marathon des sables

2006-05-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

May i recommend you to print this if you want to read this, its like a girl's diary it even has feelings in it and it's long

“The French call the first encounter with the desert ‘le bapteme de la solitude’. It is a unique sensation and has nothing to do with lonliness, for loneliness presupposes memory. Here in this wholly mineral landscape lighted by stars like flares, even memory disappears; nothing is left but your own breathing and the sound of your heart beating … For no one who has stayed in the Sahara for a while is quite the same as when he came.” (Unknown)
April 3-4, 2006

Last minute preparations

Pierre came by around midnight to wish me farewell. I had just started packing for the race. Heather, a friend of Pierre’s, was there and I asked her to sew the tear in my gator that I had noticed a while back but had forgotten to fix. She was unsuccessful due to the fabric’s bizarre texture, and actually made the hole bigger, but she put in a valiant effort, and I thank her for that. I made it to bed by 01:30, too tired to be nervous and slept like a baby (well, in college I learned that babies don’t sleep very well but you get my gist) until Albert’s booming voice called me to breakfast at 05:40. I remembered my hole in my gator and asked for Edna’s council who had a brilliant idea of using GLUE. Thanks Edna.
Shauna, Albert’s daughter, met us at the airport, had some more coffee and off we went through security, with Albert’s fair maidens waving us off as if we were valiant knights going to the battle field equipped with only our guts and power bars. (at least that is how I felt)
April 5, 2006
Frankfurt Germany
Albert and I seem to have two different ways of dealing with jet lag. Albert sleeps whenever possible while I try to accumulate my sleep so that I can sleep at night. We arrived in Frankfurt in the morning with the plan of resting the rest of the day and a night before meeting the German group and heading off to Africa. I had lived in Germany nine years and to my surprise, after being away for almost seven years, I found myself making the same comments that many of my North American friends made when they first came to Germany. My German also felt awkward and I felt like I had a funny accent. I thought the cups and glasses where too small, you have to fill them up ten times before satisfying your thirst. They sold beer in restaurants and McDonald as flippantly as you would see a bum on the street blowing his nose. The pleasure I had of paying the exact price on the price tags was immensely satisfying. The smoking cigarette guys on the street also felt different, because I don’t see much of it in North America. The old buildings, the cobble stone, the wonderful sight of seeing bicycles, with people of all ages, and all kinds of gear, from three piece suits to tight spandex riding. Talking about spandex’s, Albert and I decided to go for a little run along the Rhine River, I have to admit I felt a little left out, almost all the runners running along the river, including Albert, had their real sporty looking, leg hugging spandex, wow what a sight!! I felt like I belonged on the beaches of California in my baggy flowery shorts and not in downtown Frankfurt.
April 6, 2006
Had a wonderful German breakfast and even had Nutela!! We met up with the Germans runners at the airport, and that’s when things started to go through my mind like “what am I doing here with these odd balls” before that, you know, I was pretty composed. Most runners looked older than I, but being with Albert it is very easy to strike up conversation with anybody. So you know, I check out runners, size them up, and compare them to me, subconsciously guessing whether I think they will make it or not. Mmm, to skinny, mmmm he carries some extra weight there, wow, if he finishes the race, then I can too. I was actually trying to reassure myself that they were just humans and nothing specialer then me. So I ask them a couple superficial questions like “how was the weather recently??” and then I dig in. “How did you train for this” Yikes, the first couple guys I asked, oh boy they had been on some real rigorous training programs, and had done a couple big races, like the Alpine Marathon, 70+ km in the Swiss alps, the Biel, 100km during the night, the Jordan Cup, the Jungfrau Marathon, the around Mt. Blanc marathon. Albert has actually done a lot of these runs too, but anyway, I have to admit, I felt a little under qualified, and it made me nervous, but I kept a brave face and would say “not bad” you know I did the Winnipeg marathon… in the winter it’s -40, and there is a lot of mosquitoes, how is the weather here?? I have to clarify that this is not exact quotes, but the gist is what was going through my mind. I eventually met runners, who seemed a lot less qualified then me, for example, had never run a marathon, or had decided to do this race while having had one drink to many. These guys felt comforting to me.
April 7, 2006
We made it to our hotel in Quarzazate, in the early morning hours. Quarzazate, if I am not mistaken is considered the gate to the dessert; though don’t quote me on that. I stay in a fairly nice room in a hotel called the gazelle. I share a room with Albert and we try to make the most of our beds and bathroom knowing that from here on out we will be more one with Mother Nature. We have an early morning breakfast before taking the final bus ride/ military truck ride and getting dumped in the dessert. The German jokes are corny, the laughs are not totally natural. Maybe its not the German joke but we are all trying to camouflage our fears and trying hard to act relax, at ease, and cool, despite the rising heat of the day. The bus takes us to the end of the road, where the military trucks are waiting to take us the last 9 km to the campsite. We are crammed into the truck, like sardines, and some of the Germans made goat sounds, and I felt like a flock of geese crammed into a truck making goat and sheep sounds, it was hilarious, you should have been there Wow. We get to the camp and there is a nice circle of tents, you give your number to the ladies, they give you your first water rations, and the dessert experience has now officially started.
April 8
Happy birthday Daniel (my brother) I promise I did think of you that day.
