1029 started, 904 finished,  I came 775th

244 km - 152 miles - 59hrs 16mins

Arrival in the Sahara.

After a very long wait at Errachidia airport and then a bus journey that saw the most amazing sunset we arrived into the ‘bivouac’ in the dark. After throwing down our bags and grabbing ourselves a sleeping space in Tent 137 we were fed a bland meal by our hosts and then made our way back to our tent for our first night in the open sided tent that would become home for the next seven nights. The tent consisted of some wooden poles suspending a thick black cloth over a large rug, hardly quality accommodation but it would soon become a welcome sight.Kit check and preparation day.

Waking up the first morning in the desert with a view towards the Chebi Erg, very large dunes, was an strangely inspiring moment. The dunes that rose up from the large plain we camped out on looked fantastic in the distance 3km away, this was the start of stage 1 for the first day of the race. After a breakfast provided by our hosts we spent the day queuing to hand in our spare kit and have our equipment and medical checks as well as receive our mandatory water card, ankle transponder, flare and salt tablets. This was quite a relaxing day spent queuing and wandering around the camp meeting other competitors and getting to know my tent mates. After dinner we became self sufficient and had to rely only on the things we could carry with us in our packs from this point on, Stage 1 - 34km - cut off time 11hrs - completed in 8hr 55 minutes

The day started with a routine that would happen every morning for the next seven days, wake up, make breakfast, tape feet, drink water (lots of it), pack rucksack then wander to the start line. The start line was a busy bustling experience with more of a carnival atmosphere than the start line of the ‘Toughest footrace on Earth’ with the race organisers trying to get us to dance to the song ‘Happy’ before we set off into the desert, that song certainly holds very few happy memories for me now. After a long time baking in the morning sun we crossed the start line to the tones of ‘Highway to Hell’ blasting all around us with helicopters whizzing around filming the start of the long parade of runners crossing the desert. After the first 3km we hit our first experiences of what lied ahead, sand dunes bigger than I could have imagined towered over us, we knew this would last around 12km so I started the long slog up the the soft sand where sometimes two steps forward were followed by one step back. Although the scenery was spectacular it did not take long to realise that most of my journey through the desert would be looking at the ground rather than the beautiful vista surrounding me. 

After reaching checkpoint one and collecting my 3 litres of water, which I was pretty desperate for after running out on the first leg, I set off along an Oued, or dried up river bed for 6km, the sand in these river beds was remarkably different in colour and texture to the dunes but just as soft. After leaving the Oued there was a long slow 4km climb towards an old abandoned mine and checkpoint 2. Arriving in CP2 I suffered my first set back, I was tired, not muscularly fatigued but rather the feeling of wanting to sleep, four of my tent mates at this check point got me medical support as they thought I was struggling with the heat. After a short nap and rest in the shade the medics were remarkably unconcerned so I pushed on across a stony valley and over my first jebel, these can only be described to vary in size from small hills to mountains, luckily this was not a mountain. After descending the Jebel we entered another 3km of sand dunes to finish the stage. At this point I started to have my first doubts about finishing the course and was surprised to start to venture into some very dark places in my mind, it was only the sight of the finish line ahead of me that made me push through this and I jogged over the line with another competitor that I had crossed the dunes with. The finish line was a turmoil of activity with a cup of Sultan tea thrust into your hand followed by three 1 1/2 litre water bottles, followed by a stagger to tent 137 to be meant with applause from my tent mates. The nights routine started with food, then a slow wander to the email tent and then sleep.

Stage 2 - 41km - cut off time 11hrs - completed in 9hr 41 minutes

Surprisingly rested with no aches and pains I awoke to watch a spectacular sunrise across the desert, it was a surreal moment waking up next to my tent mates where we all started the routine of cook breakfast, eat, tape feet, pack rucksack and get ready to follow the days course of dunes, oueds and jebels. This morning we discovered if we were not quite ready the berbers, lovely guys who took down the tents, would just take them down around you leaving you looking up at the blue sky led on your rug.

