Posts Tagged ‘Marathon des Sables’
Drawing a Line in the Sand……
From Suitcase Media & Productions uploading from the Sahara desert, our final GoPro video of the Marathon des Sables 2012, Stage 6:
I would just like to say a big thank you to the rest of the SMP team – editors Rob Antill, Maite Luque and photographer Romaine Sepulchre, for their collective inspiration, creativity and passion.
Home & Dry!
A total of 791 competitors today crossed the line of the last stage of the Marathon des Sables 2012, with 4 ‘ranking in progress.’ The fact that 59 runners abandoned the course for reason or another, shows just how tough the conditions were this year. Rain, wind, hail, and lightning; baking temps of nearly 50 degrees C and sand storms – they had it all!
For final rankings visit darbaroud.com.
Lia Ditton
I am now out of the Sahara and I would just like to say a huge thank you to Lia Ditton… She has blogged, Facebooked and tweeted on my behalf as we only had text (SMS) contact… She has made this years MDS come alive for so many of you with the work we have provided whilst there.. She has been simply a phenomenal member of the team and will continue to post over the next days… Thank you Lia. X
GoPro VIDEO OF THE DAY, Woo-hoo!
This film by the ‘Marathon des Sables’ media team was chosen as the GoPro VIDEO OF THE DAY, receiving 1346+ likes last counted & reaching an audience of 2 million GoPro fans!!!
Another One Bites the Dust…
As camp Marathon des Sables packs up for another year, both runners and volunteers are en route back to Ouarzazate.
For a showreel of the highs and lows and a slideshow finale of those special, finish-line-crossing moments, check back in a couple of hours. While the images and footage upload, I leave you with a poem.
Westward Bound, by Jon Blais, the ALS Warrier Poet
Live…
More than your neighbours.
Unleash youself upon the world and go places.
Go now.
Giggle, no, laugh.
No…stay out past dark,
And bark at the moon like the wild dog that you are.
Understand that this is not a dress reheasrsal.
This is it…your life.
Face your fears and live your dreams.
Take it in.
Yes, every chance you get…
Come close.
And, by all means, whatever you do…
Get it on film.
From Morocco With Love
The British are known for their charity causes like Children In Need and Red Nose Day, where millions of pounds are pledged. This week I have witnessed something more than charity: giving from the soul.
Two years ago a team entered the MDS and pulled the length of the course, a specifically designed wheel chair that seated one of four handicapped children from their home town of Vannes. The children would take turns in the chair, while ten Pompiers (fire-fighting paramedics) rotated to pull the chair. This edition the Pompiers returned.
What they do for these children is simply phenomenal. They do not raise money, they do not run a charity. They just come to the desert, bringing the children and the chariot. They give four children an experience they wouldn’t otherwise have.
I am left here in the press tent full of emotion, having just watched them cross the finish line of the Marathon Stage 5. When they finish tomorrow, as it was two years ago, there will not be a dry eye on the finish line. These men are true givers, giving more than money can buy.
I leave you with a video-roll of messages, from runners to their friends and families at home.
‘Only’ One + A Half Marathons to go…!
As the road book for the penultimate Stage 5 becomes available and competitors contemplate running some more, several reflect on the longest (and arguably the hardest) stage so far…
Stage 4 recapped in GoPro HD:
MdS Runners & Home Viewers: A Pole Apart
Face time with the competitors of the Marathon des Sables 2012.
In Pictures… Before, During + After the longest day (Stage 4)
Click a pic to engage slideshow.
Runners share their Highs + Lows –
Nobody at the beginning thought that it would be possible to run with a pack and the expedition aspect was an extra bonus. You need to manage calories, hydration, your effort, your rest, your recovery and I think it’s all these elements that make the event so special. It’s the concept, the cocktail of the desert, the running and the self sufficiency that create the success of the event.
- Race director Patrick Bauer talking to TalkUltra (Episode 5 MDS Part One)
A selection of runner’s share their experience at the end of day 3. Footage shot using multiple GoPro Hero cameras:
They’re Going The Distance!
STAGE 4 of the Marathon des Sables 2012 :
EL MAHARCH / JEBEL EL MRAÏER: 81.5 Km
Today is the dreaded long day.
At 8am the humidity was 20%, temperature: 23°C.
By 11am the humidity was 19%, but the temperature up to 29°C.
Number of runners on the start line: 821.
Meanwhile, 180 tents are being dismantled, transported and set-up by the volunteers needed to move them. The logistics are awe-inspiring! The traveling circus of the MdS is captured in this behind-the-scenes film by Suitcase Media & Productions:
Blog title inspired by the song The Distance, by the band CAKE.
It’s hot in hell, but it’s a dry heat.
There is nothing like a trip to the desert to remind you of the precious commodity that is: water.
What we all wouldn’t do for a shower!
From camels to ruins; blisters to smiles, this video aimed to captured what is, after all a human experience.
Watch out for the dung beetle!
The Desert Runners – Interviews with Competitors of the MdS 2012
“It’s a hot, hot, hot day out here and another incredibly windy afternoon! Whether you’re an athlete in camp or out on the course, the waves of sand the wind pelts you with are a major challenge. At present, visibility is about a half-mile because of the sand, which has totally blocked the sunshine. Race officials report today’s high as « just under » 50 degrees C!
