From Thoughts to Action
18 months ago, I set my sights on what is deemed by many as “The hardest foot race in the world”. My Goal - to compete in the Marathon Des Sables having been told by many loved ones and friends around me, don’t do it you're crazy, you’ll get hurt, you could even die, what if you get lost in the desert and what have you got to prove!
My reasons were very simple. I wanted to see how the human body can go from zero to being an ultra marathon runner and compete in the hardest foot race in the world at what is deemed to be at a competitive level. The target - to finish within the top 50 out of 1,350 competitors.
A huge challenge I agree, but one that I was prepared to take on and embrace with everything I’d got to give.
I’m a firm believer that if you can visualise yourself achieving something great, raise your game and set high expectations of yourself, then you can achieve amazing things in life. Just to complete the Marathon Des Sables is deemed to be an achievement in itself, never mind top 50, but I wanted to prove to myself and people around me what you can achieve.
As I started to carry out my research 18 months ago, I found the first hurdle was getting your application accepted. Some had said it took them a few years to just get in the race and had to wait because of the limited places available. This became my first sub goal. I set out to meticulously bombard the organisers with emails, phone calls and messages, expressing my interest, being creative and going down to the Marathon Des Sables expo events to get my name known. I’m sure the organisers were absolutely fed up with me at times. Each time I tried to get confirmation prior to the application date I was declined. Each time with an apology explaining that it wouldn’t be fair on any other applicants if I were to be accepted, but they appreciated my enthusiasm. I can understand their response and respected each reply. I still kept on pursuing my interest and never stopped sending messages asking.
I also wanted to fund raise for a charity. I’d paid for the race out of my own savings but figured I could utilise the whole experience for a worthy charity. At the time I also wanted to create an orchestra and choir of 60 young people with the music I had written, and show it could be done without the use of music score, plus, create an enterprise with young people to show what is truly possible. As I looked around, I spoke with Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind. They highlighted that they need to raise £75,000 for various essential stuff. I prosed a strategy and business plan which after several meetings, they said they would like to progress and get things going. It would involve making money for the charity, the children and Reality Productions, and everyone seemed happy with the outline. Everything was clear and transparent, but what I wasn’t aware of is that the charity would change their mind just as we launched the program with a few of the members. Their hearts were clearly not in the project any longer and they decided that they would not continue allowing the usage of the premises. Whilst I was not put off by this, I decided to try and find alternative premises, even though this came to a further cost to myself. As I searched and also started buying musical equipment, I was faced with parents starting to get greedy, making demands and happy for me to waste money, but when people start demanding money for something they haven't created, this soon became a simple decision to stop the project. I believe you can lead a horse to water, but they must be able to drink for themselves!
As the time came closer to the application submission date, I got an email confirming the time I had to make my application online. It was on a first come first served basis and the time was 10am on a beautiful Spring morning. I sat waiting at my computer for 10am. As the clock turned 10am, I had all my information ready and inputted the data required with card payment. A very nervous and anxious moment, I can tell you.
The fact that I had never run more that 10K on a treadmill didn’t concern me, my concern was getting the application accepted. As I waited I saw the email, Congratulations, we confirm your application for the Marathon Des Sables has been confirmed and you have a reserved entrance subject to following conditions being met.
I did it, I’d got my application accepted and filled with joy beyond words. As I expressed my excitement to Dawn (My Good Lady), I could see the worry in her eyes. Please be careful Dawn replied. It was hard to hold back my excitement with my smile stretching from one ear to the other.
I quickly sat down with a cup of tea, realising I had now achieved my first sub - goal and needed to move on to the next sub goal. The reason why I’m talking about sub goals is due to the fact I had broken down what I needed to achieve in order to take on the main goal - Competing in the Marathon Des Sables. Some call this Chunking in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, it helps you break down the challange/goal into sub sections that can be achieved and become measurable over an agreed period. It’s used quite a lot in management, to coach and help team members achieve specific results.
