Endurance Adventures

I have also gone and entered the ballot for the 2010 Virgin London Marathon- only have to wait for October to see if I've got in!

Labels: London Marathon

Well, touch wood my knee appears to be just about healed. I tried a 7 mile walk around Colwick Country Park Saturday, and it was fine... so I thought I'd try a little gentle jogging at the gym, so tried 3 X 5 minutes of slow running interspersed with 2 minutes of walking. I followed this up with a fairly gentle 30 miles on the elliptical. I could feel a slight sensation but it wasn't pain or even discomfort and I was wearing my support bandage, and kept stretching it out.

It was absolutely fine afterwards, and is still fine today- so hopefully that's on the way to being sorted.

However, I now have another wee problem... I stupidly tried an exercise at the gym I hadn't really done before- kneeling on the bench, holding a weight and pulling my arm up behind me in a kind of tricept row- to try to blast those bingo wings once and for all!

As I lifted, I could feel a movement in the muscles under the skin- but no pain, no discomfort, nothing. Until 4 o'clock this morning that is. I woke with a really sharp pain in my left side, which just got worse and worse no matter how I tried to lay. In fact, I convinced myself I was actually having a heart attack and tried to feel my pulse! Then I realised that when I lifted my arm I could feel the muscles pull, so I have obviously strained something. Trouble is, with it being right over the rib cage, every time I breathe it bloody hurts- but I can hardly stop breathing! it was agony trying to wash, dress and drive to work, but I've more or less kept it at bay with painkillers. Don't know how much sleep I'll get tonight though.

Shit. I just want to get back into it as I have been eating loads of crap and feel fat... several folks on the forum have had niggles- maybe we just took a lot more out of our bodies than we realised!

I have another reason for wanting to get back into it though- I borrowed my sis's copy of 'Run Fat Boy Run' at the weekend, hoping it would be inspirational. And it was (as well as being funny and feelgood!) so inspirational in fact that as soon as I finished watching it I went and signed up for the Robin Hood Marathon!!!

Labels: Injury, Robin Hood Marathon

... I made a new entry! So- what have I been up to post MdS? Not an awful lot... I had problems with me knee at the beginning of the week, it was still hurting, mostly behind the knee as it flexes. I kep my support bandage on it and it has improved, in fact I can't feel any pain. I'm sure the four flights of stairs up to my office didn't help!

I have been back to the gym, and done some strength training, plus low impact work on the ellipticals and stepper. I have a review booked some time in May- I want to maintain a good level of fitness and keep up the strength training but obviously not to the same intensity as prior to the MdS.

There is a LDWA walk Sunday- the Valleys and Views. I have done it a few times, and it's a nice route- quite easy walking. But it's 26 miles and I really don't think it would be a good idea to subject my knee to it, which is a pity...

Labels: Marathon des Sables, Valleys and Views

So- my thoughts on the whole Marathon des Sables thing...

My initial thoughts were real disappointment that we were rained off and the event was shorter than usual, and initially not as hot as usual. I wondered whether I would feel I hadn't really done the MdS. After all, we were pretty damned unlucky! Who'd have thought it- bloody rain in the desert!!!

Whilst I was doing it I felt that I may have to one day come back and do it 'properly'- have the full bivouac and seven days experience.

Maybe I should adopt Rose's attitude... her philosophy was that the MdS is the MdS... whichever form it takes in any particular year. We have to deal with whatever the desert chucks at us- be it high humidity, intense heat or torrential rain...

Plus the stages we did do were apparently harder. I think this was partly to compensate and partly to keep us to higher ground due to the floods which were still evident in low lying areas. Several people, even the top runners, were heard to say that the terrain was much tougher than usual. There were certainly a lot of dunes, we were in them every day.

And don't let us forget that the long stage was 91 km- 56 1/2 miles- making it the longest (and apparently hardest) day ever in the history of the MdS. In all we covered 202 km throughout the week and I'm sure I heard somebody say that prior to 1999 the event was 200 km long.

As Rory Coleman said- this is the MdS they will all be talking about... maybe I will go back and do it again one day, although there are a heck of a lot of other things I want to do as well... all I know is that I was there, I completed all the stages and was given a shiny medal by Patrick, so I can hold my head up and say "I completed the Marathon des Sables"...

It was a fantastic adventure, and one which was made special thanks to the fellow inhabitants of Tent 70- Rach, Sharky, Al, Gilly, Craig, Vicky and Jeff-cheers for being great tent mates! Thanks also to Tent 72 who were also incredibly supportive- Perks, Graham, Rose, Mike A, Mike B, Shiz, Dave and Rich. Fantastic people!

I don't think my guts are quite back to normal yet. My right knee took a right pounding and was quite painful last week. I've done virtually nothing except a few short walks and tackling the 4 flights of stairs at work and have been wearing a support bandage. Touch wood, it feels a lot better, so I am going to try the gym on Saturday. I feel a right lazy slob and unfortunately the sweet tooth has well and truly made a reappearance. This has unfortunately coincided with Easter and copious amounts of chocolate in the house... what's a girl to do...

