Day 3 - Blisters and The Doc's

Unlike day 2 I wasn't woken to the sounds of a gale or my tenting flapping in my face but to glorious sunny weather... it appeared that the end of the week was going to be hot. However even with relatively still conditions my fuel did not want to light again so another morning of luke warm mild curried beef. Only 8 mild curried beefs left and more importantly the pack is feeling much lighter but my kit doesn't seem to pack any easier into it. The day started really well, I was taking it easy as day 4 was "The Long Day" and I wanted to be as fresh as possible so I could make some real gains. I ended up running and walking with another brit for most of the day. The heat seemed to be particularly strong today which wasn't helped by having to climb a few large hills. However the views from the top of each was more spectacular than the previous, with views of the desert flats. Looking back along the route I had just travelled I suddenly appreciated how many people were in the race with a line of participants going in both directions. Rachid the eventual winner was no where to be seen.

I finished the race feeling great and only at that point did I realise that I had some blisters, its amazing how your mind blocks out the feeling of discomfort after a while. I decided to try the "doc trotters" who I had been told had a reputation of slicing and dicing peoples feet. They were fantastic though queuing briefly before shuffling in front of a nurse who was quick to get my feet up and got to work on them by bursting them with a scalpel before before injecting this pink antiseptic into them. Compared to the antiseptic I had brought this stuff felt considerably less painful but it did make your feet look like they were bleeding and dyed anything they touched pink.

The nerves for the long day the following day were showing with everyone deep in thought and preparing

Views From the Top

physically and mentally for a big push.

Day 2 - Blown Away in The Desert

Carrying on from the 1st day we finished in this barren landscape of flat black rock. My first thoughts were "I am going to have to resort to the the toilet cubicles as there was not a single tree, shrub or hillock to go behind". The evening was spent relaxing, eating and trying to work out how to stop my back being bashed by my bag. I also began thinking how nice some pepperoni would be, despite a plush diet of 12 of the finest mild curried beef boil in the bag meals for breakfast and dinner for the rest of the week. We noticed that evening that the following day was meant to be a bit longer at 38 km but significantly less dunes (or at least supposedly). Through the night I was was woken to the odd slapping on my feet and head, my bum had also started touching the floor as the air had leaked out of my air mattress. Now I assumed this was my team mates trying to tell me that I was rolling onto them and a sign to get off them. After a while I heard a lot of commotion so took my ear plus out and pulled the hood of my sleeping bag off my face to a view of black cloth hovering just above my nose. It took me a bit of time to realise that everyone else had woken up due to our tent blowing down on top of us. In any normal situation I would have put it back up however we all decided it was much warmer like this so went straight back to sleep.

The actual morning at 6am didn't start much better as my fuel didn't want to light and after burning my thumb I gave up on the idea of a hot breakfast consisting of my 3rd mild curried beef. Instead I ate partly rehydrated, luke warm and slightly crunchy mild curried beef. It was becoming quite a delicacy. Or so I told anyone that asked. We packed up trying not to let anything blow away and with my desert goggles on I was standing on the start line ready to go.

The race started and much to my amusement and slight concern 2 groups formed going off in slightly different direction. Luckily I chose correctly and suddenly found myself pretty close to the front. I felt like it was going really well, possibly too well as I recognised the group around me as being the "faster" lot. I decided to slow down a bit as it was still only the second day. The day was highlighted by one individual deciding it was quicker to pee whilst running rather than stopping, even with several competitors pointing out that that there were places to go just off the track.

I crossed the finish line very happy that the day was finished and that I was feeling good with only a few blisters. This happiness was short lived when I saw the state of the tent which was being held up just by 2 remaining sticks. As the rest of my tent mates arrived we sorted it out, so well in fact that the local berbers spent the rest of the evening popping their heads in to check out our efforts. We also got a roaring camp fire going which certainly made my 4th mild curried beef taste even better. Before settling in to a now slightly smokey tent, I am certainly glad we were beginning to accustom to the temperatures and more importantly the aromas of each tent and its members.

Building before the Storm

The sand picking up before the winds hit the camp

Fitter, Faster, Stronger....

I have been back from the desert now about a month and after the 2 years of planning and preparation that milestone has now come to an extremely good but abrupt end. It was also about a year ago when myself and many other students at school and university reached a similar point in their lives, and the big questions gets thrown up by friends and family "What next?".

Now this thought has been going round my head since before I even crossed the desert and since then has only increased. This hasnt been helped by the fact that over the last year I have met various people who have taken on incredibly inspiring challenges. This was compounded this week having met the Mr Motivator who came to my work place to inspire people to exercise and also asked, having never met me, the same big question.