Once again we were encouraged to dance to ‘Happy’, you could see the excitement in peoples faces when the song came on and Course Director Patrick Bauer danced on top of his truck. Following his strange dance moves and his long speech about the days course we once again started our long procession across the desert to the 

familiar ‘Highway to Hell’, these little quirks of the event never got old. The days course took us across a variety of terrain including dunes and oueds but here we were introduced to our first stony plateau, stony plateau should have been described in a bit more detail possibly along the lines of large sharp rocks that will test your concentration on every step. This was great when you were fatigued and one misplaced step would end with a stumbling break in concentration that took, what felt like forever, to get back into a rhythm. Check point one this day saw my first encounter with the remarkable Doc Trotters, the course medical team for treatment. The first leg of the day had been, in my opinion okay, I went at my own pace and kept focussed along the route, but I did feel a strange ache at the back of my right ankle at one point. When I removed my sand gaiter at the checkpoint to adjust my sock my hand came way wet and sticky, five minutes later the medic had trimmed the skin away from a large blister, covered it in Iodine, and taped it up. This happened in quite an efficient blur, more like a formula one pitstop than a medical tent, but it did the job and off I trekked into the dessert once again.

This next leg saw me wander past a local village where young children would run out of their homes clapping and cheering our progress along the tracks before entering a sandy plateau for around 14km of varied terrain. On this stage I walked along with competitor 666 who had appropriately dressed in red running gear with horns and a pitchfork, though this became slightly unnerving as we found some bleached dried animal bones which he pretend to gnaw on for photographs. Climbing through another village some runners chose to cool themselves off in the village well, I pushed on as the cleanliness of the water was certainly suspect and the last thing I wanted was to cause myself a stomach upset. The course slowly meandered up through stony hills towards the next checkpoint where I suddenly became quite emotional, I still dont know why I became so tearful at this point but I staggered across the checkpoint control line and slumped down into a tent absolutely spent of energy. I led there in this tent for some time failing to muster the energy to get up time and time again, I thought this was the end of the race for me as I could not get up and could not create any motivation to carry on. I led there until someone suddenly shouted my name and poured cold water over my head and in my ear, this seemed to be enough to rouse me from the dark place I had ventured into and I managed to get to my feet to thank the man that helped me. This was slightly embarrassing as I had apparently been talking to him earlier in the day but I could not remember any of this at all. I knew now the heat, dehydration and fatigue was starting to play games with my mind and that you could not fight what was happening in the desert. It was such a joy to look onwards across the stage 500m 15% slope of sand that wound its way out of the checkpoint towards the finish line 7km away. After climbing the Jebel with my new friend we wandered along a dried up river bed slowly trudging along the sand exchanging stories about our lives and why we here. The finish line came into view but the route planners seemed to have an amazing way of making them never get any closer no matter how long you walked. I crossed the finish line blowing a kiss to the webcam and wondering if I would make i through the next day. The evening was spent at the medical tent where my feet received some severe treatment from Doc Trotters across five toes that were blistered with one toenail looking dubious. on arrival you wash your feet clean in iodine water on top off what can be described as bread crates, you then sit waiting for your turn to see the medics amongst a group of suffering people who looked like pitiful hobbling in dirty running gear. Luckily I had an english speaking medic who could explain how much it was going to hurt as he poured the iodine over my open wounds before taping them up. I staggered back to the tent to spend a restless night asleep in the desert.

Stage 3 - 37.5 km - cut off time 10.30 hrs - completed in 8hr 52 minutes

The daily routine started again but I was not in good spirits, I was nervous about taking the start line after the horrendous day I had previously encountered, I was scared that I would fail to complete the Marathon des Sables. Knowing I had prepared for almost two years and was in pretty good shape was no conciliation as over 45 entrants had already dropped out due to medical issues or through failing to meet the cut off times. I certainly did not look like most of the other athletes taking to the start line which for the first time really bothered me. I was not ‘Happy’ during the repeated preamble that preceded the days festivities and set off truly into a personal hell whilst being constantly reminded by those famous AC/DC lyrics booming over the speakers.! !

The first 10km were a mental battle where I was constantly trying to push myself forward despite the pain in my feet and doubt in my head. I surprisingly made good time towards the first checkpoint and found myself travelling along with competitors I was not used to seeing around me. This invigorated me with a new found confidence that I could achieve my dream of finishing this desert challenge and I pushed on across the sand. The first proper Jebel climb followed checkpoint one with a long stony rocky climb up through the sand. This was a bit rough as there was no air in the ravine we clambered up, so the heat felt even more intense. After reaching the summit I sat for a few moments taking in the view before trying to manoeuvre over the sandy rocky terrain to climb back on to the plateau. 

