One small step for man kind one large leap for Andy

Well its over now..and we are so proud of him!
I´m glad to get him back in once piece...bye for now and thanks Caz


Well, I think I have almost done it. So far we have had some 32 retirers, 2 heart attacks that required runners emergency repatriated, and 1 very sad death, that hit us all hard. We all ran today in Bernard's honour
Tonight we are all very tired, but elated, as we Bivouac for the last time, and what a view.
Behind us is a magnificent Merzouga Dunes, the highest in the Southern Sahara at some 855mtrs, almost a 1000 feet of sand, and tomorrows final stage treats us to a run over them.

We start running at 09:00, and on arrival at the finish its 5hours by bus back to the Hotel in Ouarzazate for a very much needed shower and a cold beer.

I'm getting quite emotional typing this, as you have all been so much a part of this for me.
I can't tell you how much your emails have lifted my moral, made me laugh and brought the tears, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your support.

I will update these reports as soon as I am back in civilization, but
for now I'll sign off, a very greatful Andy.
See you all soon.

The day from Hell

Andy has sent another update...looks like this was a tough day. Caz

Day Four, 70 km of the worst that mother nature can offer:
Song of the day... MPeople=Proud.

Well, you were guaranteed to reach your physical endurance limit today, and for many of us that came early in the stage with a 6km, punishing slow relentless climb through soft sand before a baking hot cauldren that lead to 20km of agony through massive dunes.

There is a sombere mood on our rest day today following the death of a French competitor in the early morning. We all had a very hard day yesterday, and he never awoke from his sleep.
Marathon day tomorow.
Will update you all after that,
See you all soon. Andy

Only a little way left now

Andy has managed to get on the pc again so here is his latest...Thanks again for all your support. Caz

Latest Update... via satlink

18:00... just been to Doc Trotters, have badly infected blisters on both heels and 2 toes so have had them treated and have 6 days of Amoxicilline and need to go back after the Marathon stage tomorrow.

I'm ashamed to have complained about them, as this place is like a war zone MASH tent.

I took some time out to sit on a dune and read the emails,they made me laugh and cry they really do wonders for moral.
I watched a Mike Hutton take 20mins to walk 60ft for a pee, I videod him trying to walk as his charity needs to be aware of the pain he is going through to raise funds for them, I'm in awe of some of the courage on display, its really motivating me.

I'm ready for tomorrow, more dunes 20K... it will be tough, but tougher for some of these poor souls, we'll all be digging deep.
See you all soon. Andy

Andy with his mate mark...

this is andy yesterday...

 

 

 

When the going gets tough don´t quit....

Hiya all...I'm really hoping this works...Andy isn't able to get onto his blog site so I'm hoping I've managed to do it.

Please keep his emails coming in as he needs the encouragement.
Looks like he finding it tough..but as we know Andy is strong and he will get through this and it will be something to tell his Grandchildren.
Thanks to you all for coming here to check on the progress.
Caz

From Andy...via satlink

A brief update to you all as time on the satlink is limited and previous posts failed!

Day1= 29.3km or 18 very long miles. 5 miles of energy sapping dunes + 2 steep climbs.
43c + 18% humidity.
Song of the day= You aint seen nothin yet, (apparently)Bachman Turner Overdrive.


Day 2= Sand storms blew tents down very little sleep followed by 21 mls of purgatory, 2x 3000ft climbs one called 'The climb to cleanse your Soul'.
Absolute Anaerobic Torture of heart, lungs, and thighs. 44c + 18%humidity.
Song of the day= Doctor my Eyes, Jackson Browne.

Day3= Another sleepless night more sand storms... followed by 20 miles of endless sand temperature in dunes 47c drank 8ltrs didnt pee once!
I'm taking lots of Salt tabs but make me feel sick.
Reached the tears threshold today, thru the effort required yesterday + today and song Russell
Watson =I believe.
More to follow hopfully... A very tired Andy

Its time to go...

Hi everyone, are you all nervous yet?
Well its that time!
The planning has been done, the training has gone very well, the last minute adjustments have been made and the final checklist has been completed, there is nothing more to do except get on with it.... Bring it on! Let the challenge begin.

I've done my best to dot all the i's and cross all the t's, and I have done all I can. I even had my moment of local fame when BBC York invited me to do a live interview from their studios in Harrogate. So the word is spreading...

I also had the privilege of spending some time with the Team at Saint Michael's Hospice, as I did a photo shoot with Dolly Daisy the Star of the Fundraising Team for a press release. Dolly will be accompanying me on my challenge in miniature form as a mascot and because she is due another holiday, I think she's in for a shock, this sand doesn't equate to beach!!

