mds
Diary 16th Marathon Des Sables (April 1-7th 2001)
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former
- Albert Einstein
Organizers of the annual Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands) tout it as "the world's toughest footrace," Founded in 1986, it was the brainchild of Patrick Bauer, a former concert promoter from Troyes, France, who two years earlier had gone on an epic walkabout across 200 miles of the Algerian Sahara. Afterward, in a brilliant stroke of sadocommercialism, he decided to share the pain with others. Considered one of the first modern adventure races, the Marathon des Sables requires running six marathons in a single week (approximately 150+ miles), in 120-140 degree heat. It's seven days of sand devils and wheeling vultures, and what the entry form used to tack on what it called a "corpse repatriation fee."
The race is held in Sahara in southern Morroco in the general 5-6 hr drive vicinity of Oarzazate. As you run, and march, and finally hallucinate your way across the bleached solitudes, you're required to carry all of your own supplies: food (minimum 2000 calories per day), flashlight, sleeping bag, mirror, compass, knife, snakebite kit, distress flare, salt tablets, whistle, and inexplicably, ten safety pins. Only water is provided, at the rate of nine liters per day. Outside assistance of any kind is forbidden. Unless you're lucky enough to collapse from sunstroke, in which case you're treated to a complimentary IV and chopper ride back to camp and then removed from the competitors list. If you are use more than two IVs you are also removed from the race. Asked on their entry forms, "Why do you participate," the runners convey motivations that range from the strange to the salacious. "Because this is the mother of all events.", "The longest way is the shortest one.", "Because this is the desert." , "I'm looking for myself.", "To fly my soul.", a Frenchman: "Bread is the food of body, adventure is the food of mind.", an Italian: "Behind the sand dunes, you can meet wonderful girls.", an Englishman: "Because I am mad."
Departure from US - Start of the race
A brief stop in NYC at my aunts, I met the competitors at the NYC JFK airport. Some of them had impressive CVs of all sorts, climbed McKinley and Everest and major ultra marathons and racing around Antartica and what not, which gave me a complex and made me feel quite underprepared for the race. My right leg lower calf was still hurting and I wondered how I could continue with this and realized I just would have to grin and bear it. I was paranoid about getting my bags being carried on flight with me, I had heard some stories about packs with shoes and gear of some competitors arriving after the race. At Oarzazate I roomed with a doctor from Iowa (Dave) who had analyzed his pack so well that I decided to go over my items again. As it turned it was an excellent time as we scrutinized almost everything and we emptied and reemptied our packs atleast a dozen times. I shed about 6lbs from my bag.
I checked out the Kasbah in Oarzazate which is the biggest in the region.Bought a silver mirror and silver dagger. Found a internet cafe ($1/hr) but with French/Arabic keyboard. The next day we checked out AitBenhadou. The Kasbah has been used as backdrops in Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator. The following day at 8am we were transported to the desert near Erfoud. The race would end in a village called Tazzarine. We were given our race books which had pretty good detail of the route. We arrived at the first bivoac at 4pm. It was nice to meet the other competitors. It was no coincidence that the wierdest of the lot were all French, the Americans the noisiest and the Moroccans the fittest.Most suffering from some mild (or severe as the case may be) delusions of grandeur or mid-life crises. 5 % Morrocons?) were super human and have disguised themselves as from this planet. There was a team trying to transport a group of handicapped children across the desert.
My items - I had North face Ultra 100 shoes with some customized insoles. They were 2 sizes big to accomodate for swollen feet. A moletracks backpack and front pack. One full sleeved shirt. One race ready shorts which I would wash every evening. and one sleeping shorts and one eco-mesh longs which I never needed, goggles, Outdoor Research cap, 4 pairs of Coolmax socks (wash for the remaining days later) and one Tuareg scarf. I had a kit to fix blisters, Advil and sleeping tablets. As far as food, I had several packets of MountainHouse freeze dried meals, some Ramen noodles, about 4 bars/GUs per day, some trailmix and some salty cashew/almonds. Had some glucose tablets, Tang, Cytomax powder (approximately 23000 cals total v/s 14000 required). Decided not to take the stove since it was easy to cook the meal in the ziploc bag by putting it out in the sun. I also had a little inspiration packet from Reena/Amal to be opened at the end of each stage mostly photo, dried fruits and poems. At the technical control after going through medical/EKG submission and after weighing and proving folks I had enough calories to last me through the run I got my emergency kit, which included a flare, a blanket and salt tablets. Start weight of pack 13.5 kgs and self 72kgs. The tent members were Dr. John King (earlier done this race in 1998), Lisa Berry (from Antartica, and lots of crazy stories of 300 club etc), Larry (the fastest American), Tony (Kiwi from South Africa), Marty (our chief gladiator), self, Nick and Justin (the two Brits). I received emails almost everyday, sent by family and friends via the Darbaroud site. , waiting in the tent bag, which certainly made coming back to the bivouac pleasurable.