The next part of the course was quite stony again and forced me to watch where I placed my feet before being challenged with another set of large dunes for 3km. I slowed drastically in the dunes as the temperature rose but I felt like I was able to control my heart rate better by adjusting my pace, this allowed me to push on through the dunes to the next checkpoint. I did not rest in checkpoint 2 and just pushed on through after grabbing my water, the next stage was a long slog through a salt plain where the temperatures allegedly hit 55 degrees, it certainly felt like they did. This stage saw me come to the aid of a fellow runner who had completely run out of water, I was faced with a difficult decision do I give my spare water to someone who needs it or do I leave them without any in case I need it myself. I could not leave someone in that heat with no water so I gave them half of mine in the hope that I would cover the last 1 1/2 km before running out of water. My goodwill was rewarded when the other runner caught me up and gave me half of a packet of fruit pastilles, the taste was explosive in my mouth and reinvigorated me to push onto the next checkpoint. A small distance later I paused briefly in checkpoint 3 to top up my bottles and head off to cover the last 5km which took me past some old ruins that towered above the path and on into some more small dunes.

It was unusual for me to finish a stage so early in the day which allowed me to have a relaxing meal and then venture to the email tent to send a message home.This in itself proved an emotional experience trying to fit all my thoughts to my family into 550 characters was so difficult, the keyboard did not help at this point with the response of the keys causing much frustration in fatigued runners. A lazy evening ensued catching up with the other runners in the tent. Finding out one had missed the cut off at checkpoint 3 and that one had stood on an Acacia thorn which pierced his trainer sole and foot like a nail put a damper on things. The mood was certainly overpowered by the sadness of losing a tent mate and having one in the medical facility for hours, luckily the tent mate in the hospital retuned late that night to battle on another day. It was great to see the tent rally around him preparing his bed and his meals for him to help ease his suffering although his feet were not good.

Stage 4 - 81.5km - cut off time 34 hrs - completed in 22hr 43 minutes

The long stage, two marathons back to back in the Sahara with lots of climbs and dunes, was not really something to look forward to, although the atmosphere was certainly of a belief that if you could do stage 4 then stage 5 would certainly be achievable. I decided to attack this day and push on as far as possible during the day and then move onward during the night whilst cooler to finish around sunrise the next morning. This seemed almost impossible but I knew I needed a strategy to attack the desert with. After the cheery start I pushed on to reach checkpoint one in a strong time, not stopping in the checkpoint I pushed on to see the biggest climb ahead of me. The jebel in front of me seemed to go up and up and up, it was in fact 2km of climb up the biggest dune and mountain combination I had seen, this was just what I needed to start the longest day. 

The jebel climb was tough, it was a slog up the sand at around 12% incline before stretching up a rock face of loose boulders where everyone was queuing to get past. Frustration started to set in as we all baked on the side of this mountain and people strayed from the path to find purchase to climb up the rock faces. This caused unnecessary tragedy as boulders the size of footballs 

were knocked loose and came down on the runners lower down. The runner next to me had his hand hit by a falling rock which caused him excruciating pain which lost him his balance and focus, I still am suprised he did not fall back off the ledge down the sandy climb. This climb took an eternity and I slowly used up all my water trying to stay hydrated on the rocky ledges. The rocky climb became a true scramble up loose rock which put all those behind at some risk, when finishing the scramble there was a precocious sandy ledge to manuvoeur along with a rope to hold to stop you plummeting down the side of it, Having a sword attached to my rucksack here proved difficult, it caught on the rope leaving me stuck with the sand moving under my feet, this was scary to say the least but I managed with the help of other competitors to get free and start my slow inching along the ledge; this suddenly gave way to a steep climb which sapped my energy with me pulling myself up a near vertical sand climb. After a brief rest at the top I pushed on down the side of this mountain following a natural ravine, I was hot, thirsty, tired and every step hurt my feet as I could feel my skin separating from my feet enlarging some small blisters. I staggered down the side of this jebel for what seemed to be an eternity wobbling across the ravine from left to right, I was not going to get down this mountain.

