Story
The premiership of endurance events and billed as “the toughest footrace on earth”.
I am running for the Oxford Gatehouse because it provides free support for adults who are homeless, vulnerably housed, on low income and/or looking for company and community. I work as a Housemaster - Segar's House, St Edward's School, Oxford - and spend my days and nights trying to forge a community and a home from home; not far from where I do this there are those without.
The MDS is a 250km multistage race over 6 days in the Sahara Desert. This includes a double marathon day when the competitors start at midday (in that heat) and run into the night. Temperatures can get extremely high. Competitors must carry everything they need for 6 days and nights in order to sustain themselves: food, water, clothing, medical, washing, sleeping, cooking equipment (if you decide to heat your food, some don’t) and even an anti-venom pump in the unlikely event of a snake-bite. In order to finish, it is a question of how well you manage and sustain yourself both physically and mentally.