Being jet lagged, and sharing a tent with 6 strangers, three of whom are fairly accomplished snores is quite an experience in itself. Being awake at 1am in the morning and listening to the dessert sounds of air passing through semi clogged air passages in people throats is something worth spending some time writing on. I had time to think about this that first night. There are Harley snores. (Comes from the Harley Davidson engine) they are not very predictable nor consistent, but when they come, they are a low rumble. There is also the Kawasaki snore, high pitch and high rpm, pretty steady. If you think hard enough it can almost be as soothing music in the background, but not quite. Other snores have serious problems and you wonder if they will even be able to start their engines for the start of the race. I was not the only one awake through this cacophony of sounds, some other runners felt more at liberty to express their amazement in harsher tones.
Today we have our gear inspected, the race inspectors make sure you have the required calories for the race, the required emergency stuff, and that you have the medical examiners papers. I passed with flying colors. Being with Albert and Edna it is hard to forget something, and I enjoy life and don’t want to lose it because I forgot my snake venom pump. (Actually I did not see the purpose of a snake venom pump, but it sure helps this race sound scary and suspenseful) no I did not see a snake nor a scorpion. I think the 500 people passing ahead of me scared them off a bit.
The desert has also given us a nice welcome and for a couple hours we felt the full impact of the sand on our faces and exposed skin. It’s what you call being sand blasted. Our tent got a nice rip along the seam, and we would go out and get rocks, and hammer the pegs in deeper to keep the tent from blowing away. I believe we all felt a little venerable, I did smash my little nail with a rock, it is the only nail I lost. Our tent was the only shelter, and it did not do didly sqat to keep sand out. There were no buildings to run into, no vehicles to take shelter in, just the flapping tent, that sometimes acted like a whip if you were not careful. I wondered if some of the sand that was caressing my face also caressed Abrahams face years ago, I guess it is possible eh!!?? Anyway there was nothing you could do; too much noise to talk, so you just lay back on the floor, cover your nostrils and tonsils, put on your goggles, kick back, and try to imagine yourself in a little cocoon on paradise island until the desert has finished its temper tantrum.
I was surprised by how fine the sand was. I had not been in the dessert a couple hours and my socks where totally red. (originally they were white) One of the experienced runners called Danny, (Albert calls him the dessert rat, he is considered one of the elite runner, a couple years ago he finished in the top 21st , well he was 21st.) had done this race five time I believe; he recommended that I put glue over the mesh of my shoes. Thanks to Edna, I just happened to have glue in my bag, and sealed the mesh. After that I had a lot less sand in my shoes.
Something that took time to get use to was having to go to the lou!! Not very many bushes to hide behind and the wind was not always very cooperative. Distance was the only cover, and the distance became less and less the longer the race went on. I’ll leave that at that, I am sure you were all curios about that
April 9
Day I
Finally the tomorrow has now official become the today, and everyone I believe is ready to put this show on the road. Everyone is in high spirits yet there is this electric tension in the air. The race started at nine, runners are going through their bags one more time, despite having already checked it ten times. They herd us all into a fenced in enclosure; apparently from the air we look like the number “21”, to commemorate the 21st marathon des sable. Lively music is blaring through the speakers, a plane lands, the helicopter is buzzing us from all directions, this guy dangling out of the heli with a lenses in his hand seems to be having a ball. Patrick Bower (the race director) on top of his land rover shouting last minute directions, and this other lady trying to translate into English. The count down begins, and at the sound of the gun, we are off like torpedoes, everyone runs, back packs bouncing up and down on people backs, people caring flags and funny hats. I feel like a bunch of delirious savages not realizing that we have 200+ km ahead of us, it was brilliant. Albert and I stick together and try to set a more reasonable pace cause you know, we are more mature and wise… well…a little….not too much…you know.
Today was supposed to be easy, 28km a nice break in day, well not really, it was a rude awakening. There was a howling wind which actually reminded me of the Manitoba prairies and the snow drifts gliding effortlessly over the road like white ghost, once you focus on it is disappears, such was the sand, dancing and making little ripples and wave patterns on the barren surface, pausing only long enough to tickle your ears and mouth and moving on to unknown and exotic locations. The dessert was also a little warmer then Manitoba though. The views were spectacular and took your breath away from the lungs which slows you down.
According to the veterans, today was a harder day then usual, a lot of mountains and soft sand. I feel alright and am so happy that I have no serious blisters. That has been on of my biggest concerns about this race. Albert and I stuck together all day, and I feel like we are moving along at a pretty good clip, though the immensity of the task is really settling in and troubling. Some people were not able to finish today I believe, and I am not sure if I can last seven days in these conditions. I finished with a slight headache fairly tight shoulders, from the 10kg pack excluding water. My muscles also feel a little tight. My spirit is still high, though not as high as at the beginning of the race, but I look forward to the miracles of what a warm meal and sleep can do to a body. Good night.
April 10th
Day II
Happy birthday papa
Despite my years of training sleeping on the floor, I am having a tough time sleeping on the desert floor. I really wish I had bought a mat part from myself, I think Albert feels the same way. I search desperately for the perfect combination of rocks that will snuggly fit between my ribs and spinal cord. Sure I could ask everyone to get up so that I can clear a spot under the canvas, but I do not want to seem like a girl you know.
