Monday 10th April Stage 2 35K


Berbers appeared as ever at 5.30 am to remove bivvy. It looked like it was going to be another very hot day. Had breakfast and whilst waiting for start I noticed a small rip at front of gaiters which I soon repaired with superglue. Tried to shelter from the heat, whilst watching the Ahansal brothers and other elites warming up with stretches and sprints. They are not human! Race started with usual rock music and low flying helicopters. A quick 1 KM sprint across the desert to the foot of a nearby mountain where a long steep mining track led you up the side. The heat was already intense and only the elite runners were actually running up here. A tricky but speedy descent followed on the other side but as we neared CP1 everyone was beginning to walk/ run with temperature already up to 42C. At CP1 I could feel a couple of hot spots on my feet but on trying to remove shoes I discovered that superglue had soaked through shoes and glued my socks to the front of the shoes. What a twat! Do these things ever happen to anyone else. Put some Compeed on and continued on over a series of dried lakes and sand dunes to CP 2. You could feel the heat of the ground coming through your shoes and my feet were really hurting and I was feeling very dehydrated. The only shade I could find was by lying underneath a Doc Trotter Land Rover where I had 20 minutes rest. Decided to use my walking poles for next stage to take some of the pressure off my feet. Crossed a series of dunes then a huge flat, hard, boring plain. Could see tents in distance and thought would never get there. Once within about half a kilometre realised that it was just a Bedouin camp and a herd of camels. Felt very disappointed when I found there was still about 4 KM to go. Finished on autopilot with very sore feet and once again extremely dehydrated. The good news was that my finishing time was still well up in the field. Went to Doc Trotter tent and I was advised to lance and iodine a couple of small blisters and to tape the soles of my feet in the morning. Didn’t have enough water to cook all my food and after a near revolution in camp we were given an extra bottle of water. It was discovered there had already been 68 retirements, many of whom were top experienced competitors. This was already a record for the event and that the medics were having to fly in more saline supplies. Struggled to eat my food and gave away a lot. (Not like me). Another sleepless uncomfortable night with a bit of a stomach upset.