Stage 1: Day 1 (25km) April 1 2001 �
If a camel once get his nose in the tent, his body will follow.
Arabian Proverb
Patrick Bauer hops to the roof of a Land Rover, brandishes a microphone, and begins the long countdown. The Spaniards start singing football songs. the Italians perform Hail Marys. the Japanese become silent and grave. Bauer yells, "Trois...deux...un...allez!" Then we're off, screaming hordes in sunblock shirts stumbling into the heat-shimmer and out across the mighty ergs and oueds of the Sahara, and appropriately called the April fools day.
For me this was really fun day. Really enamoured by the sight of the desert I would pull out the camera at any dune or desert sight. Reached my first checked point CP1 in about an hour at a very relaxed pace. Restocked water and GU and then continued a moderate pace towards CP2. There were some villages on the way and local kids checking out crazy people who had actually paid to run here.After CP2 there were some dunes for about an hour or so. Since these were my first exposure to the dunes, I clicked away another roll.I arrived at the bivouac and you could see the huge dunes of Erg Chebbi out in the distance.
I spent the evening walking around just watching the sunset over Erg Chebbi. I dont think there were any other moment in the week where I made it out of the tent that far after the race just to appreciate the surroundings. All I could see in any direction was sand; beautiful, fine, red sand, which glowed brightly in the setting sun. The dunes themselves were like nothing I'd ever seen in my life; almost a nine hundred meters high, they came to a razor sharp peak at the top, and the difference in light from one side to the next was dramatic.
Stage 2: Day 2 (34km) April 2 2001
When you are in the water you swim.
Indian Proverb
There was a sandstorm in the night. I put myself in a little water box to prevent the sand from getting in my face but didnt get much sleep. I took a sleeping pill which was a mistake because the drowsy effects compounded the second day. There was a 2km run till the start of Erg Chebbi and after that it was scrambling up the dunes. People would take off for fresh patches of sand which was firm and easy to traverse but had to off course for that. The temperature was rising and climbing soft steps were not pleasant at all. I did see the face of the genie today. My shoes would fill with sand even with the gaitors on the top. CP1 was only 6km where we got about 0.5 liter of water. CP1 - CP2 was really painful because it seemed like everybody would pass me by and I couldnt maintain pace. I was begining to feel a bit drowsy and sick. The dunes seemed to go on and my pace probably the slowest it was in all of the race. The end of the Erg Chebbi (CP2) was visible for several miles. I made it just under 3 hrs and after removing the sand from my shoes head back out. The route was flat but it was already hot. I kept on going till I reached CP3. I met these Jordanian twins just after CP3 and I kept them me company till we reached a next set of dunes. We just kept going till we reached sight of the bivouac from the dunes. At the bivoac Justin's feet were quite swollen and he could no longer fit in his shoes, so he borrowed my sandals, cut up his shoes and insoles create a comfortable modified shoe.
Stage 3: Day 3 (38km) April 3 2001
The great danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it
- Michaelangelo
That night I had a good sleep. The start was a bit hot. I managed to gain good ground the first two hours. From CP1 to CP2 I met this interesting trio from NYC. Mike - a Goldman Sachs founder (andy and arther) claimed that he was retired and was doing this just to keep busy. He had some Mp3 recordings of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan which added to the mystic surroundings. They kept singing broadway tunes and were so funny that I didnt notice how quickly we covered ground.I gained on them after CP2 and didnt see them much after CP3. In the afternoon, I could see the train of runners lining towards a big jebel. The Jebel top gave a good view of the desert and the approaching runners. The descent was into a village and oasis and amidst palm groves. A German runner seemed to falter around this point and I offered him some water but he mentioned "it was too late" and he wanted to get some rest in the shade. At a little soda shop in the village he rested and I was tempted to get a coke but I noticed an official around and resisted. Some kids had clustered around the helicopter which was parked around its outskirts and I could see a couple of runners who were being retired. From the end of the village the route went up another Jebel whose pass was very sandy and the descent terrrible. But I could see the CP3 from here and there was an ascent onto another Jebel. There were some wild camels beyond this pass and the route was very stony and it was a good to see the bivouac spring onto you suddenly from a bend. This was a bad day for a lot of folks, I saw only Tony and Larry and the rest made in back later.
