Month: February 2019

There are a lot of different things I need to do to prepare for the Marathon des Sables. I have to run, to build fitness and endurance to cover the distance. I have to get used to carrying everything I need on my back, and try to arrange my backpack to keep the weight down. I have to take enough calories with me to see me through the expedition – I’m going to lose weight over those 6 days, there’s no way to avoid it. I’ll use a lot more calories than I can replace.

I’ll eat every thing I take with me: there will be no waste on this trip! So, I’ve practiced preparing and eating my specialist freeze-dried food in the comfort of my own kitchen, but in exactly the same way as I’ll be doing it in the desert. First, I heat the water on the solid fuel stove I’ll carry with me.

I have a lightweight pan/mug for heating water. The freeze-dried meals can be made up with cold water but I’m going to want hot food in the evenings where possible. Although it’s hot during the day, the desert can get cold at night. Also, who wants cold hotpot?

• 

• 

• 

Once the water has boiled, I add it to my pouch of food and leave it to sit, while it re-hydrates. Then I eat. I can eat the food straight from the pouch. I’ve got a long-handled spoon so I can avoid touching my food with my hands. I’ll need to be careful with hygiene. There will be water provided for drinking but not really for washing – I’ll be relying on wet wipes and hand sanitiser and I really won’t want to deal with an upset stomach on top of scorching heat and demanding runs.

So there you have it – my whole cooking process, which I’ll go through each night in the desert, even when I’m exhausted and can’t be bothered. Any of you who’ve ever run a long race might have enjoyed a nice cooked meal afterwards. Just compare that with my fare…

Does it taste better than it looks? Well, since I’ve shown you pictures of the package I’ll avoid saying anything which might upset the manufacturers. Lets just say that some freeze-dried meals are more tempting than others. It’s probably a matter of personal taste! Before I go, I thought I’d share with you a photo my sister found of me when I first started running marathons (a while ago).

• 

• 

If you’d told me then that I’d keep running for decades, and eventually tackle 150 miles across the desert, I doubt very much if I’d have believed you.

Things are getting real now. My number has arrived (I’m number 470)! Thankfully, training is going well, despite a cough which has been troubling me over the last week or so. It’s a worry if I catch even the slightest cold, since I really can’t afford any interruptions to my running schedule at this stage in my preparations. I really need to stay healthy.

I’ve done a bit of running on the banks of the Humber. There’s plenty of sand, but I don’t think it’s much like the Sahara! I’ll be running in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Centigrade, so the conditions are pretty different.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

In other news, I’ve been practicing cooking my freeze-dried meals, just as I will be doing in the desert. I have to boil water on a solid fuel stove, which I’ll carry in my pack. Then I use that to rehydrate the food. Some of it tastes pretty good. Some of it, not so good!

The Marathon des Sables organisers have released this video. It gives you an idea of what I’ll be facing. On their webpage, Marathon des Sables also provide an overview of the race, with the length of each stage.

Day 1: 30.3km

Day 2: 39km

Day 3: 31.6km

Day 4: 86.2km

Day 5: 42.2km

Day 6: 7.7km

Have you noticed how far we’ll be running on day 4? For those of you who prefer to think in miles, that’s over 52 miles. We will run from morning till night, and many of us won’t finish till well into the next day. Helpfully, the information on the website also states, “your feet will swell, crack and bleed under the pressure and the heat”. Does anyone want to trade places with me?

No? Well then, I’ll just need to keep reminding myself what I’m doing it for.