Magazine article

110
EXTREME STUFF
THE
MARATHON
OF THE SANDS
BY MARY KEENAN
R
Photo: © Corbis
unning a marathon is generally
considered to be a pretty
extraordinary feat, now how
about running six marathons
over six consecutive days? The
unimaginable exists and it is called
Marathon des Sables (MdS).
As if running six marathons isn’t a hard
enough task, the gruelling race takes place in
the Sahara desert. Known for its inhospitable
climate, the North African desert maintains
temperatures around 50 degrees Celsius
over the duration of the race with sandstorms
frequently blowing through. Competitors taking
on the formidable terrain are required to carry
all equipment needed to survive including
food, clothing, toiletries, a sleeping bag and a
compulsory anti-venom pump (a precautionary
measure against deadly scorpions). This makes
packing for the event a painstaking affair with
every gram being so carefully considered that
even toothbrush handles are chopped off to
reduce weight. Drinking water is provided
daily by race organisers but is heavily rationed,
as is an open-ended tent, which sleeps
eight competitors.
Now in its 30th consecutive year, the race
was created by Patrick Bauer, a Frenchman who
had traversed the Sahara desert alone on foot
in 1984. In 1986, 186 runners participated in
the very first Marathon des Sables. Growing in
popularity with every edition, MdS drew close to
1,400 competitors this year. The race aims to raise
money for various charities including Solidarite –
Marathon Des Sables, an organization based in
the south of Morocco which works to improve the
lives of underprivileged children and their families.
Open to both individuals and teams MdS
attracts amateur and elite runners of all ages from
across the globe. This year’s race saw lauded
explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes (aged 71) become
the oldest British man to complete the race as
well as British runner Dave Heeley becoming
the first blind entrant to finish. Upon completion
Fiennes described the race as “more hellish
than hell.” Fiennes’ trainer, Rory Coleman has
completed MdS a total of 12 times, believes the
biggest challenge of the race is “self-sufficiency
in that one has to carry all your provisions etc.
for the week. Being able to manage your water,
food, salt, health and expectations for some gets
overlooked and underestimating these limitations
can eliminate even the highest performing
marathon runner.” The current record for oldest
competitor stands at an extremely admirable 81
years young.
The 254 kilometre course changes each year
and the exact route is kept secret until the day
before the event. Run over six stages, the fourth
stage is by far the most dreaded with competitors
having to run 91 kilometres within an allotted time
frame. Safety is paramount during the race and
a large contingent of volunteers; marshals and
doctors are on hand as well as strict race rules
to ensure the well being of contestants. In 1994,
Italian Olympian Mauro Prosperi took part in the
race and became disorientated during a stand
storm, running several hundred kilometres into
Algeria. Within 36 hours Prosperi had run out
of food and water and survived by drinking his
own urine and killing bats to drink their blood and
consume their flesh. Nine days of wandering the
desert and 18 kilograms lighter in bodyweight,
he was found 299 kilometres off route and
taken to an Algerian military camp. Competitors
are now required to carry flares and a distress
beacon on them while running.
As well as the extensive physical and mental
preparation required for MdS, entering the race
also requires a significant amount of funds with
the entry fee (inclusive of flights, transfers and
accomodation) a costly £3650 Billed as ‘the
toughest race on earth’ the Marathon des
Sable certainly isn’t for the fainthearted.
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Photo: © CIMBALY/SAMPERS©MDS2015
27-year-old British competitor Charlie
Coupland who raced the MdS for the first
time this year, shares his experience with us.
WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO
ENTER?
I got into Ultra running because I genuinely
thought it was impossible. I’ve always
done sport but I could not understand
how someone could run for over 12 hours
straight. I have to say that I’ve not had that
sort of sense of achievement from much else;
I really thought it was impossible. I started
training last year and just nine months later
I ran the Swiss Alpine Ultra, which is a 50mile race. I managed it in just under 12
hours and suddenly it didn’t even seem that
bad. Things escalated a bit in October last
year when a friend asked me to do MdS.
HOW DID YOU PREPARE?
I would do gym sessions of 30-minute
circuits in the morning, then I would run or do
another sport in the evening, work permitting
I would train twice a day. Doing that over
a month long period leads to results pretty
quickly and I found the gym work to be much
more useful than simply trotting out long runs.
February to March was my peak training
period and during that phase I was running
about 100 kilometres per week, broken into
three 20-kilometre sessions on weeknights
and a marathon on the weekend. I’d do all
the runs with a 10-kilogram backpack on to
get used to having one on fulltime. I have
done more laps of Hyde Park than I would
ever want to admit!
