to recover and were forced to pull out before Stage Two.
Stage 2 – 38 kms (24 miles). 5hrs 38 mins, 253rd
After all the walking of Day 1, the running started in earnest today as we ran away from the dunes. The terrain of vast rocky plains and salt flats was less dramatic than the dunes but no less stunning. The major difference today was that the temperature increased to 40º and the breeze dropped. I was given two bits of advice which proved extremely useful, if a little obvious when I first heard them.
1, Always keep moving forward.
2, Don’t stop unless you really have to.
These fairly obvious nuggets were what I lived by for the week. Whilst other people took rests on route, at the checkpoints I literally kept moving forward and even filled my water bottles whilst still walking. Mentally it was great to keep the momentum going the whole time as you knew that all the miles, stages and days were being ticked off that bit quicker.It may sound obvious but running in the desert heat with a heavy backpack is not the same as jogging back in the UK. You may try to run hard but all you can really hope to achieve is a quick shuffle. But this shuffle can prove extremely effective if you can just maintain it, and I was fortunate because I was able to do precisely that.
A certain German was not finding it quite as comfortable and was heard saying to the organisers, “Take me to Ouarzazate now!” When they suggested that he should have a sit down and have a think about it he replied, “I have been thinking about it for four hours. Take me now, I will pay!”
Like the previous day, our entire tent made it back in good time, so we had plenty of time to banter and relax before nightfall. Each day I had treated myself to a starter of Supernoodles, a different boil-in-the-bag main course and a pudding. It was always worth the weight. Some people criticised the grub, but it tasted great to me, so much so that I may order a few more portions of the Chicken Tikka now that I am back!The day’s only downer came when I queued for an hour to email home, and managed to get the recipient’s address slightly wrong so I sent my one and only email to a random stranger. I had to rejoin the queue and do it all over again. I would love to blame the awkward French keyboard, but really I only have my own ineptitude to blame!
Stage 3 – 40.5 kms (25.1 miles). 6hrs, 172nd
Today was another dune day. To make matters worse it was a seriously hot 48º. These dunes were different from the opening day as they were long and undulating rather than steep and high. The dunes were 10kms away so we ran as hard as possible for the first hour before we got to them and before the insufferable heat of the day kicked in.By now I was taking at least 6 salt tablets per bottle and this was really helping. In this heat without them we wouldn’t have finished the day, let alone the other stages. It was clear that everyone had got the same idea and the medical support were not prepared to give us more than a meagre ration of 3 at each check point. I had my first and thankfully only case of runners grump when they refused to give me any more. But as we headed off and I was telling anyone who would listen about how unfair I thought it was, I literally stepped on a full bag of salt tablets that someone had dropped – there was a God, so my moaning immediately stopped.
Again I used the mantra of “keep on moving forward”, and it continued to serve me well as I was able to keep the jog/shuffle/walk combination going until the end of the stage.I was happy with the way things were going. I was loving the tent, loving the scenery and happy with my physical condition. The main reason why people fail to complete this event is either because their feet get badly blistered, or they pick up a serious tummy bug. After day 3 I hadn’t had a single blister and I was still nice and regular in the bowel department (in case you were wondering!). The worst blister that I saw was in our tent: George had one so large that when he popped and squeezed it the stream of fluid squirted so high that it nearly hit the roof of the tent – nice! He “manned up” though as there were no complaints, just determined use of the scalpel and red iodine. Another sight of human pain was a bloke running in a full white lycra suit and seeing his inside thigh completely red due to a serious dose of chaffing. I wasn’t sure what was more disturbing, the blood or the lycra outfit.Another day done and I went to sleep eager to get the next stage done as quickly as possible; the big test was finally here.
Stage 4 – 75.5kms (47 miles). 11hrs 23mins, 131st
The notorious double day. When I first learned about the event this was the day that everyone talked about and feared. It is the main test of the entire event. You spend the first three days trying to get to this stage in as fit a condition as possible. If you complete this then you have pretty much completed 2/3rds of the entire distance. Mother Nature tried her best to make things even harder for us as a sandstorm hit the camp during the night. I’m afraid that I can’t say any more than this because I managed to sleep through it, but apparently some tents blew down, including part of ours but I continued to sleep and only ate a few mouthfuls of sand.
