Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to my blog.

Check below for my recent stuff or trail through the archives.  I hope you find something that interests you and please comment

Mohamad Ahansal – Racing to Businessman

Mens 5 times winner, Mohamad Ahansal, takes the centre podium in this years MDS 2013. In Second place Salameh Alaked and in third place….

I first knew of Mohamad in 2006 when he resided with the Gods and I was a lowly Brit runner on the Marathon des Sables. That year he came 4th and his brother Lahcen won. Between them the two brothers have bagged 15 Marathon des Sables trophies and when they did not take first, they still usually took a place on the podium.

I started to get to know Mohamad from around 2008 when I returned to photograph the race for British press. I was never going to move into that arena of running and I my mind peaked with my long distances during 2008 with my best marathon time. My driver was no longer running but more the life around it, the desert and the world around us. I was fortunate to be able to cover events and also be fit enough to endure the challenges of extreme places. Returning to the desert each year to shoot the MDS was just a pleasure and complemented the other assignments I had.

Morocco Magic, Mohamad, and Chez Max

I have visited Morocco many times in the last 10 years and each time it brings beautiful surprises, more great people, peace and shere awesomeness.

My latest trip was no different except the madness of my previous trip was exchanged for some more leisurely and exploring activities. I booked a car through Carrental Ltd who were so pleasant to deal with unlike those detestable mass booking sites. Ghizlane was actually a human being who dealt with me on the phone and greeted me at the airport with the car.

Arriving felt so warm. Obviously the weather was but the feel of Morocco and the hospitality is so comforting. After the usual queues at the customs and the officers deciding its time to chat with a colleague in the next booth, I got through to the arrivals lounge in about 45 minutes. The smell of North African and Middle Eastern countries is unique and it always takes me back to my first visits in the early 80’s to Abu Dhabi. Morocco is not different. The only infuriating bit is the way these countries are portrayed in the media or by ignorant beings who rarely step out of their little worlds even when travelling to them.

The Value of Experience

I coached tennis for a large part of my career. In fact for around 30 years and during that time I or my programme worked with all levels of players, juniors, adults, starters and some low level international or US collegiate level.

This post has come about because of another thread I started on Facebook, partly out of curiosity to how other coaches might react and partly because the subject is one I feel very strongly about. Essentially I believe coaches should play the sport continuously to some level throughout their career and should also strive to remain fit, healthy and be the role model that many players look for.

Tennis Is Suffering – Its Being Challenged By The Fringe Sports

I wrote last week about the state of British tennis mainly because its where I have been for most of my life. It seems to me, though, that tennis in general is suffering. In Germany clubs struggle, Berlin is not the hive of activity on the court it use to be. The US cannot produce players and haven’t since the Sampras/Agassi era in the mens game, which is quite some time back. The ladies are doing ok but clinging on to the Williams sisters who really won’t be around much longer. Australia, that once massive tennis nation is just a small player now on the world circuit and still look to old faces like Hewitt. France, Spain and Eastern Europe is where it seems to be right now but even in those countries there are problems.

My question is what has happened to those nations that once dominated? There are many theories you can read about if you just google the subject. The stance in the US is the centralised programme, lack of funds coming down to coaches and so on. In the UK everyone will blame someone else. Roger Draper took the brunt of this in recent years but under his leadership there was an awful lot of good happening. Perhaps just not radical enough and a bit of overspend! But then a political figure like Roger is never going to go the whole way. Now we have someone else to blame in 5 years time.. And I can’t even tell you who it is!! One area, however, with room for massive improvement is our parks.

Steve Riley of Willtowin offering public tennis with or without membership

Steve Riley of Willtowin is making major inroads in London but not without a battle against tradition.

I believe there is much more to it than simple blaming. In recent years I have been involved in many of the fringe sports. The new sexy ones that cost little and appeal to kids. They are riskier too and with branding such a big part of our lives, these sports have flourished and kids love them.

Parkour is played all over the world. Here in Cairo everyone can afford it.

