Nothing is impossible….
It’s crazy looking back to my 40th bucket list when I wondered if I could complete a half marathon.
Roll forwards 10 years and I’ve just completed MDS – described as the worlds toughest foot race
My journey has been pretty bonkers, every event I’ve finished has given me the confidence to challenge myself more…over the last 10 years I’ve qualified as Good for Age for 4 of the 6 marathon majors, competed in the Hyrox World Champs in Vegas and ran 100 miles in 24 hours.
When I first heard about MDS I thought it was way beyond my capability but my family convinced me to stick it on my 50th bucket list.
MDS is 6 stages of racing over 7 days (stage 4 is the famous long day, a double marathon where you run in the night).
I love the journey as much as an event – which is good as there is a lot of preparation to run 250km in the desert and being self sufficient .
Ultras need more than putting the miles in. I worked with Jake to develop a programme that focussed on injury prevention during an intensive 6 month training cycle as well as preparing my body to cope with carrying a 10kg rucksack for 7 days.
Alongside this I spent hours researching and testing fuel and hydration strategies, working out what to take and importantly not take, preparing my feet to minimise blisters and my body to cope with the intense heat.
The support I got from Jake and the whole JWPT community was immense including joining me for long winter runs and listening to my endless deliberations of what to take.
Roll forwards to April and I’m at Luton Airport with my gear for the next 2 weeks on my back.
MDS is as much about the camaraderie as the physical challenge – they want everyone to succeed. From zoom calls with seasoned veterans, videos to teach you how to treat blisters and group training runs you have the opportunity to make MDS friends before you get to the desert.
The event is brilliantly organised from the moment you arrive in Morocco. There is an army of blue (welfare), orange (medic), beige (media) jackets and Berbers to ensure you get to the start and finish.
The race itself is pretty special and is full of traditions including starting to AC/DC Highway to Hell every day as the sun starts to rise.
Every day we faced different terrain – lots of sand, stony riverbeds and mountainous dunes…..we dealt with hot days, cold nights, sand storms and torrential rain!
It’s as much mental resilience that gets you through as physical, but everyone helps each other out and ensures they get to the next checkpoint. I met the most inspirational people from all corners of the world and all walks of life.
One of the challenges of MDS is self sufficiency. You carry all your food, camping gear and other essentials, you live in the same clothes all week with limited facilities and there is no WiFi or connection with the outside world. They issue water at checkpoints but that’s it.
When not running you hang out in the bivouac camp where you are allocated 7 “tent” mates to live with under a piece of hessian held up by sticks.
Camp live is pretty chilled, beyond addressing any blisters or injuries you basically eat, sleep, chat and prepare yourself for the next day.
Was MDS tough? yes but I loved every brutal minute of it, the Sahara is breathtaking, standing at the top of a dune, seeing no other humans and nothing but sand is a memory that will stop with me forever.
However it’s the people that make MDS really special and I’ve made some friends for life.
I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to do MDS, whilst I’m not advocating everyone does something quite as extreme I am a firm believer that life is too short not to take the opportunity to try new things and challenge yourself.