I needed a solid training program, so I did my research and found a coach who had run the Marathon Des Sables 11 times. I figured he’d got enough experience and made the phone call. If I’m being totally honest, his approach didn’t wow me to start with, but he provided a wealth of knowledge explaining how to run in such an extreme event. His knowledge was good enough for me and I engaged with a 12 week initial training program. The program was designed to enable me to run a marathon with a target Sub 3:30 hour marathon by September 2014. The program even involved running over 120 miles in a single week. To be honest, this didn’t phase me, it was a gradual build up.
As the weeks passed by, I was seen running around the Wakefield area with a back pack on and 2 water bottles attached to the front straps. Up at 5am some mornings and running late into the evening.
Part of my training program was reduce my body weight to 75-77kg from 84kg. I’d trained so hard to build the muscles in my body, this took some time and effort at the gym. How could I reduce my muscles I’d trained so hard to achieve and still be effective? Simple response from the coach. Reduce the amount of food intake I was advised with an analogy that we are getting a Ferrari to travel the same distance with a full tank of fuel, but on just a thimble of fuel. I understood the theory and so ran with it!
It wasn’t long before I was getting very faint and light headed. A slight adjustment was required to increase the food intake, but not by much due to needing to reduce the body weight. Still the light headiness continued with close encounters to actually passing out, but I pursued with the plan.
As I approached the the Wolverhampton Marathon day, the target of a 3:30 hour marathon was clearly in my sights.
As I stood at the start line, the unsettled feeling within my stomach began, pre-race nerves was a positive thing. The starting gun went off and I began to run. Watching my pace hit a sub 5 min/km. I felt great and before I knew it, I’d reached the half-way point. 1:39:23 hours was my time. This meant I was on track for a sub 3:30 hour marathon and a smiled as I ran past the official clock. However, as I hit the 16 mile marker, the cramp kicked in on my hamstring area. Every mile or so I would have to stop and stretch off. Slowing my pace down in the hope of reserving my energy and legs, I accepted people overtaking me. As each mile past, I edged myself closer to the finish line. As I entered the final straight, I could see the official clock showing 3:43:00 minutes. I ran as fast as I could seeing Dawn at the side line. I finished my first marathon in 3:43:42 hours and although I’d not achieved the sub 3:30 hour marathon, I was truly happy considering the cramp issues I had just experienced. I knew I had given it everything.
As the coming months past, I entered the Druids Challenge, 84 miles over 3 stages in winter conditions and across the countryside. This would become my next challenge and with the aim of mastering my cramp issues.
As I started on the Druids challenge which is organised by XRNG Energy, I ran my heart out, and only to find whilst running 29 miles on day 1, cramp would once again affect me. What I did find out is that on day 2, the cramp disappeared and left me able to run day 3 without any issues whatsoever. A pattern had occurred which I knew would help me understand my body.
One month before, I eased off my training and focused on just heat acclimatisation. Everyone knows the Sahara Desert is extremely unforgiving, but I’d never really experienced such hot weather. So this was unknown territory. As I regularly sat in a Sauna with the thermometer showing 100 degrees plus, I eventually was able to sit for 45 minutes. Regular headaches and drowsiness would always follow shortly after and a feeling of tiredness. But I continued with my plan.
The week before flying away became quite an emotional experience for Dawn with regular tearful moments. I found myself holding back my excitement for fear of bringing further upset to Dawn, family would express their concern and fear of the worst, and all I was focusing on was the joy of succeeding.
It became a task in itself to remain focused on the amazing outcome I had planned for so long and now it was time to make reality happen. All I knew, felt and understood, would be that I will succeed and complete the Marathon Des Sables with my expectation of achieving top 50.
Still, I found people saying that “It can’t be done”, “Just focus on completing the race”, “You’ve paid so much for the race/experience, just enjoy it and finish”.
I find it hard to comprehend that people don’t push themselves to see what they can actually achieve in life, and that they are very comfortable telling others who strive to push themselves way beyond the average person to ease off and just be average. Even more frustrating is how people who don’t do anything extraordinary can have the audacity to try and direct your outcome and limit your own achievement. It seems a common practice in society by many people because they’re scared of coming out of their comfort zone. What does it take for people to realise that some of us in this world truly embrace life and push for the impossible to happen whilst not fearing whether or not we actually achieve our goals. All I knew is that even if I didn’t achieve top 50 finishing position, I will have gone to the Marathon Des Sables and given it everything I could possible give, even at the risk of not finishing due to pushing myself so hard throughout the race. This is what I call being of a state of mind where you are prepared to risk everything, and feel very proud to have such a mindset.
