Marathon des Sables 2008
By Andreas | Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Here is my MdS 2008 race report - enjoy the reading!
Marathon des Sables 2008 race report
Andreas
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The Race
By Andreas | Sunday, February 17, 2008
It has been the fine ultra marathon event every runner was expecting, a glorious day perfectly organised by Kathy, Steve and the entire team.
It is the friendliness, dedication and professionality of the team behind this event that lets it stand out among similar races; the cheerfulness of the race marshals at the most ghastly hour and minus temperatures, the love of detail when it comes to providing hot tea at a later check point or placing signs when navigation seems ambiguous and the excellent Odlo running shirt given to each competitor at the finish line, a welcome alternative to the cotton T-Shirts given at other races that may be comfortable to wear at the beach during summer holiday but not for your daily training run. Excellence, you have a new name: Thames Meander!
I arrived early at Kings Meadow in Reading, almost two hours before the start. I like to be early at races to have plenty of time for those last-minute preparations and to set my mind for a great race. But I also wanted to have a chance to see the remnants of Reading abbey that are at a short distance from the train station and Kings Meadow. Amazing to see those stones laid by masons one millennium ago and still standing, although badly damaged through centuries of destruction and neglect. What might remain in a thousand years time of today’s architecture, say the Gurkin or the new City Hall building? History will tell.
Of course Kathy, Anke and Steve we already in full action at Kings Meadow, organising the registration of the runners, positioning the marshals along the route, making sure all water supplies were allocated to the check points, etc. After a few kind words from Steve we set off, following the river downstream, full of anticipation for a great day out in the countryside.
I headed out with a light pair of long tights and a short-sleeved shirt plus a long-sleeved one on top. I took great care not to start sweating, as wet clothing would cool me down tremendously - after all, temperatures were around freezing point. About an hour into the race the sun provided some warmth so that I took off my long-sleeved jumper but keeping my gloves on for the duration of the race.
It takes a few minutes only to leave the city of Reading behind and be welcomed by the charming river meandering its way through the countryside. Waterfowl everywhere, beautiful swans and ducks on their morning swim while we kept chugging along with our race backpacks.
The Thames Path was quite dry this year as we didn’t have much rain the last days and the flooding of the river had subsided a while ago. The first hour or so the ground was frozen with white patches of frost in the shade, soon to be gone once the suns rays reached everywhere, enlightening the river in all its splendour.
From my participation two years ago I remembered that house in the Lower Shiplake area that had a miniature train station and railway in its extensive garden, and I was delighted to spot it again. How much fun must that be for children to play with the train, loading and unloading the wagons and going on a ride through the park!
Shortly after we reached Marsh Lock, this tremendous long walkway over the river where you see the water rushing below your feet while running safely a yard or so above.
At Henley I saw this Mississippi-style steamboat on the moor and I immediately thought of the musical Show Boat and it’s most famous song “Ol’ man river”; except that good old Joe was not around to sing it. Wrong river, wrong continent I suppose …
Check point one was just a short stroll away from Henley, within sight of Temple Island. I tried to keep my time at the check points relatively short, filling up my bottle with fresh water and adding maltose sugar, maybe adjusting clothing or getting out some food to eat on the next stage and then heading out to the Thames Path again. It was not a matter of saving time, as I was not racing this event for a personal best, but I did not want to cool out at the check points since temperatures were still around 0 to 3 degrees.
Temple Island with its beautiful temple building is a sight of breathtaking beauty, one of the many special and historic sites that the Thames Meander passes by.
Shortly after Temple island I had a little accident: While trying to tear out that bag of nuts from my front pouch of my racing backpack, the bag broke and all the nuts went flying to ground. What a bummer! My first thought was “thank goodness this is happening here at the Thames Meander and not at the Marathon des Sables!” I’ll think of something so that such a mishap won’t happen in the desert. And the ducks at Temple Island had a magnificent Sunday lunch.
The Thames Path between Temple Island and Marlow is very pastoral, green with some smaller hills and beautiful sights of the countryside. At Marlow I got a glimpse of the “Compleat Angler”, the inn where in 1653 Izaak Walton is believed to have written his world famous book on angling and fly fishing.
Check point two was just a mile away next to the A404 bridge. Good to stock up on some water and grab a fresh bag of nuts from my backpack.
Between check points two and three we passed one of the more affluent areas along the Thames, with beautiful houses on the Thames in the Maidenhead area. Crossing the Maidenhead bridge we were only two miles away from the third check point. I stopped briefly to refuel on water, still running in my short-sleeved black running top as the sun kept me warm as long as I moved quickly.