Stage 4: Day 4-5 (82km) April 4-5 2001
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost
The start was uneventful. Managed to block the magnitude of the distance to be covered today and concentrate how and when I would arrive at CP4. The top 50 leaders would leave 3 hrs later, because the race officials wanted everyone to run at nighttime. Reached CP1 at 10:30. Mike, Andy passed me by. Before CP2 (12:30) I caught up with them and we took some photos at this dried salty lake bed and the temperature was already climbing in the 50s. There was a beautiful Jebel just after CP2 and a sandy descent. I got a lot of sand but postponed the cleaning and continued. I ran into Steve (the fireman) and we ran along for a little while. Came across this little well and four donkeys and I looked around and saw this little girl who wanted to check out my front pack. Gave her a glucose tablet and soon there were more kids around me suddenly, who wanted were curious about every little item in my front pack. I let them blow my whistle. A little further met a group of village kids who were waiting for the Ahansals to arrive. Then continued to confusing vegetated area and I followed a bunch of people who themselves were lost. So we retreated back and found our way. The Ahansals passed us by during this time and before I could retrieve my camera they were gone. At the end of the patch was CP3. Larry passed me by and then what really seemed like eternity staggered into CP4 just before 6pm. My foot had swollen, so I removed my gaitors and my insoles. Nursed my feet, had my sweet and sour chicken and a GU, popped in an Advil ,put on light stick behind my pack and started towards CP5. The weather was really pleasant and all of a sudden I was energized. The route climbed a Jebel and by this time it was already getting dark. I shut off my headlamps because depth perception was better in the moonlight. After the pass the route descended quite a bit. Under the moonlight I could see the scurrying of scorpions. The lights from CP5 was visible from quite a distance which was quite fustrating because what seemed like quite close took almost 45 minutes to arrive. I gulped another Advil at CP5, a GU and restocked the water. The route was unclear because there seemed to no one ahead of me at that point. A little later I met Kathy Tibbets (one of the elite runners) and I ran with her for about 15 or so minutes till I couldnt keep up with her pace. The flat lake bed ran for miles and I was so glad I didnt have to check for any feet obstacles. I saw this figure charging perpendicular towards me and I stopped and he still continued. It was so sudden that I panicked and removed my swiss knife - but turned out this runner was disoriented and couldnt guage what direction I was running was charging towards the light behind my pack. In this confusion I lost my knife and my pen torch. After about an hour or so I saw Kathy again bandaging her foot. A Brit passed me by and I asked him how he was doing and he replied "Very tired and I just want to get to bed". At this time we were a group of about 5 people (3 Brits, 1 French, self) - one of them as I learnt later a Lord and a member of the British Royalty and we did very little talking just concentrating on the ground below. We reached CP6 around 11:30pm. The atmosphere at CP6 was a little festive. People were singing songs and sort of happy that the end of this stage was only about 14kms away. We took a 5 min rest and we went on our way. The route was not as clear as the previous 2 CPs. It was bit rocky and some dunes. At about 2am or so we could see the lights from the finishing line of the stage but we didnt arrive there till past 3am. Really exhausted hungry and thirsty and wanted to get this stage behind us we increased our speed the last 45 minutes and were glad to see a television camera staring us right in the face just before the completion. I staggered back into the tent - Marty and Lisa had arrived just before me. Lisa was in some sort of laughing fit and we all were laughing for a while without knowing what we were laughing for. I gulped down a bag of Hawaiin dry fruits and went to sleep. The Ahansals have covered 52 miles of the desert in six+ hours 120-degree heat, with rucksacks on their backs. The Ahansals, who were born and raised in Zagora, a Berber desert town of 15,000 people not too far from here (the place whose claim to fame is advertising to the old caravan route of 52 Jours Timbaktou), are now 35 minutes ahead of their nearest competition for the day, and about 30 minutes ahead overall. There's no tradition of running in Berber culture; there is, if anything, an anti-tradition. Around here, running is considered just about the stupidest thing you can do. Asked why he and his brother started to run at all Mohamed mentions that - at the souk, their friends would try to persuade them to steal pieces of fruit. They knew no one could catch them. The next day was relaxing. I took care of my feet and the chaffing between the crotch and my legs which had become so severe and bloody that my gait had become really funny. Went to the doctors who removed my three toe nails and in the evening checked out this wedding between an Italian guy and Japanese girl who had met at the last MDS event.
Stage 5: Day 6 (42km) April 6 2001
Only those who can risk going too far, can find out how far one can go.