As I drove to and from the Hospice it was very poignant for me, as when I started out on this challenge 18 months ago, I could little have known that my Dad would come to depend heavily on the support of wonderful Hospice staff as he struggled to maintain his independence, pride and dignity in the final stages of his battle against cancer just before Christmas.

I know what I'm doing seems extreme, but I also know that some of the patients at the hospice face a "marathon" battle each day as they summon the strength to get through another day without giving in to their pain and discomfort, so if I can do my bit to help... then they are all very welcome, and I am proud to be of service. I'll be thinking about them all when the going gets tough and I need that extra edge to maintain my focus and pace.

And finally... when the pain kicks in, and the going gets tough... I know there will be a familiar voice in my ear saying...
" Pain is just a case of mind over matter... If you don't mind.. it doesn't matter... c'mon son ... dig deep... You can do it"

Oh how I miss that voice...

Next time you read this it will be sent from the Sahara Desert... see you soon.

Only days to go...

I get asked a lot now, Am I nervous?

Absolutely... although it is adrenaline fuelled nervous excitement, mixed with anxious anticipation and cautious expectation.

I must have checked and re-checked my kit list a dozen times desperately looking for savings in weight and justifying every piece of kit, and food in my pack.

 

I am not scared of the distance, or worried that I wont survive, I just hope I have the sense to hold back on the pace until I can read the effect that the heat and humidity has on me and my ability to maintain my target pace. 

 

I will update this page tomorrow with details of how to follow my progress and send me an email message during the race.

 

see you again then.

Two weeks to go... Yipee!!

The last hurdle was cleared today and in my grubby paw I now hold a Signed and Certified ECG Printout and a signed Compulsory Official Medical Certificate, that says I'm fitter than the average bear in the woods, so it's ear to ear smiles as I enter the last 2 weeks before departure.

This may not seem like much, but in the last few days, some very disappointed people have seen their dream shattered by injuries that have ended their chances of competing in this years race, and close friends and members of my tent have had abnormal traces on their ECG that prevent the doctor certifying them fit to race and requiring further investigation, and I have silently prayed that they will get through, and that lady luck will smile on us all during these fraught final weeks of our preparation.

I have erred on the side of caution and not trained through the heavy cold I have had, and last night saw my first 5 mile run in 10 days. It felt great, although I pushed my luck with a sprint finish that had me doing a mental diagnostic check for any signs of stress, or weakness as I tweaked the power down to 80% in the last 200 mtrs.

All in all, I'm a happy Teddy, and pleased to say you'll be able to follow the progress here as I chase my dream of completeing the "Toughest Foot Race in The World".

I would also like to say a word of thanks if I may to all of you out there, for encouraging me, supporting me,(shaking your heads and wondering if I would ever pass a compulsory Psychiatric Test) and for just being friends, some of you have helped me much more than you will ever know. Thank you.

And finally... (as they say in the News) it has been suggested, nae proposed that if I fail to complete the distance in a respectable time, or wimp out for any reason, that I should just buy myself a couple of camels and a Berber head dress or Tagelmoust, and just slink off onto the dunes... Well Mr Peter McGouran, its a deal!!, along with you wearing a " big girls blouse" on the next Saturday run,if you don't come back with a Gold Medal or 2 from the World Transplant Games in Bangkok in August, so 'Touche' mate! :)

Sun, Sea, Sand... and a 10mph Headwind

That was the culmination of this week's training, a gentle weekend run! Not quite!!
A 38 mile run on Saturday up the coast from Skegness to Grimsby in the company of a fellow competitor Paul Murgatroyd. Paul organized this little test of our stamina, and what a great job he did.
The varied terrain was really a test of stamina and commitment, and we both added something new to our knowledge base and experience that we can hopefully draw upon and put to effective use in the Sahara. We were joined for a healthy stretch of sand running by Edward and Jack, who are also Sahara bound, but who pealed off after 10 miles to complete their own training plan for the day. Leaving Paul and I to push on towards Mablethorpe and our final objective of Grimsby.

I learned two valuable lessons;
1. How much traction you loose when running 15 miles on sand, and how much harder your hip flexors have to work to lift and propel the weight of your leg forward without the benefit of the push off that you get from solid ground. (That in itself would be energy sapping enough without the added weight of the pack at 8kg)

2.The amount of effort it takes to push against a 10mph headwind to maintain a set pace, and the consequential cost in energy expended, (felt later) of not modifying that pace to a more sustainable one in light of the remaining distance to our objective.

The final 23 miles covered a mixture of road running, country paths, and very muddy fields that saw heavy, soul destroying clay compounding the agony we were feeling in our tired calves and thighs.

I have to be honest and say that the fatigue I felt during the final miles saw me worried, not for the first time, about my ability to endure the dreaded Dunes day in the Sahara. (Mental note taken to learn the above lesson on pace!!)
In addition to the double Marathon stage of 52 miles on the long day 4, 20% of the Marathon Des Sables distance is staged through the dreaded Saharan sand dunes.