The stage started with an incredible climb over a very steep Jebel (mountain). The plan was to get there as quickly as possible in order to avoid the traffic jams going up and also reduce the chance of anyone dislodging massive boulders above us. After that we would try to run and walk for as long as we were able to. Having completed a 51 mile training run in 13 hours along the Thames Tow Path, I expected to finish this day in about 15 hours. Always moving forward Duncan and I formed a great partnership and nailed 40 miles together with relative ease despite the terrain and temperatures again at 48º. I had to push on at the end when the sun went down as I felt my energy reserves evaporating. I ended up only running for an hour in the dark and even though incredibly tired, it was a massive boost to finish so much earlier than expected and get back into the camp by 8.30pm – supper time!I did my best to eat and get some rest, but my body was so uncomfortable that I just had to keep moving. Wrapping up warm I hobbled back to the finish line to clap in a few runners. This was a real highlight for me. It was wonderful to be able to give encouragement to completely random people and share in their achievement. It definitely beat going to sleep, and I stayed until George crawled across the line. The blisters he picked up the day before had got a lot worse, so bad in fact that he could hardly walk and he had cellulitis up his legs. He would get them looked at the next morning because after 17 hours of pain, all he wanted was sleep.
People were still finishing well into the afternoon the next day, but for Tent 91 we had a rest day. It was a great chance to refuel so all we did was eat, stretch and marvel at the state of people’s feet, George’s in particular - I have seen steaks in better condition.
I was feeling sorry for the competitors still struggling to finish, however my sympathy was tested when I overheard one of the late finishers bragging that he was fine and felt a bit guilty to receive such warm applause from the camp as he had been asleep for 8 hours at the last checkpoint - it was clear to me then that some people were taking this race slightly less seriously than others!
After dinner we received another batch of emails which were always extremely welcome and a lovely way to finish the day. Until now I hadn’t really been tracking my finishing position, but I had hoped that I was moving up the field after the slow start. One of the messages came from a mate who finished 187th the previous year, and the offer of a beer was there if I could beat him. I was currently in 189th place. The race was on.
Stage 5 – 42.2kms (26.2 miles). 5hrs 15mins, 143rd
The 2008 MDS will not be remembered for its savage sandstorms but we did get our fair dose of distance and heat. It was the longest event ever and today it reached 47º but the still air made it feel so much hotter.
With just a marathon and a half, to go it was clear that the atmosphere had changed from an event into a race as the pace and intensity had noticeably increased.The terrain was relatively flat but the soft sand of the dried-up riverbeds posed just as many problems as the dunes. Again I ran with my running partner of the long day, Duncan, and we set a steady but not startlingly fast pace. Just after the final checkpoint I decided to push myself out of the comfort zone and kicked hard for home. I knew that this wasn’t very wise as I didn’t have much juice left and sure enough I hit my wall with a few miles to go. Thankfully though Duncan helped me to get running again and I was able to keep my head down and count slowly until I got to the end. It was seriously hard work but I was pleased to have put myself through the pain. That may sound like a really daft thing to say but at the time I had to do it as I was beginning to feel guilty. Many people were suffering severe pain and exhaustion, yet I couldn’t even claim to have a single blister and was still enjoying it all. So a bit of deliberate suffering felt good – although I wasn’t enjoying it much at the time.
I can’t stress again how important it was to avoid blisters. In the months prior to the MDS I had been running without socks and with sand in my shoes which seemed to successfully toughen the skin. I was also advised to toughen my feet in white spirit but I am so glad that I didn’t as one competitor who did toughened them so much that his feet split from toe to heel after day one. I guess I was lucky. Someone who wasn’t lucky was George. He set out on this stage knowing that it would be a long hobble, but it got worse after just two miles as his feet were so swollen that it was too painful to wear his trainers. He took them off and taped his feet into some lightweight hotel slippers. He carried on walking for a further 18 miles. As he was after the cut-off time for the final checkpoint he was retired from the race. We were absolutely gutted for him as his courage was immense. The rest of the tent were very humbled by the way he dealt with his disappointment as he never complained once and accepted it with such good grace. I grumbled enough about salt tablets so I have no idea how bad I would have been if I were in his shoes slippers.
That night an orchestra was flown out and performed a concert, but for me it was more important to wait at the finish line for George who of course never arrived. It just didn’t seem right to listen to music when a mate was struggling so much – I guess it just added to the whole randomness of our situation.
Stage 6 – 17.5kms (10.8 miles). 1hr 35 mins, 77th
All that we had left on the final day was a quick sprint back to civilisation. The legs had just about recovered enough overnight so I was ready to have one final blow out. The backpack now contained only the mandatory items as all food had been eaten and things like roll mats and pans had been binned. It was a joy to have no weight to carry and I was determined to make the most of it.