Take surfing. If you live near the coast in the UK – and there is a whole lot of it being an island – its easy to get started, very cool and costs very little. City kids can pick up Parkour, skate boarding and BMX all relatively cheaply and become local heroes in the process. With the rise of YouTube and channels like EpicTV, video shorts are being uploaded by the thousands daily, what do you think the kids watch and aspire to?? Its certainly not a few points of Nadal, Federer or Djokovic. More likely it will be some kid hanging off a crane in Russia, skateboard videos from LA, Barcelona or London, or some crazy biker in the Scottish Highlands getting 28m views. Others doing unbelievable jumps and downhills that make Evil Knievel look like a beginner. Well, I suppose he was really, he started something that RedBull have turned into a multi billion business.. Now take a look at the Barclays ATP Tour Finals youtube views. Nothing short of embarrassing with 70-120,000 for matches and 4 or 500 for interviews. For a world sport this should not be the case.

Even Ultra running is now sexy with some achieving feats never believed to be possible. Runners doing 100 mile races over mountains keeping sub 3hr marathon times throughout and others summiting  some of the toughest world peaks with nothing other than a water pack. Yoga is also now making inroads with the young and can be found in schools and cities everywhere

Yoga is inexpensive and all you need to take part is your body!

The answer to making tennis this sexy or appealing is tough. In some ways it just isn’t. I even pitched it to EpicTV but they just couldn’t go there. Somehow, though, it has to change and perhaps the only way is to introduce the concept of variations. Not in the core sport but to build on the easier more accessible possibilities like paddle tennis. In Venice Beach, this sport has grown massively along side the skate boarders, and bikers. It’s competitive, tough and sexy. And you can get more people playing on your real-estate so makes better business sense.

I would love to see tennis back where it should be. Its a truly beautiful sport that teaches us so much more in terms of life skills. And we need some of the young pure talent taking it up to ensure its survival through the generations. If we don’t we run the risk of tennis becoming that sport you take up in your retirement..

British Tennis – A Sorry State

As the first Grand Slam of the year is about to start, my mind turns a little towards the sport I have been associated with for 45 years of my life. I played until I was 42, coached and ran my own school until 7 years ago and through a series of events I dropped tennis out of my life. I’d had enough and it was time to follow directions and passions that had always been running alongside but but were now more important.

After around 3 years of no tennis I began to play during time spent in LA and it was pure pleasure. Sun, nice courts everywhere and availability to everyone of every level. And it was for me that I played. This was when I really started thinking about tennis and the state of the game in the UK.

For the last 3 or 4 summers in England I played a few times with my teenage daughter at the local courts which again was fairly easy. I had tried to speak to my local Club in Haslemere but to use their courts I had to join, which to play only a few times through the summer was pointless. So we played on the courts next to the club which were the same quality and for public use. But this was not always so easy either. On a number of occasions we would go down and the club had taken these over for their junior tennis. This is simply not right. Open your doors and operate in an open way or close them and stay private. And DON’T take public time. Cake and eat it comes to mind.

More recently I have found the bug again to play more. I have even tooled up with new rackets. I have hit a few times over the last months and my desire is really back. I am getting better, the feet are moving again and overall I am so happy to be playing this great sport. But the bit that really hinders my return to the game on my terms is our system.

Firstly I approached my old club Woking and they agreed to allow me to play there without joining as I wasn’t sure how for how long I would continue. Not long after this agreement, they returned with a call saying that it was not possible on this basis as it would set a precedent they were not comfortable with being a members only club.

What I would like to point out is that over the 20 years I have known this club, they have received funding for 4 acrylic courts, further funding/support for two porous acrylic courts. 8 courts with floodlighting also supported with grants and free loans from the LTA and further funds for the club house. Much of this funding was a direct result of the programme I owned there. This is not unique to Woking but happens at many of the 2500 clubs around the UK who then close their doors to the public. Ouch, thats a lot of funds given out to private members clubs.

Given that I can no longer play there unless I find £465 to join I decided to phone around. I know most of the local facilities and have managed to find the Guildford Tennis Academy where I can book without being a member. In the process, I found numerous clubs I knew of all with good funded facilities but none that would allow play without joining.

