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?
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.
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