Crossed the finishing line today having run the classical marathon distance of 26.2 miles. Hard going and took nearly 7 hours but beautiful day, very hot, spectacular scenery and of course lots of sand, stone trails, hills and on this occasion a river bed that was not dry, so had to wade through it.
Looking forward to getting back home and boring everyone with tales from the desert. It is quite difficult to take it all in at the moment but a huge sense of achievement, loads of memories and a bag full of emotions.
Tonight in the desert with a provided meal, wine and beer followed by an opera concert under the stars, so not a bad finale. Back to hotel tomorrow for a much needed shower and shave and a proper bed. Not home until Monday night.
Hopefully my achievement will raise more money for The Happy House Project in Watamu.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
DAY 4
Brutal! Not just the distance - at 57 miles the longest MdS stage ever, but also the terrain. Sand, sand dunes, climbing up rocky crevasses in the dark, hills, trails littered with large rocks to trip you up. Full details later, but have never been more focused or determined in a race. Set off at 9.20 and finished 17 hours and 56 mins later at 3.16 this morning. People still coming in at 11.50; including 4 of my tent mates - hope they are OK.Ended up 362nd out of 800, beyond my wildest dreams.
Could not face the thought of any food, even though important for recovery. Straight into sleeping bag although could not sleep as it's not just the trails that are littered with stones and rocks.
Recovering today for marathon and a bit tomorrow, including some really tough hill climbs. Saturday cancelled - but will still have done over 125 miles - and in 4, not 6 days and including the longest stage ever.
Could not face the thought of any food, even though important for recovery. Straight into sleeping bag although could not sleep as it's not just the trails that are littered with stones and rocks.
Recovering today for marathon and a bit tomorrow, including some really tough hill climbs. Saturday cancelled - but will still have done over 125 miles - and in 4, not 6 days and including the longest stage ever.
DAY 3
The training, planning and tactics appear to be paying dividends. Long way to go but another good day today. 22 tough miles, strong wind, hot and hills, sand dunes and rocky trails. Just for fun the last 2 miles was in really difficult dunes - like climbing a summit, the last one never wanted to materialise.
Today took only 22 minutes longer than yesterday at 6hours 40, despite being 2.5 miles longer and tougher. Did over 1 minute per mile quicker. Have moved up rankings by about 40 places.
Some serious hobbling going on around the camp, but at present my feet are in pretty good condition.
Big day tomorrow; still don't have details. No e mail until Thursday but my time will be posted on darbaroud web site during day on Thursday.
Today took only 22 minutes longer than yesterday at 6hours 40, despite being 2.5 miles longer and tougher. Did over 1 minute per mile quicker. Have moved up rankings by about 40 places.
Some serious hobbling going on around the camp, but at present my feet are in pretty good condition.
Big day tomorrow; still don't have details. No e mail until Thursday but my time will be posted on darbaroud web site during day on Thursday.
DAY 2
Wow. What a fantastic day! We are eventually are up and running. It has been worth the wait. Won't go into too many details as time limited on computer.
Got to start line about 9 am and stood around shivering although temperature was 18 but a strong wind. I t was 10 before we set off. I don' think I have ev er felt so nervous as on the way to the start. We had been told that they were expecting more dropouts thyan any previous day. We were also told that when we saw the sand hills it would be frightening. Wrong on both counts.
I set off slowly but at 8.5 miles check point I speeded up as on flat ground like Tenerife. The last few miles were back in sand hills and quite tough b ut I felt really good and pushed on. Finished the 19.5 miles in 6 hours 17 and was 2nd back from our tent. Had a brew and cheesy cream pasta. Due to cook spag bol soon! Not sure what tomorrow will bring but feeling confident.
Got to start line about 9 am and stood around shivering although temperature was 18 but a strong wind. I t was 10 before we set off. I don' think I have ev er felt so nervous as on the way to the start. We had been told that they were expecting more dropouts thyan any previous day. We were also told that when we saw the sand hills it would be frightening. Wrong on both counts.