I have also been feeling a bit flat since returning home. I suppose it's inevitable... for months my whole focus has been on the MdS and training, and that's now all gone... I need to find a new challenge, something new to focus on. Something cheap... watch this space!!

Labels: Marathon des Sables

I slept really well Friday night, but woke up feeling absolutely dreadful; I well and truly had the runs, and felt quite poorly with it. I felt even worse after facing the loos a few times! There was quite an epidemic of it this year, and Rob was distributing emergency toilet paper supplies.

Breakfast was provided, but there was a massive queue for it, and it was already becoming very hot. I just couldn't stand there any longer so went back to the tent to lie down; my tent mates kindly brought my breakfast to me in bed, and I managed to eat a little egg and yogurt. We were due to form the big '24' for the helicopter to photograph (for 24th year of the MdS) shortly afterwards. I went along with the others, but soon realised that I felt really rough and that if I stayed I would be in very real danger of passing out. I went back to the tent, and Perks helped me reach it- I don't know if I would have made it without her help! Al had given me some anti-sickness tablets, so I took one along with some paracetamol.

I managed to get some rest, but was absolutely dreading the 6 hour coach journey back to Ouazazate... I don't know how I stuffed my belongings into my rucksack, I remember Perks helping me but it was a bit of a blur! I do remember the sight of loads of flares being let off whilst we were waiting for the coaches, and illuminating the blue sky with pink lights- Gilly picked one up, it looked for all the world like a sink plug attached by a chain to a small parachute.

Eventually the coaches arrived, and I managed to get a seat at the front. Luckily I didn't suffer from the runs during the journey, although judging by the amount of stops we had, it was apparent that some of the others were! It was quite frustrating at times, as the buses would often stop for half an hour or more. I got off each stop for fresh air more than anything, and managed to sleep for most of the journey. We were given a packed lunch, but I couldn't even look at it!

I was so glad when we reached Ouazazate and was able to get off the coach- only to be faced with a long queue to check in and get our room key, and the prospect of lugging my case to the room (I was very grateful for Mike B's help!) I really didn't feel like going for dinner, so Rach went whilst I laid on my bed, reading. I managed to eat the crisps from my packed lunch, and had an early night.

I felt so much better the next day, and managed to eat a bite out of several enticing breakfast pastries, although the runs were pretty much still in evidence! We were told to go to a nearby hotel to collect our finishers T- shirts, and thought it would only take us a few minutes. Wrong- the organisers decided to make us go through the boutique selling MdS goods before we could collect the T- shirts- meaning another 1 1/2 hours of queueing! There wasn't an awful lot left when we got there, but I did buy a book on the history of the MdS.




Downtown Ouazazate

We decided to explore Ouazazate, not too easy for me as my right knee was hurting a great deal, and one of the blisters on my left foot decided to get in on the act too!



A Familiar Sight!

We found a colourful little square, with a cafe so stopped for lunch. Everyone else had tajines which looked really nice, but I just couldn't face them and chose an omelette.




Tajines For Lunch!

After lunch, we explored a bit more and found some 'souks' with authentic market stalls. I spotted some beads and eagerly selected some for mum, but when I tried to barter the price, the trader wanted the equivalent of £45 for them! A chap called Alex was passing, and as he had a good command of French, tried to help me barter. The stall owner wouldn't accept less than £35 though, so I walked away.




The Souks

We got slightly lost trying to find our way back to the hotel, and arranged to meet in Mike B's room, which was massive, for pre-dinner drinks. Rob gave a speech just before dinner, with awards for first British man and woman, best dressed competitor, most impressive injury and worst prepared competitor, which Kobus won!



Rob's Speech In The Restaurant

We just chilled out for the rest of the evening; most folks were having a drink but I daren't cos of my dodgy tummy, so stuck to water.



Movie Sets In The Hotel




Stagecoach Steph!!

We didn't actually go to bed until 2pm, and were up at 5am next day, so all felt rather worse for wear. Luckily the airport was literally 5 minutes drive from the hotel, and we expected things to run fairly smoothly. But this was Morocco, and we hadn't finished queuing yet... it took around 2 hours to check us all in, and our flight had to be delayed!



Gilly Fed Up With Yet More Queueing!

At last we were all through though, some folks decided to get rid of their remaining Dirhams by buying stuff in the one tiny Duty Free shop, which rapidly ran out of change and started to give change in mars bars!




Catching The Flight Home...

The flight home was pretty uneventful apart from a particularly bumpy landing, and I had a quick cuppa and sandwich before my 4 1/2 coach journey home... the drama wasn't quite over though as whilst I was waiting for my friend to pick me up, a chap walked down the road behind me and collapsed! I walked over to him, and a woman had stopped to call 999. Whilst she was talking to them, a couple of policemen arrived and the guy woke up and sprang to his feet! They told him to wait until the ambulance arrived so that he could be checked over so we left him in their hands!