This was about to become the lowest point for me in the whole race where I was going to be mentally destroyed, another racer asked me if I had children to which I replied that I had. They then said “how disappointed do you think they will feel when there daddy fails the Marathon des Sables, will they be proud of you then?“ well this broke me. Tears ran down my face behind my sunglasses and I felt ashamed that I could not go on, I could not push any harder than I had, I stumbled onwards to find help from the support team. I eventually made it out of the ravine and into some dunes, just what I needed a long sand slog, just as I thought this the elite runners who started later than the slow runners started to pass by. I feel like I was given a new energy when British runner Danny Kendall ran past effortlessly across the dunes shouting words of support and encouragement to me. This picked me up and I pushed on through the dunes towards the next checkpoint, a few minutes later I reached a medical jeep with a medic asking if I was okay, stupidly I said yes, she asked again and I still said yes, she asked again and I said no as I collapsed into the sand face down. I was rolled under the back of the jeep which provided some shade and given a thorough medical check up, I was given extra water with a salt solution in it, along with a thirty minute time penalty, and allowed to go on my way. I was glad to leave the shade of the 4x4 as other runners were coming in in a much worse state than me.

On I pushed across a plain that seemed to have the most amazing collection of ‘dust devils’ or sand tornados appearing randomly around me, it was quite surreal to see them appear from nowhere and then vanish after swirling around for a few minutes. It was easy to see how people from the past could confuse these with apparitions or omens of doom, it was here I came across another runner with no water, again I relinquished some of my supply as this was the same runner who poured his over me on Stage 2 reviving me from my dark places. We pushed on together across a pretty endless plain trying to reach checkpoint 2. On arrival at checkpoint 2 there were the two camels sitting there, I thought I had been out for a while but not that long, it transpired that they were resting there as they could not go over the jebel and would set off in one hours time. This meant I needed to get going after a short rest to stay ahead of them. 

Stage 4 continued

The push to the next checkpoint saw a push across a flat stony plain towards a village, after a brief stop in the shade of an adobe house I kept going into a village around an oasis, here once again competitors were dousing themselves in the villager specious water supply something I did not agree with. This also proved testing as one of the buildings in the village was a hotel with a can of coke and a can of fanta dripping condensation across a table. I dont know if anyone else was tempted to break the self sufficiency rules at this point but the cans of drink did look good. The route across a dried lake proved pretty dusty and flat but it was amazing to see a family of camels wander across the route in a long line. I pushed on as quickly a possible to reach the next checkpoint before the sunset as there was a pretty big dune climb on the other side. On arrival at checkpoint 3 we were issued glow sticks to put on our rucksacks and told we would need to start using our head torches soon, I wanted to push on quickly but had to queue at the medical tent for some salt tablets as I did not have enough to keep me going through the night. 

The climb out of the checkpoint was pretty tough but as the sun set the course got even harder, The line of glow sticks ahead, yellow on competitors and green to mark the routes, stretched on into the distance. The next 10km had climbs of 30% which in the dark were pretty brutal, climbing up sand dunes and over rocks by head torch was both mentally and physically draining. I pushed to hard for a while trying to stay with another competitor which proved too much which meant I needed to back off. Luckily I had started to understand the signs I was feeling by this stage and backed off for a while I lowered my heart rate and temperature. I then pushed again to checkpoint 4 where I decided I needed to refuel and put down my sleep mat on the desert floor, I  got out my stove, warmed some water and had a proper meal. This only took around 15 minutes but filled me with enough energy to push on through the night to check point 5. Checkpoint 5 was lit with a green laser light glowing in the night sky the 13km of distance to cover felt like it was unending as the eery glow seemed to get no closer no matter how much timed past. The long slog ended up at checkpoint with people asleep everywhere trying to restock their energy stores and push on after some sleep. I stopped for five minutes on my sleep mat but had no intention of sleeping, I felt pretty fresh so pushed on towards checkpoint 6. This proved to be a complete contrast of legs as moving through the night by a low light head torch I moved through the desert alone in the dark. The darkness seemed to wrap around the light patch cast by my light in a eerie fashion which was strangely comforting, moving forward in a world that only seemed to contain me and desert vista was an amazing experience. here I saw my first camel spider scurry off the track, I am so glad it was going away from me as it was the size of a saucer! I pushed on through the night towards the next checkpoint only pausing for a moment to stare at a herd of donkeys staring at me through some bushes. No one else saw donkeys that night apparently but I was sure they were real, although I was surprised they were hiding behind bushes peeking out at me and then ducking behind the bushes again, I dont know if they were actually there but it certainly made me laugh.

