MdS - Day 3 - A walk in the park? :)

Hi,

Stage 2 - Znaigui circular: 35km

Quick results
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Position Time
779 out of 798 08:43:26
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Today started very cold, and with the sad news that Dave was still feeling ill. I think he's picked up a bug from somewhere and it is not plesant. So a quick change of tactic was necessary as both Dave and I had agreed there was no way Jack Osborne (who'd managed 1 stage of the MdS) was beating either of us!

To start with the camels where worryingly close, and but slowly but surely Dave pulled himself through, little by little, step by step. Soon the camels couldn't even be seen as we kept up our consistent walking pace.

The back of the field is definitely where the heroics are, and I was privilaged to see some incredible examples of human spirit.

As we left checkpoint 2 we had a long slog across a featureless landscape, and then some steep dunes. We could see the finish line and ran across together to much relief.

I hope when I face my dark hour I can face it with as much deterimination as Dave. More emails please, they're great to receive :)

MdS - Day 2 - The start... finally

Hi

Stage 1 - ERG CHEBBI / ERG ZNAÏGUI: 33 Km

Quick results
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Position Time
438 out of 805 05:03:39
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Today the race finally got underway. Staright into 12K of sand dunes and boy are they tough. The recent rain means that they are more stable underfoot then usual which is good. Already using my trekking poles though, but they are excellent at helping me through. Pack is very heavy sadly, around 11kg with water which takes its toll, my shoulder ache lots currently.

Thankfully CP1 (2:20 ish) to CP2 (3:40) was flat (about 9km), and I found the strength to motor on through this section. After CP 2 there were more dune sections. Really tall, like climbing a huge hill. After another 9km or so I reached the end in a little over 5 hours.

Heat manageable today, and feet OK. Gaiters took some minor damage, but have fixed via the miracles of Gaffer tape. Some very impressive landscapes out there, strangely beautiful considering the lack of green, give me the countryside of England any day though

MdS - Well would you believe it!

The journey out to Morocco was fairly uneventful. I'd been joking with many of the competitors that I was bringing the Manchester weather with me and it would rain. Our journey to the first bivovac took an age and it started to rain! As the journey went on the rain increased. by the time we got to the bivovac the french organisers didn't know what to do. One group where sent the final leg across the sands via army trucks. My coach eventually gave up waiting and in the now torrential downpour that even even the British weather would be proud of took us to a nearby town.

The reports from the front line were bad. The campsite was flooded, coaches were stuck by flooded roads, and there was no plan B! 11 hours after we originall boarded the coaches the organisers managed to find a hotel to put us in. The first stage has now been cancelled and a new plan is being looked at. To top it off my mobile is now out of action due to SIM card issues! They apparently last had rain during the MdS 11 years ago... for 30 minutes! The course is now a mess as parts where along dried up river beds as usual.

Spirits around the camp are hard to describe. Immense disappointment is obviously there. This has been a 2 year build up. There is also a lot of laughter though at the ridculouseness of the situation. There is hope the race will continue from stage two, but in what format I don't know.

Not sure when I'll get to post again as who knows if the organisers email equipment is working. The main thing is everyone is safe, which set against pictures on the local news of locals less fortunate then us means we have a lot to be thankful of, plus I won my pint bet with Sharky about the rain, so it's not all bad!

Cheers

Andy

Final pre Marathon des Sables post!

Hello all,

A quick update before I head out to the desert! First off I’d like to thank everyone who's sponsored me. Recently the total sponsorship passed the £2000 mark for the British Red Cross which I’m over the moon with! In many ways for me the fundraising target was almost as daunting as the race itself as my previous fundraising efforts raised around the £400 mark and so £2000 seemed equally extreme as the race, but its been amazing how the event really seems to have captured peoples attention. I know from my now regular chats with Laura (Regional Fundraising Manager) at the British Red Cross that they are incredibly grateful.

