For this stage, the race will split into two separate starts: the top 50 athletes will begin at midday and the remainder of the field will start at the usual time of 09:00. Luckily I�m in about 70th position overall so will get underway during the relevant cool of the morning, with the aim being to get through the dunes before it gets dark. Richard is flying at the moment and will start later in the day. It feels strange leaving without some of the competitors, but I want to get as far ahead as possible. I know that some of the best athletes even though setting out 3 hours later than me will pass me at some point. This stage lasts for 2 complete days as the distance is so great. I think to myself that I will be doing well to cover the 71km in about 12-15 hours, which would see me running the last few hours in darkness � not a prospect that I relish. However, finishing in one straight go will give me more recovery time as the remainder of the time allocated to the stage can be spent resting. Some of the runners know that they will be taking up to 40 hours to finish the distance, and will stop for a kip and some food somewhere along the course, most likely at one of the CPs. They on the other hand will have very little (if any) recovery time prior to the 42 km of stage 5.
Me and Russ decide to run with each other again for this stage � our abilities are so closely matched that it makes sense to undertake such a distance in the company of someone else, especially when traversing through the dunes, possibly at night. From my point of view, I feel completely comfortable and confident in Russ�s company � he is a steadfast Scot who can be relied upon and would be the kind of person I�d like to have around in case anything goes wrong.
At 08:45 the Heinz 57 tent hobbled over to the start area and wished each other luck, and there a was real sense of meaning in the hugs and handshakes. Everyone was looking slightly apprehensive, although the mood was lightened somewhat by the ritual playing of the music and the sight of the rhino at the back dancing around and pulling some funky moves in the middle of the Sahara desert.
When the start came, myself and Russell soon settled into a comfortable pace, although within 15 minutes, the wind had really picked up and we must have been running into a headwind of about 30-40mph. The main body of runners soon split into smaller packs; each a well defined organism designed to shield the pack from the wind. Russ and me tagged along with a pack of about 20 other runners and a hundred yards or so ahead of us was another pack, with the leading pack another short distance ahead of them. No one was running on their own or in very small groups � it was too much effort to run into the wind unprotected, especially with 71km to run.
However, shielding ourselves within the pack meant that our speed was dictated by someone else and soon we both felt the need to up the pace. We moved to the front of the group and just slightly increased the tempo, the aim being to bring our pack close enough to the next pack so that we could leapfrog our way forwards. The only problem in taking the lead was taking the wind front-on which probably increases work effort by a good 30-40%. After a few minutes we had succeeded in merging our group and the 2nd placed group and then, wanting to push on even further, we took the lead of this new group with our eye now on the leading pack. Another few minutes of hard running saw us eventually merge these individual groups together, and as we approached the first CP at 11km, there must have been around 50 or so of us bunched together with no one visible either in front of this group, or behind it.
Our arrival at CP1 managed to undo our work in bringing the 3 packs together. As people filled their water bottles, adjusted kit and generally took a breather, runners started heading off from the CP in small groups, straight into the day�s first dunes which were relatively small and lasted perhaps a mile or so. Russ and me left the checkpoint on our own and once again soon settled into a steady pace. As the dunes petered out, we entered a wide valley which gently sloped upwards in between large rock formations to our left and right. The ground became hard-packed and covered with loose stones and provided a little relief after the effort of the loose sand in the dunes. In between CP1 and 2 we overtook some groups of runners who had managed to get quite a way in front of us, including a group of three from the Light Infantry who we had played leap-frog with over some of the previous stages. As we neared CP2 however I became aware that our quick pace was having an effect on me, and I was starting to read the signs of dehydration.
Arriving at CP 2 I was lucky that Russ wanted to empty his shoes of sand and check out his back, as this gave me a bit of extra time to bolt some food down and take on board lots of water. The only problem with doing this was that for the next 30 minutes or so, I really slowed Russ down, as I had to take it a bit easier as the contents of my stomach sloshed around wildly. As soon as the food and water had worked its way into my system, the effects became immediate � my energy levels picked up dramatically, the feeling of nausea disappeared and my held felt clear again. I was however, starting to worry about Russ whose water bottles weren�t being emptied as quick as mine, so I started to nag at him about drinking more.
About 8 Km�s beyond CP2 we crested a piece of high stony ground and were met with a fantastic view: before us lay a large salt plain which stretched for miles up to the base of the sand dunes that would make up the next 20km of the stage. In the distance, about 3 miles away at the foot of the dunes, we could see CP3 glimmering in the sunlight and we picked up our pace once again with the thought of another milestone in this race under our belts. We also wanted to give ourselves as much daylight as possible to get through these monster dunes.
Having stopped briefly at CP3 to go through the usual routine of taking some food and water on board, we were each issued with an additional 1.5 litres of water for this part of the stage, as even though the distance between CP3 and CP4 was only about 10km, it was all dunes and would take us a couple of hours. That gave us a ration of 3 litres until CP4 mid-way through the dunes.