In a couple of weeks I’ll be half way across the Arabian desert, hauling six day’s worth of food and provisions on my back, attempting to run one of those crazy multi-stage races I always swore I’d never do.
So this weekend, in some sort of hopeless attempt at preparing myself, I ran a half marathon in Dartmoor. The sun was out, but that’s probably the only similarity between the Dartmoor Vale half marathon and the Oman Desert Marathon.
The great thing about the Dartmoor race is that all the uphill running is done in the first half, when you’re still relatively strong and willing, while most of the second half of the race seems to be a twisting, winding road back down from the moor. So much downhill, in fact, that I was almost glad of the respite the occasional short uphill sections provided.
I can’t be in too bad shape heading towards Oman as I finished the race in third place. Now just to do that all again, in 30C, on sand, for six days in a row.
The biggest challenge of a desert race like this is in some ways the preparation. I have got myself some decent trail shoes with built-in gaiters to keep the sand out (these ones from Inov-8), and a proper running rucksack, which I’ve practiced running with a few times – it’s not half as bad as I was expecting.
The more tricky question is food. Carrying everything you need for six days requires military-precision preparation, which isn’t my forte. I’ll be eating lots of freeze dried meals from Expedition Foods (from their large vegetarian range) and channelling my inner Tarahumara with some chia seed protein bars from Chia Charge. Added to that, I’ve got the required electrolytes and recovery shakes.
But I still feel hopelessly underprepared. So help me, please, those of you who have done this sort of thing before. Any tips, advice, suggestions, recommendations, words of warning or encouragement will be gratefully received. And particularly all the advice you have on avoiding blisters/black toenails/my feet falling off. I really don’t want to have to run on blisters – I’ve heard too many horror stories.
Of course, desert marathons, or even hilly half marathons in Dartmoor, aren’t for everyone. As ever, share with us what you got up to at the weekend, whether it was your first attempt at this running malarky, or a hundred hill sprints, or chasing around the park with your dog.
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