The problem comes having tasted the feeling of success by testing myself, my desire to push the boundaries of my physical and mental performance has only increased. Now there are many events out there that claim to be tougher, harder more challenging than anything else but as the expression goes the devil is in the detail. It took a while to decide on the Marathon des Sables and so I will be deciding on my next big challenge in the coming weeks and months.  Whether it is in the desert, moutains, jungles or sea it ill certainly be a challenge of a lifetime.

In the meantime next weekend I have another challenge to complete 4 marathons in 24 hours with a group of 5 others including Ed Stafford the man who waked the length of the Amazon.

Day 1 - The "Easy" Day

Day 1 can be summed up by 2 things DUNES and HOT. Otherwise known as the easy day gone horribly wrong.

Imagine you have been told to sit down and come up with the world's toughest footrace, you can do it anywhere in the world it just has to be seriously hard, take 6 days to complete and ultimately you still want some people finishing. Well I imagined that when Patrick Bauer (the founder of the Marathon des Sables) thought about the race he would at least let people acclimatise on the 1st day. It also seemed that way when we were given the road book,  which described and marked out the route for each day,  as it was a short day at around 32 km. However there was a long section marked dunnes and another marked "dunnets", which turns out to be smaller dunes. At this point if you haven't been to the desert imagine a seaside resort, I thought of St. Andrews beach and the dunes there and just thought there would be more of them. This turned out to be completely wrong, they were huge. I have described it to people as your typical highland glen but rather than a covering of thick powder snow it was pristine, untouched (bar where we had been) and deep sand. Just check out the size difference between the helicopter, the runners and those sandy bumps in the background.

Although it was a tough start it certainly got all our feet accustomed to the sand, heat and running quickly enough to develop some beautiful blisters. But even better than that was the views, it appeared to be a never-ending sea of sand with a perfect blue sky. It suddenly made all the hours training in the cold and wet back in the UK more than worthwhile. The day finished in what felt like a baking oven, the camp had been set up in the middle of a long, flat, black rocky plain. It was oozing heat. All I wanted was a cold drink, a shower and to put my feet up when I crossed that stage line for the day. I got none of that. But I did get my ration of lukewarm water and a glass of mint tea which did go down very well. 1st day down only 5 more to go...

Marathon des Sables - Hotter than Hell

Well I have finally got round to writing up after finishing the Marathon des Sables, otherwise known as "The Worlds Toughest Footrace", back at the start of April. I can safely say it was the hottest place I have ever been reaching 54C on some days and then running with a backpack, it was intense.

Since returning many people have asked how was it, would I do it again and some even wanting to know some or the gory details like how many toes nails I have left. Amazingly all 10, although 1 is still black. However I am always kind of lost for words, how do you describe the hardest yet most enjoyable thing you have ever done. Amazing just doesn't quite cut it but it terms of experiences it was an incredible and some would even say life changing experience.  The whole week is very simple and all comes down to you in the desert and a distance we are trying to cover. For many of the competitors this is about putting 1 foot in front of the other till you finish, I am a bit more competitive so aiming for a top 200 result when I had never done a marathon 2 years prior to the event seemed like a good idea. The mornings and evenings are spent recovering and repairing for the following day. Very quickly I found that you fall into a routine and it becomes "normal".

For many people this race is anything but "normal" there were about 850 competitors wanting to pay to run through part of the largest hottest desert on earth covering about 250 km  in temperatures reaching 54C. The race therefore was certainly not for the faint hearted and by the last day there were some incredible feats of endurance by the people finishing at the back who required sticks and crutches just to be able to cross the finish line.

I finished 125th overall, 15th Brit and 2nd U25 (the last one is an unofficial group but they have various categories for the older age groups...), which I am really amazed by and pleased with. Yet as I write this, even with the blisters on my feet still healing and thinking back to the 2 weeks immediately after the event where all I wanted to do was eat and sleep, I wonder could I have done better, could it of been top 100, top 50 or better if I had trained that bit harder, more efficiently etc. In the end though for me it wasn't the result that made this experience it was the sights you see and the people you meet along the way, in particular my tent mates. I am sure they will agree we saw each others highs, lows and everything else that goes with being in such an intimate environment. So in answer to the question of would I do it again.... Yes, but there are plenty of other challenges out there in the meantime. More to follow so keep watching.

Mcdonalds Eat Your Heart Out

I thought I would bring to the table an interesting question, why have we got a problem in the western world with obesity? Research shows  that nutrition is crucial not only for having a healthy life but also a happy one. This is true regardless of whether you are the most sedate person in the world or the most active. If its not balanced it can not only affect you mentally but also physically which has been identified across the world through a bit of obesity crisis hitting a number of countries.

