Marathon des Sables 2005
Wednesday 8 April – 20th Marathon des Sables
There is one day before the 307 British contingent flies out for the start of the 20th Marathon des Sables. Their living rooms are awash with kit as each contestant tries to cram their equipment and 14,000 calories of food and medical supplies into their rucksacks.
Thursday 7 April – Arrival in Morocco
The British team arrived in Morocco today and were initiated into a forgotten art – queuing! We queued for this and we queued for that and then, finally, settled down to a meal under the night sky and the warm Sahara evening. It’s dark here by 8pm and once the race starts we will be in bed every night by this time.
I’ll report every day on the state of the race, the teams and highlight certain individuals. If a person is not mentioned it will be because they are ok and continuing to run.
Tomorrow we set off to the registration area and the start of the race which commences Sunday morning.
Friday 8 April
The team has now arrived at Khermou, 30km SW of Erfoud where we will start the race on Sunday at 9am. Khermou is an area – a long windswept desolate place with a cliff running along the west side. We arrived at 4pm after 5 hour coach trip down the Draa valley where we were met with driving sands and winds. Each time we stopped in the middle of this empty expanse we were accosted by barefoot children who seemed to appear out of the ground and asked for food. The tents are set out to form a large 20 to mark the 20th anniversary of the race. Also we are getting acclimatised to the wind and the heat.
One problem we have which is still not resolved is the fuel. The official fuel has arrived in an unsuitable state and we are awaiting a delivery of camping gas to avoid cold food throughout the week. However the French are feeding everyone and this won’t be a problem until the race starts. We are now bedding down for our first night. Many of the team will be checking out their sleeping equipment for the first time so wish them luck!!!
The French look very professional and fit. We have got a lot better at queuing today, far more so than yesterday.
Registration Day
We got a welcome from the Sahara today. Initially we spent the morning packing our kit and dividing our equipment and food up for inspection. We took our cases and race equipment up to the Registration where ECGs, medical certificates, food and compulsory items were checked and where we received our distress flares, running numbers and water tabs.
Mid-afternoon everything changed……. the wind whipped up the sand into clouds whilst the whole sky changed from a azure blue into yellow ochre. The nearby mountains were soon blotted out and the sun became a dull yellow orb like a lost moon. The wind wailed and the sand shot-blasted the skin – it was like putting your head in a hoover bag and shaking it! The tents started to collapse in the wind and we all clambered around repairing and re-erecting them whilst a camera crew recorded our progress. During this, the PA system played tango music and the event became typically surreal as organisers and competitors danced to an audience whilst the sandstorm howled. (There are 777 runners here of which 120 are women from 36 countries.)
We also got our fires back from Chris Lawrence, who found 200 camping gas fires in Casablanca – an 18 hour return trip from the start site.
Such is the camaraderie at the event that the sole Luxembourg contestant has been re-kitted by other competitors after his kit was lost at the airport.
Tonight the sky is clear and millions of stars have come out. The wind has dropped and we have had our last decent meal for a week. Its 9pm and we are all in bed. Everyone is ok. In 12 hours it starts in earnest and the gradual attrition commences.
Thanks and goodnight from all of us.
P.S.: PLEASE send the emails and make sure you quote the running number and the competitor’s name otherwise they will not go through
Day One
With a Trois, Deux and Un we were off. The helicopter circled around as the contestants sped to the first obstruction – a jebel up on a high rocky outcrop where we could only pass through two by two. We soon reached Checkpoint 1 and drove on to Checkpoint 2 over the first set of dunes. For many this was their first ever taste of the Saharan dunes and most of the dunes here seem hotter than the surrounding area as you go through them whilst giving off clouds of dust.
With a combination of heat and sport drinks we finished the stage and are looking forward to stage 2.
A Canadian has dropped out and many of the runners have blisters which are being attended to by the doctors and their team. Its 7.30 and most of us are in bed.
It is extremely difficult to get reports out as the queues for the sat phone and email are very long so don’t worry if a loved one is not in touch for a couple of days. The course is so long that there is little time left at the end of the day to email, cook food and attend to one’s needs before night sets in.
During the evening we were entertained by the berber drivers, who danced around the fire and chanted an old berber folk song. We curled up on the desert floor and slept.
Everyone is receiving their email messages and loving them. Thank you. Do keep sending them.
Day 2
Today we got a clue as to what we are – grub. Two vultures swirled around our heads whilst we raced to Checkpoint 1. The stage then became progressively harder and more extreme until it became the hardest Stage 2 I’ve ever seen. To begin with, it was hotter than 40 degrees and hilly. The first range of hills hit us after Checkpoint 2.