From checkpoint 6 there was only 12 km to cover until the end of the stage and the finish line, after leaving the checkpoint we suddenly dropped into a dried up river bed as the sun rose. Looking behind me as the sun rose it was like a scene from a horror film, bodies lurching and stumbling through the soft sand moving onwards at a slow, staggering pace. As the sun rose I just wanted to reach the finish line when I came across runner ‘666’ again who seemed to be struggling as much as me. We pushed on together suffering with our feet and with our energy levels sapped from the 22 hours of effort across the desert. We pushed on towards the finish line which once again seemed to evade our forward movement and never get any closer. 

eventually we made the line which we crossed hand in hand, this seems appropriate in a strange way to cross the line hand in hand with the devil after such a challenging stage. I was relieved to cross that line yet was broken in so many ways.

I collapsed into the tent to discover the guy with the thorn had been withdrawn, we started with eight in the tent but we were now six. I ate a meal of custard with apples and then tried to dose for a while, I felt remarkably good this day sleeping a little then eating and generally lying around, I felt like I had earned the rest.!

Stage 5 - 42.2km - cut off time 12hrs - completed in 9hr 03 minutes

The final stage, all that was between me and the finish line of the Marathon des Sables was a marathon, how hard could that be, I had already ran 120 miles or 4 3/4 marathons across the Sahara, surely I could do one more. The atmosphere was exhilarating at the start line, everyone believed they could finish the toughest footrace on earth. Over one hundred and fifteen people had abandoned since the race started over the previous four stages, I did not want to add to this number today. After our musical introduction, enforced dancing and rock anthems I set off hobbling across stony terrain due to major pain at the back of my ankles where deep sores had formed. I had tried to avoid painkillers throughout the race but this morning I resorted to some paracetemol to take the edge away. Each step was like someone sticking a hot knife into my ankle, it was nothing other than brutal! I hobbled and staggered across the sand and stone trying to find some motivation deep inside, there wasn't any, I was a hollow burnt out shell. As I moved forward more and more people passed me I felt I was not going to get through this. 

As I continued I suddenly found that the pain was starting to numb, I learnt that the human body eventually masks some pain as you push yourself to your limits, I grabbed my walking poles from my pack and started to dig in. By the time I reached checkpoint 1, 12km, which was in a leafy valley I felt strong, grabbing some water, I poured it over myself, topped off my bottles and pushed on into a small valley with vivid green patches of crops around houses. The colours were so vibrant after such a stark landscape and the green was unusually bright contrasting against the grey and yellow sand. By checkpoint 2 I had overtaken more runners and was set in a strong stride, nothing could stop me finishing this. The route out of checkpoint 2 drove up onto a stony plateau where every step seemed to shift the skin on my blisters around under the masses of tape covering them. After descending into a small village with lots of crops and local villagers I saw checkpoint 3 surrounded by trees, I went into the checkpoint again doused myself with any spare water I could find and jogged out into a dried up river bed full off soft sand. I ran along the owed for around 5km where the climb out started through small houses. The hill never seemed to end, the finish line could not have been more than 5km away.

Cresting the hill there was a medical truck with medics treating an overheated runner, the finish line was not in sight just another huge climb, I dug in and pushed on to the summit to see the white inflatable structure in the distance across a set of dunes, the route planners certainly had a sense of humour the last 3km of the race was soft dunes and stony climbs. I started to feel emotional but had no energy to waste on tears. As I neared the finish line I struggled to unfasten the sword from my rucksack, I had a carried the 500 grams of epee and flags across the desert this far and I wanted to wave it as I crossed the line. I started to jog towards the line where I saw tent mate Ollie waving at me, as i jogged forward through the soft sand cheers erupted from the dunes as I realised runners were sat all around the finish encouraging people on. Suddenly someone shouted sprint for the dunes as a lady runner was trying to pass me, this made me dig in and sprint to the line trying to stay just ahead of this lady. I pushed harder and harder gaining pace when I saw Su and Claire waiting at the finish inflatable shouting wave your sword. I thrust the sword into the air and waved it as I crossed the line to complete the race, I was directed towards Patrick Bauer who placed my medal around my neck and then kissed me on the cheek, strangely not the best thing to happen to me on that run. I met up with Su and Claire and had a cup of Sultan tea, whilst staggering around with my medal and water. The race was over, we could now collapse and recover until the charity fun run the next morning.