After Bray lock the Thames Path is fairly green and secluded again, although a bit boring after the beauty of the Maidenhead area. However, this is the perfect build-up to Eton and Windsor Castle. It is breathtaking to approach the majestic castle from the west as it rests triumphantly in the late afternoon sunshine! Crossing the bridge from Eton to Windsor saw us surrounded by tourists who might have wondered what these fellas with backpacks and race numbers might be doing at the UK’s premier tourist location.
After crossing Albert Bridge and passing Old Windsor Lock the sun started to set. It was still light enough to navigate without a torch, but temperatures started to drop quickly. I passed a family with two children; when the boy saw me running by, he asked me if I was competing in a race. I explained what I was doing; having seen my race number 7, he exclaimed “Number 7 is my lucky number! I hope you win that race!” I didn’t tell him that the winner of this race was probably at Molesey boat house at that time, enjoying his 2nd pint of lager, so I said “I’ll do my very best, and with your good luck nothing can go wrong”.
Passing Magna Carta island, it was almost pitch black, historic proof that they must have signed that document during sober daylight.
Checkpoint four just short of Bell Weir Lock was great, Anke handing out hot tea to the runners and all the marshals helping out where they could to accommodate the runners. I put on my warm long tights and an extra layer of clothes on top to keep warm. Temperatures were around freezing point now and having run for 9 hours my body was getting low on carbohydrates to burn for extra warmth.
Leaving checkpoint four I got lost a number of times as it was completely dark and I had to rely on my head lamp for spotting those Thames Path signs. After the M25 bridge I was back on track and followed a fellow runner that did the navigation part for me. With more than 10 hours on the path and the darkness I don’t have lots of memories of this part of the race, except that it was cold, very cold. But that was expected, just as the weather forecast had predicted, and it is part of the Thames Meander challenge; by signing up for the race, cold temperatures are part of the package.
Having adjusted to the darkness and walking/running with my new friend, we managed to find checkpoint five in Shepperton with ease. With just five miles to go to the finish and still having some water in our bottles, we opted to go straight on, not giving in to the temptations of the warm and cosy pubs of Shepperton as some other runners had.
Crossing Walton bridge we knew that it was smooth sailing from there to the finish. We had a good chat about the Marathon des Sables and other races to keep our minds occupied with other things, so time went by quickly. Too quickly, all the sudden I was passing Molesey Cricket Club and then there was the Molesey Boat House! I made it, some 13+ hours after taking off from Reading. Best thing: No injuries, no blisters and still in good spirit.
Ah, and - yes! - I did sign up for the 2009 Thames Meander. There isn’t a finer ultra marathon in the UK than this one. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
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Final thoughts
By Andreas | Wednesday, February 13, 2008
We are almost there - two more days to go to the Thames Meander! I am very excited and looking forward to the great race on Saturday. Kathy and Steve have put in a tremendous effort in making this race happen, and I am sure I will enjoy it up to the last mile - and so will you!
Looking back at these last few months, I have had the pleasure of submitting over 70 blog entries on a variety of running-related subjects. I hope that you found my writing interesting, maybe at times boring but hopefully entertaining, although, since I have always expressed very personal views, I am certain you have disagreed with me every once in a while. Good! Diversity is the basis of learning, trying out different things and reading other peoples views allows one to examine his own patterns and convictions, possibly leading to new insights and a broader horizon.
As you will have noticed, I am not a native English speaker, so thanks for putting up with my pidgin English. Having been born in Germany to parents with a Polish ancestry, English is my third foreign language and my command of its linguistic and stylistic intricacies is limited at best.
I must say that it has been a sincere pleasure and honour to keep this weblog for the Thames Meander, the finest ultra marathon in the United Kingdom, and I thank Kathy and Steve for their excellent work in architecting this great race through one of the most historic and beautiful parts of the country!
Dear reader, I wish you the very best on Saturday and on the endeavours that you will challenge yourself with in the future! Just keep running and be curious where your next steps will take you.
I will see you all on Saturday!
