in the next blog...Just as my legs are getting strengthened in the buildup to our relay, so is my confidence as a bona-fide cyclist in London. I'm getting used to the roads and my lightweight Genesis Equilbrium 10. I've also booked a free Cycle Confident
It’s not something I usually have a problem with - I just reach into the drawer, pull out the closest bit of clobber and bound out the door – but oh, how times have changed (and the weather, and people's opinions of running in 'apple catchers' with We Will Rock You blaring out......
Whilst my brother jokes saying he'd rather be punched in the face than run 151 miles in the desert, I consider myself very fortunate to be capable of attempting something like this. After an exciting 2011 race calendar comprising of a couple of half-marathons, a few 10Ks, the Lon...
Stage 2: 38KThe sun usually rises here just before 6am but there was no sunrise this morning. We woke to a sandstorm, just what we didn't need to kick off a 38K stage. I'm sharing a tent with Jay Batchen, who has done the race eight or so times: he said he had never seen such win...
Stage 3: 38KI should say a little about our routine in the camp: at 6am the tent is taken down while the eight of us sharing it pull sleeping bags high and tight over our heads to pretend it isn't happening. Grudgingly accepting reality we rise for breakfast: cold porridge with m...
I can't quite believe I'm writing this but there's only one day to go until our sprint relay challenge, the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series London.We have printed off the event details, my outfit is planned and I have persuaded friends to watch me sweat it o...
I love my food; I just don’t like carrying it, who does? It’s heavy and awkward to the extent that I even hate coming out of Tesco and walking to the car with bags – that’s how much I hate carrying food.Now my problem with the MdS is that part of the running ‘experience’ is that ...
This week my attention turned to kit – whilst I’m busying myself covering weekly mileage it’s dawned on me that something’s missing – a back pack filled with a week’s supply of calories and sleeping equipment! Our friends at Salomon have provided me with a robust rucksack that wi...
At just 17.5K, the final stage of the 26th Marathon des Sables was the shortest by far but still proved to be challenging. It was another hot day - although once the temperature rises above 40C it's hard to differentiate between simply hot and blisteringly boiling. In a departure...
Stage 4: 82KI made it! Everyone says that if you can get through the long stage you'll finish the race. I'm happy to report that at around 1.30 today (Thursday) I hobbled across the finish line after 82K, not quite last but with not too many people behind me. With blisters upon b...