It felt great to actually run with a degree of speed, and as my feet were in good shape there was no excuse not to run hard. I gave it my all so by the time we crossed the rocky plains, through fields and onto the tarmac streets of Tazzarine I was pretty tired. Crossing the finish line was a weird experience. There were lots of people there, and many competitors shed a few tears, or were punching the air with joy. I remember being in a bit of a daze and couldn’t quite believe that it was all over. The first thing I did was honour a sponsorship agreement and took a video of me taking my shoe off, filling it with water and drinking it. It was well worth the £350 I got for doing it, but it was just a shame my mate didn’t turn the camera on so I had to do a repeat performance back at the hotel. (The evidence on YouTube)
It was a great feeling to have finished. I still consider myself incredibly fortunate not to have suffered compared to many of the people that I met. All the months of training had been to prepare myself for a week of torture which never happened. I guess the training ensured that I did not have a week of torture, as the week was within my capabilities. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail sums it up pretty accurately. I loved the experience and I thought the desert was a truly stunning place. The dunes, rocky plains, salt flats, dried river beds and the millions of stars were incredible. Was it the toughest race on earth? For me it wasn’t, and I’m not sure how this multi stage event can call itself the toughest with cut off times so generous that you can walk slowly and still finish it. However I realise that if you asked one of the 53 people who didn’t finish or one of the hundreds of people who suffered from savage blisters or chronic diarrhoea then they will have a very different answer.
The special thing about this event is that it poses a fantastic challenge. It requires a lot of training to prepare yourself for a week that is designed to take you out of your comfort zone and test you mentally, physically and emotionally. Perhaps I could have done things differently, but I had a plan and I stuck to it. Perhaps I could have run the whole of Day 1 and pushed myself harder on the other days, but that is with the benefit of hindsight. Who knows, if I had done this then I may have completely crumbled. The Marathon des Sables is all about management; you must manage strength, food and water. If you can get this right and ride your luck you will have a great time. As a 6ft 3inch rugby player with no ultra marathon experience to finish 17th out of the Brits and 173rd overall, I’ll live with that!
Total 35 hrs 51 mins, 173rd
Tips for those thinking of doing it.
Training
- Do lots of hill sprints, it increases your leg strength and gives you a boost of fitness that you don’t get on the long runs
- Go on a lot of walks with a heavy pack: like it or not a lot of your time will be walking in the sand.
- It’s all about conditioning your legs to be able to run day after day so work hard on reducing the amount of recovery time between runs.
- The heat shouldn’t be too much of a factor, but do a few “sweat” runs on the treadmill, this involves an hour hard run with a coat and woolly hat!
- Eat plenty of salt tablets (even in the UK), drink Nuun electrolyte, and eat flapjacks, nuts and dried fruit
- Do at least one 50 miler, it may be hell at the time but it is hugely beneficial.
- Train without socks and with sand in your shoes. It worked for me that’s all I can say!
- Create a training schedule and try and stick to it.
Food
- For breakfast take a zip lock bag full of muesli, granola, Country Crisp & dried milk power, it was delicious and meant I didn’t need to cook in the morning!
- Take a mix of nuts, seeds, dried fruit and also pepparami to eat on the run.
- Take super noodles with you as a starter (boil water and eat in a water bottle cut in half to avoid washing up)
- Mix up the expedition foods so you have a different main meal and pudding each night.
- Drink Race Recovery shakes at the end of each day.
- Don’t scrimp on food for the save of a few kgs: you’ll be working so hard everyday that you’ll welcome a decent meal.
Kit
- Take lightweight warm clothes as it does get cold at night.
- Splash out on a decent pair of shoes and insoles, I can’t recommend Profeet highly enough.
- Injinjis socks were fantastic, I took 4 pairs of these and 1 pair of Seal Skins, this was fine for the week.
- Any gaiters are fine, just make sure you fit them securely to your trainer. I had my parachute gaiters stitched and glued and no sand got in.
- One of our tent had a little aluminium foil to go around the little hexamine stoves – this was awesome as it radiated the heat and cooked everything so quickly.
- Don’t bother taking too much tape as you can get this from the Doc Trotters.
- Share stoves, fuel and pans. 1 between 2 or 3 people will be fine.
- Take alcohol gel and clean your hands regularly.
- If you love stats get a Garmin Forerunner. Also wear the heart rate monitor and slow your pace down if you go as high as 150 bpm so you are not burning too many carbs.
- Body glide, apply everywhere as it will be your saviour.
Showing posts with label MDS 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MDS 2008. Show all posts
Monday, 16 May 2011
MDS Old Posts March 2008
It's getting close - parrp! 2nd March
With just 25 days until we get on the plane, we have entered squeaky bum time, hence the element of fear on my face in this photo (or is it just exhaustion!).Due to fear of injury I hit the treadmill a few times this week and tried to cram in a couple of 8 mile runs during my lunch break. I also used this as good opportunity to try and train for the heat of the desert by running in a coat and woolly hat. By the way you get some funny looks if you wear these clothes in a gym. Despite this, the treadmill certainly helped my aching hips and knees and it made the 16 and 21 milers on Friday & Saturday that much more comfortable.Any of you who are following the training schedule (and amazingly there seems to be a lot of you!) will know that the big week is coming up. The plan is to attempt to recreate the same shape of the MDS week, but cover less miles. The milage is still fairly daunting, 103 over 6 days. This will be great in principle, but it will be all for nothing if I get injured, so I will play it by ear and ease up if necessary. If we get injured now we are truly in the poop!Dont forget our leaving party which is this Thursday 6th March at Ruby Lo's just by Selfridges in London. Jimmy and I hope to see you there!