Today it took me 9 hours to do 35 km. In normal conditions I can do 42 km in under 3hrs 30 min. Today was a real tough day. A lot of people dropped out and many needed IV drips. It was real hot and the humidity is extra high apparently, runners are having trouble with their keeping hydrated. Today was also real tough because Albert could not continue. He had been feeling very weak and his stomach was not functioning properly. He also had to get an IV, though that helped him get to the next checkpoint it really took a toll on him mentally. We started to proceed the last 12 km, four of which were in the sand dunes with minimal medical support. We spent a good 30 minutes at the check point debating whether we should continue, was it to risky?? Was it worth it?? Could we do it with in the time allotted for that section?? We were not moving very fast, Albert did not look good, nor did he feel good, the doctors did not seem to have much advice so pretty much it was Albert’s decision. We decided that we would give it a shot, slung our bags on our shoulders and headed out. We were pretty much alone, very near the pack of the back, no one ahead of us to follow, that is when Albert decided that it was not going to be good to continue. With his stomach not processing the food and liquid, with the lack of medical support in the dunes, he made the tough decision, and we turned back toward the check point, enough is enough, some things are not important enough to permanently damage yourself for, getting to a silly finish line just for the sake of getting to a finish line would fall under that category. After we had the check point in sight, Albert and I split up. It was a bizarre feeling continuing alone. I was very much alone at that point. When I turned around I thought I saw people struggling up the dunes in the distant, but it sure seemed like they were struggling for their progress was slow, but I headed straight for them, adrenaline was flowing by this point because I could see the potential of getting lost. As I got closer to the “people” I realized it was just a couple bushes swaying in the wind. I remember that the final stretch was a straight line and so I just sped up and kept the wind to my right. 20 minutes later I saw some people ahead, and saw a quad bike, that was a good reassuring feeling and a sigh of relief slipped out of the lungs, but the adrenaline sure was pumping through the blood channels and I just wanted to finish that stage as quick as possible.
April 11, 2006
Day III
In my previous experience with biking long distances it always seemed to me that the third day is the day when my body in the past stops protesting and finally falls into a rhythm. (I was putting high hopes on that. In this case I was just a day off) The third day was a 38 km stretch. Less then one km after the start I had to stop because I felt right away that I had not tapped my feet properly. Albert had warned me that my newly developed theory of binding all my toes together apart from the big one, did not seem very orthodox. But my thinking process was that if all the toes were tapped together they would not rub against each other, well I had pretty much had to throw that “genius moment” out the window. Well anyway I figured I had better stop and humbly wrap my toes in a more traditional way. It was an interesting experience because I ended being with the camels. Being with the camels is not generally something a runner is proud of. You cannot be behind the camels. The camels are the sweepers, picking up the stragglers. I was not the only one with the camels though. There was another guy who seemed to be walking on hot ashes. This was less then a km into the days stretch. After having finished with my feet I walked beside him for a while and ask the silly questions “how’s it going?” He pretty much said he was finished but said he would walk just a little further. I never saw him again. But I had tremendous admiration for the dude. He was in sorry condition but was still moving and he wished me the best. I realized that though I felt weak and did not really see how I was going to finish this thing I had to keep going. Sometimes the thought crept in my head; well sure I felt like I had the strength to get to the next checkpoint, but what would be the point to making it to the next checkpoint if I could not go on from there, I would just be procrastinating the inevitable and get the same results with just more pain. (never procrastinate right, the computer is telling me that I am using the word in the wrong sense but I like it) I had to push this out of my head and just focus on doing 10km at a time. Stop thinking about the four days ahead, and just make the most of the present. Pain is weakness leaving the body, Pain is weakness leaving the body, Pain is weakness leaving the body. (yea right, I had trouble persuading my inner self)
The day ended being the hardest physical day ever in my life I think is safe to say. It was never ending and I was sure I was walking on an escalator going the wrong way. The check points never came, a lot of flares where going off. I saw a girl unconscious. I took another guys arm who was just swaggering all over the place, seeing this also wears on you psychologically. I arrived to the last check point finally and thought I should see a doctor, just to make sure I was not going to die, seriously. This unconscious girl made me nervous; I did not want to end like her. I wanted to know if she felt like me and all of a sudden was on the floor, or if she was a lot worse and foolishly decided to push on??!! I felt like I was entering a new body experience, pushing to a new limit, and was not quite sure what to expect of my body. The guy that checked me in said I look fine so, I just sat down for an hour or so and tried to drink and eat. Also for the last couple hours all I could think of was not throwing up when I drank my disgustingly warm water, or when I took little pinches of my not so good tasting power bars. This worried me because Albert had to also stop because of his stomach. The views were absolutely staggeringly majestic.
The highlight of the day was a water well, that the race director had helped fund for a village. Cold Water, there is nothing better then to put your head under cold running water, there is just no way I could have had more satisfaction for that small moment in time, and would have spent a lot more time there but other runners needed the water also. I also meet a Luxemburg family who eventually became friends, but not right away. These three blooming ladies over took me all smiling and effortlessly. (My pride was all gone and I promise that at this point I did not care who over took). One of them cheerfully told me we are almost halfway through the race way to go. That was not what I wanted to hear, I was going to quit right there. Later I confronted her at camp and asked her if all Luxembourgian were such encouragers. We became friends and things got better between us, apparently I had hidden my pains pretty well and they did not realize how crummy I felt.

