After the buses took us out to the desert I got to meet my new tent mates - Shayne was one of them so we already knew each other a little.
My tent (Tent 59 or Suite 59) mates was,Tim#1060 (the engineer that had a solution to everything) , Karalyn#1086(the creative director that smiled and ran like I have never seen) , Atilio#1067(he loves Karalyn and food - awesome dude), Gedaliah#1052(the manageing consultant that has his roots in Aussieland), Tom#1099 (the retired Captain in the Canadian Armed Forces man I want to be that structured when I grow up), James#1090(who has jogging with James and loves his wife and a good mirror ;-)) and Shayne#1109 (who adopted me to be a honorary Canadian). All awesome people.
The first day at the bivouac I wasn't sure though….there was a lot of packing and repacking….after we all got to ship off our big bags I still had the most food…..:-) and probably the heaviest bag - about 9,5 kg
Tons of Wildchips - aka Reindeer meat and food :-)
We all fell asleep around 8:30 PM; on the admin day - had to be ready for the next week.
Every morning they tore the tents down at about 6:15.... start at 8:30 AM.
Here are the short notes on the days:
It was a 37+km day……hot but with wind.
Kathrine, who was part of the same group(the Dreamchasers group) had to pull out due to a torn achilles - it scared me a little since I was hoping she would be someone I could try to keep up with.
I crossed the line with Sam(she has done this 4 times ) and Ryan (US Fireman that had a knee brace )
My tent mates had a great day and I was so impressed with them.
30km how hard can that be ….well Scared of heights and set off a panic attack that I had to keep in check all day-----helped set off british james flare on top of jebel 2 and gave him some water - luckily he did not fall off the jebel.
Ryan and I jetted across the plain to CP 2 where I took off right after getting my water - I had to - or I would have stopped altogether - knowing that the steepest climb was on the last Jebel (or Devil as me and James#682 later named them)
Crossed the finish line w James #682 who saved me in the dunes…. I was a mess.
broke down in tears after the finish line - it had been an emotionally and physically taxing day
Feet was aching like hell too…...
My tent mates made sure I ate and went to the Doc Trotters for foot care - good to have people around you when you are loopy as hell.
38km...Australian Police Office Karen and I finished after a rough afternoon - we made a mad dash from the last CP to the finish line - Our feet was trashed but not as bad as others. Thank you Karen for sharing your story and for keeping me company across the finish line
The stories that I hear of the people I have met are amazing - one guy from NZ is walking for his fallen friends - he is a bomb disarmer in Libya - he walks with an additional vest that weighs about another 10 kg…….amazing
WEnt to the Doc Trotters and they took pictures of my feet - I guess they look interesting……..
It was a really hot day.
At CP 2 we only got 1 bottle of water and my feet was hurting and I was moving slow I ran out of water quickly in the heat Check point 2 to 3 was a mess - Had no water for 3 hours and fired flare in the camel grass about 800 m from check point 3
Serge #293 found me and helped me get to CP 3 right before 8PM which was the cut off Had it not been for him I had probably quit. - I was in bad shape and sure I was going to quit……had some water, recovery drink and some reindeer meat……a little while passed and Serge was leaving to make it to CP 4 - the CP lady told me I didn't come to quit and helped me put on my back pack and I called out to Serge who had gotten about 50 m - we walked
from CP 3 to CP 4 with Serge and the camels - it was so quiet and serene. WE made it to CP 4 at midnight it was unreal. I cooked a little soup and put my feet up for a little - could not sleep so I found 4 guys that wanted to leave…Eric, Hamsul, Robert and Andrew?
From CP4 to CP5 with The guys - shooting stars and laying down in the dunes to look at the sky to then following the laser beam - it was surreal.
Breakfast at checkpoint 5 then I carried on -
My tent had made a flag for me to be shown at CP6 - made from Tim's Bivoac suit - love you guys !!! I got in around 2 pm
rested and ate rest of day …...and I snored badly that night
Marathon day 42,2km
Caught up with James #682 right after checkpoint 1 and we stuck together until the end.
Around checkpoint 3 we both started to cramp up and it was a rough time
Seeing the bivouac and having 4 km to go seemed endless. We made it.
It was an unbelievable feeling to cross the finish line and have the medal hung around my neck.
I know I was almost the slowest in the race - but I finished it. I did it.
Concert in the evening - I laid down and looked at the stars and listened to the music - it is very unreal.
7,5 km sand dunes charity - walked with my tent mates Tim, Shayne and Gedaliah.
Bus to Ouarzazate seemed to take forever.
Dinner at hotel and first shower - lovely.
Sunday April 14 off
Went to Doc trotters and picked up the finisher shirt -yay!
Getting presents in town. Birthday lunch for Tom before he takes off with the rest of the tent mates.
No words can describe the emotions and experiences I have had these past weeks.
Tim#1060 , Karalyn#1086 , Atilio#1067, Gedaliah#1052, Tom#1099 , James#1090 and Shayne#1109 made this trip even more wonderful…We were from different backgrounds and had different goals….WE all made it - that was a promise we made to each other and I am so happy we all kept it !!!
The tent-mates was one of the things that kept me going every day - I was the slowest of the tent so they were very sweet and supportive.
And we laughed a lot!! I mean a lot - at the stupidest things but again - love you guys.
You will always have a place in my heart - we went through some rough stuff together and yes I do snore loudly after 28 hours on my feet :-) Tons of Wildchips - aka Reindeer meat- made my tent mates happy too.
Tom - you had an amazing race and many wise words, Gedaliah I hope your feet heals soon, James let me know if you need help with your show and hope your feet heal too, Atilio - no more food from me sorry, Karalyn - next time I want to be fast and lady-like(toenail polished) like you:-), Tim awesome race man just watch those shorts- Shayne see you at another desert race soon I hope…....and at our bottle cap reunion.
With my situation being the way it was, messed up ankle and so on I had to forget all the reasons why this would not work and believe that it would. And step way out of my comfort zone....way out.
Also all the people that I met along the way, Mick, who has done the race 18 times, Didier who has done it 10 times and is blind, and his guide, Sandrine and Houdha, Muhammed with one prostetic leg....and all of you that I have spoken to and who have helped me and cheered me on - thank you, you are amazing people and I will not forget you.......
Jay Batchen and Dreamchasers thank you to you too!!!!!
What a privilege to meet you and be a part of this MDS 28 with you and the rest of the group that I met and got to know a little. All your support made this all possible for me. Thank you.
Oh and all of you who wrote me - getting emails in the desert was awesome!!!! THANK YOU! It made me cry many times that people was thinking of me in the desert - even people that I did not know.
Marathon des Sables is not for everybody but I am pretty sure I am coming back. I have had some of the most remarkable experiences and insights and for that I am thankful.
In Sh'Allah.
Remember......'Not all who wander are lost.' J. R. R. Tolkien
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| post race birthday lunch for the Captain. Photo stolen from Atilio on FB :-) |
Peace. Love. CrossFit. Life. Run.
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