I didn't actually get home til around 9:30pm, physically and mentally spent!

Labels: Marathon des Sables

As soon as I woke I realised that I wasn't feeling at all good. I felt completely lacking in energy and rather sick; I couldn't stomach the thought of breakfast but managed to force a few spoonfulls of cereal down before the Berbers removed the tent from around our ears. What I really fancied was a cup of coffee, so I set the kettle to boil even though every movement seemed like a real effort. The water was boiling nicely after about 10 minutes, so I reached out to pick it up and ended up knocking it off, and watching my efforts drain away into the sand! I could have quite easily cried at this point, but luckily nobody else seemed to notice my language!

I couldn't believe I was about to walk a marathon, and have never felt less like it! I knew that Rach wanted to put in a fast time today, so told her I was just going to take my time and that she should go on ahead. I was quite glad it was the last day, although I had been disappointed when we heard that the usual short last day had been cancelled.

We lined up at the start for the last time, Patrick made his speech and we were off- heading towards a rocky mountain and a quite steep climb;




First Climb Of The Day

I walked with Perks all day, and it was really pleasant as we chatted for the whole time. Once we had left the mountain behind, we had a plain to cross to checkpoint one. I wasn't feeling great, so we were taking it steady. There were quite a few 'walking wounded' around, plus folks who had been very poorly all week but completed the event in an amazing display of guts and courage. It was really hot, and and we used any extra water we got to pour over our necks and shoulders, and into our hats.



Scenic Desert

We only had a short stretch to checkpoint 2, but it was a tough one; over an expanse of small dunes which made my knee hurt worse and worse with each ascent and sandy descent. Perks was wearing a knee support she said she didn't need, so took it off and kindly fitted it to my knee, which did provide some support.



Perks Tackling The Dunes

I was intrigued by the large, furry caterpillars in the sand, I have no idea where they came from or what they ate!

We walked uphill and came to checkpoint 2; I had completely lost my usual sweet tooth, and found myself craving foods such as bread and cheese and roast dinners. Unfortunately all the snacks I had on me were on the sweet side, and I couldn't bring myself to eat any of them. Perks had the opposite problem; she had developed an unusually sweet tooth, so I swapped her a bag of sweets for her pretzel and nut mixture, and dipped into them during the day.



Hard Going

After checkpoint 2, we descended steeply and crossed more sand and dunes- the pain in my knee was now agonising, and only eased off when we weren't in the dunes. was also now suffering from diarrhoea- about 85% of competitors must have succumbed to tummy troubles of some sort- it was pretty bad this year apparently. I'm not surprised, as although toilets had been provided, they were holes in the ground with a plastic 'squat' seat laid over them. Let's just say that folk's aims weren't always that great... in fact, many didn't bother using the toilets at all, and went behind bushes to do their business. Unfortunately some weren't great at burying or covering stuff either, so it was pretty disgusting at times!



Scenery- Dunes!

Crossing yet more dunes and fresh agony to my knee brought us to checkpoint 3, and from then on the route was pretty flat until we reached a road and turned a sharp left to follow it. Surprisingly, we came to a wide river- I don't know if it was only there due to the recent rains, but there were lots of kids swimming in it.



River In The Desert!

The road forded the river, so we ended up with wet feet- yep, wet feet in the desert! Well, why not- we had already experienced muddy feet... Shortly after, we left the road and started to climb again- I had to have another toilet stop and lost my hand gel out of my front pack. A long, flat stretch saw us approaching distant hills, which we eventually reached and ascended. Several Land Rovers went past, and one stopped; a chap got out and fastened light sticks onto our packs as they thought we'd finish in the dark.



Desert Sunset

It was evening by now, and we approached the hill below, turning left just before it. Perks was ahead and let out a huge whoop, as she could see the bivouac.




Evening Light

We had a steep, sandy descent, aided by a couple of officials, before crossing a plain to the bivouac. My knee was still agony, so Perks lent me her walking poles. It was getting darker and darker, and I couldn't face the prospect of taking off my pack to try to find my head torch, so prayed we'd reach the bivouac before it got too dark. We suddenly saw two figures, who turned out to be Jeff and Al, who had kindly come out to walk us in, having finished already. I was really touched by this gesture!

Just before we reached the bivouac, I realised that I could no longer see, so mentioned to Jeff that I'd have to stop and get out my head torch. His reply was "Why don't you take off your sunglasses?" I'd completely forgotten I still had them on...

We crossed the line amidst a blur of applause, and Patrick Bauer placed my medal around my neck. He said a few words, in French- I can't recall what he said, but heard the word 'fatiguee'- yes I was pretty damn tired!



