Mark Gillett – Junglemoon Images

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.

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.

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

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!!!

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.

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.
 

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:
 

Face time with the competitors of the Marathon des Sables 2012.

Click a pic to engage slideshow.

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:

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.

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!

“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!

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:

 
Experience the Marathon des Sables 2012 in film!

The UK to Moroccan bivouac #1 in trippy timelapse…
 

 
And beamed via satellite from the Sahara, the check-in day where competitors enjoy their last big “feed” while kit is weighed and inspected by the race organizers.
 

Check back tonight for the next installment!

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.

Well, here I am at 7 am.

Sleep was between 3 and 5am and now I am trying to force my body into action each time a musher approaches.. Not easy, I can assure you.

Its relatively quiet in the press room with only a handful whereas last night it was heaving with press, cameramen, radio people as well as tourists who have come to watch..

The quest seeps into my blood more each day. Having run endurance I understand their need to complete this. Their thirst for finishing, thirst for winning and their desire to push themselves to the limits of human endurance. The hardest part is the mental. They will be feeling exhausted and elated at the same time. Physically drained yet energised with the power of their achievement. Their minds will be playing games. “Why?” “What for?” “Never again” and usually only minutes after finishing in Whitehorse they will be talking of their next race….. But what makes these guys special is that they also need to care for their team . 12-14 dogs that need feeding, sleep and looking after. This make this event far tougher than met I have witnessed….

We have another week or so on the journey to Whitehorse and who knows who will take the prize. What is clear is that all are winners.

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….

One of around 15 performance athletes who enter the MdS each year.. Mohamed Ahansel

In my last post I talked about words and how we can use them positively for ourselves.

This post is about one of my bugbears. It is another use (or misuse) of words but often for financial gain and persuading people you are a better coach or sportsman than you are and assuming most people do not know better.

When it comes to business and sport it really irks me that so many use terms or latch on to words that they do not know the real meaning of but can gain from using them commercially, often just buzzwords for a year or so………but still monopolised for as long as possible…

When I first started playing tennis Read the rest of this entry »

I love words…. I always have. Even as a young child I remember playing with them. I think most children probably do this. I would put the emphasis on different syllables or letters. Change the tone. Sing them….  I would do anything to see what they sounded like in as many different ways as I could. Then I would notice that the word would often sound silly once I said it more than 5 or 6 times..

What I noticed was that just by small changes in the pronunciation or tone, the effectiveness or even meaning of that word would change and sometimes quite radically. Try saying “I had a great day” in as many different ways as possible and feel the difference. Just say the word “great” in different ways too…. Said sarcastically of course it means the opposite. Said with passion, it comes from the heart. Said blandly it means nothing at all.

When I started coaching Read the rest of this entry »