If you’re going to do something in life, make sure you give it everything you’ve got to give. The coach I used at the time often expressed - “Jonathan, you’ve paid so much money to enter this race, don’t be one of those who come back on the plane without a medal, just focus on achieving the medal and finish the race, it’s not about what position you finish, it’s about just finishing the race”.
I couldn’t disagree any harder with the remark I often heard. How can someone guide you into just being average and playing it safe. This was not for me and I had clearly made my mind up. I would get on the plane and give it everything each day, no matter how hard it was, how drained I felt, how much it hurt to stand walk or run. Even if I had to come out of the race due to injury or medical issues, which was often the case when people pushed themselves. I had everything to prove to myself and no one else and nothing was going to stop me.
Setting off to the Marathon Des Sables
As I arrived at Gatwick Airport, I met my fellow bivouac pals for the week. It was a mixed bunch of people ranging from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, a sports coach, 2 film crew, musician, company owners and graphic designer. All different characters bringing something unique to the table. We all got on great from the start and I knew it would be a fab atmosphere between us.
The plane journey was quick, and before I knew it, we had landed in Ouarzazate. As I looked around, I could see the Atlas mountains in the distance horizon and remained focused. As we got on the bus, we were informed that there would be an approximate 6 hour bus journey to the desert and a picnic would be provided en route.
Having read National Geographic on a regular basis, you get to see third world environments, but never had I seen it with my own eyes. As we drove past what seemed to be derelict dilapidated buildings, soon became apparent that people lived in them. The only way of describing the buildings was mud shacks ready to fall down at any given moment. Yet, when you saw the people and kids, everyone looked happy.
As we stopped for a toilet break, the outside world became the toilet and all levels of privacy ceased. There were no bushes, just desolate land with scattered stones. If you were lucky, there was a tree. Across the road was a camel shepherd, his smile amazed me as he looked at the volume of western people and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to have a photo with him
We eventually arrived at the camp site and my first experience of organised chaos during the event. The organisers were trying to find a way of controlling 300 plus competitors barging their way through to select which bivouacs they desired. The reason being, once you chose your bivouac, the position of the tent would remain yours throughout the event at each stage.
Rory and Ran had arrived earlier and we knew they would have a bivouac ready for us. As we arrived at bivouac 113, we were treated by a confrontational situation where 2 army lads had decided that they would commadier the other half of the bivouac despite it being explained the area was reserved for us. As the organisers explained to the army lads that the tent had been reserved, they expressed that because they were army lads, they were entitled to command any space they desired. After a while they moved on. I felt a little disappointed that they could use such an emotional tool to try and command what they wanted. Everyone was deemed equal in the bivouac village and no one got any special treatment.
We settled in for the night and enjoyed the evening meal which had been prepared for us.
The bivouac was just big enough for 8 blokes, and quickly we established our own little zones. This would be home for the next 8 days. As the wind blew through the bivouac during the night, the excitement filled me within.
Saturday morning and it was check in time. We had to ensure everything we would use during the next 8 days was either on us and in our back packs. Everything else had to be packed in our suitcases and handed in. Once we handed in our suitcases, we then waited to have everything weighed, checked and approved, with ration stamp cards provided which confirmed our water rations for each day and stage, plus medical cards to highlight what medical services we used. The only thing that stuck in my mind was, if you need to have an intravenous drip, then you would receive a penalty of 2 hours added to your overall time. If you had the drip 3 times, you were automatically out of the race.
We were given over 140 salt tablets. “You must chew these and then swallow for them to be effective.” Chew salt tablets, this would be a whole knew experience for me and one I’ll never forget. It didn’t taste anything like the salt we use at home, but regardless of the taste, they had to be used if I were to survive the event.
Many people had spoken about the water supply provided. Some would say it wasn’t enough and some would dehydrate. This played on my mind even though I was told that it was sufficient. I decided that I would just go with the flow and drink everything I could get my hands on.
