IT'S ALL OVER AND I'M STILL ALIVE!!!
The final day was pretty uneventful...
...apart from being told by one of the photographers that myself and Mark (one of my tent-mates and a fellow Monty Python fan)'s rendition of 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' was very good. I thought this was particularly apt since his shemagh and general appearance made him look rather like Brian from ‘The Life of Brian.’ Probably a 'you had to be there moment' but it made us smile.
...and the moment it became apparent that inhibition had finally left the arena. It had been common practice for those needing to relieve themselves to disappear off the beaten track in order to respect their fellow runners. On the final day however - I assume because spirits were high and everyone was keen to get finished – I saw one couple – yes that’s a man and a woman – each take a single pace off the track (which was being trampled by about 5 people abreast) before going about there business with people running all around them.
...oh and when we passed through some bushes just before entering the dunes. The chap in front of me had kindly held a branch until I’d taken it from him, so that it didn’t whip me in the face – as you do. I then did the same for the guy behind me. As I turned around to check that he’d got the branch I saw he was holding something that I really hadn’t wanted to see! (I refer you to the previous paragraph for ideas). Valuable seconds saved by multi-tasking though, hey?
Unfortunately I couldn’t send pictures from Morocco as I was limited to one e-mail per day, to one recipient, and of limited length. Probably just as well – otherwise I would’ve been well boring! So I’ve attached a few pictures below.
After finishing we were herded onto coaches for the 6 hour drive back our 5* hotel, where we sat by the pool drinking beer and drinking beer (yes that was deliberate). Here’s the gorgeous swimming pool which we were not allowed to enjoy due to infected feet…
The final day was pretty uneventful...
...apart from being told by one of the photographers that myself and Mark (one of my tent-mates and a fellow Monty Python fan)'s rendition of 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' was very good. I thought this was particularly apt since his shemagh and general appearance made him look rather like Brian from ‘The Life of Brian.’ Probably a 'you had to be there moment' but it made us smile.
...and the moment it became apparent that inhibition had finally left the arena. It had been common practice for those needing to relieve themselves to disappear off the beaten track in order to respect their fellow runners. On the final day however - I assume because spirits were high and everyone was keen to get finished – I saw one couple – yes that’s a man and a woman – each take a single pace off the track (which was being trampled by about 5 people abreast) before going about there business with people running all around them.
...oh and when we passed through some bushes just before entering the dunes. The chap in front of me had kindly held a branch until I’d taken it from him, so that it didn’t whip me in the face – as you do. I then did the same for the guy behind me. As I turned around to check that he’d got the branch I saw he was holding something that I really hadn’t wanted to see! (I refer you to the previous paragraph for ideas). Valuable seconds saved by multi-tasking though, hey?
Unfortunately I couldn’t send pictures from Morocco as I was limited to one e-mail per day, to one recipient, and of limited length. Probably just as well – otherwise I would’ve been well boring! So I’ve attached a few pictures below.
After finishing we were herded onto coaches for the 6 hour drive back our 5* hotel, where we sat by the pool drinking beer and drinking beer (yes that was deliberate). Here’s the gorgeous swimming pool which we were not allowed to enjoy due to infected feet…
As briefly mentioned, one of our tent’s favourite memories was the guy seemingly advertising camel rides at the campsite each night.
And it wouldn’t be right not to include a picture of one of the camels (who followed the last runner around the course each day)!
And while on the subject of animals, all I saw during the week were two or three lizards, a few birds (very small ones), many beetles…and a camel spider (we think). I didn’t notice him until I was standing up having my breakfast, but he was sat about a foot from where my head would have been as I lay in my sleeping bag. Although they are not dangerous (they are arachnids, but Solifugae rather than spiders and hence have no poison glands…"John, you loser!"...sorry!), this one was most of the size of my hand, and had large pincers (which they use to kill and chew up their prey...sorry again!) and he could run very fast!