It Was All Worth While

Kobus was waiting at the finish line- Kobus is a living legend- he was, by his own admission, an overweight, unfit 'couch potato' who decided he wanted to do something amazing with his life. He set himself the ambitious task of completing the MdS with only 9 months training, and even devised a way of cooking a full English breakfast each morning! He easily completed Day 1 and Day 2, but was sadly pulled out on Day 3. He intends to come back next year, and I am sure he will be successful- he has his own blog.

We had a meal provided for us that night, and I was able to indulge my bread and cheese cravings. A large stage had been erected, and an orchestra flown out, so I ate my dinner to the sounds of classical music. It was pretty surreal hearing it drift across the desert! There was even a soloist in a red dress, and we hoped she'd be able to avoid the sh*t minefield around the campsite! I felt quite sad that our desert adventure was nearly over!

Labels: Marathon Day, Marathon des Sables

Luckily I slept much better as it was a lot warmer in the night. We had been told that the Berbers would be taking down our tents at 6am, ready to move camp- when they came they literally lifted the tent off us, leaving us sitting on our rugs!



The Berbers Remove Our Tent!

It was going to be hot today; the sun was already quite warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We ate a hasty breakfast, packed our stuff (Al's seemed to have exploded!) and made our way to the start, ready as we ever would be for 56 miles...



Ready For The Off- The Camel Sweepers

I felt pretty good, and my feet weren't giving me too much bother- I could feel the blisters but they weren't too painful. Rach was suffering from tummy troubles, so I was ahead of her until the first checkpoint. I passed a Land Rover, completely stuck in the mud, waiting to be pulled out;



Land Rover Stuck In The Mud!

We passed near a town, and the inhabitants had come out in small groups to cheer us on. There were some small kids amongst them and I gave them a wave.




A Town On Route

I saw Rach and Perks at the first checkpoint, and left with Perks as Rach was still feeling dodgy. We followed the route over a small plain, before bearing left into some hills. There was quite a lot of greenery around, more than there would normally be due to the rain. In particular there were lots of small, round yellow flowers which smelt lovely.



Me!

I was still feeling good, and walking quite strong. Rach caught us up and we all walked together for a bit. The lead runners, who had set off at 12pm, passed us, followed by a Land Rover- they would be home long before us! After a while, I found myself walking alone again, although Rach wasn't too far behind.




Desert Hills

I stopped for a few minutes at the second checkpoint, sitting with Mike A and Graham. There was a 16 hour time limit to get to checkpoint 4, so I didn't linger long. I carried on, past hills and plains, and at one point saw a herd of small black and white goats to my left. As I looked, I realised that they had a shepherd with them; dressed in traditional robes, he looked completely at home in this desert environment. In contrast, I felt gaudy and completely out of context. I noticed him watching me, so put my hand up in a gesture of friendship, which he returned.




Desert Scenery

Just before checkpoint 3, several children in jumpers lined the route. They would walk alongside me for a few minutes, saying 'Bonjour' and 'Ca Va?' before pointing to my buff and saying 'Donnez- moi!' I just pretended I understood absolutely no French at all, and noticed they disappeared when I said 'Au revoir!' I kept turning to make sure Rach was ok, as it could be quite intimidating, especially when the older children showed an interest.

I reached checkpoint 3, Rose came in, then Carol, Graham and Rach. We were given glow sticks to fasten onto the backs of our packs, and I decided to walk with Rach from now on as it was getting dark and neither of us wanted to walk alone. She set off first, and me and Rose caught her up just as it was getting dark.



Sunset On The Long Day

Funnily enough, I had been feeling great up until then, but as soon as I caught Rach up I started to feel dodgy; very tired and a little sick. Rose was feeling good so went on ahead, and me and Rach followed the glow sticks now marking the course through the dark. For some reason I became convinced that there was a road just to the right of us! (It was easy to hallucinate- Craig later told us he was convinced at one point that there was a large coniferous forest to his right!)

We made it to checkpoint 4, well within the time limit. Rose was there, so I boiled a kettle of water so that me, Rose and Rach could have a drink. Poor Rach was suffering with diarrhoea and couldn't keep any food in, so I gave her a packet of crisps and had one myself- these turned out to be a godsend and I would definately take more if I do anything like this again!

There were shelters which were all full, so we sat in the open to have our drinks and snacks. Carol and Graham came in, and planned to sleep for a few hours, which in hindsight was a sensible option. Me and Rach decided to press on, and immediately hit dunes, which were pretty tough going for a few miles. I'm impressed Rach managed to keep going as she said she had no energy and she must have felt really rough.

As we were coming out of the dunes, we realised that the glow sticks were going very steeply uphill and found ourselves at the base of a mountain! I was struggling at this point as I appeared to have completely lost all sense of balance. Unfortunately me and Rach became separated, although I suspect that this was my fault- I saw people to our right who appeared to be having an easier time, and went towards them, thinking Rach was behind me.