As I went through the check zones, I was given the all clear and I headed back to the tent. From this point on, I was now living in self sufficiency mode and rationed water supplies. The only way I can describe the feeling would be that of a refugee camp. Everyone became focused with their back packs and water bottles. When you were given water bottles, they were marked with your race number. If you didn’t put the empty bottles in the bin, you received a 1 hour penalty!
Sunday 5th and it’s the big day. The energy in the air is electrifying. I knew I was ready both in body and mind and ensured I was near the front of the starting pack. My aim was to break myself in and finish around the top 100 for the first few days, but had no idea of the pace of the other runners.
My concern over the actual route and directions became a distant thought. I’d looked at the map briefly and figured there should be enough runners in front of me and sufficient signs. Only a couple of points where you alter the direction, apart from that, at each check point to basically headed in one direction, and that was straight on.
As we set off I calmed my pace, focusing on the ground beneath so that I didn’t suffer an ankle injury, monitored my water intake and set my sights on sub 5 hours. The scenery was breath taking, yet the heat could be felt under your feet. Before I knew it, check point one and two had been achieved and I felt amazing. As I crossed the finishing line on day 1, I found I finished 106th in 4:30:20 hours. I was over the moon feeling quite humble. I knew I was in sight of achieving my goal and the realisation of a top 50 finishing position could be achieved. I just needed to ensure I had plenty of energy for day 4 - The Double Marathon Day - 55 miles non-stop!
I headed back to the Bivouac and enjoyed a recovery drink, poured cold water into my freeze dried meal and laid it out in the sun to warm up. As I lay in the bivouac, I watched others come in, and my tent buddies arrived one by one. Each person looking rather pleased with themselves, and quite rightly as well. It was an awesome experience.
Monday 6th April, As I headed to the start line, my focused was now on getting under the top 100 hundred by the end of the day. I’d enjoyed the first day, not over exerted myself and felt amazing. Now it was time for Aerosmith to be played at the starting point. It felt great to hear some of my favourite music being played. Before I knew it, we were off, my pace quickly settled and I found myself neatly placed amongst the top 100 running very smoothly. Today was a favourite for me out of all the days because there were some interesting Jebels and ridge runs. It reminded me of being on Crib Goch in Wales without the technical sections. The view was just amazing and I found myself holding a rather pleasing pace. Before I knew it, I’d crossed the finish line and to my excitement finished 82nd.
This placed me 87th overall by the end of day 2. I was feeling so proud as I walked back to the bivouac with my 3 bottles of water cuddled in my arms. Quickly I fell into the routine of getting my recovery shake in me and preparing my freeze dried meal. Today it was Spaghetti Bolognese. A few salted Macadamia nuts and jelly babies was all that I had from a ration point of view. I had to make them last the evening.
An average chap probably needs around 2,500 calories a day. I was rationing myself to 2,185 calories a day. It was obvious to me that at some point, I would start losing body mass and muscle. I’d already dropped to 79kg and I wondered how I would look by the end of the week.
Once again, I watched people come into the tent village, some would walk smoothly and some would already be suffering injuries. The run on the Jebels had made it’s claim on my feet as well. Blisters had started to appear underneath the palms of my big toes, but most worryingly of all, I’d kicked many stones with my left foot causing damage to my toe next to the big toe. You can see the effects of swelling and damage on the left hand photo. Even though I took Anadin Extra and Ibuprofen, the pain remained. It clearly looked and felt broken but I just had it strapped up and put up with the pain.
I was also starting to struggle with the confined space in the bivouac and focused on relaxing each day. I was feeling on top of the world regardless on the slight injuries I picked up.
Tuesday 7th April.
Up at 5:30am and time for food. 40g portion of oats with my wheatgrass and panela mix with some water was my breakfast. As I ate my food, I quickly focused my attention on my toes, ensuring they were strapped and protected from any other blisters. The heat when running impacted so much on my skin, but I just got on with it.
By 6am, the bivouac workers were taking down the covers and regardless of whether or not you were dressed or ready, the canopy tops were removed and you were just left sat on the carpet. Oh what a great feeling it would be if the carpet were actually a flying carpet!
