I’m not sure what possessed me to enter Marathon Des Sables other than a wish to have a long term goal to build towards. An opportunity to do something that would test my mettle, mind and sportsmanship.
I know others that have run the race and I’ve spoken with plenty of people who know people. One thing for sure is that I’ve met a very different ilk of person. Not just sporty types or the ‘enthusiast’; these are sport nuts who think little of running 60 miles in a day. I even met a chap who ran from London to Dover, then swam the Channel before cycling to Paris: in one go! My efforts to cross The Sahara sometimes seems vanilla in comparison to others. There are worse challenges than the Marathon Des Sables… maybe that’s a goal for the big birthday year.
Everyone’s level of sportsmanship, motivation or goal is totally individual and for me my focus is on getting around the desert, on foot, intact with all my kit on my back. The challenge of the distance is one thing but for someone who’s more used to 5 star than 50 degrees, the other considerations are equally as enormous.
Other than the run being approximately 256km no route is revealed until we are dropped into the desert, 4 hours from the airport. There are no ‘rough guides’ to the area or terrain and as yet I’ve no idea of where I’ll be running. I do know it’s a marathon a day for the first 3 days. A double marathon followed by a day off, wallowing in the same gear, and then it’s another marathon. To get your medal on day 7 there’s a half marathon to the actual finishing line!
Distance, heat and the terrain all need to be thought about. It’s not all sand dunes as you may think. A lot is rocky terrain and there’s a lot of jebels which to you and I are big hills. My training to date has been up and down hills, country paths and beaches. Running on roads isn’t the best terrain for getting into the Marathon Des Sables mind-set.