Stage 2 was 38.5 kilometers and featured complete flatness. First it was rocky sand, then a series of low dunes, then a long, white, salt flat; then a riparian* zone containing residual water and mud from last week’s weather and finally, another five or so kilometers of dunes to the finish. (* Riparian Zone: the interface between land and a river or stream, Wikipedia)
The race administration notes 20 drops from today’s stage, which is very high, considering that in the past only 20 people in total have dropped out of the entire event. The race administration says that heat was the day’s limiting factor for many.” – Meghan Hicks, currently 5th in the women’s race, writing for irunfar.com
‘It was a hell!’
‘I think today er, is better than yesterday!’
Mark Gillett interviews runners from different nationalities and shows us that while bodies may be sore and feet blistering, the competitors still have their sense of humour in tact!
‘Marathon des Sables:’ Desert Run, Day 1!
The ‘Marathon des Sables 2012′ starts this morning with 1013 competitors from 46 different countries around the world; from Chile and Mexico to New Zealand, to the Ukraine, Jordan and Japan!
“Today’s course featured a series of low dunettes, two jebels*, and several black-rock regs. Though the distance was a bearable one, the terrain made for the greatest challenge. After several days of mild desert weather, the heat and aridity are now back. Thermometers on course reportedly hit 40 degrees C (104F) and the race administration reported that between five and ten runners had dropped out of the race.” – Meghan Hicks, runner
*A jebel is a fairly flexible word that can mean either hill or mountain.The plural is actually jibal, although they’re known as jebels to most western Europeans. (Definition from Saudi Aramco World)
The film/s du jour were shot in GoPro splenti-colour, as a Suitcase Media Production.
E voilà:
MDS 2012 – Next Story of Human Endurance
Well, if you followed us at the Yukon Quest and loved that then follow us at the Marathon des Sables in April.
This mountain of a race takes part in the Sahara Desert from 7th April. You will need to add me as a friend on Facebook, “Like” the MDS page and “Friend” the UK MDS page It’s best to do all three.
The race is 250 Km through the Sahara and runners carry all their own gear and food for 7 days.. It is run over 6 stages looking a little like this… Day 1 – 28km, day 2 – 35km, day 3 – 38km, day 4/5 – a huge 80km, day 6 – 42km and day 7 – 21km.. So pretty damn tough.
Runners will battle temperatures of up to 50 degrees, blisters and soreness like never before, total exhaustion and inevitably some will drop out… They cover sand dunes that go for ever, mountains and valley salt flats on a daily basis. This years race will be as exciting as ever so go to those FB sites and follow it through here…
We will for the first time be filming it with GoPro and mobile cams and uploading to the social networks as we go along… Images will also be uploaded to the official site on a daily basis… I will upload blogs for the English-speaking runners and supporters and other reports can be seen on the official site www.darbaroud.com and the Facebook pages mentioned earlier… There is no shortage of information coming out of the desert from the 7th April. No excuse not know what happening deep in the Sahara.
Search this site for older articles from previous years to get a flavour.. It’s the toughest footrace on earth.
Large Format Wall Prints
Well, I have finally put together a gallery of images that would look good on your living room, bedroom or office wall… All the prints are available at any size and normally will arrive unframed so you can custom buy to suite your home. The two galleries I have begun with are a general and one specifically of Paris. Email me to get a price.
Go here to view - http://www.junglemoon.co.uk/parisprints/
And here – http://www.junglemoon.co.uk/printgallery/
Select and send me the form email with any questions or orders….
MDS 2011
Just back and here are a few images from the portfolio….. The portfolios can be found on my Facebook and Flickr page and will be on junglemoon soon….
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- Learn to look at the world from a different perspective. Take and EyeforLife course.
Marketing – A bit more for those about to run the MDS…..
MDS Start Line 2010
…You are about to run the event of your life, or at least most of you are, so don’t be overly worried about ‘stuff’; if your shirt is the right material, has great wicking properties, shoes that support better than any others, or do my gaiters stop all the sand?
It does not matter a whole lot. You need enough food for a week so choose that well and pack it well as you have to carry it. Your shoes are to protect your feet. The best are those you have been wearing for the last 3 years. Read the rest of this entry »
James Cracknell’s Marathon des Sables
James Cracknell – Superhuman?
I first met James at the bivouac on the Marathon des Sables, also known as the MdS. One of my commissions was to supply images for Discovery TV as they were filming James during this years race for a scientific programme analysing how the body reacts under such pressure in the desert heat. I was keen to examine his performance.
Is he superhuman or just a normal human being who is able to achieve the extraordinary? Like athletes Daley Thomson or Jesse Owen, or Richard Branson and Steve Jobs of the business world; these are individuals who found or find it hard to achieve anything less than perfection in their chosen fields.
The Marathon des Sables is a 250km run over some of the harshest terrain the Moroccan Sahara can throw up. It is a stage race where competitors run increasing distances each day until stage 4 which is 82 km long. They have to battle through of sand, mountains, rocks and wadi beds. Stage 5 is an official marathon and finally stage 6 is a mere 20 km but over some of the highest dunes in the world. And that brings them to the end of the race. It is a self sufficient run so James had to carry everything he needed for the 7 days and water was rationed and handed out at checkpoints and at the end of each stage.
The highest ranking Brits prior to this year were the two previous years at 13th. Ian Sharman in 2008 and William Davis in 2009
“I am not a runner and I weigh in at 90kg” James told me. “I will be pleased to finish top 50”. I was a bit sceptical at first as I have run the event and not being a runner and that heavy is incredibly hard going. Most of the top racers weigh in at 65 kilo’s max!
Read the rest of this entry »