I am a player so I knew where to start but what about those who do not play and just wish to find a court and play; to give it a go and maybe book some lessons or join a group? For me its relatively easy but still I had trouble. Whilst I was in LA, over about 4 days I found 5 or six first class facilities I could book freely. Either with another coach, a list of players I found on a board and through an online site. It was so easy. France is the same and finding somewhere to play is not a problem. In fact most of Europe is like this.

I am not in LA now, I am here. And I am loving tennis again but the system is not fit for the job. Currently there are around 2500 members clubs that the system works with. The LTA have lots of information on how to play and get started but this is relatively useless if you just want to pay and play.. If we are to start finding players we have to make the sport more available.

I do not think that a club should be forced to open its doors, however, I do believe that if a club receives any support whatsoever from the governing body (LTA), they should then be contractually bound to open its doors for at least its off peak times. In general people will take a punt and book a court for £8-15 and if its in a nice facility they will certainly enjoy the experience. Public courts can be an attraction also and really should receive the lions share of the money that comes form Wimbledon each year. This way tennis becomes affordable and easy to play. Then we start to see progress. Clubs that don’t “play ball” should receive nothing, and I can assure you many would be closed down. Forcing them to open up to public bookings would allow so many empty courts to be filled and clubs to boost their revenues. I suppose it will get up the nose of some of those lofty wankers who wish to remain members only but then they should not accept or be offered funding or interest free loans. And with these loans they are very often not paid and written off.

I don’t believe the solution is a difficult one but would take a concentrated effort and mean upsetting a few of those firmly entrenched in the establishment. The LTA has now got itself a new “head of state” so it would be nice to see them setting a few rules for funding that allow people access. Or just not fund. It would also be apt to go back historically and set rules with clubs that have in the past seen injections of cash. Why should these facilities then be only available to those who wish to be part of a private club or those who can afford it. The very people who believe they are doing so much for tennis are in fact hindering progress and limiting exposure of a great sport.

it will be interesting to see how we get on at the Australian Open over the next two weeks but other than Andy Murray we don’t have much there. And his success was outside the system too. As was Henmans’s.

All Images are copyright Mark Gillett.

Has England Become “White Van Hell?

I drive and ride my bike daily. I drive into London. I drive my daughter to school. I ride my bike to save on fuel, keep fit and most importantly I feel the total freedom when I unstrap it from my car and set off.

Over the last months I have noticed, more than ever, the increasing number of “white vans” on the roads. They tower above me whether I am on my bike or in my car. They approach behind tailgating with only inches to spare when I am in my car without any regard for the fact they could not pass as there is another car in front of me and another in front of that and so on. When I am on my bike they cut me up, squeeze me so close to the curb, hoot me, pass within inches of my elbows and I know they see me. I can see them looking at me in their mirror, usually gesticulating!

In recent weeks, I have experience a new and amusing development in their evolution. They seem to come with a passenger hanging out from the off-side window as a standard feature. Maybe it’s an upgrade? This passenger shouts abuse at almost everything it passes, and that happens to be me fairly often at 7.30am on the roads of London. Only last Friday was I jolted from my traffic jam haze by the screams of one of these “white van passengers” to get off my phone!!! Funnily I was not on it so assumed the screaming, crew cut Nigel Farage supporter must have been confused with the light that comes from the Parrot device on my dash. Poor fellow! The van moved further forward and he continued the abuse from afar and then started directing it at another car too..

Our roads have now become so infested with these vans, that I cannot imagine what they all do? Is it that the haulage companies have found a way to reduce their fuel bills and so split each load between 6 vans? Have the motor companies that produce them started selling at cut down prices to the Millwall football supporters? (I photographed on the sideline of a Millwall match a few years back, so I know what I’m talking about) or has Nigel Farage done a deal with with Ford, Iveco, Renault and the plethora of other companies vying to produce models for the British roads, where for supporting his party they get massive discounts? Whatever the reason I would really love to know as there now seems to be a massive imbalance between normal traffic and white vans. They have even taken over from the 4×4 school drop off mum in those same areas….