- T S Eliot
The first stage was really painful. It was fustrating to take every step, but as the feet warmed up, the pain sort of numbed away. I passed Mike and Co who seemed to be writhing in pain. I made CP1 in about 1.5hrs. I kept hobling to CP2 and Marty and Lisa caught up with me. They had turned themselves in Gladiators (Maximus and Zepherus) and would make pretend as if they were Romans conquering villages. I kept pace with them and the course passed through two villages. We passed Tony along the way. At a point they decided to pick up pace and I could no longer keep up with them and finally made it to CP3 which was at the foot of a beautiful kasbah. CP4 was just 9.5kms away. and the route went through a beautiful oasis and after about half and hour I could see the bivouac and picked up pace but it seemed never ending. After I arrived, Justin was already back. He had broken down mentally between CP2-CP3 although he was physically capable to do the leg. He dropped out today. I found the Mike and co had passed me somewhere during the race and had beaten me to the bivoauc.
Stage 6: Day 7 (22km) April 7 2001
All things are difficult before they are easy.
Thomas Fuller
A small and sweet distance. CP1 was about 12kms. After CP1 the course went through a plain and then towards Tazarrine. It seemed like the event of the village. Kids and families had lined up the roads. I emptied my pack and gave my remaining food to the kids. As the route went out of Tazarrine we ran for the first time on tarred road where I picked up pace and finished and avoided being kissed by Patrick Bauer. Waiting busses transported back to the Oarzazate. The trip through from Tazzarine to Ouarzazate leading to the gorge was like a journey to another planet. The valley walls were bright red dirt and rock, and built up into the hillsides were ancient crumbling casbahs, once fortresses for local royalty. The casbahs were built out of the same soil, and they looked like giant sand castles. Young girls would lead donkeys carrying water back and forth between the houses. And on the roof, sheltered in their own mud brick boxes, were satelite dishes.
End of race to back home
That day everyone was in elation. Timings didnt matter now, unless you were competing with the Ahansals. As Steve mentioned to me at some point during our long week somewhat philosophically- finally we all need to run our own race-. The next few days, I had lots of time to reflect on the experience that the race had brought. Aside from contemplating what I would do different next time, the art of blister management, and my newfound admiration for Brits, I thought about how diverse we all were in our lifestyles but came to the same place for the same challenge. As I look back it is not necessary to be a good runner to complete this race. The desert inserts a lot of unknown factors none of which can be predicted. Above all you need to be foolish and stubborn, have an excellent attitude to keep yourself in relentless forward motion.
Whatever the MARATHON DES SABLES is, it's not a spectator sport. The Saharan backdrops can be striking, but mostly this is an internalized event, the story of wills overriding the vetoes of feet. It becomes at least a little easier to appreciate the race's aesthetic, to begin to see why the runners use words like "purifying" and "cathartic" Of all the hostile climes in which to race, I can't imagine any that reduce everything to such stark fundamentals. The epic blond monotony of the terrain drives the mind back on itself. There's nothing to distract. Everything is stripped, essential. And what does a person think about when his interior and exterior landscapes are so reduced? Over the event I've asked myself and other runners this, and the answer has been always the same: "I think about the next step." They seem to take comfort in such simplicity. For most of them, reaching the finish line is less an act of athleticism than of faith - faith in the ritual of marching, faith that completion will redeem all hardships along the way. Personally I thought a lot about family/friends and took time to strategize, medidate and appreciate the surroundings and competitors - and never once about work. This year there was too much sand/dunes in the race. Sand would get into into every orifice you can imagine. Food was constantly peppered with sand. Heat wasnt so bad. Some days the start was really pleasant - 25C with middays in mid-40s. And three days the temperature went above 50C. The officials say this was the most difficult race to date - course, etc - I bet they say that every year.
Anyways here is an interesting story. When I got to the start I noticed there was no Indian flag. I mentioned it to the organizers and they said- Whee forgut - Which kind of annoyed me - I mentioned it to them how they would feel if someone had forgotten the French flag. I dont know if they understood my English - maybe they did because next day an organizer came looking for the Indian fellow. I told her I had a paper flag with me which Girish had given me and I just wanted it up there with the rest of the flags. She asked me to fill out a request form which they would submit some authority and get back to me. The next day I had the form in the tent - saying get the flag lets see what we can do. I gave them the flag and the next day the organizer came looking for me to show me where they had put the flag. It was above the British and American flag. They had the tricolors in opposite order but I did not correct it. I quickly took a photograph.
Ended up shopping a bit. Got a jelaba for myself (and Reena and Amal). After 9pm went for the party hosted by Mike and company and slept at the late hours of the morning. That morning I was dehydrated because of the amount of liquor I had consumed and I was glad the race was over. After the breakfast I got my finishing T-shirt after returning the flare and then hung around Oarzazate with Nick and bought some more stuff. The next day I left early to Casablanca. Found a hotel around the center. Went to the Hassan II Mosque - second or third biggest in the world. and then to the old Medina. Tried lots of different meats. I searched for camel meat but as it got late, I abandoned its search. The flight back was uneventful and painful.