This is the life

Now this is the life! Finished up the race yesterday and am lounging outside by the pool in nice cool 30 C weather. :-)

The last stage wasn't timed and went through 7 K of the biggest dunes we'd seen yet. Since it wasn't a race we decided to walk the stage as a group with our tent mates. Also since it wasn't a race we decided we could win this thing and power walked (when we weren't playing on the slippery dune slopes) - lame I know but fun all the same. It's nice at the front where the sand is untracked and has a bit of a crust for traction. Amanda and Mo made the 6 hrs bus trek out to the finish to greet us which was awesome.

Been chillin' in Ouarzazate all day today with the tent mates. We all finished relatively unscathed - a few small blisters and black toenails - so we can all walk, eat, and importantly drink normally which made for a fun day. Looking forward to a couple more weeks of vacation and will post some pics when I get home - I think there are some pretty good ones.

Btw. Scott finished in the top 50 overall and was top Canadian! Pretty cool.

Dusty Bob out.

Yaaahoooo, Made It!!

It was a great stage to finish on. Smokin' hot, lots of flat runnable trail, some huge dunes, and a few stray goats; everything one would expect of a marathon in the Sahara. And I was finally feeling pretty good - all this heat is not just good for the soul but good for the muscles too. My calf felt perfect and my stomach was strong all the way except in the dunes due to all the twisting.

Tonight is the awards ceremony where we are fed, entertained with a concert and, wait for it, we get a beer! I can hardly remember what that like but I bet it will be good. ;-)

If anyone is ever thinking of running this race I'd sure recommend it. I gotta say that running today was way more fun than jog / hiking like I've been doing but even hiking the whole way would be amazing.

It's weird sometimes when you're in the middle nowhere and can see for miles in all directions and you come accross some kid - on his bike. An amazing place.

Thanks all for the support!

Rest day musings

They always set the camp up in the center of some barren rocky plain and it often gets v windy. A mixed blessing; it's cooler but also brings the sand... sand gets everywhere, it's hard to breathe, hard to keep out of your food and eyes, and glasses always have a thin layer. You know those whirlwinds that pickup Starbucks cups in the alley? Today I watched one head towards camp where it promptly flattened 2 tents (w occupants inside) and whipped half a dozen thermarests into air. 5 min later one yellow rest was still 200 + feet in the air heading to the horizon where we lost sight!

I did some tent yoga today. At home it would be hot yoga (a bit hotter here buy drier) but here, just yoga. Nice to have a day off to relax and hit the email tent 2x. Thx for all the encouragement and well wishes. I'm not sure when email shuts down but afterwards I'll have access to comments on the blog.

Stay cool

Looong stage!

Yesterday madam Sahara was hot & sweet. It's now just before noon on the 'rest' day after the long stage (some are still out there now) and its already heating up. Thankfully the usual 1 hr email line up in the sun was only 10 min today. It got smokin hot during the day so I couldn't run a step without getting severly overheated. Ran a couple stages in the morning (there were 7 stages), then hiked. I was in a 6km large dune field at sunset which was amazing! I spent the last 30 minutes of light scrambling around dunes trying to get some nice pics. Once the sun set they shot a green laser from the next CP that could be seen while in the dune valleys. I walked through the night with the rest of the Sahara zombies but I was feeling pretty good - a couple small blisters but all else is well. One more big stage tomorrow then a short (although through big dunes) stage. Can't believe it's almost over...
Hope all is well in the real world. Miss you all. Don't forget to shoot a quick note :)

Today I met the Sahara ...and she bites.

This is more like what I thought I signed up for though. Smoking hot, endless, endless, endless (ie. far) sand, and very little wind. A bit hard to stay positive when it's so hot I can't run (or I get light headed pronto) but I did take a bunch of pics and realized that I'm very fortunate to get to see the middle of nowhere Sahara in a (reasonably) safe way. There was one awesome run off a jebel (hill / mtn) that was dune all the way down. I ran down whoooping like it was a powder day! Most felt similar to me but some weren't affected by the heat as much. Scott is now 1st Canadian - needless to say our tent is very proud. My tent mates are great. A couple from Atlanta and their friend, an American living the dream in Mexico, a Canuck from up North, and Scott.

Tomorrow is the long day - double today - and almost everyone will run into the night, some right through into the next day. My 10 min & 1000 char are up. thx for the emails! Ciao

Another GREAT day in the dessert!

My stomach muscle and calf are conspiring to lower my speed which is allowing me lots of time to take in the views. Today was probably the funnest run I've ever done. We had 3 major climbs and a k or so on a knife edge ridge. Think Garibaldi, Black Tusk area in a million years when dunes reach the peaks and you'll have a pretty good idea of panoramas today. Many folk are wiped but I've found that running slowly mid pack is kinda awesome.

Scott is doing great - he was in the top 100 yesterday and had another good run today.

Thanks a million those who've figured out how to email me - please keep it up! It was fun to read last night in the tent - the mailman here does home delivery. Robert and Dulcie, you'll also have to get sweaty then roll around in the sand naked to get full experience :-)

Till tomorrow...