I was starting to feel a little concerned this day with regards to the heat, Yesterday I felt the increase in the warmth and didn’t want to overheat. I decided that when given 2 x 1.5 litre bottles of water at a check point, then I would carry the bottle in my back pack. This would mean an increase in my overall time for the days run and risk dropping places, but I figured the extra comfort of having surplus water would pay dividends.
This proved to be a costly exercise as I lost quite a few places and ended up finishing 140th on the day. I’d dropped to 105th overall, but knew I could pull it back the next day. 55 miles non stop with 7 check points and I would recover my strategy to be within the top 75 by the end of the double marathon stage.
As I fuelled myself on the evening, I meditated, focusing on my outcome. I knew in my heart that I had not been eating enough and could feel the impact on my body. I wasn’t going to give in, nor accept defeat in any way. I had only one option and that was to achieve my desired outcome.
Wednesday 8th April.
There was a feel of nervousness in the air, many people hobbling around, I myself had been to the notorious Doc Trotters to have my feet seen to the day before and enjoyed the re-assurance that they had been dressed ready for action. I added a few more protective coverings to my toes. I wanted to be proactive instead of reactive and applied extra padded underneath the palms of my big toes. I'm second from the left on the photo to the right as I take one final look at my feet..
As I tried to put on my shoes, I had to remove the insoles to allow room. I was running on sandy ground, so the cushioning effect wasn’t so important.
As I stood at the starting line, I felt very nervous in my stomach, a feeling of emptiness with limited food, yet, I was also filled with excitement, joy, proudness for the undertaking I was experiencing, and not matter what outcome came of this experience, I knew I had given it everything within me. I felt so proud it brought a lump to my throat on the starting line.
Off we went and I focused my pace of a steady 7min/km with the view of 55 miles to go over what can only be described as extremely warm, desolate, energy-sapping, sandy ground. I felt great and relaxed quite quickly and comfortably. As I passed through the first check point, the support workers cheered with lovely genuine smiles. They were great to see as they smiled so much and naturally provided me with fresh bottle water.
I’d never really appreciated the actual taste of clean bottled water until now. When the back of your throat is so dry, you gasp for water, the taste is so beautiful and calming. Quickly filling my water bottles, I continued on my way. I was starting to feel a slight discomfort with taking my gels and electrolytes. Over time I took a drink, my stomach churned and before long I struggled to take in any gels or electrolyte mixture. All of a sudden this put a whole new experience on the race. At 30k I could feel my energy disappear and as I searched for everything I had within me, I had very little to give. By 30.5k I knew I was in trouble, I had resorted to just walking and set my sights on the medic vehicle positioned on top of one of the dunes. As I approached, the medic 4x4 I walked to the right and sat down on some stones. A feeling of exhaustion and disappointment filled me within. How could this happen to me at such an early stage of the double marathon day, I knew the risks of pushing myself, but fell to the overpowering heat and conditions. As the medic walked over to me, she could see that I was struggling and ask me to come over to the vehicle where I could take shelter in the shade. They were so lovely towards me and provided a shelter away from the blowing sand.
As they asked me several questions about my condition, I explained I felt sick and struggled to take in my gels and electrolytes. I always chewed my salt tablets, regardless of the disgusting taste, but knew they were essential to my survival.
As the kind lady doctor took my pulse, she became concerned. I asked what was wrong, she replied - “well, your pulse is 100/60” Awesome I said with a cheeky smile. She looked bemused for a few seconds and asked why? I immediately put my hand in my bag and extracted my ECG and medical details, I’m normally 110/70, here have a look I said. She smiled and said she understood why and that everything was ok. “Please take this tablet, it’ll stop you feeling sick” A small pink tablet which soon took residence in my stomach. Minutes passed by and I was counting the amount of people passing me. I could see the hard work ahead to regain my position and wanted to get back up and running. You must wait and rest the doctors said. After 20 minutes had past, they eventually let me carry on. I knew there was a huge Jebel in the distance that I would need to climb and off I went. I made sure they knew how thankful I was for looking after me and praised them for their support. Smiling, I went on my way, it was so hot but I was so determined to succeed.