This can be spread over several stages, through the dunes on consecutive days, or served with typical french panache as a dedicated punishing single stage. The race route is kept secret until the night before the start and everyone looks with dread to see if this year will contain the Merzouga Dunes, some of the highest in the Sahara at some 600 ft. Usually with a mandatory timed checkpoint at the top of one of them, somewhere out there.

My sense of humour returned as the last five miles approached and I phoned home with a progress report to be informed that a nice hot bath and a very cold beer was waiting for me after my 80 mile drive home, my only concession in training a cold beer at the end... I know I can't have it during the race in the desert, but it certainly put a smile on my face right then.
Paul... I owe you one Fella, Thanks.

see you again soon...

Freezing Cold Stary Night Runs

Wow it was cold tonight, no cloud cover minus 2, but what a lovely starry night! I had to keep looking down for fear of stumbling and twisting an ankle.
Well last week saw a drop in mileage as work and family commitments took their toll on the available quality running time. I like to get the mileage in between 7 and 9pm, usually but didn't succeed except on Wednesday with the Wetherby Runners club run, only managed 6 miles, and 10 miles on Saturday and 8 on Sunday all with the pack fully weighted.
Managed 8 miles tonight, and seem to have a clear spell for the rest of the week and weekend, so I'm aiming for 50+ miles this week.

My main focus currently is reducing the kit weight where ever possible, I thought I had been ruthless but cant seem to get it under 9.8 kg or 21.6lbs. My Static kit weighs 5.5kg and this will remain constant throughout the race, Food weighs 4.3 kg, which will reduce in weight daily, but I still need to add 2.5 ltrs of water in weight.

Hey ho the joys of Ultra Marathon Distance Extreme Running... should have taken up Origami instead... Not!!

more to follow soon...

Gently does it...

Only a gentle five mile bimble today to shake off the stiffness from the 45 mile event at the weekend.
I talked yesterday about ...respecting the distance, and understanding the demands that I would be asking my body to meet... let me expand on that as I bring you up to date.

What is all the training for... to enable me to succeed in carrying a backpack loaded to 9.8kg or 21.6lbs (in old money) with everything I will need to survive for 7 days whilst running five and a half marathons through the Sahara Desert in daytime temperatures of up to 50C. That's why the Marathon des Sables has earned its title as "The Toughest Foot Race in The World"

So far on top of training mileages of up to 70 miles a week, I have also completed the Rowbothams Round Rotherham 50 mile Ultra-Marathon race, and the Tring 2 Town 45 mile Ultra-Marathon race down the Grand Union Canal.

So In the words of Andy Mouncy, Performance coach at the recent www.Ambitionevents.com Tring2Town event, I've learned to Respect the distances, and I've also learned to Rest, Recuperate, and Reflect, when the body fails, and injuries manifest themselves and the pain kicks in.
The tally so far is;

• 6 weeks training lost to torn hamstrings.(I didn't discipline myself to stretch thouroughly enough)
• 4 Toenails lost to pressure blisters.(2 at Rotherham, 2 at Tring)
• 3 weeks training lost to a torn collateral ligament.(I incured this at Rotherham at mile 28, and was reduced to speed march pace for the last 12 miles of the 50 mile race).

Much of the training for this extreme event is physical, but so much of the ability to succeed is psychological.

Pain is a very individual thing, but whilst its purpose is to alert you to impending damage or failure of part of the body, it is also a subject of Mind Over Matter, because if you don't mind ... it doesn't matter. To put it another way for you, once you have run another 20 miles on top of your blisters, you will never think about blisters the same way again.

more soon.

The story so far....

Well, to bring you all up to speed, as I write this it is now 29th Jan 07 and in a little over 7 weeks time my bid to test myself against some of the harshest terrain in the world and all that Nature can throw at me in the Sahara Desert will become real.
I will be on the outbound flight to Morocco full of adrenaline, excitement, anticipation and most of all a healthy respect for the distance and the demands that I will be asking my body to deliver as I compete in the "Toughest Foot Race in The World" the Marathon des Sables. But hey,... if it was easy... if everyone was doing it... it wouldn't be a challenge, and that's exactly why you'll find me there, for the challenge. That, and of course the fact that I'm not exactly in the league of those with the bank balance that allows them to become Space Tourists, so the Sahara it is.

Most importantly the reason I have created this Blog is to help me share with you my latest progress, trials and successes, and to let you know that I really do value your encouragement, and support as the training window erodes and the start line approaches
Oh... and lets not forget the sponsorship either, that helps too.

So over the next day or two I'll bring you up to speed on my training so far, the good, the bad, and the ugly bits.... bet you can't wait.
See you again soon