Sharing the Desert Knowledge

This week I asked Sarah from ‘Best of Morocco’, who organises the UK race entrants, to email out a message asking people to have a look at the blog and get in touch so I’d be able to get to know a few people before arriving at Gatwick. I have had a tremendous response, had lots of interesting, friendly correspondence, and enough interest in the blog to push hits over 2000. Many of the competitors whom emailed me had questions on the desert conditions, so I thought I’d collate my answers, thoughts and opinions into an article that may be of some help to ‘desert virgins’:

Sand type – You might think that sand is sand at varying angles of incline or decline. There are actually lots of types, ranging from dry, soft, dragging, deep stuff that saps your energy, to moist, compacted hard sand that can support your weight and allow you to push off it like it were firm soil. There is crunchy sand, that feels like it will take your weight, but then crumbles again just as you push off, which poses a real threat to the integrity of your groin muscles. The types of sand can be consistent for kilometres at a time, or change every few yards. It is the change in type that causes the dramas, as your running/walking stride panics to adjust to it. The way to avoid the surprise is to keep an eye on the footprints left by the runners in front. If you can see the grip pattern; the sand will be firm enough to run fairly normally on, when the treads disappear and turn into indistinguishable dimples; you know the grip is about to disappear and you need to brace yourself to work hard and allow your feet to stop slipping before you push off for the next step.

Salt replacement - The Xtreme caffeine tablets listed on my spreadsheet give me everything I need on the run and keep me aware. The race will require us to sustain salt intake at a much higher level if we are to avoid cramps in the latter stages. We will be issued 120 0.5g salt tablets by the race organisers. I’ve been told that if you religiously take two of these tablets at each checkpoint; you will dramatically reduce the chances of getting cramps.

Water bottles – Make sure that the water bottles you use don't go soft in warm conditions! I got a nice light weight one from Sports Direct, which didn't leak at all in cool conditions, but it went soft in the desert and the lid kept popping off every time I squeezed it! The blue 'Nuun' ones available on Likeys are best.

Sun tan lotion – Sun tan lotion is heavy, as it contains a lot of water. If you can find factor 50 ‘lipstick style’ smear on sun tan lotion you will save weight and be able to apply it without getting that sticky, gloopy mess all over your hands, this becomes very annoying if you need to scramble on all fours up a dune and you get a thick layer of sand stuck in the lotion. I am having trouble locating such protection in Saudi, so if anyone can find a high factor ‘sun tan stick’ – please pick one up for me and I’ll gladly reimburse you in Morocco.



The hare and the tortoise!



Shirt/clothing - I'm wearing an under armour heat gear white long sleeve shirt (£22 from ebay). It arrived on Tuesday and is silky enough to let the pack move without chaffing and negates the need for lots of sun tan lotion. I wear cycling shorts and ‘Skins’ compression stockings; so end up looking like a right pest! I'll be taking a light weight fleece and tracksuit bottoms, but if our first night under canvas is warm; I'll be ditching them into the suitcase before they are taken to the hotel.

Front pouch maintenance – As Mark Hines identifies in his book; race packs and equipment are designed to be as light as possible and do not stand up to a lot of rough training. I like to train with the kit I’m going to use and have fallen foul of the poor durability of the Raidlight kit. If you are using the front pouch, as I am, I recommend stitching in a few extra threads along the bottom edge of the belt loops. Today I noticed the belt loops themselves were starting to give way and may need a small repair job before Morocco.

Shoes/footcare – My feet have always been a bit soft, but MdS training is the first time that more than one toe nail has come off! I wear innov8 roclite 315s, usually a 10, but strangely my race shoes are 9s. They are over-sized and my feet have plenty of room (most of the damage to my toes was done in my road running shoes). Roclite are brilliant shoes, but not the most comfortable, though I've heard that most of the xtrail/fell-running type shoes aren't. Resorting to zinc oxide tape and thicker socks have to be the way forward, and Gehwol cream (see my Amazon Associates shop on the blog) on hotspots, as it is bloody magic stuff!. My feet haven't swelled at all yet, though temperatures are still only up to 35 degrees and I’ve only done up to 25 miles off road.

Pace - The sand is a real drain, but if you forget about pace as soon as you hit it and just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other; you soon get through it. People will have different strategies for the sand, and from what I’ve heard from veterans; even the elite chose to walk on dune inclines. Using a heart rate monitor to keep within your optimal zone should help prevent you over-doing it.

Things you need to hand – There is obviously a lot of room and plenty of pockets in most race packs, but you really need to prioritise what goes into the pouches and compartments that you can reach. Forget the first aid kit and anything that involves taking your shoes off, make sure you can reach your snacks, drink additives, spare water, sunglasses cloth, sun tan lotion, salt tablets and camera if you’re taking one. I have stitched my mp3 and solar charger into my pack, so have made sure that there are no crap songs on it at all! The Pico Freeloader Solar Charger keeps my mp3 player fully charged all day and only weighs in at 49g; well worth it for constant music.

Meals - We need 7 breakfasts and 6 main meals (and 6 deserts!). I highly recommend you buy a copy of Mark Hines' book (see link on my blog); it's like the bible of MdS and has all food and kit requirements annexed at the back.

Snacks - I'm considering dumping some of the supplements for dates and cereal bars, as they are a slower energy release and a bit more interesting to consume. At the moment Ambrosia 'custard covered banana pieces' or Yu 'yogurt covered fruit pieces', both available from Tescos on their healthy eating shelf, are favourite. You need to break them out of the silly little bags and put them into a re-sealable, but they are really good. They get stuck in your teeth too, so you get the flavour and a bit of sugar for half an hour or so after eating. My friend Iain recommends Haribo - stick one under your tongue and it lasts for 20 minutes and gives you a little boost.


Eyes - I suffer from getting a lot of sweat salt, dust and occassionally a smear of sun tan lotion in my eyes, this is painful and turns into a crust by the morning that you have to rub out, trying not to get any in you eyes in the process. My Wife suggested I try the eye drops that she puts in to settle her eyes when her contact lenses are playing up. They work a treat; flushing all the crap out, and the bonus is - they practically nothing.

I hope this has been helpful, use the comments box below if you have any questions or better ideas!