To my delight I saw a check point in front of me, Check point 2 and 49th position on the day. As I arrived, one of the organisers came straight to me and said please follow me, you need to see the doctor. What about my water and stamping of my card I asked? I didn’t want a penalty. Don’t worry Jonathan he replied, we’ll stamp your card but please come to the Doctor. The doctor took one look at me and asked how I felt. You must take 4 salt tablets right now and rest. I was gutted, I could see the amount of people passing me and my placement getting worse. As I sat in the shade, feeling slightly drained, all I could do was rest and wait. Eventually after 1/2 an hour, the doctor allowed me to carry on. I jogged along the path, gradually picking away at the runners ahead of me to be faced with an almighty Jebel. Each foot I placed in the sand seemed to go backwards and before I’d even got a 1/4 of the way up the sand section, I was absolutely drained. Never before had I needed to stop walking up a mountain, but this time I had been beaten. More and more people passed me and they inched their way up. I could see a rocky section with a rope to hold onto. This became my target, for I knew once I hit the rocks and rope, my upper body strength would play an integral part. As I eventually arrived at the rocky section, I found my second wind and maintained my position to the point I actually over took a few people. It felt great as it seemed to be natural ground for me. Reaching the top was such a joy and I cherished the moment. As I came down the other side, you had to calm your pace given the rocky terrain and the last thing I wanted was a broken/damaged ankle. As I overtook a number of competitors I cooled myself with water being poured down my head and back. Oh what a fab feeling it was.
I arrived at the next check point to find I was struggling once again. I had nothing left to give and had only just gone past the 48k point. This meant I had another 42k to run before the day was over. I knew that my 12 hour target was gone, but I could still aim for a sub 13 hour. As I pressed on, I slowed down to try and reserve what energy was within me. It was such a struggle, but one which I would not give in to.
At a further check point a fellow bivouac pal saw me taking shelter under a resting area. "Are you alright Jon?" "No I’m beat, can’t take my gels, nor my electrolytes." "Have you got any skittles?" he replied. "Nothing I said." We traded some skittles for an energy gel and off he went. I had approximately 35 skittles which I planned to take over the next 2 stages. Whilst taking a further rest period, I realised my focus was now on just completing the day and the time became secondary. I had no energy, but refused to quit.
As I reached checkpoint 6, it was approximately 72k and there was a live band playing. The evening darkness had set in and my head torch was on. All I had to do was have some food and push for the next 20k or so. I saw another biviouac buddy who was surprised to have overtaken me. He was just setting off as I filled my freeze dried Chicken Tikka meal with water. I’d planned to eat the food on my way. Off I went holding my food bag. As one of the leading lady runners came through the check point, she glanced towards me with what can only be described as a concerned look. I was clearly looking rather beat, but determined to succeed. My walk became a stumble at times and I knew there was 12k to go to check point 7. I watched my GPS as I moved every 0.5k closer to my target, still kicking stones with my left foot, the pain grew stronger each time.
By the time I had reached check point 7, I had hit an absolute low, had quite a few emotional moments and lost track of the amount of times I kept kicking large stones with my left foot. The pain was so excruciating at times, I gave up selecting the swear words and allowed myself to freely express verbally. Often drifting on my own towards the check point, I found myself walking through a sand storm late at night. The terrain was very slow moving and as I entered the final checkpoint, the support workers congratulated me with the reply that there was only 6k to go.
“I need rest and warmth” I replied. I was shivering with what could only be described as mild hypothermia at this point. I asked if there was somewhere I could lie down and rest. “But you’ve only got 6k to go” the young lady said. "Can you not see I’m shivering" I replied! Where can I rest. The young lady took me to a bivouac and said, you can lie in there. As I lay with my sleeping bag over my shoulders and an emergency heat blanket over my legs, I looked up to find a Camel Spider only a couple of metres away from me on the roof. I knew it wasn’t a pleasant spider to be around, but I was shaking and tired. I lay motionless for what seemed to be 20 minutes.
The shivering was getting worse and I dragged myself up. I walked over to the girl and at the check points and explained that I needed a medic. They couldn’t understand English to which I expressed Medic/Doctor. They immediately understood and took me over. As 3 medics stood around me, I explained I couldn’t stop shaking, My body felt like it was freezing and I could not get my emergency blanket and sleeping bag on. They helped put the blanket over me and then put my sleeping bag over as well. It took 3 of them to lay me down I was shaking that badly. Hypothermia had started to take effect. “ You will lay there and rest for a while” the Doctors replied. As I lay shaking, I could feel the warmth of the blanket and sleeping bag warm my body.