April 13-14
day IV and V

Wow, stinky, I have a new definition for the word. They say a skunk does not smell his own smell, well my nostrils stayed well attuned to the stink, but I know its not all me….well I hope. Today’s mission is 57km, Albert always said that once you get this stretch done you pretty much have the race in a bag. It is amazing how quickly the body recovers after a night’s sleep and some food. I felt like a new man, slept on the rocks like a rock and was ready to keep the elite runners company. They decided to shorten the coarse today by 12 km. Outwardly I am relieved, but deep onside there is a little bit of disappointment, they had to shorten the coarse because it was to hard for us. There is a record amount of people who could not continue, and the organization has to look after those that do not continue, like feed them three times a day. I am also assuming that it is not good for the races reputation to have too many dropouts, but these are just assumptions. We also got to have a two hour head start on the elite runners today, just so that they can show us how slow we really are. These guys flew by me at mach 1.2. Unbelievable, back pack and all, full out sprint, leaping like gazelles over the rugged desert terrain. I tried keeping pace with the second place guy. Man/wo man I was moving, after running with him three hours I decided to quit showing off . just joking I ran with him for less than a minute, I might have been able to last ten minutes but then I would have dropped dead. These guys are unreal and all I can do is tip my hat to them and watch them evaporate into the heat waves ahead that surround us from all 360 degrees.
Today I believe my body has found its rhythm though. My worst fear was blisters, but for me that was unfounded, the worst was lack of energy and stomach which are closely related. I met a Danish guy and his wife who recommend that I have a salt tablet every half hour. This sounded unhealthy to me but I was willing to try anything. I ended up having one tablet every hour which I really believed helped. I did not keep the elite runners company but I could think of other things then just not throwing up. I thought about life, God, my project, friends, and juristic park. Some of this landscape reminds me of that for some reason, and with the heat it does not take much imagination to look at camels in the distant and see tyrannosaurus rex’s. When the sun started to set, a new burst of energy hit me. The spectacular sunset was a welcome sight. The cool air and the water, the shadows on the dunes, the still air, I do not really know if words can really describe that thing at that moment so I won’t try. During the night the way, or should I say the direction, was well marked with glow sticks. All the runners also had glow sticks on their back, and you could see them bob up and down in the distant. What was also real neat was that for a short stretch the was a green laser beam that was like a motorway above our heads leading the way. This was a very assuring feeling. The only problem was that with the laser beam it was impossible to judge distance. The originating point looked like it was just a little ways off and after two hours it looked like the same distance away as before and then all of a sudden you were at the check point were it originated from. We started at 10:00am on the 12 of April and I finished 57 km by 01:00am on the 13th. I ran the last little bit because in the darkness I could her people running, wanting to beat me I guess, I was not going to be over taken at this point and started to run also. Till then I had walked everything, (unless there where cameras of coarse) but this running felt good. I had not been training to walk, which I probably should have done but I realized that my running muscles were surprisingly fresh. I am not sure how scientific that is, but I thought I should experiment with that tomorrow. Having run throught the night I had pretty much a full day and a night to recover. I started realizing that I might actually finish this thing.
I had a dream that my mum was angry with me for having so much salt. My mum never liked us adding salt to food at all. Sorry mum, but I’m a grown man now.
On the 13th in the evening after a whole day of laying down we got offered a coca cola. My oh my, what a sublime moment. It was warm but it was great. I could not believe that one of my American friends was afraid that the caffeine would keep him awake. I understood his position and kindly offered to give him some assistance with this troubling situation, he kindly declined my offer. Just a marathon and an 11 k to go.
April 14
Day 6
Woke up as usual to the Berbers blowing whistles, yelling yallah yallah (hurry hurry), and driving their trucks and tearing down the tents from above us. We crawl out of our sleeping bags, look at out feet, make breakfast, look at our feet, brush our teeth and tape out feet and get ready for the day. I feel like the atmosphere is up, it is the beginning of the end. After getting this far it would take something huge like a celestial collision for us not to finish. But mommy said “don’t count those chickens until they have hatched”