Now the meals I have got planned for consist of freeze dried curried beef with rice, energy bars, gels and electrolyte drinks. I also have the odd treat of a bag of nuts. This allows me to have just under 2500 calories per day which is less than the recommended amount for an average male. The most important consideration for multiday endurance events is weight and the result is that you start becoming slightly anal about the number of calories in everything that you take. Where as most people are probably looking for few calories foods have in them I have found myself hunting supermarkets for anything that has as many calories as possible.

The freeze dried food by expedition foods is fantastic it packs just over 900 calories per meal and is incredibly lightweight. However I have found a possible alternative, with a quick bit of research I have found that the average Mcdonalds meal beats this hands down. Which makes me wonder whether I should just be taking cold big macs and fries.

Heat training with Bikram yoga

As it has got closer to the Marathon des Sables my thoughts have switched to how I can maintain my fitness without risking injury and how do I prepare for the extreme temperatures of the Sahara desert. There is a lot of research out there on training and tapering so I am not going to cover that.The only point I will make is I have found that by listening to how my body feels whether it is hungry, I have a craving for a particular  food type or tiredness. It may not be the most scientific method but everyone is different so what works for one person may not necessarily bring out the best in another. More importantly its a bit late to be thinking of what training I could have done and concentrate more on what I can do. On that note there is the heat training side I do think I can make some changes to my training to aid with my preparation and acclimatisation before I reach the desert. I have heard of people paying to go to the Porshe performance centre, others building heated rooms round gym equipment and I have been allowed to take a bike into the sauna at my local gym. However I have decided to make use of my local Bikram yoga centre which not only aids recovery, increases flexibility but also has the added benefit of heat training. Bikram yoga is made up of 26 Hatha yoga positions whilst in a room heated to 40°C. The positions help to stretch and strengthen muscles, ligaments and joints while the increased temperature allows you to get deeper into the positions. I havent been doing it for long enough to really appreciate the benefits however I have met a lot of people from your average joe all the way to ultra runners and rugby players who find it benefits them. I am certainly interested as to how the extra heat will help me whilst I am out in the desert so watch this space.

Final Ultra

Last weekend saw me complete my final ultra race before heading out to the Marathon des Sables. It was another back to back weekend covering 58.6 miles along a the grand union canal which was organised by Rory and Jen from Ultra race. The race went incredibly well especially as I had increased my pack weight (although not entirely sure how much it did weighed) and I was testing out some injinji socks which are kind of like gloves for your feet. The first day was an early start waking at 5.30 am to reach the start line on time followed by a quick drive to Colgrave. However the day passed quickly with a plentiful supply of 9bars and energy drinks. I finished the day strong partially helped by some of the very strong runners that I met along the way including a hugely inspiring cancer patient who runs marathons and longer almost every week!  In the end I finished in 18th, and quickly made my way to book a massage and order a huge plate of food. Following this I had to have my ecg as it is required byt the marathon des sables organisers, it was certainly a different experience being wired up to a machine on a couch whilst in the middle of a hotel.

The second day started much better than expected as the weather improved from a rather damp previous day and a couple of us settled into a great rhythm. However I did feel the building of a nice blister on the arch of my foot, the 1st for the race which given the state of my feet in previous races was fantastic news. In the end I finished 18th overall which has bumped my ranking in the UK championship to 16th overall.

Pictures are to come...

9Bar Ultra 90

I arrived in Northampton on friday the 21st of January and trudged my way to the Park Inn hotel, the starting point for this years Ultra 90 organised by Ultra Race. I was slightly concerned that my training in the build up to such an event with the festive period and a move to Manchester making it particularly difficult to fit in some big mileage, however I felt a positive attitude would get me through to the end. I was greeted by Rory and Jen of the Ultra Race team, this certainly helped with the confidence levels. I went to sleep ready to take on the 1st challenge of 45 miles in 1 day, which is a fair few miles more than I had previously done of 28 miles. The day kicked off with my alarm rudely awaking me at 6.30am I sorted my kit, food, hydration and then taped the soles of my feet. I had found this approach had worked preventing me getting blisters on a previous race so thought I would give it another shot.  As I entered the breakfast area I was greeted by a room full of lycra clad and fluorescent yellow people. The time went very quickly before the start time of 8am but I heard enough to find out that the youngest competitor was 19, the oldest a 77 year old man and there were competitors from Germany and Sweden.

