Erg Znaigui - Oued El Jdaid 31 March 2008

Race Day 2

Distance: 38km

Time :  6 hr 55

Water : 12 litres

Temperature : 36.8ºC

With little wind it’s a scorcher!

 Though the heat bizarrely is to our benefit: we trained in it so we can we perform in it.

Some eating (about 1 kg in food a day, my toss out and much less sand) means we do the same time as yesterday over the 38km course.

Steady, steady. Still a long way to go.

Days highlight?

Chatting again .. this time meeting the Marine Docs! 

Not saving the world, trekking to the South Pole or paddling the North-West passage this week but here with us yomping faster than my run!

Home to Tent 82 and some slash and sting to be applied by Ange.

We all have blisters that need treating today and the iodine hurts not a little bit, trust me.

Erg Chebbi - Erg Znaigui 30 March 2008

Race Day 1

Distance: 31.6km

Time :  6 hr 55

Water : 12 litres

Temperature : 36.8ºC

Our first 5.30am start (thanks Dave) was blustery.

We see the sand coming across the plain in a grey-brown wall.

 As breakfasts are eaten cold we wonder will this become a Day 1 dust storm ?

We haven’t quite got the hang of heating water yet ..

 Phew! Fortunately no to the storm as the sand cloud blows through by race start.

And what a start!

Not usually an ACDC fan I am thrilled to hear theboys rocking it as we line up dancing and bouncing at the start.

 Nearly delirious with excitement.

The sound of the MdS in our ears.

Kisses. Good luck. Excited tears. And the bubbling thrill of it all only grows as we are counted down ..

 Dix .. neuf .. huit .. sept .. six .. cinq .. quatre .. trois .. deux .. un ..

Goooo!! Allez!

This is a life milestone NOT a race. I love this!

 Bodies.

Multi coloured packs.

Hats.

Cheers.

Camels raced by blue men.

Cameras flashing.

A sideways sliding helicopter passes low.

Hands waving.

More cameras.

The helo again and again.

All feels surreally like a movie as the human  snake of runners jiggles towards the looming erg (dune) mountains.

What a shame I feel so heavy .. heavy .. heavy ..

With 13.5kg (almost a quarter of my body weight) on my back I am fairly sinking into the sand underfoot.

Our first day error of taking 3 litres of water to start the leg (added to my crazy last minute “I may as well take this to’s”) makes for a dauntingly grueling first day on the sand.

Too late to focus on this now.

Onwards to the days end and the big toss out tonight.

Tomorrow WILL be lighter.

Days highlight?

Chatting and trudging with The British Bulldog.

This Union Jack clad, shining light of a man is Rory Coleman.

His quiet assurance and solid advice sets us straight from the start: take it easy today. He passes on advice direct from Patrick who had warned against over-doing Etape 1.

This is the hardest first stage ever for the MdS and only the start of a long, long week.

Today is a day to get under your belt and then go on and up from there.

So with his lovely union jack flying high as my talisman I tick heavily on. I know if I can keep him in sight all will be well. All will be well.

We do just that and with drained legs, rubbing toes and a general feeling of “phew” from me we arrive at our first hand holding finish.

Yeah .. l’Arrivee .. Bivouac 2!

Now, to empty every single item I do not need from my pack .. sorry whizplus you are dumped.

Erg Chebbi 29 March 2008

Admin Day

Time :  0 hr

Water : 4.5 litres

Temperature : 36.7ºC

Most of the day is spent fiddling with packs. Unfortunately I didn’t resist the urge to throw in some last minute non-essentials .. I would regret that tomorrow on the slopes of Merzouga dunes, the highest “sand mountain” in the Sahara!

Noisy Pigs fills in time. WhizPlus testing.

Des swigging red wine followed by his all too familiar orange tiger-striped g-string ..

And we haven’t even seen the triple lap exhibition dash yet!

Ouarzazate - Erg Chebbi 28 March 2008

 Transfer to bivouac 1

Time :  5 hr 30

Water : 4.5 litres

Our Aussie flag up we are attracting visitors already! Trent, Steven, Van, Pete, Prince Wills.

With 24 other Australians in the race we are only one of the 32 nationalities represented here.

The Tabuk 5 are immediately comfortable playing pigs starting the fun we will have all week.

Brit journo, MarkGillett drops by for a chat and hands off some easy encouragement. How right he was when he said we would enjoy the starts.

Even Patrick Bauer, race maestro & icon, pops in to welcome!

Tous va bien en Tente 82.

Our first taste of this warmly personal, almost loving race.

(Dinner tonight with red wine! A boon for Des who happily collects the spares.)