Anyway, just to sum up, Im not in the slightest bit prejudice, I never generalise and I do lots of research… Apparently they are worth a whopping 35 billion to the economy.. Perhaps they should be running the country!?

London Cyclists – We Are Not There Yet

I have now been cycling at some point each week in London for 18 months and my initial impressions are coming under a certain amount of questioning. Here is the first blog I posted about it.

I remember being impressed with the number of people I saw running with packs, running without, cycling or just generally being active. Cyclists seem to be everywhere and the lanes at certain times of day were packed. There is not much change in this and I am still impressed to a degree but having now seen the active commuting scene in London for over a year I have come to the conclusion that really not many people cycle to work.

I saw this article yesterday on the BBC website but didn’t yet read it. I generally don’t as I looked at the pictures, read the headline and pretty much new what it was about. However, it made me think about our “lacking” cycling scene and I have intended to post for a while about this. Referring back to the pictures on the BBC article; Where do you ever see this many bikes in London? You don’t. Where are the cargo bikes of parents taking their kids to school? There aren’t any. Where are the cyclists when it rains? Most are in buses, cars or on the already overcrowded tube which is such a shame. Even though we have access to the best waterproofing ever designed. And really rain is so beautiful once you are out in it.

Airports – Heathrow Sucks

I am constantly bemused by the lunacy that confronts me each time a travel through Heathrow Airport. I don’t think it would be nearly so bad if my experience was the same at each of the airports I travel through but its not. No matter where I am, the security checks are simple and respectful. Heathrow? Well, they are just unbelievable. Each of my last 3 or 4 journeys my bag has gone through the “extra check” line where it gets taken for a good swabbing and total empty out. Early on in the experience I was told it was the hard drives and camera and it was best to take them out with the laptop. So my next trip I did exactly this and in anticipation of a clear walk through I was again disappointed. I got stopped. So now I begin to get agitated and question why again?. 

“Well, sir we need to check”

“Yes, but why?”

“Because you have cables sir.” 

“Err, they are earphones, what on earth might you find in there?”

she ignores me and the search goes on, she searches my bag and returns and after 10 minutes I am on my way.

My next experience;

“Sir can I please have a look in your bag?”

“Do I have a choice then?”

“Well, you can say no but I will look anyway.”

“So, why are you asking me if you can look then?”

“Sir, I have to look in your bag! Can I please take a look”

“No”

“But Im going to have to have a look!”

“Thats fine but don’t ask me if you can look if you are going to look anyway.. Just take a fucking look!”

“Please don’t swear at me sir!”

“I didn’t swear at you, I swore, period!”

The search happened and after 15 minutes of wasted time I went on my way… A few more times I had similar experiences and one really nice indian lady who apologised profusely before the search but said she had to, so I just kept my mouth shut and smiled. However, this last one took the biscuit.

I arrived at T5 checked in with no more than hand baggage, got to security and took out my laptop, cables, earphones, hard drives and anything that might matter. By bag gets selected again!!

“Please, please, tell my why my bag is being searched?”

She ignores the question and asks if there are any object that might hurt her in the bag so I ignore her. She asks again to which I said “no” so she opens the bag and empties it out. “Will you please tell me why the search?” I emptied everything out that could possibly perceived as a bomb or determine that I am a jihadist! Please?”

“Its liquids sir” she said tersely.

“What? What liquids?”

“Here sir!”

“Excuse me? Thats a tube of toothpaste 2 inches long!” She then took it out put it in a plastic bag and ran it through the machine again. It was a miniature travel tube!

I have come to the conclusion that the UK Airport security services probably all share the same brain cell. It is not rocket science when determining who might possibly be a danger, who really cannot be a danger and who might be a grey area.  No other airport except American, of course, do I ever have such an experience. I am now on my way back to Heathrow which of course, will not be a problem but I really don’t know what to do next time. I think I will put each item in a plastic bag of its own, empty everything out at the X-ray machine, take three of the big trays and just see what happens.