We walked up and down what the cartoon drawing in the road book has as little ‘friendly’ dunes, but which would not have seemed out of place in North Wales! We then descended and crossed a flat plain for 11km. These are demoralising as the checkpoint can be seen for ages but never comes close. Then the fun started and the course went on steroids as we undertook the final stage of the 6km and climbed up a 933m mountain, (2,500 feet to you – 500 foot less than Snowden) of sharp rockface with sand dunes 80-100 foot high. It looked like the north face of the Eiger and was covered with wind erosion which created craggy ditches. “I didn’t bank on this” said one of the Welsh team, but then none of us did! As we went down, one runner broke her leg and 11 dropped out. We finished this off with a short but severe dune section and finished around 6 in the evening. According to Jason French we burnt about 5,700 calories today and 3,500 yesterday. Despite the muesli and all the food we are all losing weight. Elizabeth Evangelista suffered vertigo this morning – but not now, as she conquered her fear to get over the mountain – clinging to the rockface she showed real guts and determination as she climbed up and down the rock – absolutely inspiring!
Tonight it is dark and everyone is asleep. I am sitting in the desert writing this under a sea of stars – you really should be here. Tomorrow is 41km and another world away.
Thanks for all the emails which are coming through to us.
Day 3 – Dune Day
Its 50 degrees in the dunes and no wind: Yes its dune day. Above me is a 200-foot dune followed by another and another for a total of 8K.
You drive and push up the dune lungs bursting and at the summit you graciously slide down he other side hoping that the sand doesn’t get in your shoes.
The day started at 6am with cockerels crowing in the distance. The Sky turns to a mid blue to announce the dawn. Around you is a group of heaving snoring bodies in sleeping bags lying like overfed pupae.
The dawn brightens and each competitor lifts himself / herself up to check the bits and parts. It’s normally cold and windy. At this point berbers turn up and in one movement you are looking at the morning sky.
Between 6 and 8.30 we have breakfast and get ready for the stage bandaging feet and repacking the kitbag then we walk over to the start. If we are late we get a time penalty.
We started running after the gun and went across a wide plain and through a gorge to CP1.
Here Patrick Bauer met us and I saw VAVA for the first time in the race.
This was followed by 11 K to CP 2, which includes some respectable dunes. Grand rather than large and pristine as if no one had ever traversed them. The runners ploughed on knowing that all trace of their endeavours would have been lost in a week.
From CP3 we walked/ran along a valley for 10 K to the finish. The high temperatures have taken their toll. Several Brits have dropped out due to heat exhaustion. Many are injured but still coping. I saw one female competitor getting a piggyback to the doctors because she couldn’t walk.
I asked Carl Marston a 2: 49 marathon runner to describe why 41 K in the Sahara took 5:30
“If you go to a third rate curry house, drank 15 largers, wake up next morning with diarrhoea and a hangover, slice your soles off your feet with glass and then hit all your toes with a hammer and then run a marathon, you will see why.”
Tomorrow we start the 50 miler.
DAY 4: The Fifty Miler
We woke up and got ready for the run. The race started by going up another hill walking over limestone pavement and smashing our feet up on loose rocks. We floated down a large dune and traversed a plain 12K long and unchanging plain to CP 2.
We turned north rising over a 300 foot ridge to find another 10K rock strewn plain and dunes in front of us.
A small sandstorm kicked up and we got through it with masks up. Others got caught with visibility down to 300mm at one point. One of the Brits found the Korean team huddled at the base of a dune as the sand piled up against them.
The storm subsided. CP 3 at 33K to CP 4 at 44K presented more dunes with more storms to us.
Many decided to take a break here and eat. Some (such as me) pushed on another 34K to the finish ASAP. Some took longer breaks at CP 5 & 6.
6 was fun as we climbed the side of a jebel at night, jumped off the end and slid down a couple of hundred feet in the dark and walked on a compass bearing. We walked for 3 hours at a fast pace and still couldn’t see the finish. Finally we came over a rise and there was the encampment for 1,200 a mere 300 metres away. One of Patrick’s little jokes again.
Before this the swearing and cursing got worse as the frustration and pain increased. Pain because the last 10k were over rock strewn paths. Everyone has blisters and everyone is tired.
Day 5 – Thursday
Another sandstorm all day. People are arriving in the morning heat and the slowest to finish and who need the most sleep get the least.
Right now the tent is flapping; masks and goggles are up and we can’t see the tent next door. I hope no one is still out there. John Buckingham was dehydrated – he drank 16 litres of water in one day – I’ve never seen that before! This is an extremely tough year. We’ve had sandstorms, high temperatures and steep climbs. Any person who has dropped out has reached their absolute limit. I saw one competitor unable to even leave his sleeping bag and was lifted into the landrover by four doctors.
Day 5 continued
The sandstorm continued to rage through the night and the tent collapsed on one side. Sand blew in and we remained motionless with buffs over our faces to stop inhaling the dust. A quick look around the camp confirmed that we had come off lightly. A tent nearby was completely collapsed on the floor with mutterings coming from underneath, the wind continued to howl.