I’m now less then a week away from the start line (29th March) and I’ve had an incredible adventure even just to get to this point with newspaper and radio interviews, treadmill marathon fundraising and some unusual races. I'd never have thought all these things were possible when I signed up 2 years ago so I guess I've learnt a lot about life on the way too! I can’t wait for the start now and I’m hoping to be able to post the odd update to my JogBlog when I’m out there.

Whilst the race is on I’m told that it is possible to follow my progress and send messages to me via the race organiser’s website. My race number is 732 and for sending messages I’ve been given the instructions, "friends/family will need to go to the organisers' website - www.darbaroud.com - and look for 'Ecrire au concurrents/write to competitors'. In previous years, this hasn't gone live until the Sunday that the race starts", so if you fancy sending me a message then please do.

Thanks for your support and I’ll write to you all again when I’m back in the UK.

Cheers

Andy

Bramhall Centre Marathon Special

Hi all,

As a charity fund raising event I thought I'd run a marathon on a treadmill. As the Beetles sang, "I got by with a little help from my friends!", and thanks to the help from lots of people on 7th March 2009 the first ever Bramhall Centre Marathon took place with a grand total of one entrant... me!

Quick results below
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Position Time Money Collected
1st! 4:10:00 £332.80
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Its amazing how ideas become reality, and having tried and failed to get permission elsewhere to run a marathon treadmill fundraiser, and having the problem of not owning a treadmill myself, I was a little doubtful if this idea would come off. However things took a turn for the better when my Campaign Manager, Chris Wood, suggested Bramhall Centre and asked his sister Gemma if I could borrow her treadmill, and she kindly said yes! A quick email to Bramhall Centre and I was put in touch with Carole who managed to get permission, and not only that, got some of the local shops on board, and arranged for transport of the treadmill from Karl of Unique Property Services! In the end I had Loved kindly letting me run outside their Beauty Salon and offering me a massage at the end (which I can recommend!), Ryan Jake offering me a Haircut, The Bubble Room offering me a post race recovery drink of Champagne, and Jim Hall Sports offering £50 worth of vouchers for a raffle to raise money and giving me some running shirts!



So at about 10:45 the treadmill was switched on and the long 26.2 mile run started. Anton and my Mum were on the first shift and straight away people were kindly donating. At a couple of points they were even a little swamped and struggling to keep up with the raffle ticket writing and sticker giving! The event really seemed to capture the interest of people out and about in Bramhall as some cars driving by honked their horns, or even wound their window down and donated money! We were shortly joined by Big Pete and Mrs Forrest who got into the spirit of things helping to raise donations. I had been worried if enough of my friends would be able to help out, but these fears disappeared quickly when yet another volunteer arrived in the form of Matt! There was a great light hearted atmosphere to the event and after a couple of hours reinforcements arrived with Mark, Ann-Marie, paparatzi Russ, and Chris!

I also had plenty of visits from work and running mates. Mike and Helen brought some lovely rosettes with a picture of me in the middle, as well as some badges! Lee from Stockport Harriers took a detour on his long run via Bramhall Village and brought me some energy gels to keep me going. Fiona and Stil popped along to make sure the event was properly audited, and Sandy got into the fitness theme by cycling down after successfully completing the Bramhall 5K!


At 23 miles the Stockport Express came along and took some photo's (fingers crossed they pick a better one then last time)! As the final few miles ticked by I knocked the pace up on the treadmill, but perhaps a little too much as about 100 metres before the finish it overheated and cut out! Thankfully it re-started and we made it to the full marathon distance and I got to celebrate like a true athlete by eating a wonderful cookie!


A huge thank you to everyone involved and already mentioned in this post, we raised a massive £332.80 and the owners of Bramhall Centre have been incredibly generous and said they will match what we raised bringing the grand total to £665.60!!!!!! Clearly I should consider a career change :) It wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help, and it was great to see how positive and encouraging people were! Clearly this was an example of the great community spirit in Bramhall!


Cheers

Andy

P.S. A quick note to say that the Podmore's and the Heath's won the raffle for £25 worth of Jim Hall vouchers!