Steve_Partridge | Steve Partridge - Marathon Des Sable - Day 5, 6 & 7 and final wrap up!
Day 5 continued
The sandstorm continued to rage through the night and the tent collapsed on one side. Sand blew in and we remained motionless with buffs over our faces to stop inhaling the dust. A quick look around the camp confirmed that we had come off lightly. A tent nearby was completely collapsed on the floor with mutterings coming from underneath, the wind continued to howl.
Abandons
It's been very difficult to get reports out by phone or information on any Brits who have abandoned. In the tents people are known by their first names and I cannot write about a Mark or a John being in trouble without worrying 17 other families who know 17 other completely fit Marks or Johns in the race. Please look at the Darbaroud site to see who has dropped out.
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Oliver_Steeds | Oliver Steeds - Marathon Des Sables - Last stage - The Daily Pain ...the end.
Reports of my demise, I’m afraid are grossly premature. The final few days of the race have passed in a joyous state of relaxation and inner calm. I have been skippering a 80ft pleasure boat around the Marianas Islands south of Japan. As the only man with a cross cultural crew of bikini clad nympettes, it was, I’m afraid, my duty to deal with a French stowaway that was found this morning; unfortunately he was forced to walk the plank. Not much else to report from HMSAnthrax. In my absence Colin has agreedto file the report from the remainder of the race:
In amongst the sandstorms that regretfully raged after completing the 76kmstage, rumours spread around the camp of a French official brutally attacked with a cooking stove and ‘ca va?’ scrawled in his own blood across his shirt. He remains in a critical condition and apparently has said only 715 715, 715 to investigators. A feral looking crossbred gorilla/Albanian refugee was seen fleeing the scene manically screaming cheese eating surrender monkeys.
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Ray_Zahab | Ray Zahab - Marathon Des Sables - Stage 3 & 4
Hey Everyone!
What a crazy race this year. The rumor is Patrick wanted to make this edition tougher then desert cup and I think he has done it! The stages have been longer, hotter, with the biggest dunes I have ever seen!
Stage 3 was approx. 41 kms and had these huge and I mean huge dunes! The temps were rumored to have hit 55 degrees
celcius and I believe it. I finished the stage with a bit of luck navigating through the dunes and saving huge time. I finished 36th which made me 33 overall entering stage 4. I almost got a time penalty for not having my knife handy, but it turns out it was in my pack and I was HOPEFULLY forgiven!!!
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Oliver_Steeds | Oliver Steeds - Marathon Des Sables - Stage 4
The last few days have been solely about self preservation: First things first - I am still in the race if a little off the pace: if it wasn’t for the incredible generosity of my bastard sponsors for giving so much to an incredibly important cause I would have given up by now: despite volunteering for this madness I hold them all personally responsible for the agony I am in. I will distribute the pain I’m suffering across all my sponsors in measure equal to their donation, be prepared:
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Steve_Partridge | Steve Partridge - Marathon Des Sables - Day 1 & Day 2 (corrected)
Everyone is receiving their email messages and loving them. Thank you. Do keep sending them.
It is extremely difficult to get reports out as the queues for the sat phone and email are very long so don't worry if a loved one is not in touch for a couple of days. The course is so long that there is little time left at the end of the day to email, cook food and attend to one's needs before night sets in.
Day 1 Cont.d
3 overseas runners dropped out today.
During the evening we were entertained by the berber drivers, who danced around the fire and chanted an old berber folk song. We curled up on the desert floor and slept.
Day 2
Today we got a clue as to what we are - grub. Two vultures swirled around our heads whilst we raced to Checkpoint 1. The stage then became progressively harder and more extreme until it became the hardest Stage 2 I've ever seen. To begin with, it was hotter than 40 degrees and hilly. The first range of hills hit us after Checkpoint 2.
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Ray_Zahab | Ray Zahab - Day One & Two - Marathon Des Sables
Hey Everybody!
I apologize for the delay in my updates, but it has been crazy here! I will have to be brief as we are only allowed 15 minutes.
As expected, the competition here this year is fierce. Couple that with very hot temps and a crazy brand new course and you spell YIKES! Stage 1 was 29 kms which was 8 more than last year. It was very hot and had mountain passes and sand dunes evrywhere. Everyone is commenting on how much harder it is then last year. Before the start of stage 1 we had a sandstorm so fierce it tore down several tents. We had to stay in our bags for hours. I navigated the dunes fairly well and kept my pace up and finished the first stage in 34th place. I am wearing a gps and trying to average 12 to 13 kms an hour in the sand. The dunes and mountain passes slow down your overall average speed, though. I cant believe how fast the leaders go! Remember, everyone is wearing a pack with everyting they need for 6 days!
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Steve_Partridge | Steve Partridge - Day One - Marathon Des Sables
Day One
With a Trois, Deux and Un we were off. The helicopter circled around as the contestants sped to the first obstruction - a jebel up on a high rocky outcrop where we could only pass through two by two. We soon reached Checkpoint 1 and drove on to Checkpoint 2 over the first set of dunes. For many this was their first ever taste of the saharan dunes and most of the dunes here seem hotter than the surrounding area as you go through them whilst giving off clouds of dust.
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Oliver_Steeds | Oliver Steeds - Day one - Marathon Des Sables
Let’s start at the end.
I finished in the bottom 5% taking 7 hours. The Morrocans that won finished in less than two. this tells you two things... firstly that there are many bionic freaks taking part : I am working on a theory that these people are genetically modified and that once a year this breed of cyborgs meet in the desert : more on that theory as the desert fries my brain: and secondly, my state: I finished today!! That was all that I wanted: the injury to my calf is already causingsignificant pain and the lack of training caused by the injury is already taking its toll: its going to be one step at a time: tomorrow is Monday and tomorrow they treat us to a 38km day: today was a mere 30::: the heat is already cooking the spirits and remind me why humans do not live here: the question why has already reared its ugly head::: and no answers have yet been found: ***
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Steve_Partridge | Steve Partridge's Report - Saturday 9 April 2005 - Marathon des Sables
Registration Day
We got a welcome from the Sahara today. Initially we spent the morning packing our kit and dividing our equipment and food up for inspection. We took our cases and race equipment up to the Registration where ECGs, medical certificates, food and compulsory items were checked and where we received our distress flares, running numbers and water tabs.
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Steve_Partridge | Steve Partridge's Daily MDS Report - Friday 8 April 2005
Friday 8 April
The team has now arrived at Khermou, 30km SW of erfoud where we will start the race on Sunday at 9am. Khermou is an area - a long windswept desolate place with a cliff running along the west side. We arrived at 4pm after 5 hour coach trip down the Draa valley where we were met with driving sands and winds. Each time we stopped in the middle of this empty expanse we were accosted by barefoot children who seemed to appear out of the ground and asked for food. The tents are set out to form a large 20 to mark the 20th anniversary of the race. Also we are getting acclimatised to the wind and the heat.
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