Abandons
It’s been very difficult to get reports out by phone or information on any Brits who have abandoned. In the tents people are known by their first names and I cannot write about a Mark or a John being in trouble without worrying 17 other families who know 17 other completely fit Marks or Johns in the race. Please look at the Darbaroud site to see who has dropped out.
What I can say is that those who do drop out have had to be physically removed from their tents by the doctors as the runners are unable to move and yet desperately want to continue. Some have had layers of skin removed from their feet and even morphine cannot stop the pain so they are unable to put any weight on their legs. Even so, they would crawl to get their medal and it’s heartbreaking to see men crying at the acknowledgement that whatever they do it just won’t work out. They really have tried their hardest and they will return and succeed – but this time the desert has won.
Day 6: Marathon day 42.2k
The course was fine but it was hot again. The fast runners took off. The going was flat, fast and relatively easy to Checkpoint 1. At 19k we went up the hills, again strewn with toe stubbing, blister producing rock. By now the slower, more damaged runners had become experts at running shoe footprint recognition as their world is only the 2 metre track ahead of them, whilst they are on high alert, wary of every jagged pebble in their way. When they make the mistake of looking at the breathtaking scenery around them they pay the price of another blister bursting in their shoe caused by collision with an innocent stone. Walking in single file one can hear the occasional yelp.
Checkpoint 2 to checkpoint 3 was very soft grey sand that sapped energy at every step. We stopped at Tarhalt; a mud wall town high on up a cliff dominated by an impressive casbah. The last stretch of 12k was dunes again, but these were surprisingly easy undulating dunes with no large highs or lows. We could see the finish for an hour and a half, slowly, imperceptibly, coming closer. It seems to taunt the runners as they try to complete the stage. The fast runners have their own problems. Running in this heat caused three to collapse on the line through dehydration and required IV drips to revive them.
Doc Trotter’s medical team are exceptional. The team is huge with over 30 doctors and sets the standard for sports medical help at the extreme events world-wide. Not only are they at every checkpoint but they pass you every kilometre as you progress along the course. They are never far away. One French runner injured himself when he slashed his forehead with a ski pole. Despite the winds and sand, Gaston and his team quickly erected the operating theatre and resolved the problem. Their care and equipment is excellent.
Tomorrow is a short run home (half marathon) and a medal. Everyone is beaming.
Day 7: Finish 20k
We awoke from a good night’s sleep, and, having prepared, made our way to the start line.
The start was announced by a volley of rifle fire from the mounted Touaregs who formed an avenue through which we would pass. A group of really slow runners had commenced 30 minutes earlier but despite this we soon overtook them as they hobbled to the finish in an appalling but determined state.
We passed through Checkpoint 1 and passed through the outskirts of Tazzarine. The town is typical of Berber towns in Morocco. There are dilapidated mud wall properties which have been superseded with newer better constructed houses and roads further to the west as the town has prospered and increased in size. The last 2k was on tarmac roads. It was curious to see how our speed picked up on the improved surface, having spent a week in the dunes. We decided to walk in as a tent but this broke down as the only way to finish the race was full-on. We sprinted to the line as fast as we could, standing laughing and breathless as Patrick and his team put medals around our necks. We then answered questions and gave short interviews to the press before being bused away to the hotel.
Fantastic day, fantastic week and a fantastic event. Job done.
Final thoughts and statistics
Just some quick statistic and personal final thoughts of the highs and lows of the race.
13 Britains out of a total of 220 ( 5.9%) failed to finish. Our best result ever and just shows how our preparation, communication and training are improving. In 1999 over 20% failed to complete.
Over 100,000 litres of water were drunk by the competitors and staff.
There were 777 runners and over 400 staff travelled around the country each day; their accommodation being erected at a new place despite trucks and lorries getting bogged down in the sand.
Each runner expended over 44,000 calories during the race whilst only eating 14,000 calories of food and most will have lost around 9 pounds of weight during the race.
Entertainment
At night included Berber dancers, an opera singing “Summertime” under the Saharan night sky, mounted Tourag firing rifles in the air as they rode on camels through the camp and belly dancers performing for our pleasure whilst another sandstorm raged.
Personal Highs
My personal high point was helping Elizabeth Evangelista over the mountain despite her vertigo and helping John Buckingham through the marathon despite his appalling feet problems and his general dehydration. And a Swedish competitor who came up to me and said “Oh you are Steve Partridge you are real hard core”. I’ve never been called that before.
Personal Lows
My down was at checkpoint 2 on day 3 in the dunes when I too suffered from dehydration for a few hours.
This was my fourth and possibly favourite MdS to date. I can’t recommend it enough to any aspiring ultra runner. If you have never done it you should really try it. It is simply the best race in the world. I’ll be back!