My preparation also had a lot to do with
diet, I had to eat balanced and sensibly.
I tried to cut down on carbohydrates and
needed a lot more protein to help regenerate
between sessions.
DESCRIBE AN AVERAGE MdS DAY
The general daily routine was to get up
at dawn around 05:30 am, eat breakfast
(oats or porridge for most), pack your kit and
get your running gear on then head to start
line. The race would begin each morning
at 08:30 am.
‘Normal’ days consisted of about five hours
of running for me. Dunes, rocky ground, the
odd mountain and plenty of soft sand made
for some stunning scenery but it can be
difficult to take it all in whilst running in 45
degree Celsius temperatures. By 2pm I’d
be back in the tent and would have more
food – biltong and protein to fuel up after
the run. I’d lie in the tent with my feet raised
for about 30 minutes to aid my recovery as
Photo: © Corbis
112
draining blood from the legs after exercise helps
to reduce capillary damage. Then it would be
time for the daily moment of truth… to take a
look at my feet. I’d have to pop any blisters
and iodine them (we would all find great joy in
laughing at each other doing this, as you tend
to wince as the iodine goes into the blister). I’d
then visit the medical tent and see the doctors
who kept everyone’s feet in shape, bandaging
them up to avoid infection. Then I’d cook
dinner (Super Noodles or a freeze dried meal
as they are very lightweight to carry and high
in calories). We’d all have a chat in the tent,
receive print outs of the daily messages from
friends and family at home and be asleep by
8pm. Oh and constantly drink water and eat
salt tablets all day. My favourite fact from the
week is that I’d drink 10 litres of water (20 pints)
and pee once if I were lucky, I would just sweat
it all out in the heat.
The nights were generally quite cold, around five
degrees Celsius and often windy which created
sand storms. We’d wake up in the mornings
sometimes just covered in dust and sand. But the
clear night sky was something to enjoy. The stars
were just incredible. The desert itself is beautiful
in strange way - it’s very barren, dry and hot (no
surprises there). But it is vast; we’d be crossing
huge valleys, dried lakebeds, mountains, and
ridges. The landscape really was amazing.
•100 Volunteers on
the course itself
•120,000 Litres of mineral water
•270 Berber and Saharan tents
HOW DID YOU FARE OVERALL?
It actually went really well for me in the end. I
went out there simply wanting to complete the
course and ended up finishing in the top 15%
of the field, which meant I got to start and run
with the pro ultra-runners on the final day. Quite
a privilege with my umbrella hat proudly upon
my head, which gave the serious French runners
something to think about!
TALK US THROUGH THE MENTAL
COMPMONENTS OF THE RACE
Overall, I thought the race might prove
overwhelming but fortunately for me that wasn’t
the case. It was incredibly tough, but it was
doable and I always felt in control throughout
the experience.
It was only 18months ago that someone
showed me these races and I could not mentally
grasp how people could run continuously for
12 hours but once you do the training you
quite quickly start to understand it. Then you
actually do it and looking back it’s not that bad.
During the race that happened to me on day
four, that’s the 92-kilometre stage. The first three
days of running we were arriving at the camp
knackered each day and we had only been
doing 35 kilometres. I spoke to other contestants
and asked how on earth we were going to run
three times that distance through all the mid-
•4 Camels
•52 Members of medical team
•6.5 km Elastoplast
•6,000 Painkillers
•14 km / hr: average
maximum speed
•3 km / hr: average
minimum speed
EXTREME STUFF
afternoon heat. It didn’t make sense to me. My
only consolation was that everyone was going to
do it, so somehow it must have been achievable.
Then on the day I just thought, let’s go for it! 14
hours later I finished and I was amazed to see
how good I still felt physically. My legs actually
felt quite fresh! If you just keep eating and
drinking your water, switch off the mind as best
you can then the body will do the rest.
I did take a couple of things away from my
experience. One is how the mind blocks out
the bad or painful moments and focuses on the
elation of finishing or any of the good moments.
It’s almost like an inbuilt survival technique that we
don’t often notice. I can see that’s why people
go back and do it again but they must get half
way through Stage 1 and think, “What was I
thinking?! Why didn’t I remember what this was
really like?!” Secondly, ultra-marathon running
is the only thing I’ve come across recently that
has shown me that you can do things that you
genuinely don’t believe are possible.
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE
RACE TO OTHERS AND WOULD YOU
COMPETE AGAIN?
Would I recommend it – Yes. Would I run
it a second time – No. Mainly because it’s
expensive! And there are so many other runs to
do all over the world.
Demographic:
30 % Previous MdS competitors
14 % Women
45 % Veterans
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