Stage 1 report

Whoo Hoo! What a great day! A pretty hard opening day by MDS standards (some said the hardest day 1 ever) but the weather was great - <only>32C - and the scenery out here is stunning. Unfortunately I had a couple body issues so I was run / hiking slowly enough to take more scenery than I usually do. I'm feeling good though and looking fwd to a delicious freeze dried meal as soon as I'm outta the email tent.

The day started at 9am to Highway To Hell baring on the loudspeakers as we crossed the line with the TV helicopter buzzing very close overhead. Aside from the last 10k which was all flat sandy gravel we had ever changing footing and vistas every k or. Dunes, hills, gravel and many mixtures of those.

I hope everyone is good back home. Last I heard, Amanda was having a fabulous time at her cooking school in Fez -- Amanda, I hope the second part of your holiday is just as great.

My tummy is rumbling and I'm nearing my 1000 character limit.
Till tomorrow, Dusty Bob out.

Bye bye civilization, hello sand!

Amanda and I made it to Casablanca safe and sound a few days ago although not without a bit of drama to start out. Our hotel was overbooked so they offered to put us up in a 'local' riad around the corner. It was a bit unnerving being led down tiny alleys / streets in the Medina to a large, unmarked steel door but the place was ok (thanks to Amanda French ) and was a neat Moroccan experience.

I've had a few days in OZZ (Ouarzazate) which is billed as the gateway to the desert and is the launching point for the 6 hour bus ride to the first bivouac tomorrow (Friday) morning at 8 am. I've met a few other participants and everyone seems to be in about the same mental state as me - obsessing about details, probably in an attempt to avoid dwelling on the fact that we're about to spend a week in the searing daytime heat and near freezing nights living off only what we've brought in out tiny 20 - 30 liter packs. I can't wait to get out there and start running so I can see first hand what all the fuss is about. It should be fun (don't quote me on that, I yet) :-)

The N. American organizer, Jay, put on a bag packing and info session this morning which was fun. I managed to squish everything I need into the pack I brought for a final total of 20 lbs - 10 of which is food. A bit heavier than I'd hoped, but since I'm bigger than most ultra nutz I figure I will need all the food I packed - 3500 calories most days (more serious / seasoned competitors will take the minimum allowed 2000 per day) . Even so, I expect to lose about a pound or so per day (not counting water loss which I will hopefully avoid). If I change my mind after the first day I'm sure that there will many willing recipients of any food I ditch.

My next post will be from the middle of nowhere after stage one Sunday night, assuming there is no sandstorm and the crew can get the email tent open, the satellite link connected, and إن شاء الله

A bit more packing, dinner with Scott and a couple new friends, sleep, and off I go...

I'm going to live...

at least until I get to the Sahara. The cardiologist's test results made it to my doc on time and he signed off this morning. Slow heart rate is normal so no problems with the ticker at all. Nothing like waiting until the day before I leave to raise my pulse rate; if only that happened before my initial ECG I would have avoided all the angst!

Amanda and I leave for Casablanca Friday afternoon. Gulp.

Medical testing woes...

So the adventures begin...

Stopped into see my doc to review the mandatory ECG and was told that it showed a couple of irregularities and that he wouldn't sign off on it until I saw a cardiologist and got an OK from the expert. Darabound, the race organizers, state that the ECG must be no more the 30 days from the start of the race. My flight for Morocco is a week prior to the race so I had three weeks to get the medical paperwork in order. Turns out that isn't enough time for us Canadians to make it through the normal health care system.

It took one week for the ECG to get from the lab to the doctors office. His office called me the next day to let me know that my cardiologist appointment was in April (My flight is on Mar 29 and the race starts Apr 5). The doc told me he'd try to rush the appointment but it turns out he never even mentioned it to the receptionist who makes the booking. I told her of my plight and she managed to get me an appointment for Mar 26. That was still way too late so I started to check out private clinics and called the cardiologist's office directly. The clinic could be me on Mar 21 - for about $1000. Luckily, before I booked I heard from the cardiologist's office that he'd agreed to squeeze me in early - also on the 21st.

Dr Singh took my pulse and blood pressure, looked over the ECG, and told me everything seemed OK for someone like me - training a lot for a long race. He had me do a stress test (ECG while running on a treadmill) just to be sure and that was also OK. So, nothing to worry about. He assured me he'd dictate his notes that afternoon (since he'd already moved my appointment in order to help me get through the system in time for the race). I found out afterwards that it can take up to a week for the results to get from the hospital to the doctor's office. I spoke to 3 people at the hostpital and no one could tell me just they were transfered (mail, fax, email) and so there seems to be no way for me expedite the process. I'll call back again Monday to see what I can do. 

It should work out. I have exactly one week from the hospital tests until I leave so am still guardedly hopeful that the results will get to my doc, he'll agree with them, and will sign off. 

Running the race should be easy compared to this last couple weeks. umm, maybe not.