The Party - 7th March
Thank you to all those of you that turned up last night. Everyone dug really deep and we managed to raise a seriously impressive £1,935 so thank you!It was great to see the mix of family, friends, media luvvies, doctors and nurses. Discovery hosted a fantastic party for us, providing food, drink and of course the mandatory Moroccan belly dancer with fake boobs and her pet snake - great value!So many companies helped us with the raffle prizes and there were very few people who left empty handed. Prizes included CDs, Cinema tickets, ipods, Play Stations, and even Sky HD for a year!With the party done, our fundraising efforts will not stop there. We are off in just 20 days so if you have been thinking of sponsoring us and have not got around to it, there is still time! Thanks again for all your support, we both really appreciate it.
The race shoe - Profeet. 7th March
If it wasn't hitting home already that the start is rapidly approaching, then again I have had another reminder as I picked up the trainers that I will use in the event itself. I think you may have guessed by now that this is no ordinary event. It is ridiculously long, hot and uncomfortable. The feet will take a huge amount of pounding over the week, and because of this we have been advised to wear shoes at least 1 size too big to allow for swelling. It is not uncommon for this to be inadequate and past competitors have had to cut open their shoes and gaffer tape them as their feet have ballooned - fingers crossed this doesn't happen to us!Profeet have been seriously generous and agreed to provide me with a couple of pairs of shoes and insoles. Please forgive the shameless plug, but the truth is that without them I honestly believe that I would not have been able to complete all the training. When I first saw them back in August, they were able to correct my running style so that I was putting less pressure on the arch of my feet and toes. Without this I definitely would have struggled with stress fractures as soon as the miles increased. Just knowing that I have the right insole and trainer has been a massive help, and if I start feeling aches and pains I know that it is because of my running action or not stretching enough.Believe it or not but I have not been asked to post this, I wanted to because I am genuinely thankful to them and can't recommend them highly enough, so definitely consider them if you are in the market for some proper shoes!http://www.profeet.co.uk/
The 2008 Course - 10th March
Looking at the official MDS website (http://www.darbaroud.com/) the route for 2008 has been described as being 245.3 Km long, making it the longest ever in the history of the event. Well that's just great isn't it!"The race will be challenging from day one - and continue that way - offering all the variety of the Sahara." Brilliant! "The course will take runners over ergs (dune zones), seriously steep jebels (up to 25% slope factor) and rocky plateaus." Can't wait!"They’ll have to cross hard as iron salt-flats and the driest of wadis. The backdrop to all of this is the most beautiful of landscapes with vistas accessible only to those on foot. The desert has its secret gardens and competitors on MDS will be lucky enough to see them." A real bonus as I love gardening!"Around 850 competitors will be setting off to conquer the Moroccan sands on March 30th. 30% are French, the other 70% made up of more than 32 nationalities, with a strong Anglo-Saxon presence." Well at least we won't be alone out there."Sportsmanship, solidarity, conviviality and respect for the environment: these are the organisation’s key words." Not blisters, heat stroke and diarrhea then.We knew it would be tough, but it looks as though the organisers are keen to make it even tougher. GULP.
Not Injured - just! 11th March
Over the past 7 days of training, I have tried to replicate the shape of the main event, but cut the mileage by a third.The first few days went well, cramming in a 13 miler after work on Wednesday, 15 miles before work on Thursday and a further 18 miles before work on Friday. The lack of sleep was a minor factor but overall I was feeling good. My feet however were sore and I took the executive decision not to attempt the 30 on Saturday. My toes were painful after the run on Friday and I wasn't sure if I had just bruised them or done something more serious. Thankfully it was the former and they are feeling good again now.I am well aware that I'm going to suffer from various pains and aliments when I am out there, and that is when I will try and grin and bear it - risking further damage now is just not worth it. Although it was a shame to not have tried the 30, I think I had good reason not to and am therefore happy with the decision.With just 16 days until we get on that plane, all I am trying to do now is complete the remaining training runs as easily as possible so I get to the start line as fresh and fit as possible.