Once I realised I had lost Rach and the glow sticks, I thought that if I climbed to the top, I would have a much better view. But when I got there, it turned out to be a false summit, and another wall of rock loomed out of the darkness ahead of me. This happened several times, and the rocks around me were becoming steeper and looser. It started to rain, and I can honestly say that this was my lowest point. I thought that this was it for me, I wasn't going to get out of it and actually had a little weep. I could still see lights below me, and called out 'Does anybody know the way?'

A group of three people shouted 'We're coming up to you' and started to ascend. After they had come a little way, they shouted that they had found a path. I was stil someway above them, so had to slide down on my bum, cursing a lot. My front pack decided to come unclipped at one side, so I had to try to stop my water bottles from sliding out. Luckily the small group waited for me to reach them, and a chap fixed my front pack. We followed the path to a pass and a rocky track down. It wasn't the route we should have taken, but we could see the glow sticks marking the route in the distance so knew we could get back on track.

I explained that my friend had also been on the mountain, and said that I would stay and call her for a few minutes. The chap who fixed my front pack suggested that I let off my flare! I declined- as that would really have been game over- and stayed for a few minutes, calling Rach. There was no reply, and I figured that in all probability she would have made her own way over and the best thing I could do was to make my way to the next checkpoint and see if she came in.

It took me ages to get down the mountain. I am not a downhill sort of person anyway, but me complete lack of balance, plus the fact that everytime I put my hand down to steady myself I placed it on some spiky plant, made it really difficult. My front pack came undone again, and I ended up holding it all the way to the next checkpoint.

Finally, I was down and back on route, but felt completely wiped out. We were back in dunes; steeper and higher than before, with the wind whipping the sand in your face at the top of each one. I dreaded the possibility of a sandstorm! Luckily the rain hadn't come to anything, and the night was now clear. Some folks saw a laser extending from the checkpoint, but I missed it.

After what seemed like ages, I caught up with a group of people, and spotted Rach- I was overjoyed to see her! She, like me, had waited and called, but decided to press on to the next checkpoint assuming I'd find my way too. It was a real slog through the dunes to checkpoint 5; at one point my waterbottle fell out and rolled all the way to the bottom of a dune and I had to retrieve it, which was really demoralising.

Eventually the dunes gave way to the lights of checkpoint 5, but we were both completely exhausted and struggling to keep our eyes open. Rach climbed into her sleeping bag, but I just couldn't be bothered with the effort of getting mine out, so wrapped my emergency blanket around myself and fixed my front pack. I soon became really cold, and decided I was being stupid. There were some people leaving the shelter so I got my sleeping bag out and climbed into it, shoes, gaiters and all. Unfortunately a group of French decided it was time to get up and decided to make as much noise as they could!

I did manage to doze off for a bit, and when I woke it was light; me and Rach packed up and set off around 7am. We were walking quite slowly but did manage to overtake a few folks. It was really warm today, the kind of heat which I guessed would usually be encountered in the Sahara. We reached checkpoint 6, and both agreed to walk straight through, rather than stopping- I think we both thought if we stopped, we wouldn't get going again!

After checkpoint 6, I started to feel really bad; my stomach felt quite painful and my right knee had started to hurt. I kept feeling as though I was losing consciousness, and convinced myself that I was coming down with sunstroke- it was a really odd feeling. In hindsight, though, I think I was so tired I was literally nodding off whilst I was walking! Rach kindly slowed her pace down to walk with me, and luckily it was easy walking across flat sand. As we neared the bivouac, several Land Rovers passed us and I had to make an effort to appear ok, still expecting to collapse and wake up in the helicopter! My knee was becoming really painful and I was worried that I had done some real damage to it.

Eventually we saw the bivouac, in a natural basin surrounded by the now familiar flat topped hills. Craig was waiting for us as we crossed the line, and the first thing I did was have a sleep. I woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed, and ate a pot noodle. My knee was still hurting so I visited the Doc Trotters tent and asked for a support bandage; a woman wrapped a stretchy kind of bandage around it but I'm not convinced it did much good. Me and Sharky went back to the line to see if we could see Perks, who hadn't yet finished. We asked a course official if he could tell whereabouts on the course she was, and he looked on his laptop and advised us that she was around 10k- 15k away. We kept coming back but missed her actually finish- she had been staying with somebody else who had been struggling, and said that she felt fine.

At around 8:30pm we were given an announcement that the last competitor was coming in, so a crowd assembled to cheer him in- a Malaysian guy I think.

I literally couldn't keep my eyes open, and didn't really fancy anything to eat. I made up a sachet of custard powder and cup of coffee, and ate about 3/4 of it before falling asleep. I was so tired, I couldn't stay awake a moment longer!

Labels: long day, Marathon des Sables

I woke in the early hours, absolutely freezing. I lay there desperately trying to get back to sleep, but there was no chance; the wind was blowing straight through the open ends of the tent, and whipping round my ears and neck. I pulled my buff up over my face and tried to snuggle down into my sleeping bag as much as possible, and lay there waiting for dawn.

