I did IT!!

Sorry for the wait, but I am in the process of putting my race report together. Waiting for pictures, and gathering my notes made on the back of the pages of e-mail I was sent which helped immensely!

Thank you all, Please don't stop donating, This was a much harder challenge than I expected, so every donation will mean something, and help. Even a few quid...

It was the Longest MdS Ever, at 251km (just shy of 156 miles) and I finished 332nd/849 starters with 38 drop-outs, and temperatures far exceeding 50DegC! (touching 130 Fahrenheit!) and many, many miles of Dunes and soft sand...

Hello Everyone! Well 2011 is upon us, and new challenges await us all. One of my challenges in April of this year involves running 150+ miles across the Sahara Desert, in a race known as ‘The Toughest Footrace on Earth’ or the Marathon Des Sables. It being only 12 weeks away means my training is in full swing (Despite a few setbacks) and it’s time to start appealing all my old and new friends for Sponsorship.

I have decided to run in aid of my local Community, and I am raising funds for the Rotary Club of Sale, who do fantastic work in local community projects, the small charities and its people. Although there are many worthy charities out there, I really wanted the opportunity to see with my own eyes where the money will go, and I will be lucky enough to be able to do that with the Rotary Club of Sale. I promise ALL the money you donate will go to them.

So please, this is a seriously tough challenge and I need to know I have huge support at home to keep me going when my feet are raw and bleeding, If I’m stuck in a storm with the sand blasting into and underneath my skin, and when I line up at the start of stage 4, with 45 miles of nothing but baking hot desert before me, knowing I’ll probably still be going into the night...

Why this IS the Toughest footrace on Earth...

It covers 245km/153 miles (in 6 stages of approx 25, 34, 38, 85, 42.2 & 22km) over 6 days (7 for some). This is the equivalent of 5 1/2 regular marathons. In addition to that I will be completely self sufficient for the duration of the race, this mean I have to carry everything I need (apart from a tent) on my back in a rucksack which I have calculated will weight around 15 - 17 kg (it includes such things as a sleeping bag, Food, Medical kit! etc) Water is handed out at checkpoints but I only get 10 litres per day, so water management is critical.

I will have to prepare all my own food during and after the race, and there is no local supermarket I can call in if I miscalculate my energy needs. I will experience midday temperatures of up to 45deg C, be running over rocky uneven ground, through dried up lake beds, and over mountians (known as Jebel's) as well as the dreaded 'Dunes' day of which can reach hundreds of feet high, combined with the heat and rubbing will totally trash my feet! If that's not enough, the local wildlife may call in to say hello when I'm asleep, as Scorpions, Spiders and desert Snakes, all on the lookout for a bit of dinner during the night hours.

Mental Stamina will constitute at least 50% of whether I will complete the distance or not, Physical fitness is obviously very important but I am not underestimating the mental stress I will be under. The 4th day will see me set off across the baron wilderness to complete a 45 - 50 mile stage known as the 'longest day'. Few people will finish before nightfall, and some will be out until the afternoon of the next day! (Not me!)

If this sounds a little mad, you're probably right, I should be committed and chained to a treadmill for evermore.... But to be competitive in this I need support, and raising a ton of cash for small, local needs such as those help by the Rotary Club are really what will get me through this journey.... That and the promise of a cold beer at the end!!

Thank you, I promise to publish a full race report with some stunning professional photograph's I am having commissioned while out there. 

 

Carl Cleghorn

RACE - Gloucester 50k (31.1miles), Sun 23rd Jan. Fab race, ran a very good steady pace and even sped up in the last 6 miles. Ran with approx 6-7kg pack on and lapped many of the marathon runners (50k was 4 laps, marathon was 3 laps). Finished in 4hr 50mins. encouraging, and felt pretty good the next day too.

TRAINING - Great weekend of running in the Lake District. Saturday 19th Feb, ran Leg 2 (14 miles each way) as a reccie for the Lakeland 100 race I have coming up in July, and Sunday 20th we had a great run up Fairfield (873mts) from Ambleside which was very deep in snow near the summit! More trips to the Lakes planned! Although it doesn't seem good weather for Desert training, the rocky paths, and hill running will serve me well in the desert!!