Stopping Traffic - 16th March
As you may well know by now departure time is rapidly approaching and we are entering the final few training runs.This weekend I took the opportunity to complete my very own MDS dress rehearsal. This involved running 17 miles in as much of my kit as possible. In two weeks I will fit in seamlessly with my fellow MDS colleagues, however on Saturday morning near Haywards Heath I looked like a complete arse!Wearing gaiters and heavy backpack I generated a lot of looks, and quite rightly so, but I really couldn't have cared less as the practice was invaluable. The body and kit seemed to hold up quite well, so now I will start the taper phase where I will rapidly reduce the number of miles in training and eat/rest as much as possible. Believe it or not but I may find this process quite difficult because the thought of flying to the desert in just 11 days makes me want to dive for the trainers to prepare some more. Time is pretty much up though, now we eat!
Departure cometh - 25th March
The training really is all over now and the bag is packed - tomorrow we leave!Running training really began in September 2007 and picked up again in January this year, but since Jan 07 I have managed to cover;Run 1537 milesCycled 3168 milesRowed 94 milesSwim 32 milesDespite all this I have no idea how I'll get on out there, I guess I'll find out pretty soon!Many thanks again for all the support. I will try and update this news section each day, but if there are technical issues then you can track our progress on the official MDS site as they will post the finish times each day. http://www.darbaroud.com/Our plan is to walk the first day and run the rest, so if our bodies hold up OK, you should see our position improve each day - well that's the theory anyway.Time to front up. Bye!!
Greetings from the desert!! 31st March
After days of travelling, queuing and waiting, we finally started today's 19 mile stage.After the 1st mile we found ourselves at the start of the biggest dune field in the Sahara! yes, it was very hard work getting through them, but at the same time they were beautiful!Hopefully the backpack will feel lighter tomorrow so we can crank up the running.At the moment though the spirits are high, the banter is flowing, and the feet are blister free - fingers crossed for tomorrow!!
Day 1 - Dunes. 31.3.08
After days of travelling, queing and waiting, we finally started todays 19 mile stage. after the 1st mile we found ourselves at the start of the biggest dune field in the sahara. yes it was very hard work getting through them, but at the same time they were beautiful! hopefully the teh backpack will feel lighter tomorrow so we can crank up the running. at the moment though the spirits are high, the banter is flowing, and the feet are blister free - fingers crossed for tomorrow.
With just 25 days until we get on the plane, we have entered squeaky bum time, hence the element of fear on my face in this photo (or is it just exhaustion!).Due to fear of injury I hit the treadmill a few times this week and tried to cram in a couple of 8 mile runs during my lunch break. I also used this as good opportunity to try and train for the heat of the desert by running in a coat and woolly hat. By the way you get some funny looks if you wear these clothes in a gym. Despite this, the treadmill certainly helped my aching hips and knees and it made the 16 and 21 milers on Friday & Saturday that much more comfortable.Any of you who are following the training schedule (and amazingly there seems to be a lot of you!) will know that the big week is coming up. The plan is to attempt to recreate the same shape of the MDS week, but cover less miles. The milage is still fairly daunting, 103 over 6 days. This will be great in principle, but it will be all for nothing if I get injured, so I will play it by ear and ease up if necessary. If we get injured now we are truly in the poop!Dont forget our leaving party which is this Thursday 6th March at Ruby Lo's just by Selfridges in London. Jimmy and I hope to see you there!
The Party - 7th March
Thank you to all those of you that turned up last night. Everyone dug really deep and we managed to raise a seriously impressive £1,935 so thank you!It was great to see the mix of family, friends, media luvvies, doctors and nurses. Discovery hosted a fantastic party for us, providing food, drink and of course the mandatory Moroccan belly dancer with fake boobs and her pet snake - great value!So many companies helped us with the raffle prizes and there were very few people who left empty handed. Prizes included CDs, Cinema tickets, ipods, Play Stations, and even Sky HD for a year!With the party done, our fundraising efforts will not stop there. We are off in just 20 days so if you have been thinking of sponsoring us and have not got around to it, there is still time! Thanks again for all your support, we both really appreciate it.