3 hours later I opened my eyes to see 17.5 hours had gone since starting the race and I felt such an urge to get up and move. I was furious with myself for falling asleep. As I gradually shoved everything into my back pack, I set off in a stumbling motion. Still kicking stones with my left foot, the pain kept me wide awake and alert. I tried to run but there was nothing inside me.
To my delight I could see the finishing line ahead. I was truly exhausted, yet proud of the dark place I had come from and as I walked over the line I reached for my mint tea. It tasted so refreshing I quickly drank it and headed for the bivouac. It was still pitch black and 4 of the tent buddies had arrived back safely. I slumped into my sleeping bag and fell asleep knowing I just had to get up in the morning and focus on recovering. My pride had taken such a beating but I didn’t care.
I can honestly say, that I don’t know how I managed to get through the day. What should have been a 12 hour experience, turned out to be a mammoth 19.5 hour epic journey of a true test of what I am about. It didn’t matter from this point what happened, as far as I was concerned I’d won my race because of what I went through and how I had managed to get through the 55 mile journey. However, I had still to refuel and had the whole of Thursday to recover ready for the Marathon on Friday.
During the morning I went over to see what position I had actually finished. I sighed with disappointment, I came in 512th which put me 288th overall for the week. Gutted with a sense of damaged pride I went over to the Doc Trotters for them to repair my feet and toe. They were absolutely killing me. Every step felt like I was walking on Razor blades and the slightest touch on my left toe meant excruciating pain travelled throughout my whole body and lasted for what seemed 5 minutes each time.
As I lay on the floor with my legs in the air whilst the medic strapped up my toe, he looked in astonishment and said how did you manage to continue with this toe! I need to protect it before it gets any worse and then we’ll work on your blisters. “It Will Hurt” he said with a cheeky grin! I laughed and grated my teeth. Such strong pain, yet I was filled with joy having pushed myself way beyond any comfort zone I could ever imagine.
It would be very easy to allow others to criticise me for losing out on achieving the Top 50, but they didn’t experience what I had just gone through, nor even attempted to take on such a challenge with no real ultra marathon experience. I glowed with joy as I hobbled back.
Barney(one of my tent buddies) found it quite amusing in a sincere way that my feet were strapped up in the manner they were and felt he needed to remind me which was my left and which was my right foot.
Barney is an ex cage fighter, a very hard man with a huge heart of gold. We had some great banter and he was a great sport.
As the day passed by, we all focused our attention on Rory and Ran as they had not arrived back safely. We had tracked their progress to find they would make it in time, but until they had passed the finishing line, we felt on edge for a period. At last, they arrived early evening and what a relief. Just one more day to go and the whole bivouac would have succeeded the Marathon Des Sables. As Ran approached the finishing line, he noticed me and shouted across,” How did you do Jon? Did you get Top 50?” "No" I replied. I felt I had let the team down and stepped back into the chaps around me.
Friday 10th April
It was the final Marathon Day and I was determined to give every last drop of energy to pull back some places. As I stood in the crowd, I waited for the start. We were off, and I gradually picked my way through the back of the pack. Focused on getting a great result, I was still feeling very wary and gentle with myself, I could still feel the effects of Wednesday.
As I settled into a steady pace, the pace proved fast and I steadily made my way through. I’d broken the race into 4 quarters, each being 11k each and imagine myself running my normal routine back home which was 10k. This I could relate to and spent most of the race imagining myself running to the roundabout and back where I live.
I also carried the thought of the 3 people in my life, Dawn Lewis and Mitchell. They had been my inspiration throughout the whole week and especially during the double marathon day. I kept having some emotional moments which put a few lumps in my throat, but I powered on with my run. Before I knew it, I was at the final check point and only 11k to go until I got my medal from Patrick Baur the organiser himself.
I could see the finish line with everyone cheering all the finishers. I did it, I crossed the line and filled with joy. Marathon Des Sables had not won me over! It had been brutal, unforgiving, drained me of every little bit of essence, yet, I stood strong throughout the whole week and beat the challenge. I finished 260th overall and felt very happy with myself. I could have quite easily dropped out at certain points on the Wednesday, but refused to quit and pursued my goal with all I had.