It was suggested that camel spiders had been known to chase US soldiers around the dessert in Iraq, which we all found very amusing. They were actually chasing the shade which the soldiers were providing, and when you see pictures of camel spiders found in Iraq (the body of the spider alone being the size of a grown man’s thigh! This can be found on Google images. Search for “camel spider” and it should be the first picture) I’m not surprised the soldiers ran a mile. Anyway, enough about animals, here are the guys I shared a tent with…
(From left: Welsh flag, Selwyn, Carl, Richard, Mark, Mark [aka Brian..."He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"], JQ)
Those who had taken part in the event previously said that although this year was neither as hot or as long as that of last year (when they had the biggest drop out rate yet), the course was much harder, with more climbs and many more sections of dunes. I’m very pleased it was, as the alternative was walking over long barren plains for miles at a time, which I attempted to capture in the following photo. It is easier to see if blown up to full screen size but towards the bottom left hand corner are a couple of white 20-25 foot inflatables which mark a checkpoint (one of several each day). You can then see a few bodies and 4x4s heading towards it from the right, but despite the distance shown in the picture it’s still not discernible where they’ve actually come from.
Those who had taken part in the event previously said that although this year was neither as hot or as long as that of last year (when they had the biggest drop out rate yet), the course was much harder, with more climbs and many more sections of dunes. I’m very pleased it was, as the alternative was walking over long barren plains for miles at a time, which I attempted to capture in the following photo. It is easier to see if blown up to full screen size but towards the bottom left hand corner are a couple of white 20-25 foot inflatables which mark a checkpoint (one of several each day). You can then see a few bodies and 4x4s heading towards it from the right, but despite the distance shown in the picture it’s still not discernible where they’ve actually come from.
I always knew that if I stayed hydrated, avoided illness/injury and kept my feet in good shape that nothing would stop me completing the MdS. Some people got very dehydrated and had to have IV drips administered. Battered feet were even more apparent as the week went on. Mine stayed in fairly good shape throughout due to the use of oversized shoes (one size too big), two pairs of toed socks (reduced to one once my feet had swollen – as indicated by a couple of blisters on the ends of my toes), and feet caked in vaseline (until I reduced to one pair of socks, making the likelihood of sand induced foot corrosion too great). Again, I thought it would be wrong not to show a picture of some ‘trashed feet.’ These (which belong to one of my tentmates) are not the worst feet I saw by a long way (yet I iwould still recommend enlarging the picture to full screen in order to appreciate the plethora of injuries suffered, including general weeping, blisters and minor infections...which appear to be healing very nicely compared to earlier on in the week). In fact some feet didn't even resemble feet at all. One Brit was pulled out of the race at the start of Day 4 and told that had he continued he would have lost toes. The amount of self inflicted damage to feet incurred during the course of that ‘holiday’ was incredible, and I only saw a fraction of it.
So, would I do it all again?
Although I very much enjoyed the experience, I wouldn’t rush back. Mainly due to the boredom of being on the move for so long each day. Although I’m a firm believer in ‘never say never’ I think this was a tick in the box and move on activity for me. (...Although there is a similar 120 mile run through the Amazon called the Jungle Marathon which some of my tentmates are planning to do…I also read in the Times at the weekend about a couple of Frenchmen who got lost in the Amazon and survived for 7 weeks on turtle flesh, snakes, frogs, tarantulas and beetles…one guy was found with a numb tongue due to the poison of a tarantula he ate without cooking it sufficiently. Apparently had he spent another two or three days in the jungle he would have died. Sounds interesting)…
Although I very much enjoyed the experience, I wouldn’t rush back. Mainly due to the boredom of being on the move for so long each day. Although I’m a firm believer in ‘never say never’ I think this was a tick in the box and move on activity for me. (...Although there is a similar 120 mile run through the Amazon called the Jungle Marathon which some of my tentmates are planning to do…I also read in the Times at the weekend about a couple of Frenchmen who got lost in the Amazon and survived for 7 weeks on turtle flesh, snakes, frogs, tarantulas and beetles…one guy was found with a numb tongue due to the poison of a tarantula he ate without cooking it sufficiently. Apparently had he spent another two or three days in the jungle he would have died. Sounds interesting)…
posted by John Quinn @ 1:22 AM
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