When the sun rose, it was apparent that everyone else had been just as cold and sleepless. It was still windy, and I tried to boil up some water for breakfast. I left it on the little stove for twenty minutes, and when I checked it, it was still stone cold!



Dawn At The Bivouac



My Cooking Equipment!

We slowly got our stuff ready, not easy when you're cold and stiff, and filed to the start line for an 8:30am start (although it was 9am once Patrick had finished talking!) It was so cold we kept our fleeces on- it seemed totally removed from race accounts I had read which spoke of standing around in the heat!

Finally we were off, and climbing, which soon saw us shed our extra layers. By the time we crossed a small plain, descended a rocky rise and turned left into some small dunes, the sun had come up and it was becoming quite hot.



The Helicopter

I tried to get my sunscreen out my front pack, but everything else fell out, so I lost Rach whilst I tried to retrieve my equipment, swearing loudly. I walked on through the dunes, and came upon a small group of Americans. One of them, a guy, was sitting down in the sand, and as I passed, I heard him remark that it must be the heat. After I left them, I saw a flare shooting into the sky- it was quite spectacular- a little pink light on a parachute, which hung in the air for quite some time. A little further on, a dune buggy passed us heading towards the Americans, and a French guy gave them directions.

I caught up with Rach, and we walked across the sand to checkpoint one, and the chance to rest in the shelters for a few minutes.




Checkpoint One

After we set off again, we crossed a wide, endless plain, with hills in the distance. It seemed to take us ages and ages to reach them; I had to keep stopping for a wee which slightly worried me, even though I was drinking regularly.



More Endless Plains!

Eventually we reached the hills, and the route became very undulating. Neither me nor Rach felt particularly great at this point, and kept expecting to see the second checkpoint when we got to the top of each rise, only to have our hopes cruelly dashed by the sight of more hills and the course signs disappearing into the distance.

I could feel a couple of areas which were rubbing on each foot, and this stretch started to feel endless. Eventually though we turned left, exiting the hills, and saw the checkpoint ahead of us- a welcome sight! It would have been so easy to not bother to check my feet, but I made myself take my shoes and socks off and cover the blisters which had formed with dressings.

We carried on- over another plain, towards the dunes surrounding the bivouac. Although it seemed to take an age to reach the dunes, psychologically this stage seemed easier as it felt that we were on our way home! My gaiters were brilliant- not a single grain of sand or speck of dust got in all week.




Back Into The Dunes

I quite enjoyed that dunes again, even though it was tougher going- I think I much prefer the dunes to the flat, featureless endless plains! Eventually, we saw the bivouac and gradually descended to it, finishing at 5:15pm. Everyone agreed that it had been a tougher day than yesterday, it was certainly hotter.

Me and Rach decided to visit the infamous Doc Trotters, as we felt that they would make a better job of treating our feet than we could, especially as we were due to start the long day the next day. Plus I wanted to have the authentic Doc Trotter experience! Some of our tent had been given dressings and told to treat their own feet, but when me and Rach presented our plates, we were given a ticket to access the medical tent behind. I followed Rach round to it, and was instructed to wash my feet in iodine and put on plastic elasticated 'slippers' which resembled shower caps.

Once in the tent, I was directed to a Doc Trotter called Maurice, and placed my foot on the stool in front of him. I was kind of expecting him to say "Ooh la la" but he didn't... he indicated that he would cut into the blister (ouch!!) and then inject iodine into it... he made the cut- which didn't actually feel too bad. He then reached for a small phial of pink iodine and warned that it might sting. Sting! He wasn't kidding... I did my best to conceal my pain, but couldn't hide it. He seemed quite apologetic, but I gritted my teeth and said "C'est necessaire!"

After he finished the iodine torture, he dressed the blisters and they did feel much easier to walk on. Rach ended up with a huge dressing on one of her toes! We hobbled back to the tent, to emails sent by friends and family, which were lovely, and understandably quite an emotional time for some. As night descended, Rob came and broke the news that they had decided to make tomorrow's long stage the longest stage ever on any MdS- 91 km, the equivalent of 56 miles! My head reeled as I realised that was the length of the Bullock Smithy... after two hard days walking!

There was quite a sombre mood in the tent that night, as we tried to get some sleep before the long stage...

Labels: Marathon des Sables

I woke up feeling a tinge of excitement and more than a tinge of nervousness- this was it- after floods, rain and mud, we were actually going to start the 2009 Marathon des Sables!!

Me, Gilly and Rach ate our prepared breakfasts and boarded the coaches for the drive to the start. It was a nice day- sunny and dry but not overbearingly hot. Oddly enough, I had mixed feelings about this- the cooler weather would make for easier walking, but I felt that we weren't going to be as challenged by the heat as we should have been.

