A sea of Pirates on the 3.8K swimPre-race, the city was teeming with yellow and stamped with skulls and crossbones. The question ‘who are these pirates?’ was asked in 25 different languages. The roadsweepers, the shopkeepers, the motorbike officials – all had a wave and a cheer f...

five miles, the stiles had no dog gates and I had to hoik the smug Belgian sod from field to field. Eventually we reached Sandsend, where I gratefully embraced the prospect of a flat, two-mile jog along hard-packed sand to Whitby. But the sand wasn

Desert Race: Marathon des SablesThe 700 runners who wake up one March morning in Southern Morocco for the Marathon des Sables (MdS) are faced with vast expanses of wind-swept flatland, strength-sapping sand dunes and the prospect of six days spent

) on it is advisable. Rating: 68. SandSand offers a run with a real difference. If it’s dry and deep, you can give your calf muscles the work-out of their life without risking any impact damage to your joints. If you’re on the beach, you get the sea breeze

much energy is lost during foot contact," explains Dr Sharon Dixon, a senior lecturer in biomechanics at the University of Exeter.  "More energy is lost on less 'stiff' surfaces. A very soft surface like sand will dissipate more energy than Tarmac

during foot contact," explains Dr Sharon Dixon, a senior lecturer in biomechanics at the University of Exeter.  "More energy is lost on less 'stiff' surfaces. A very soft surface like sand will dissipate more energy than Tarmac and requires more effort

to work and back as often as I could with a loaded backpack, and doing back-to-back long runs at the weekend. But none of it really prepared me for the first stage of the 250.7K challenge, and its 13K section of sand dunes. They were the kind

and blisteringly boiling. In a departure from the norm for the Marathon des Sables, the final stage was to finish in the small town of Tazzarine (rather than on a sand dune). The last 2K would take runners through the narrow streets of the town to the finish line

certainly never run a race like this one. It traverses one of the most beautiful bays at low tide, over sand of varying texture, with occasional waves lapping over your laces. The 13 or 14K as the seagull flies will seem more like a half-marathon effort

- made it easier for nearly 1,000 runners to defy some atrocious weather.The first mile took the field along the beach, where the sand was compacted by the rain and therefore relatively easy to run on. Next up was a spell along the promenade, a circuit