To finish was such an amazing achievement, I knew I would be going on the plane home with my medal. I felt so proud and no one can take that away from me.
Throughout the week, many had been forced to drop out, been stopped, suffered major injury and subjected to bacterial infection. They call the Marathon Des Sables the hardest foot race in the world and I can clearly see why. It’s not just about the running in the extreme 50 degree plus heat, its about the survival and living conditions as well you endure throughout the whole experience.
The day after we set off on a 11k charity walk, to which followed a lengthy bus journey for over 6-7 hours back to Ouarzazate and the Hotel Berbere Palace. Throughout the return journey, I saw all kinds of sights, slums, shepherds and modern living. Yet, the one thing that will always stick in my mind, is the children begging for food whilst we stopped at the roadside. We had a picnic provided which seemed heavenly considering I’d just spent the last 8 days on freeze dried food. Bread, Salami, cheese spread, prunes, nuts, Apple sauce and an orange juice. It may not seem much, but at the time it was heavenly.
When we eventually arrived at the hotel, having my first shower in 8 days was such a pleasant experience, I quickly got changed and rushed to get some food. It was paradise, hot and cold buffet with so much fish, fruit, cooked meats, pasta and rice and fab desserts. I even enjoyed a cold beer for the first time on many months. Everyone was smiling with such joy and by midnight, I was ready for my bed. Clean sheets, soft mattress and no sand! Even the ability to go to a toilet felt such a pleasure.
As I lay in bed, the reality of what I had just experienced still couldn’t sink in yet and I lay motionless before slipping into a deep sleep. As morning broke, I found myself getting ready for 7 am to go to the research team to get checked out.
I’d dropped to 76.5kg, 11% body fat and clearly needed to pay another visit to the Doc Trotters. The toe that had become broken had clearly gone sceptic around the toe nail area and treatment was definitely needed. As I jumped in the taxi, I hesitated for a second as the old man tried to start his car. It was definitely a 30 year old car and as he tried to start the engine, you could feel the whole car shake. I sat back and relaxed whilst enjoying the experience. It felt great! As I arrived at the organisers hotel, I headed for Doc Trotters and I was quickly attended to. The young lady looked at my feet and said we need to focus on the toe and that I must have some medication. She spent quite a while preparing my feet and getting the right medication. “ You must hand this letter to your Doctor when you get back she replied. As I got back, I put my flip flops on and allowed my feet to air.
I then walked into the centre and looked at the shops. A Moroccan chap said, have you got any old trainers or medication? Ibuprofen, Anadin or anything like that he said. I will gladly trade anything in my shop. I knew I wasn’t going to use my trainers again, and I had plenty of Ibuprofen in my back pack that I had brought. So I walked back, got my stuff and headed back down.
40 minutes later, I had my flying Berber Carpet. It had been a lovely experience bartering. Yes, I had to pay the chap a little extra money, but I didn’t mind, it was worth every penny to me.
When I got back, I enjoyed the best bottle of beer by the pool for what seemed an eternity, as I basked in the sun chatting to the fellow tent mates.
The realisation of the last 9 days was only just sinking in and it felt so amazing inside, I still find it quite hard to express in words.
Whatever your challenge may be, I always encourage clients to ensure they have set their target/goal that can be measurable and certainly achievable, but most of all, that it will challenge the client achieving their very best. Even if a client doesn’t achieve their desired outcome first time, they can always try again.
The Marathon Des Sables confirmed to me that I have a level of tenacity, stamina, drive and desire to achieve even more than I realised before taking on the adventure, and I feel very proud, privileged and grateful for my ability to pursue such a goal.
I believe we all have choices in life and no matter what our background may be, we can all make a positive change to our lives at any age.
If you would like to no more about achieving the life you desire, or even read our book Dream to Reality, please feel free to get in touch and email contact@lifewealthcoaching.com where we can discuss your thoughts confidentially or click on the link to buy our book which is helping people achieve the life they desire.
http://www.realityproductions.co.uk
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Kindest regards
Jonathan