The coaches set off down the road, pulled up at the hotel where the French contingent were, and stopped. Half an hour later, we were still there, and starting to get restless; I needed the loo as the result of over enthusiastic hydration, and was directed towards the wasteland across the road by an official.

Eventually we were on our way, and heading for the Erg Chebbi dunes- we could see them from some distance away, towering mountains of red gold sand. I suddenly felt very nevous again... this was going to be a huge ask.

The coaches pulled off road, and we could see that the start line had been erected. But first, we had to queue for water, which took a while. This was the first time my race number was written on the cap and the bottle- if it is found discarded on the course, you face a penalty. After lining up for inevitable photos, we made our way to the start- I became separated from the others after the need for a last minute pee and found myself towards the back.




Me Waiting To Start!

Patrick was standing on top of a Landrover, giving a speech which was occasionally translated into English. A lot of what he said was drowned out though by the helicopter circling low overhead. A few mad souls were celebrating birthdays, so we had to sing 'Happy Birthday' to them all, music played and then we were finally counting down to the start- "10- 9- 8- 7- 6- 5- 4- 3- 2- 1- Allez!!"

It took a while to pass through the start line, but eventually I was through and starting the MdS! It felt totally unreal... I waved to the helicopter banking overhead, filming, and my road book fell out of my front pack. Not a good start! In fact, it was to plague me all week as the top straps kept coming loose, meaning the whole thing had a tendency to tip forwards, pitching it's contents onto the sand.




Heading For The Dunes

At one point we passed a camel safari going the other way, and then we hit the dunes- perfect curves of red gold sand, straight out of a picture book. Walking up them was quite steep and took some effort, but I suspect that the sand was more compacted than it would normally be due to the rain. Coming down was great fun though, and easy even for me!



Dune Day!

There were locals on bikes keeping us company, plus young boys trying to sell us necklaces with fossils- this made me smile as they had plagued us in Ouazazate and Erfoud, and someone had said that we would probably come across them in the middle of the dunes! I caught up with Rach, and we walked the rest of the stage together.



Me And Rach In The Dunes



The Erg Chebbi Dunes

we walked for a few minutes with an American guy, Curtis, who appeared to be very impressed that we had been at the first bivouac and wanted to hear all about it. We felt quite pleased that we were there, as we seemed to have attained a celebrity status!

The dunes went on for some time; around 13 kilometres, I quite enjoyed them and really felt the benefits of the hill training I'd done! Eventually we left the higher dunes behind, and gradually descended to a plain and the first checkpoint, where we were given more water.




The First Checkpoint

Shelters had been erected here, so we stopped for a few minutes and were soon joined by Rose and Carol. I ate a few M & M's and refilled my water bottles. Then we were off again, over an endless plain.




Endless Plain

These plains seem to be a feature of the event- you can see a mountain range in the distance, and assume that you are walking towards it quite quickly, but two hours later you are still walking towards it and it doesn't seem any closer! Apparently the organisers are fond of putting in these stages to mess with your head! The route was marked out with yellow and orange signs so was fairly easy to follow.

After what seemed an age, we reached a ruined village and fort, with the second checkpoint beyond. I went inside one of the houses for a wee!

We stopped for another rest, and I changed my socks, putting the wet ones in the front mesh pocket to dry. Carol came in and said that she had seen a guy being given an IV drip- me and Rach later realised we had been talking to him not long before, which was pretty sobering. We decided to press on- across another plain to a sandy climb.




Endless Horizons

Here the route passed along hillside covered with small rocks, which threatened to turn your ankle. We followed the signs to a sandy track, then heard shouts; one of the organisers was calling that we were going the wrong way. They had had to reroute the course up and over another hill due to floods. We followed directions and Land Rovers parked in the distance as markers back into the dunes, and I realised that I had lost one of the socks from the front pack- I retraced my steps a few hundred yards but never found it.



Back Into The Dunes

I was quite pleased to be back into the dunes, as they were beautiful; the evening sun created shadows accentuating the lines of the dunes, and they glowed a perfect yellowush gold. As we reached the highest point, we had our first sight of the bivouac;




Our First Sight Of The Bivouac




Dunes

There followed a gentle descent out of the dunes towards the camp. The rest of our tent had waited to see us in, and I managed a short sprint at the end, stopping short of the line to walk across it with Rach. It felt good to be in the bivouac, and we made our first attempt to cook a meal. It was so windy, it took many of our Esbrit tablets to boil even a little bit of water!

We were all very tired, although not in bad shape, so as the setting sun turned the dunes purple, we snuggled into our sleeping bags and tried to sleep. We had been told that the following day's route was to be a big circle back to the bivouac, rather than moving camp to a different location- another first for the Marathon des Sables.

Labels: dunes, Marathon des Sables

I woke to the depressing sounds of the spray of vehicles driving through sheets of water, and looked out of the window to discover that it was still raining. We went for breakfast, walking through courtyards where the rain was pooling, and heard the news that stage one had definately been cancelled. We were informed that there was to be an official announcement later, so a group of us decided to walk into the village to kill some time.