I set off slowly but at 8.5 miles check point I speeded up as on flat ground like Tenerife. The last few miles were back in sand hills and quite tough b ut I felt really good and pushed on. Finished the 19.5 miles in 6 hours 17 and was 2nd back from our tent. Had a brew and cheesy cream pasta. Due to cook spag bol soon! Not sure what tomorrow will bring but feeling confident.
DAY MINUS 1
After sending last e mail headed bqck to hotel and got soaked with claps of thunder all around. Had some lunch and as we came out sun was starting to shine. We all headed outdoors but after a while I had to go for a walk to get away from the rumours and moans. After a wander headed to market and bought 8 sheets of plastic for each of our tent - who would have imagined we would need ground sheets. Bumped into 2 the guys from our tent group. We had to dive into a bar - not for a drink but to escape the hailstones which were thumping down.
As a result when we got back to the hotel we had missed the announcement - the 24th MdS is due to start on Monday, missing out day 1. Rumours at this stage that the course will still be 242 K but over 5 / 6 days which would make it very tough.
Had to leave hotel at 8.30 this morning to head to another hotel which has been taken over for registration. Set alarm for 7 and got washed and dressed to discover it was only 6.30. I had set alarm on phone which automatically adjusts for BST which has not caught on in Morocco! We arrived about 8.30 for registration which started about 9. As we were at the front of the queue we were all sorted before 10. Then discovered we had to stay where we were until everyone else was registered and official announcements made! They did not start until 4.30 and then with weather deteriorating again we had to queue in very cold windy conditions for a coach and eventually arrived back at hotel at 6.30, some 10 hours after leaving!
Have just got had time to head to pharmacy. Have had a cold for last week and for the second time in my life am developing a cold sore. 6 days without shaving will be bad enough without a massive cold sore on my upper lip.
So what is happening. After all that we have been advised that the event will start tomorrow and day 2 and 3 will take place although the route may turn out to be different to that planned. We know that tomorrow will be in the sand hills so will be tough. After days 2 and 3 we are not sure what will happen. Hopefully there will be some further stages but exactly what and where will depend upon the weather.
Certainly this is nothing like expected. We are all trying to keep positive and get our minds in gear for tomorrow, but this is not ideal preparation. Will try to keep in touch but with all the problems the organisers have faced there could well be technological problems which make e mailing impossible.
As a result when we got back to the hotel we had missed the announcement - the 24th MdS is due to start on Monday, missing out day 1. Rumours at this stage that the course will still be 242 K but over 5 / 6 days which would make it very tough.
Had to leave hotel at 8.30 this morning to head to another hotel which has been taken over for registration. Set alarm for 7 and got washed and dressed to discover it was only 6.30. I had set alarm on phone which automatically adjusts for BST which has not caught on in Morocco! We arrived about 8.30 for registration which started about 9. As we were at the front of the queue we were all sorted before 10. Then discovered we had to stay where we were until everyone else was registered and official announcements made! They did not start until 4.30 and then with weather deteriorating again we had to queue in very cold windy conditions for a coach and eventually arrived back at hotel at 6.30, some 10 hours after leaving!
Have just got had time to head to pharmacy. Have had a cold for last week and for the second time in my life am developing a cold sore. 6 days without shaving will be bad enough without a massive cold sore on my upper lip.
So what is happening. After all that we have been advised that the event will start tomorrow and day 2 and 3 will take place although the route may turn out to be different to that planned. We know that tomorrow will be in the sand hills so will be tough. After days 2 and 3 we are not sure what will happen. Hopefully there will be some further stages but exactly what and where will depend upon the weather.
Certainly this is nothing like expected. We are all trying to keep positive and get our minds in gear for tomorrow, but this is not ideal preparation. Will try to keep in touch but with all the problems the organisers have faced there could well be technological problems which make e mailing impossible.
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