I decided to run to the first check point, and see how things went. Things went well, and I decided to keep going. Everyone was moving faster, the temperature felt way cooler and the humidity was down. Water rations where also increased which made a big difference. I ended doing 42 km in 6.5 hours. My bag did break because of the increased bouncing motion, but you know, being a bush pilot and all, I tied it back together with a simple shoe lace. (smartness hits me sometimes like an egg cracking on the floor)
Today I also felt like a Moses. In the dunes I decided to go a different route. I found that when you go where no one else has gone, the sand is a lot harder and easier to walk in. So off I go enjoying the solid virgin sand; feeling brave for making for daring to add my footprint to the ever moving, intricate sand patterns. After a little I look behind me and notice to my surprise that the whole line of people where following me. Yikes, that was not my intention; I was not sure what I was doing or going and people were blindly following me. But I understood those people though; when you are tired you look down and blindly follow the heels of those in front of you. It is pretty funny sometime watching everyone following a swaying runner in the front and they all start walking the same squiggly line. I often found myself practicing this same phenomenon when I was tired. Anyway they followed me and the Luxemburg Family was there. Apparently the mother Simon had been a three time women winner of the race, but for this race decided to stay with her daughters. Things worked out well thankfully and when we had rejoined the other route we had actually overtaken some. (Yes, well you know, I might become a future dessert guide when I retire.)
I finished the day in a full out sprint against 4 Frenchmen, I won, yes. My competitive spirit is back; I have graduated from the survival mode to a more appreciating the moments mode
Albert is not doing very well, his stomach is troubling him. He is pretty picky about his tent position, there is eight of us in a tent. Albert has to think about his escape routes to Mother Nature, when the stomach growls. On the first day, the first evening meal, Albert and I had bought some food in which you just poor water. The first day I thought I was going to be tough and just put cold water and mix the omelet meal; that was the last time I did not heat the water. Albert on the other hand, on the first day, had torn the oxygen remover into his meal. It was dark and we were tired, we laughed when we realized what he had done for it says all over the package not to eat the stuff. Anyway there is not medical evidence put we are thinking that maybe that could be a cause to Albert’s troubled stomach. It does not take you much to knock you out of a race. Diarrhea in the dessert is not pleasant; the dehydration problem is even more intense.
Tonight was also a special night. We had a luxurious concert, when I say luxurious I mean luxurious. This was the most out of place thing during my time out there but it was spectacular. These well dressed men and women with big gowns and shiny shoes, and make up, wind flowing through the hair of the young angelic looking opera singer, playing the classical music of Mozart, Bach, Handel. The wind was doing back up vocals in the microphones, but it was perfect. These people bring their expensive instruments in the extreme condition just to entertain a bunch of stinky, dirty, ugly, salt stained, lunatics who pay the big bucks to challenge themselves in the unforgiving dessert. It was a contrast of world’s that was too much to take almost. The attention was 100% hanging and absorbing every note, and letting it sink deep into our brain. Albert commentated that he thought it was funny that we all stood up on our bloody feet to give them a standing ovation for an encore.
The last day April 15, 2006
This is it. The music is blaring, bob Marley, the beatles, Eric Clapton and a bunch of other stuff. The helicopter buzzing, people hobbling to the start but the hearts are joyous and we try to make the most of the moment and absorb as much of this unique experience as possible. Today is a walk in the park, 11km, but we are like a bunch of Arabian horses pacing back and forth ready to make a spectacular finish. Patrick Bower makes his habitual talk, sing happy birthday to someone, announces that the guy who had been a coma a couple days had come out of it and would be fine. The gun goes off and I feel like I am in the Oklahoma land rush from the movie “far and away”
I go full out ignoring the screaming in my shoulders from my now light bag bouncing up and down. I actually had trouble using my shoulders to get up in the morning, they where so stiff, but I deceived myself into believing I was getting a massage. This is what I would define as pleasant pain. Nothing my pulled, no flesh was exposed; it was just the feeling of having accomplished something I did not think I could finish. I ended up running the whole way, even through the breathtaking sand dunes. When I got to the finish line I was elated. Albert was there and gave me a big hug, Moroccan musicians where playing their funky tunes just for me. You look around and congratulate your new buddies, as if you had known them for years. It was really great. We then boarded in our busses for the long drive back to Quarzazate and look forward to the luxuries of indoor facilities.

thankyou
I thank God for the body and health he has given and letting me experience the harsher parts of his creation.