We found a market, with a couple of stalls selling plastic sheeting, so after a little light bartering decided to buy enough to cover two tents, in case we encountered more wet weather later in the week- it would have been disasterous if our sleeping bags became wet.



Erfoud Market

Erfoud looked rather drab in the wet, the usual pink walls dulled by the rain. We found a cafe with tables under canvas and sat drinking mint tea and milky coffee. We came up with a few stock phrases which we'd take it in turns to say every so often- "It's brightening up a bit", and "There's a break in the clouds".



Downtown Erfoud

Once we had finished lunch back at the hotel, it did brighten up considerably, and was warm enough to sunbath. Some brave souls even used the pool, although it was apparently freezing. I must say, the hotel did a grand job of feeding us all; I think it amused the waiters, as each time they brought out a fresh platter of food, we would all descend on it like a swarm of locusts!

Finally, the BOM representative, Rob, famous for his dry sense of humour and expressionless delivery, called us over for the official announcement; stage one was cancelled, the admin day would be held at a nearby hotel the next day, and the race would start the day after that. We were to remain at the hotel for the next two nights, and would then be taken by coach to the start of the race on Tuesday. We spent the rest of the day sorting out stuff to be sent back to the Berbere Palace, and trying to get our rucksack weight down. Mine still weighed around 10 kilos, despite losing the food for Day 1.

The next day, Monday, we boarded the coaches to take us to check in at the Hotel Kasbah- I suddenly realised I'd left my ECG and medical certificate in my room so had to sprint back for it! We were all slightly cheered as it was a gorgeous day without a cloud in sight and it looked as though the MdS was back on.

Once we reached the hotel, we had a queue to check in;




Queuing For Check In

I stood with Keith, an Australian guy, who kindly lent me a hat as I'd left mine back at the hotel.



Course Officials And The Dune Buggies

We spotted Mohammed Ahansal further back in the queue; Mohammed, and his brother Lahcen, are MdS legends, having won the event between them for the past few years. They were both really nice, unassuming guys though, only too happy to pose for a photo or chat.



Me, Keith And Mohammed Ahansal

Eventually, we reached the head of the queue, and my main luggage to be sent back to Ouazazate was taken off me. I was directed to a desk where I was given salt tablets, a flare and a timing chip, directed to another desk where the chip was fitted to my rucksack, directed to another desk where I was given a water card and card to be stamped each time I visited the Doc Trotters, directed to another desk to collect my race numbers (which had my name on them- a really nice touch) and finally directed to the Doctors desk, where they studied my ECG and certificate. The Doctor asked me if I had done long distances before. I gabbled "Yes, 30, 40, 50 miles in one day... lots..."

He asked me if I had done rhe MdS before. I said no, and he said "Have a good race, drink lots of water" and then I was back out in the sunshine.



I Collect My Essential Equipment

We were given lunch, and told that Patrick Bauer would be delivering a speech at 3:00pm, so hung around the large area by the pool.




A Camel!

I climbed the stairs in one of the main buildings to gain an arial view over the hotel grounds;




The Hotel Kasbah

Unfortunately I also spied a downpour coming our way; when it hit, we all had to run for shelter, although luckily it only lasted for around 30 minutes. We filed back outside to await Patrick's address, and I spied Lahcen Ahansal, and had my photo taken with him.



Me And Lahcen Ahansal

His pack was tiny, and only weighed 6.5 kilos- I told him that mine weighed 10 kilos!

A strange band made their way through the hotel grounds, serenading us with drums, chanting and horns, which seemed to sound the same note over and over again. Finally they ended up on the roof;



The Morrocan Band Who Serenaded Us

Patrick finally made his appearence at 4:30pm, and, with the help of an english translator, said that there had been two main options for the MdS this year; they could have either cancelled the race, or still put a race on. They had chosen the latter option (and it is only now that I can appreciate how close it must have come to being cancelled). The stages were to be arranged from day to day, and the road books would now be pretty much null and void.

The next day would still be dunes day, but we would enter the Erg Chebbi dunes further to the left from a road accessible to the coaches and make a tougher crossing than originally planned.

Patrick called the elite runners onto the stage to show us how to correctly position our race numbers;



Patrick Bauer And The Elite Runners

It was then time to go back to the hotel; the only problem was that the buses seemed to have disappeared, and there were only two available to take us all back. There was a mad scrum for seats, and some folks resorted to sitting in the luggage hold until a lady French offical spotted them; "Ah, no no no- you are all crezzy!"

Luckily the buses made several trips, so we did all get back eventually. Me, Rach and Gilly decided to use our packed breakfasts the next morning, and after dinner and some last minute pack adjustments, settled down for what was to be our last night in civilisation for some time...

Labels: Erfoud, Marathon des Sables