 

Streets of Cairo – Directors Cut

This is my cut after hearing the music one evening at the end of an episode of “A Person of Interest” on Netflix. It’s a great track.

Trans Atlas Marathon Videos

Stage 1

Faces of The Race

Its more than just the runners…

Mad In Marrakech

 

Trans Atlas Marathon Winners

The Trans Atlas Marathon has been a truly beautiful experience from every perspective. The mix of the best Moroccan runners, some European runners, small Atlas villages, local people working the race and fantastic “tough race” conditions has culminated in a brilliant last stage. It set out from the village of Siti Fatma deep in the valley and took the following brutal profile.

As you can see, its no walk in the park as with any of the stages. I will post the profiles of the previous days later in this article.

Ali Naciri

 

The lead mens runner Ali Naciri by this stage was always going to win barring a major accident and he rolled home in Imlil in 32h57 for the 280km to cheers as he came down the street packed with residence cheering on their local heroes. He was followed closely by Samir Akhdar a regular at the MDS.

Winning lady was the incredible Aziza Raji, in 39h52. Aziza is a marathon runner of 2h 50 and the hills just never seemed to affect her. What a great competitor and role model for other Moroccan women. Another female competitor, Aicha Mrabet-Bensalah who ran her first race ever also completed. Half Moroccan half swiss, she came in at the end of the day to massive cheers and admiration for a truly brave and well run race.

Aziz Raji, Womens Winner

The final stage of the event is a stand alone Marathon stage as well as being part of the Ultra. This allows other locals to enter without the fear of a huge first race or simply just to run a marathon. This years race was won by 2014 Marathon des Sables winner Rachid El Mourabity in 4h 46.

To summarise, as a new race I can only say good things about the Trans Atlas Marathon. I think it will grow fast but it will also be restricted in terms of numbers to keep the atmosphere that makes it so special. Sign up now if you are tempted. www.transatlasmarathon.com

Mens Results: 1st – Ali Naciri (Maroc) 32h57, 2nd – Samir Akhdar (Maroc) 34h40, 3rd – Smayri Rachid (Maroc)

Womens Results: 1st – Aziza Raji (Maroc) 39h52, 2nd – Magdalena Martini (Ger) 48h32, 3rd – AichaM’rabet-Bens (Maroc) 61h54

42K Results: 1st – Rachid Mourabity 4h46, 2nd – Abderahim Goumissa 5h02, 3rd – Abdeallah Ait Tazert 5h14

Team Winner UVU.

Here is a portfolio of the final stage to browse through.

Rachid El Mourabity

Mohamad Ahansal greeting Rachid home

Aziza Raji

Aicha Mrabet-Bensalah being greeted by Mohamad Ahansal

Aziz Raji, Womens Winner

Sebastian Haag of UVU. Sponsor of the race.

Ali Naciri, Mens Winner

Samir Akhdar

Other stage profiles

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

As you can see, some pretty awesome days! Enter now.

Trans Atlas Marathon

Last night I arrived in Morocco for the first time in just over a year. The last time was to shoot for the Marathon Des Sables but I am here this year for a new race, The Trans Atlas Marathon. Travelling and filming with Chris O’Conner of CojoFilms, We were greeted by Mohamad Ahansal. The last time I saw him was winning the 2013 MDS. Since then he and his brother Lahcen have set up their own race and, wow! What a course this seems to be….

Streets of Cairo – EpicTV

Our first episode of Streets of Cairo is out on EpicTV. Great working with the guys in Cairo as well as those at Epic. Some interesting projects coming up too.. Here is the link

Are You An Athlete?

Each year I provide media for a few races or events around the world. Some of them long and arduous some short and powerful and as the sporting leisure world, or more accurately the business of leisure pursuits, grows I find my self hearing the word athlete along with elite and high performance, being banded around so freely that I was beginning to feel I didn’t understand the definition anymore.. So! On my run today as it was buzzing around in my head I thought I would look it up when I got home and write my thoughts on what an athlete is….