I thank God also for allowing me to be a blessing to Dr. Ruby and her mission in India through the generous donations of my friends

I thank Albert for coming with me and giving me such support and staying positive in and out of the race.

I thank my boss Curt Enns for giving me time to go before the busy part of our fishing season and encouraging me not to just watch from the side lines but jumping in the action and following my dream.

I thank my family for supporting me in everything I do.

What I learned

You don’t have to be super fit to finish this race, you just have to want to finish, and do it with the right attitude and not eat Oxygen remover.

My judgments of the runners at the airport where totally off and i am reminded that outward appearances can be way off and that it is probably not a healthy to practice.

Understand how the body works and what it needs

Everyone expresses their pain in a different fashion. Some express their pains and aches real well and finish the race. Others you think look great, never said anything about their pains, and then surprise everyone when they don’t finish.

It is amazing how all these runners got a long from all different walks of life, Shepard’s to mechanics to Harvard graduates. We all had the same goal and focus stripped of everything except what me need for survival.

the reader's digest is right Laughter is the best medicine

2006-04-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. i took a shower, what a feeling, i hope i did not clog up the drain. yesterday was the last day of the run, about 11 km, thier was nothing to lose, we all hobbleled to the starting point, and it felt like an all out sprint to the finish, 1 hour and 25min. 11 km felt like peanuts, even though we had 4 km of some of the highest dunes in Morroco to cross. I felt like a little ant trotting in God:s dusts piles that he had just swept up with a broom. Albert met me at the finish as did a lot of my new friends. i had to get use to this french kissing on the cheek thing again, but it came back quickly. Seven hour bus trip back to Qarzzazate, some interesting smells, surprised that my nose could still detect them. In Qarzzate everything was beutiful, beutifull shower, beutifull hotel, beutifull food, even the side walk was beutifull. I thank all of you for having shared this experience with me, the prayers and encouragment. i thank Pierre and Edna for helping with the blog and correcting the terrible spelling, which is of coarse because the keyboards are different. I head for Canada tomorrow, and then i will see if i can put my more detailed diary on the blog for those that are interested. It is not to late for donations for Dr;Ruby, i will try and wrap all this up in the next couple weeks. all the best love matthieu

2006-04-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

marathon des sables
Hello everyone and thanks for your kind words last night, today i decided to try and run and i felt like i was flying, actually it was more like a fast trot, as my fellow brits say. 42 KM in 6.5 hours... the weather was alot colder, in the 30 degrees or something. SO that felt great. Things just go quicker when i run... i mean shuffle. Apparently tonight there is an egyptian opera singer performing for us in the dessert. There is a joyous attitude in camp, the worst is over, only 11 KM to do tomorrow. Please pray that Albert's stomach may get well. It has really been bothering him. Though today it seemed to be a little better. Albert has been a real encourager, talking with everybody, and believing in me when times were tough. He is good to have around. I really feel like I have made many friends here, the dessert air makes friendships easier, and the comradry is great. Well pretty soon i will count my chicks, and till then I stay with my eyes on the finish line.
love matthieu

2006-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

marathon des sables
Hello friends,
thanks again for your emails, i have read them all a cou0ple times... things are going better. I think I am slowly getting the hang of this. Yesterday was a 'through the night day,' 57 KM. I left on the 12th at 1:00 am and got in on the 13th. There were spectacular landscapes and seeing the sun sset and feeling the temperature drop... and sipping cold water was just a great feeling. Blisters are doing kind of doing okay... but they are heavenly compared to some of my new friends. I can't believe they are still walking. I have also trippled my salt tablet doses...
With a combination of your prayers and the tremedous adaptability features that God has given us is making this easier... though i certainly don't want to count the chicks before the eggs have hatched...
Love Matthieu

2006-04-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

marathon des sables
Breaking news:
Albert has been a real encouragment. Everybody says that this year's race is harder than usual. Tremendous athletes have had to quit, and Ablert went to the very end.
Hello Friends, the third day is over and we are almost half way. Yesterday Albert had to give in his number. he had not been feeling well and the stomach was not working. He had to get an IV and after that he still did not have enough strength to continue. He made the right decision, we have to know when enough is enough... and it is different for everyone.
I am in a totally new body experience, I don't think i have ever been so exhausted. Today was 38 KM in 9 hours with no Albert to joke around with. Enought about my little pity party... the dessert has many different faces, there is red sand, black sand, and yellow sand. There are beautiful cliffs that have had thousands of years of erosion. Sometimes I think I am in Manitoba... except that it is snow drifts instead of sand. But they both look like moving ghosts.
Take care all
Love Matthieu

