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
The race is held in
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
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 Ait
Benhadou. 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
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
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
Course
map of stage 4-1
Course
map of stage 4-2
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
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