The race shoe - Profeet. 7th March
If it wasn't hitting home already that the start is rapidly approaching, then again I have had another reminder as I picked up the trainers that I will use in the event itself. I think you may have guessed by now that this is no ordinary event. It is ridiculously long, hot and uncomfortable. The feet will take a huge amount of pounding over the week, and because of this we have been advised to wear shoes at least 1 size too big to allow for swelling. It is not uncommon for this to be inadequate and past competitors have had to cut open their shoes and gaffer tape them as their feet have ballooned - fingers crossed this doesn't happen to us!Profeet have been seriously generous and agreed to provide me with a couple of pairs of shoes and insoles. Please forgive the shameless plug, but the truth is that without them I honestly believe that I would not have been able to complete all the training. When I first saw them back in August, they were able to correct my running style so that I was putting less pressure on the arch of my feet and toes. Without this I definitely would have struggled with stress fractures as soon as the miles increased. Just knowing that I have the right insole and trainer has been a massive help, and if I start feeling aches and pains I know that it is because of my running action or not stretching enough.Believe it or not but I have not been asked to post this, I wanted to because I am genuinely thankful to them and can't recommend them highly enough, so definitely consider them if you are in the market for some proper shoes!http://www.profeet.co.uk/
The 2008 Course - 10th March
Looking at the official MDS website (http://www.darbaroud.com/) the route for 2008 has been described as being 245.3 Km long, making it the longest ever in the history of the event. Well that's just great isn't it!"The race will be challenging from day one - and continue that way - offering all the variety of the Sahara." Brilliant! "The course will take runners over ergs (dune zones), seriously steep jebels (up to 25% slope factor) and rocky plateaus." Can't wait!"They’ll have to cross hard as iron salt-flats and the driest of wadis. The backdrop to all of this is the most beautiful of landscapes with vistas accessible only to those on foot. The desert has its secret gardens and competitors on MDS will be lucky enough to see them." A real bonus as I love gardening!"Around 850 competitors will be setting off to conquer the Moroccan sands on March 30th. 30% are French, the other 70% made up of more than 32 nationalities, with a strong Anglo-Saxon presence." Well at least we won't be alone out there."Sportsmanship, solidarity, conviviality and respect for the environment: these are the organisation’s key words." Not blisters, heat stroke and diarrhea then.We knew it would be tough, but it looks as though the organisers are keen to make it even tougher. GULP.
Not Injured - just! 11th March
Over the past 7 days of training, I have tried to replicate the shape of the main event, but cut the mileage by a third.The first few days went well, cramming in a 13 miler after work on Wednesday, 15 miles before work on Thursday and a further 18 miles before work on Friday. The lack of sleep was a minor factor but overall I was feeling good. My feet however were sore and I took the executive decision not to attempt the 30 on Saturday. My toes were painful after the run on Friday and I wasn't sure if I had just bruised them or done something more serious. Thankfully it was the former and they are feeling good again now.I am well aware that I'm going to suffer from various pains and aliments when I am out there, and that is when I will try and grin and bear it - risking further damage now is just not worth it. Although it was a shame to not have tried the 30, I think I had good reason not to and am therefore happy with the decision.With just 16 days until we get on that plane, all I am trying to do now is complete the remaining training runs as easily as possible so I get to the start line as fresh and fit as possible.
Stopping Traffic - 16th March
As you may well know by now departure time is rapidly approaching and we are entering the final few training runs.This weekend I took the opportunity to complete my very own MDS dress rehearsal. This involved running 17 miles in as much of my kit as possible. In two weeks I will fit in seamlessly with my fellow MDS colleagues, however on Saturday morning near Haywards Heath I looked like a complete arse!Wearing gaiters and heavy backpack I generated a lot of looks, and quite rightly so, but I really couldn't have cared less as the practice was invaluable. The body and kit seemed to hold up quite well, so now I will start the taper phase where I will rapidly reduce the number of miles in training and eat/rest as much as possible. Believe it or not but I may find this process quite difficult because the thought of flying to the desert in just 11 days makes me want to dive for the trainers to prepare some more. Time is pretty much up though, now we eat!
Departure cometh - 25th March
The training really is all over now and the bag is packed - tomorrow we leave!Running training really began in September 2007 and picked up again in January this year, but since Jan 07 I have managed to cover;Run 1537 milesCycled 3168 milesRowed 94 milesSwim 32 milesDespite all this I have no idea how I'll get on out there, I guess I'll find out pretty soon!Many thanks again for all the support. I will try and update this news section each day, but if there are technical issues then you can track our progress on the official MDS site as they will post the finish times each day. http://www.darbaroud.com/Our plan is to walk the first day and run the rest, so if our bodies hold up OK, you should see our position improve each day - well that's the theory anyway.Time to front up. Bye!!
Greetings from the desert!! 31st March
After days of travelling, queuing and waiting, we finally started today's 19 mile stage.After the 1st mile we found ourselves at the start of the biggest dune field in the Sahara! yes, it was very hard work getting through them, but at the same time they were beautiful!Hopefully the backpack will feel lighter tomorrow so we can crank up the running.At the moment though the spirits are high, the banter is flowing, and the feet are blister free - fingers crossed for tomorrow!!
Day 1 - Dunes. 31.3.08
After days of travelling, queing and waiting, we finally started todays 19 mile stage. after the 1st mile we found ourselves at the start of the biggest dune field in the sahara. yes it was very hard work getting through them, but at the same time they were beautiful! hopefully the teh backpack will feel lighter tomorrow so we can crank up the running. at the moment though the spirits are high, the banter is flowing, and the feet are blister free - fingers crossed for tomorrow.