Free Image Downloads Explained

I started to make my images free for download today. For the majority of people it has been so well received on Facebook which didn’t surprise me. Why wouldn’t free images be well received? They are available free only at lo res and for web blog use or general personal use on phones or websites. Everything else like prints, press images or commercial still has to be paid for.

I suppose the way I see it is that I have been paid for most of the work I have done at events, I need promotion and marketing all the time which I could pay for in terms of time or employing a specialist or I could pay by giving away some work. Which ever way I choose its costs me. Time or images. In my business it makes far more sense to pay in images so I get more out there and people who can’t afford to pay get their websites off the ground. Those who could pay but don’t never will anyway so its a kind of win win, really. Lets face it, Im not giving away 2 metre prints framed for the office wall and if you want this you can still buy it. I am not giving away images that will make a double page spread or cover of a magazine. Im just allowing people to promote me via my own work.

So with this in mind, have a shufti through my photoshelter site and if you find anything that appeals for your phone, desktop or latest blog, go ahead and download with the watermark.

I hope this helps at least a few people who would otherwise not get access to this sort of imagery and hopefully one day you might ask me to come and shoot your next big project.

Mark

 

Yukon Quest Reflections, “Wasting My Young Years”

I took a flight this morning from Eagle Checkpoint to Dawson. I had been delayed a night and was quite eager to leave. Not for any good reason because Eagle was stunning and my time there very beautiful. The people, 100 in total, were all amazing too, putting on food and refreshments for the Mushers and the Quest officials. They also have their own musher in the Quest this year, the young Matt Hall.

The flight was carrying a vet, two drop dogs, a race marshall and myself. The plane was a tiny 4 seater with a little room for bags at the back of the plane. Gert, the pilot I met in 2009 when he took me up from an airstrip in Braeburn. About 5 minutes into the flight all the controls and electrics failed but strangely this did not phase me and he gently glided it down and my excursion was cut short.

This time the plane was fine and we took off towards Dawson with the river below us the plane rose above the turbulent winds smoothly. At this point my mind just cleared like a fog lifting. Not that I was stressed but there was this sudden clarity that led to a huge upsurge of emotion. So many things came into my mind as we crossed the beautiful landscape below. Winding rivers, mountains scattered with pine trees, sections of open water but mostly white where the snow lays peacefully on the pack ice.

My mind went to the incredible care shown to the dogs that had been dropped by their mushers. Nothing took priority over the dogs. Not us, not our bags, not even the pilot. Well maybe he did but he also looked after them like his own.

I was shooting out of the window brushing it clean of iced condensation every few minutes so I could see what I was doing. The soft rumble of the plane constantly singing in my ears. And suddenly, bang! Full on emotion for what I was experiencing. What my life has been about for pretty much most of my adult days. How lucky or privileged I have been to see and experience the world in such a way. I thought about how many people have told me they dream of visiting Alaska and yet here I am in a small plane flying over it. And for the rest of the time I am here I am travelling through it meeting some of the most amazing people. Then I thought of the mushers out there alone on the Quest and how their experiences must differ from mine. And how one day I might like to try. Maybe!

I hid my face in the glass of the window as tears ran down my face. I thought of my daughter back home, people I have become such good friends with here and around the world. Tom, who I travel here with. Heidi who I met here in 2009 and those who I have worked with before. Then Gabi in Cairo and the world I see there, so so different. There were so many things going through my head.

I took some more pictures and studied the barren but alive landscape and thought about how for most people, this sort of thing is just television. I then realised that this is the only place to take me somewhere close to what the desert does for me. It strips me right back to the real me. I Don’t have a mortgage or make huge amounts of money doing what I do but I do learn something new every day. I make enough for my daughter and me to live ok and for the adventures I experience through the work I do. I came to the conclusion that I live a really privileged life. I work extremely hard and often for little monetary reward but the rewards I receive in a real sense far outweigh everything else.