2006-04-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

marathon des sables
The race has started; yesterday we had force gails of five. whatever that means... took some strength and fast work to keep ourselves from blowing away. There is sand in every orifice and crack! First day was only 28 km, but it was a rude awakening to what the desert is holding in store for us in the next couple days. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, and we'll try this tomorrow... I can't believe that I am doing this... love it so far!
love mat

2006-04-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

marathon des sables
The race has started; yesterday we had force gails of five! Whatever that means. Took some strength and fast work to keep ourselves from blowing away. There is sand in every orifice of every crack... first day was only 28 km, but it was a rude awakening of what the dessert is holding in store for us in the next couple days. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, and we'll try this tomorrow... I can't believe that I am doing this... love it so far!
Love matthieu

2006-04-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Their is no more turning back. I'm writing from Germany, where apparently the letter Z and the letter Y are switched on the Kezboard. On the plane i was also given the choice by a nice stewardess to have either mad cow or bird flue. i chose to have bird flue with my rice, wow delicious. She had probablz said the joke a couple thousand times but she made it sound fresh to mz ears, but it reminded me that their is no shortage of things in this world to fear, but we will not live in fear, right?? Now for more business matters. i opened the blog up for comments to anyone, no need to be a member of the registered blog club anz more:> My bib number is 282, i believe i will get your emails at the end of the day during the race if you figure out how to go through the marathon des sables website which is posted somewhere on the blog . I will also try to write a quick little update on mz day during the race. Albert and I are in high spirits, and we would appreciate your prayers, both for the race and our individual projects in India and Africa. This wonderful foolish extravagance of going to the African dessert and running, is in my mind less foolish because someone will be benifited directly. i hope that this thought will carry me through after my sense of adventure has worn thin and i start asking myself whz anyone would paz to do this. love matthieu

2006-03-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

Check out my ballerina legs!!! Alberts wife Edna constructed these covers to go over our shoes to hopefully keep us from importing the sand back to Canada and keep blisters at bay. Many thanks to Edna, without her who knows where Albert and i would be in our preparations.

Trying out my food. Albert tells me everything will taste a lot more crunchy in the dessert. It seems to be a popular pratice to sprinkle sand on everything you have, so i've been told.

I will be leaving on April 4th and getting back on the 18th. Thank you to all those who have shown such tremendous support. Feel free to check out Albert's blog at marathonialbert.blogspot.com

2006-03-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, well my mum opened an account in England for those that are interested in doing a bank wire. Be warned that bank wires can be costly.

Account name:
Marie-France Dehaene

Bank address:
HSBC Bank plc
20 The Parade
Leicester Road
Oadby
Leicester
LE2 5BL
England

Sort Code:
403537

Account Number:
31444670

I talked to my bank the other day and they said that checks will work even if they are from foreign banks it might just take longer to process. Thankyou to everybody that has shown such great support and encouragment.

2006-03-19T12:20:00.000-08:00

This is my family.
Some have been asking how exactly to support this project. In north America, you can write out a check to me, Matthieu Dehaene at my Steinbach address. Those in Europe can write out a check out to my mum, Marie-France Dehaene, at the address in England. The plan is; my mum and i will collect the money and a couple weeks after the race we will sent one lump sum to Ruby's bank account in India with a bank wire. For accountability purposes my parents and i will make a list of all the checks recieved and will confirm that they have arrived at either one of the address. I will also see if i can open a bank account on which money can be deposited. i will keep you informed. Thanks for your patience as this is all very new to me.
i have also not been very clear with my departure dates. i will be leaving Winnipeg with Albert Martens on the fourth of April and will be back in Winnipeg on the 18th of April.

2006-02-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

It covers 243km/151 miles (made up of legs of 25, 34, 38, 82, 42, 22 km) run over 6 days (7 for some) - equivalent to 5 1/2 regular marathons. That's a speed of between 3 and 14 km an hour for competitors aged between 16 and 78). In addition to that, competitors have to carry everything they will need for the duration (apart from a tent) on their backs in a rucksack (food, clothes, medical kit, sleeping bag etc). Water is rationed and handed out at each checkpoint.
You will have to prepare all your own food throughout the race and I warn you that there is not a chain of Tesco stores or corner grocery shops dotted around the Sahara. You will experience mid-day temperatures of up to 120�F, of running or walking on uneven rocky, stony ground as well as 15 - 20% of the distance being in sand dunes.
The heat, distance and rubbing will trash your feet and may cause severe trauma if incorrect shoes and equipment are used. Mental stamina probably constitutes at least 50% of whether you will complete the distance or not. Physical fitness is important but don't underestimate the mental stress that you will need to endure. Even if you have run dozens of 26 mile marathons, this does not mean that you will automatically find the MdS easy.
On the 4th day, you will set off across the barren wilderness to complete a 45 - 50 mile stage. Few people complete this before dark that evening and some will not come in till after dark the next night. This is followed by the 42km Marathon stage!! Its tough, so don't say that nobody warned you in the strongest terms.
http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/about.html