MDS Old Posts February 2008
Saturday 2nd Feb - 30 miler
Decided to get the 30 miler over and done with as soon as possible on Saturday so I began the long slog at 6.30am. It started out dark and cold but soon the sun came up and it turned into a gorgeous day. I ran over to Richmond Park and met up with a mate of mine and we did two laps together. I left him having run 24 miles and continued on back home. By this stage I was tired but mentally I was shot so the last 8 miles were a real grind. With a mixture of running and walking I managed to get home for lunch, 32 miles to the good, and settle in to watch the 6 Nations - all in all a complete waste of a day, but good to have got in done!Looking forward to slightly less miles this week.
Walking is boring! 10th Feb
A relatively easy week of running this week - just 36 miles, but the tough circuits on Tuesday night made it a lot more uncomfortable. Did my first "sweat run" in the gym. This involved a jacket and wooly hat and running hard for an hour - obviously got the odd looks that I deserved!The main exercise of the weekend was a long walk as I have been advised to practice walking as well as running as we will inevitably walk a fair bit out in the desert. I hate walking, and I hate doing it even more with a 20 kg pack on. By the end of the 5 hours and 18 miles the straps were really digging in and I had had enough, and the only saving grace was that the weather was glorious. Despite it being long and lonely it was a really useful thing to do. I woke up on Sunday with a sore back and painful legs in different places from the usual running aches, so clearly walking works different muscles - something else that now needs conditioning!We're running on fear now as we have just 48 days to go. The big run for this week is the overnight 50 miler. The plan is to get the train to Maidenhead after work on Friday and run through the night along the Thames path until we finish outside St Thomas's hospital at about 9am. In a sick sort of way I am actually looking forward to it! An imminent pyschological evaluation is needed methinks!
The 50 Miler - 17th Feb
The 30 minute train journey from Paddington to Maidenhead after work on Friday gave Jimmy and I just enough time to properly contemplate what we were about to do, and we both concluded that this little adventure was truly idiotic! In order to try and recreate the physical and mental exhaustion that we will undoubtedly experience in the desert, we attempted to run 50 miles through the night, using torchlight, carrying heavy packs and finishing outside the Neonatal unit at St Thomas' Hospital. Having met Duncan and Pete, two other lads doing the MDS this year, we set off at 7.20pm and headed straight to the Thames Path. Our plan was to run for 30 minutes and walk for 5, and this seemed to work pretty well by the time we had completed 20 miles and we stopped for some dinner at Midnight.
Personally I was struggling from the start with tight hips, but I was content to just plod along as the pace (thankfully) was not exactly electric. We nailed 30 miles and with just 20 more to go I was quietly confident that we would finish well within our 12 hour estimate. It was on mile 33 however that the proverbial wheels came off. Jimmy picked up an injury to his right knee, and in my attempt to sympathise with him, I began to feel a lot of pain at the back of my left knee. Try as I might, I just couldn't run any further, so we were forced to walk the last 17 miles. 
It was about 5 o'clock in the morning so still dark and frosty, so without the heat we normally generated through running, we soon began to get very cold. It was agony knowing that we were so close yet so far from the end. We were averaging just 4 miles an hour and it felt even slower as we crawled past well known landmarks such as Richmond, Putney and Fulham that we would normally breeze through. In the end it took us 13 hours and we covered 51 miles. Our feet were bruised, knees throbbed, and for some reason our hands were really swollen (I still don't know why?!). Undoubtedly it was tough, and physically there is still a lot of work to do, but mentally I hope that it was a useful exercise and that we are now stronger because of it - God knows we will need to be in about 38 days time!
Easier week - 25th Feb
After the pain of the 50 miler, I decided it best to take it relatively easy this week. Although the legs recovered pretty quickly, the pain and cracks made it clear that the hips and knees needed a bit more time. (Jimmy will update you on his condition in due course!)So it was a week packed with plenty of stretching, swimming and a couple of runs. With just a 13 miler on the Saturday it was an easy weekend. I was due to do another 13 on Sunday, but I'm afraid that the lure of the sofa proved too strong, but I made up for it this morning by running 16 miles before work.It is all getting very real now. A lot of the kit is beginning to arrive, and the days for training are rapidly running out. The training peaks over the next two weeks. We've got just 18 running days left in which we'll cover 230 miles. That seems a lot but somehow I wish we could do more!Hope to see you at the party on 6th March if you can make it.
The 30 minute train journey from Paddington to Maidenhead after work on Friday gave Jimmy and I just enough time to properly contemplate what we were about to do, and we both concluded that this little adventure was truly idiotic! In order to try and recreate the physical and mental exhaustion that we will undoubtedly experience in the desert, we attempted to run 50 miles through the night, using torchlight, carrying heavy packs and finishing outside the Neonatal unit at St Thomas' Hospital. Having met Duncan and Pete, two other lads doing the MDS this year, we set off at 7.20pm and headed straight to the Thames Path. Our plan was to run for 30 minutes and walk for 5, and this seemed to work pretty well by the time we had completed 20 miles and we stopped for some dinner at Midnight.