Training - My Final Monster Week...  arriving in Windermere on Weds (9th March) lunch time with a quick jog to Ambleside after resisting the lure of the bus. followed by a run up Fairfeild (873mts) which was incresdilbly windy, and fell short of the summit by a mile due to the 70mpg gusts.. on the way back down i found a secluded spot and decided to have my first meal, and go with my new Titanium Pan and stove. Delicous Chilli con carne (Freeze dried Expedition foods) which is same stuff as i am taking out with me.

Thursday (10th) sett of to reccie the final 3 legs of the Lakeland 100, Leg 13 from Ambleside to Chapel Stile, Leg 14 from Chapel Stile to Tilberthwaite and leg 15 from Tilberthwaite to Coniston. the culmulative distance of around 15.6 miles. I was due to catch the bus back to Ambleside but soon decided that i would run back the same route so as to help remember it better, as these sections will be night ones when I do the L100 in July. all of today i carried my pack although as i was returning to the Hostel, i left stuff their and carried bare minimum of food and clothing for the day and around 27 miles covered (as i finished 2 miles short coming into Coniston due to a Snowstorm!)

Friday was the biggy... I got the 08:30 bus from Ambleside to Coniston, and at 09:10 i set off from Coniston up and over Walna Scar Pass. Today was planned to cover the 1st 5 leg of the L100 (It starts and finishes in Coniston), and the checkpoints were at; Seathwaite, Boot, Wasdale Head, Buttermere and Braithwaite where i had planned to then head to Stair in the Newlands valley to meet the Sale Harriers (My running club) for our Bi-Annual training weekend. the morning was great, lovely sunshine right upto Boot, then the rain came. and then the snow. Coming up Wasdale, and up Black Sail Pass, the snow was around 8" deep! and coming down into Ennerdale was tricky and very slippery, and the snow soon dissapeared as i headed up Scarth Gap pass and down towards Buttermere. At this point it had taken me 8 hrs (I stopped for an hour to cook food and try and get dry, it had been raining constantly from midday) and covered 27 miles. I then made the decision due ot the weather and dark i would not follow the L100 route up and over Sail pass which was another high pass at nearly 600mts but instead run on the road connecting Buttermere to Keswick over Newland Hause at 333mts. this road was still 8 miles of hell! and it soon became very dark and very heavy rain. all the warmth in me was sucked out during this brief section, and it got cold. I had to stop and call in to a remote farm en-route and check my directions (and get a little warm). this hour was definately my darkest moment so far... The whole day took around 10 hrs, with around 5-6000ft of climb, a full backpack and around 34 miles covered.

Saturday was a short hill training session with the Sale Harriers, and a casual run around Derwent Water in the afternoon.

Much beer was comsumed over the weekend too, purely for training purposes to put me in a slightly dehydrated state to give me a tougher time..

So this, including a 28 mile run from Marsden to Edale down the Pennine Way earlier in the week took my total mileage upto around 115 miles. 95% of which was on rocky, rough, hilly terrain. Hopefully this will set me up nicely for what i will encounter in the desert, except of course the Heat, which i can do little about. I have a free 3 day pass for LA Fitness in Sale, so i plan to use the Sauna there for the 3 days before i fly, i will then have around 3-4 days in Morroco and the desert to aclimatise before the race..

I feel really positive now, and feeling very 'racey' too!

Please donate now you have read all this! Even more to come when i get back. Also i have posed a few more pic of my last training week in the Lakes.

RACE - Wilmslow half marathon. Good training run, started near the back with my full kit on, Gaitors, 3 layers of shirts, full rucksack with front pouch, and sahara sun hat! Looked a right sight inamongst the runner in vests and shorts! started well, ran for a bit with anotehr chap doing MdS, but soon left to indulge in my favorite game... Overtaking people! As i had around 12kg on my back it made for many funny comment as i came past people who i could hear struggling, only hear 'Bloody hell!' as I came steaming past! :) with a finish time of 1hr 53 min, i wasn't fast (by my standards) but completed it, and felt very strong at the finish. It was so nice to not be counting the miles and keep checking my watch... I enjoyed it much more at a leisurely pace and felt i could easily have turned round and ran the whole way back! :)

P.S, don't forget to leave you e-mail address so I can keep you updated from e-mails whilst out there!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.