Marathon des Sables
Well hello friends and acquaintances i hope life is treating you all well in whatever work or part of the world you are in. The reason i am starting this blog (what an ugly name) is too keep people posted on this little project that i am planning. For those of you who are wondering where i am at, i am in Canada. It looks like i might stay here for a while, i finally received my aviation degree and found a job working for Kississing Lake Lodge as a pilot/mechanic, and thoroughly enjoying it.
Now that that is done let me explain my little project. Some of you know that i do enjoy running and am doing the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, Africa. This race is about 240-250 kilometers through the Sahara desert. I will be doing this race with a good friend of mine that i met during my BFA (a missionary school) days in Germany. Albert Martens was a missionary in Germany for 25 years and is now working for Athletes in Action in Canada. He is just a little bit older than me, (25+ years) but we have decided to do this challege together. Albert has had quite a bit of experience doing longer endurance races, so i am soaking up as much
knowledge out of him in preparation for this race.
What i hope to accomplish with this race is not only an experience of a lifetime and a challenge, both of which i thrive on, but i also hope to bring awareness and support to people who are in great need and constantly suffering in India.
My sister was able to go on a short trip and help some of these people in need in India. i asked her to right a short little blurb of her trip. I will also post a couple pictures of both the clinic in India where my sister worked and some pictures of the Marathon des Sables. My goal is to raise some money that i can send to Dr. Ruby in India. I do not know this lady personally but i know my sister has a real admiration for her. I also admire and want to support people who dedicate there whole life to helping the needy. If you want to use this race, marathon des Sables, as a way of supporting Dr. Ruby, that would be great. If enough people give five bucks or pounds or euro's or whatever i am sure that we can make a difference in at least one persons life.

Albert and i training for the dessert in Manitoba's winter wonderland

I'm Valerie, Matthieu's sister! For most of 2004 I had the opportunity to go to India as a nurse with the organisation Interserve. During my time there I worked along side an Indian lady doctor, Dr. Ruby. I had the privilege to see first hand the needs of the Commercial Sex Workers. In many ways it was an eye opening experience and very challenging! These ladies are dying of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases however many of them may not know their prognosis or may not even want to know it. Four times week Dr. Ruby and I went to the Red Light Area and worked in the walk-in-centre/clinic. Dr. Ruby has genuine compassion for these Commercial Sex Workers and would not only care for their medical needs but would also care for their physical and spiritual needs. I learned alot working with her! I also experienced how emotionally draining this kind of work can be.I believe Dr. Ruby will greatly benefit from your financial support, as she plans to further establish the work in the basicwalk-in-centre/clinic. This would be a great encouragement to her, not just financially but would also bless her knowing that individuals around the world are wanting to get involved in what she is passionate about. Thank-you very much! God bless. Sincerely, Valerie

We continued down the ward and there was a
dead body under a dirty blanket. I thought she was sleeping or resting, but the other patients said she was dead, no one was crying for her, no one was holding her. Ruby reminded me that a lot of these women are abandoned because they are prostitutes. (a short excerpt from "Death with the flies" that my sister Valerie wrote
www.interserveonline.org.uk/pdf/deathflies)

The suffering of this world, to me, can sometimes seem so overwhelming that i find it not always pleasant to think about them, but i do not want to just close my eyes and pretend like they don't exist, so let us do what we can, though it might seem as insignificant as a grain of sand taken from the sand dunes, someone will be thankful.If you think that this is a project you want to support feel free to send it to (Box 21028, Steinbach,Manitoba, R5G 1S4, Canada) if you are in North America, or if you are in Europe (8 Brocks HillClose, Oadby Leicester, LE2 5RB, England) 100% of the money will go to the project with Dr. Ruby. My trip expenses are taken care of. I am not too familiar with tax deductions reciepts so i don't think it will be an option unless anyone has an idea. There are other ways to support me, prayer is always good and appreciated :> thanks for taking the time and showing interest in this little project. Please excuse the spelling mistakes and feel free to point them out and write comments, and i hope to keep you posted on this site. During the race, you can apparently leave me messages that the race organization will forward to me. All right, i think that that is all i want to say for the moment:> love matthieu