Personally I was struggling from the start with tight hips, but I was content to just plod along as the pace (thankfully) was not exactly electric. We nailed 30 miles and with just 20 more to go I was quietly confident that we would finish well within our 12 hour estimate. It was on mile 33 however that the proverbial wheels came off. Jimmy picked up an injury to his right knee, and in my attempt to sympathise with him, I began to feel a lot of pain at the back of my left knee. Try as I might, I just couldn't run any further, so we were forced to walk the last 17 miles. It was about 5 o'clock in the morning so still dark and frosty, so without the heat we normally generated through running, we soon began to get very cold. It was agony knowing that we were so close yet so far from the end. We were averaging just 4 miles an hour and it felt even slower as we crawled past well known landmarks such as Richmond, Putney and Fulham that we would normally breeze through. In the end it took us 13 hours and we covered 51 miles. Our feet were bruised, knees throbbed, and for some reason our hands were really swollen (I still don't know why?!). Undoubtedly it was tough, and physically there is still a lot of work to do, but mentally I hope that it was a useful exercise and that we are now stronger because of it - God knows we will need to be in about 38 days time!Easier week - 25th FebAfter the pain of the 50 miler, I decided it best to take it relatively easy this week. Although the legs recovered pretty quickly, the pain and cracks made it clear that the hips and knees needed a bit more time. (Jimmy will update you on his condition in due course!)So it was a week packed with plenty of stretching, swimming and a couple of runs. With just a 13 miler on the Saturday it was an easy weekend. I was due to do another 13 on Sunday, but I'm afraid that the lure of the sofa proved too strong, but I made up for it this morning by running 16 miles before work.It is all getting very real now. A lot of the kit is beginning to arrive, and the days for training are rapidly running out. The training peaks over the next two weeks. We've got just 18 running days left in which we'll cover 230 miles. That seems a lot but somehow I wish we could do more!Hope to see you at the party on 6th March if you can make it.
MDS Old Posts January 2008
Beginning to really crank up the training - even Jimmy is doing some! We met up this morning for our 3 1/2 hr run up to and around Richmond Park. Legs and spirit held out well and we completed 23 miles in just under 4 hours - not too bad for our first run together with packs. Already fearing the two 25 milers next weekend though!!
There I was all keen and eager to nail two 25 milers last weekend. In an attempt to have Sunday off I ran the long way home on Friday night and completed 25.5miles (as you do!). A few hours after a dodgy Red Bull I was sick, and I continued to be so for the whole of Saturday. Unfortunately running another marathon had to be knocked on the head as just getting off the sofa was proving enough of a struggle.Jimmy did well doing two 20+s so I will endeavour to make up for it this weekend, and complete the two 25s tonight and tomorrow morning.I just read that back - it's official, this is a very stupid thing to have signed up for!
Friday 25th Jan - 25 milerIt is runs like these that you wonder why the hell we're doing this! Running by myself, with full pack on (front and back), I knew it would be a long night after work but at least I had the solace of a fully loaded ipod with new tunes and podcasts. Shame therefore that the ipod had turned itself on during the day and had absolutely no battery left when I went to switch it on - the night just got a whole lot longer and lonlier.The run itself went ok and included running about 12 miles on the sandy track around Hyde Park. It was long and boring, but at least I had my mobile...oh no, that's right, the b'loody thing fell out of my front pack half way round!! Persevered though and completed the 25 miles and cycled back home for a quick feed and bed, only to do it all again the next morning - 50 miles in under 24 hours is a pretty tough ask, but I suppose that we have to get used to this lunacy!
Saturday 26th Jan - 25 miler no 2
Despite only just finishing last night's run, the legs didn't feel too bad, so it was once again that I set off with the heavy pack and cycled over to Richmond Park to meet Jimmy and Al, another mad fool who is doing the MDS. We completed 3 1/2 laps of the 7 mile track in order to complete the 2nd long run of the weekend. The 1st lap was almost pleasant. The legs were a bit heavy but not too bad and the chat flowed. The 2nd lap was more of a challenge and gradually the miles became slower and more painful. The 3rd lap was a complete ball ache (a technical running term!). On slightly fresher legs Jimmy and Al found the going a bit easier but were kind enough to regularly wait for yours truly, but the sight of their backs was becoming a more regular occurrence.The last 5 miles in particular were very hard work, so once again the fear factor has set in wondering how the hell we're going to cope in the desert, in vastly hotter temperatures, with heavier bags and with less food!?!Complete it we did though and it felt good. I had a massive craving half way round for KFC, and even though it meant cycling a couple of extra miles on the way home, it was well worth it - as was the rest day on Sunday!
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