It seemed early waking up at 05:30 but when the sun gets up in Morocco so does everyone else.
Having an outer tent afforded us an amazing view out over the vast emptiness and into the dunes
where the sun rose. It also afforded us a view of the toilet facilities too which we're starting to
get rather busy with pre race nerves. It was chilly to start but by the time we had collected our water
rations, 1.5ltr, and had a brew it was already getting hot. I order to keep my pack weight down I
had opted for a basic breakfast, coffee (2g), nuts (50g) and cliff bar (68g), around 560kcal.
What took the most time each morning was packing and repacking my rucksack, getting
everything just right. While doing this the Berbers would remove the tent from over our heads
and leave us to finish our prep.
Everyday before the race started we were summoned over to the start line early so that the race
director could give us information for the day, sing happy birthdays and get us in the mood. My
pack didn't feel too bad, I was more concerned that my trainers and clothing would hold up for
the week (having no spares). I wore a white cap but didn't wear the neck guard as I had long hair
and wore a buff around my neck, white t shirt, compression shorts, compression calf guards,
gaiters attached to my trainers by velcro and 2 pairs of socks. A pair of injinji toe sock liner with a
pair of thorlos over the top.
The briefing went on longer than expected but we were soon off. We all burst across the start
line and the race was on. The elites sped away at the front and I was content to check that all
was in order with my pack and that Tom and Marcus were both close by. The race is filmed throughout the week and there is often a helicopter getting close to those hard to reach places. As we charged across the start line the helicopter passed over us, not once but at least half a dozen times. It was truly amazing, it flew only a few feet above our heads and as it passed over it was flying straight ahead but positioned at a 45 degree angle. We couldn't believe it it looked amazing, it roared so loud and the enormity of everything sent shivers down my spine.
The ground underfoot was hard packed stony sand for the first 3km and was easy to run on. A
great warm up, but what waited for us at the 3km point were 'The larges sand dunes in Morocoo'
!!!. There was no gentle introduction into these and afterwards experienced MdSers said it was very cruel
to put such a tough section so early on in the week, especially considering everyone had full and heavy packs at this stage. The dunes were truly beautiful, golden sand in every direction, it was just like something from a movie. Rolling tall dunes and a snake of brightly coloured runners fighting their way relentlessly
up and down. The sand was as expected, very soft. That meant walking on the up, shuffling on
the flats and running on the downs. It was tough going but I didn't mind, this was all new to me
and I couldn't help but marvel in the scenery. Tom and I kept stopping to take photos which in
retrospect was a great idea as we wouldn't experience this again in the same intensity all week.
After 15km we came to our first checkpoint (CP) of the week, it was simple enough, get card
stamped, collect water, fill bottles, dispose of rubbish and push on. That was pretty much the
format we followed all week. It's easy to spend a good few minutes faffing around, sitting or
having blisters tendered to, but we just tended to do the basics and get moving. The next section was pretty flat but it was out first taste of really soft level sand. There were tyre tracks all around where 4x4s had been through but there was no path, no obvious well trodden route to follow out of the soft stuff. It really was sapping, Tom and I tried to run when we could but running on the soft stuff was futile and a waste of energy.
Leading up to our final CP of the day we passed an old disused mine, the terrain was all uphill on
hard packed ground scattered with fist size rocks which were difficult to avoid. It was necessary
to take it steady to avoid an injury. The look of the place had really changed, the sand had gone
from a beautiful golden colour to a grey black blend which would look more at home in the
Canaries. There was even a disused village on the peak of the hillside which was eerie but
magical, no time to enjoy though, a long 5k, running with a Dutch guy and we could see the finish line. I
felt good and pushed Tom along in our 3 man unstoppable train, a decision that would repay me later in the week. Crossing the finish line and day 1 was done. All the planning, all the prep, the time away from my
family, the endless training and the first day was over. Relief and sadness combined. Great to
get the first leg under my belt but I knew it would all be over before I knew it.
Each evening followed the same routine. Sweet sultan tea at the finish line, collect 4.5ltr of water.
Find tent, feet up, eat pepperami and recovery shake. Wait for tent mates to return and talk
about the day. We seemed to have a great tent as everyday our tent would be full while others
only had one or two back. The should have been a tent medal, I think we would have had a good
shot :-) The email tent opened at around 3pm everyday and it was our chance to keep our loved ones
back home up to date. Sam sent out my updates daily and I think I developed quite a following, it
was great because I also received emails from back home with lots of love and encouragement which meant more than I can say. Bed came as the sun went down, we were all exhausted. Often it was warm as we drifted off but I woke every morning at about 3am when the wind whistled through and the temperature
dropped. Should I have packed more clothes?!
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