The race started and early on it felt like a plaster was being pulled off and then put back on the base of my foot from the tape which had clearly come off already, but I was ever hopeful that the constant pounding of my feet would at least press it on. I quickly settled into a good rhythm and switched between a number of groups throughout the day. Early on I realised that the thought of the food at each check point was becoming of greater interest as I ate up the miles. The route itself was alright it was along a canal with no detours to include any hills, this made it a perfect opportunity to test out running and walking something which is crucial in training for the Marathon des Sables. Towards the end of the race was where it got interesting as I started to pass people who had possibly gone off too quickly or maybe I was starting to finish too strongly. Then I spotted up a head a wee man in yellow bobbing along who looked very comfortable after 44 miles, I thought there is still time to over take. It then occured to me that it was the 77 year old, who was currently beating me. I wasn't impressed so decided it had to be done and I had to dig deeper to make sure I got passed, simpler said than done. I am still convinced he was also picking up the pace towards the end however as I drew near we still managed some encouraging words, it all occurred just in time as the finish line appeared. I finished extremely happy with a time around 8 hours 20 mins, not bad for my first 45 miler. However on inspecting my feet my initial reaction of the tape did the trick was quickly changed to I have 2 huge blisters on each arch as a result of trying to prevent them, I hadnt felt them at all. I also realised that I was very hungry, so quickly munched down burger, chips and an extra portion of chips it was fantastic! I had a shower and a bath later on in the hope it would soothe my muscles for day 2.

Day 2 started slowly, after spraying the breakfast area with musseli and feeling slightly naseaus I reached the start line eager to get through this early feeling. Those first 9 miles to the check point were horrible with my legs feeling like they were being tightened by a screw each step, this was my IT bands starting to go! I carried on through the 1st checkpoint and grabbed some soreen malt loaf on the way which did help, I was thinking all the sweets I had eaten the previous day was now a bad idea. As the miles went by my pace was slowing drastically with my muscles tightening and small niggles beginning to crop up particularly my knees. I managed to reach the 3rd checkpoint with two other competitors who pulled out at that point, I felt that I could go on even after a brief break only meters further on. However it was not to be after passing around the 33  mile mark I had to pull out due to my legs feeling rubbish and not wanting to risk injury. I was gutted.

Successful New Years Resolutions

Have you made your resolution? Research suggests that only 26% of people reach their goals with many giving up long before. There is always talk at this stage of what our resolution is while our friends and family bet on how long they will last. In the past I have always focused on what to stop, give up or many other negative aspects because we have been taught to focus on what we got wrong from an early age.  I think its time to take positive action by starting or developing something you enjoy or wish to enjoy. Dont give something up, take something up. Write this aim down with a time line and work out the little goals to reach that final goal and watch and feel the success.

As I write this after an excessive Christmas of food and drink and reaching the point marking 3 months till my desert race means some serious resolutions happening. Mine is to be more dedicated to my running, training and more importantly to raising the funds for Facing Africa. Since making this I have signed up to the Ultra 90 (90 mile run over 2 days) organised by Rory Coleman in January and the Pilgrim challenge (66 mile run over 2 days) by Xnrg in February.

Good luck with your resolutions and happy New Year!!

Training marathon

This weekend I attended Rory Colemans training day for the marathon des sables. It started with a 5.30 am wake up not really recommended but the it was the only way of making the 9am start time. I finally met up with him despite the snow and a train cancellation trying to stop the session happening to discuss all the kit I will need to take and advice on keeping my feet in good condition during the marathon des sables. As ever it was incredibly useful and I learnt even more about what I should and more importantly shouldn't be doing. The aim is to get a weeks worth of food and equipment down to the very limit of 6.5kg which will make a huge difference in the heat of the event. Then it was on for a quick 26 or so miler through the snow and ice. I don't think we could of asked for a better day despite the sub zero temperatures the day was beautiful the sun was out and when there wasn't a breeze it was pretty warm. I also tasted my first gel that was reasonably edible. The day finished with heading back to a house where the boiler had packed up due to the cold weather. The ice bath wasn't really required because of this and may explain why the next day I felt great apart from slightly tight hips.

Check out rorys comments

http://ultraracers.blogspot.com/2010/11/zero-7-destiny.html?spref=fb

Row to the Pole

On Saturday I participated in the first round of selections to become the last crew member for an attempt to row to the magnetic north pole. If I make it (I really hope I do) I will be joining a top team of athletes, explorers and adventurers attempting to make history in what is described as one of the last remaining firsts. Around 48 of us turned up on the day to take part in a gruelling two and a half hour rowing erg followed by mental testing, a group exercise and an interview. The rowing in many ways was the easy bit putting my head down and digging deep I manage 35,097m, which is roughly a split time of 2.13 min/ 500m. I was pretty happy with this as the first time I had been on a rowing machine for a good number of years was the wednesday before the event. I should hear the results in a few weeks time and all going well I will become the final team member.

Pictures/ videos are coming soon hopefully.

Druid Challenge

I completed my first ultra marathon, kind of the first stage in my build up to completing "The Worlds Toughest Footrace". It was 1 of the 3 days of the Druid Challenge organised by XNRG extreme energy covering 28 miles along the ridgeway in Oxfordshire. I manage to complete it in 4 hours 58 mins. Definitely a time which can be improved on.  

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