It also took me back to a few months ago when I considered selling a couple of older cameras that I no longer use. I keep everything in my loft and was having a clear out a few things. I told Emily I might sell them and she responded with “why?” I didn’t really have an answer as they aren’t worth much but what I didn’t realise is that they are to her.. She then followed with “but they are you, dad”. That really sealed it and they are still in my loft. My work and travel along with the stories I live for are important to her and maybe one day will be to her children and its these very personal stories of others that I love to hear or discover. 

The Yukon Quest is full of stories, that date back to its beginnings in 1983. The land it covers holds stories from as far back as 14000BC and more recently since the Europeans came in the Goldrush years from 1890. I am always overwhelmed when I visit the North and I love being here. I hope I will continue to find enough to keep bringing me back.

Tom found a very apt piece of music for our first video, but more than that he then edited it sublimely. Don’t waste yours.

The Yukon Quest 2014 – The Start

Yukon Quest 2014 (or #yq2014 for those who speak in hash tags…)

It finally got underway this morning with an on-time start of 11am. Snow was trucked in for the street start which was moved from the river last minute for safety reasons.. What an exercise! And the efficiency and organisation of this race is just incredible.

Once the mushers left by noon we hopped off and edited a few shots and then drove to Pleasant Valley Stores in Two Rivers – Such great names! – and we are now at the checkpoint editing, writing and uploading more stuff… You can find us on my Facebook, The Yukon Quest Official Facebook or probably just about anywhere to do with dogs on the internet.. Just search or hash tag search #yq2014

Here is a small gallery of shots from our arrival in Fairbanks.

The Yukon Quest

I have never seen the moon as in I did in Yukon

I find myself back in the Yukon having said I would probably miss this year. Its now the 5th year I’ve ventured and more and more the North seems to suck me back into the wilderness and beauty that it exudes.

The team this year is myself, Tom Barber and Heidi McGuire. Tom has been with me the last three trips I’ve made and Heidi I met in 2009 on the YAU. I can’t imagine better people to work with and combined with the OTC team and Yukon Quest team, I am really looking forward to the next two weeks of trail, fun, tiredness and usual battles to get the job done.

The Thinking Musher

Already the curveballs have started and the main one has been the weather. The heaviest snow the Yukon has seen for years has all but been discarded by the spring like temperatures of the last week or so. The roads are near clear and the trail is very different. But this does not hold the Quest back. In fact it probably enhances it. Teams will have to be at their best to win this year. Now that the temperatures have fallen again, there will be ice, and possibly overflow. All great stuff for the thinking musher!

Its these conditions or changing conditions that make this such a great race. Like some of the desert stuff I cover, it can be very unpredictable, very demanding and a great challenge. If it were the same each year, how easy that would be to calculate? How boring would it be to follow? The North will always have its say whatever.

We drive up to Fairbanks tomorrow and a few nights of functions before the action start and then we set off back to Whitehorse. We will be posting videos and images along the route and your participation is vital. Comments, posts, opinions (not to strong of course) and questions on Facebook and Twitter.

My favourite

Give us your thoughts on who you want to win, or if you don’t mind.. Our stories will be unique as they always are as the trail will, Im sure, give us plenty to talk about.  Can Hugh Neff do it again or will Allen Moore pip him to the post. Or will we have a new winner this year? Will Normand be the darling of the race? Or will that go back to Brent Sass again.. Is it Brent’s year to hold that trophy?

Well, by the 10th Feb we should know the answers to those questions so here’s to the Yukon Quest 2014. Im toasting with a glass of red in the High Country Inn, Whitehorse!

See you on the trail

Marathon Des Sables Time

The Desert – Somewhere to Enjoy

I am sure there are many of you out there starting to get a little nervous about your last 12 weeks before the start of your MDS. I know exactly where you are at so just keep believing and training up to departure. Remember that tapering is no use, gathering calories does not work, go light, pack light and take the food you need. You have everything else to succeed and no reason to fail. You have water, shelter and food. The rest is in your head! Here is a little piece just published.. Good luck!!

http://www.sidetracked.com/marathon-des-sables/

Mark