Andreas
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Tool Tip #19: The Front Pouch
By Andreas | Monday, February 11, 2008
Lucky you if you opted for a backpack with a front pouch - you will not regret your choice at the Thames Meander or the Marathon des Sables. The front pouch allows you to counterbalance the weight of your backpack so that you can run in an upright posture, rather than having to crouch forward. Naturally, you will want to put heavy things in the front pouch to maximise this effect. A bottle of water is ideal for that, since you will want to have your drink in close reach anyway.Organizing that front pouch is vital and can give you peace of mind for your race. Here is what you might want to keep in that front pouch:
- Maps and road book
- Head lamp and spare batteries
- Digital camera
- Mobile music player
- Mobile phone
- Snacks
- Isotonic drink powder or maltose sugar
- Salt tablets
- Band Aids
- Tissue paper
- Sun glasses, sand storm goggles
- Lip balm
- Extra buff
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Pro Tip #7: Saving weight and volume
By Andreas | Saturday, February 9, 2008
Preparing for my second Marathon des Sables, I have become a minimalist in regards to my packing; I am looking for creative ways to reduce volume and weight for the things I need to carry in the desert. I am trying to cope with a 10 litre backpack and a 5 litre front pouch, if possible. Here some things I do to reduce volume:
- I counted the number of breakfasts and dinners that I will take in the Sahara, to carry only the number of Travelunch meals and cereal bags I need
- With a safety pin, I pinch a hole in the Travelunch bags to squeeze out the extra air, then seal it with a piece of tape
- Being vegan, I will nourish on nuts to a large degree; they provide plenty of calories for their weight. To keep volume down, I will chop the walnuts; the almonds and macadamias are fine, vacuum packed in ziploc bags
- I will have my own mix of cereals for breakfast, vacuum packed in ziploc bags
- I will attach the emergency flare to the outside of my backpack to save space inside; the same for the sleeping bag for the first few days, until there is enough space inside
- I will bring mixtures of maltose and fructose sugar, individually vacuum packed in small bags, so that one bag will be for one bottle of water
- My wardrobe for the week will consist of the dress I wear for the race stages, plus one pair of long tights, a long-sleeved warm shirt for the night, spare socks and underwear, and a second buff; that’s it. The spare clothing will go in vacuum-packed ziploc bags
- To counter-balance the weight of the backpack, I will place as many heavy items as possible in the front pouch
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Tool Tip #18: “… been at the beach?”
By Andreas | Thursday, February 7, 2008
Running through the sand is one of those specialties of the Marathon des Sables that people living away from deserts or beaches rarely experience. How do you prepare for that, and how do you keep the sand out of your shoes?
The answer is you either cope with the sand, or you try one of the many styles of gaiters.
Lots of the great runners at the MdS don’t wear gaiters, their feet are used to the sand. Good thing about not wearing gaiters: The sand can drizzle out of your shoes as it got in, and taking the shoes off to empty them goes pretty quick.
If you like to try gaiters, like most runners do, just google something like “gaiters marathon des sables” and you will find tons of different solutions that you can tailor yourself or buy online. Shop around, try a few of these models if you can, see what fits best. There is no best solution to the problem of sand getting inside the shoes, and keep in mind that you can always take those gaiters off, if they help less than they obstruct.
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Pro Tip #8: Running for Charity
By Andreas | Tuesday, February 5, 2008
A while ago I have set up my fundraising website for the Marathon des Sables. Please visit
http://www.justgiving.com/adoerfler
and support my favourite charity, SOS childrens villages generously! 100% of the donations go to the charity, I am not making any profit on this at all.
SOS Children’s Villages provides family homes for children who have no one else to care for them. Over 60,000 orphaned or abandoned children are currently cared for by SOS mothers in clusters of family homes in more than 450 of our unique children’s villages, in 123 countries around the world. All donations are welcome and every donor will receive a copy of my MdS story a few weeks after the event.
If you are an MdS candidate, please consider setting up a fundraising site, too, and ask your friends and colleagues for charity contributions. Combining your favourite sport with your favourite charity is a winning combination that guarantees success and smiles not only on your face at the finish line!
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Tring2Town
By Andreas | Sunday, February 3, 2008
It was a cold event, just like the weather forecast had predicted. The ground was frozen solid the first few hours. Luckily, it was mostly sunny and hardly any wind.
As on all ultra races, camaraderie among the runners was superb! Lots of nice people sharing stories and tips for the Marathon des Sables or other great ultra marathons. The organization was good, with water about every 6 to 9 miles and some snacks on the last check points.
I was wearing my extra-large trail shoes that I’ll be running with on the MdS; with two pairs of socks, the running went just perfectly. I’ll do the same on the first few days in Morocco, reducing to a single pair of socks once my feet start to swell.
The temperatures varied a bit, warming up after two or three hours with the sun reaching it’s peak. I took great care to adjust my clothing a few times to make sure not to start sweating.
The first half of the race went very well for me. At around mile 20 I wasn’t paying attention and tripped over something and hurt my left knee. What a bummer! I went on part walking part running the next eight or so miles, trying to get my knee to function again. The last ten miles went OK. I even managed to sprint from the finish to the train station in Tring to catch my train to London Euston. No problems with my legs or knee this morning. In comparison to how I did two years ago on the same race - although it was the opposite direction, downhill, and slightly longer, I ran about 90 minutes faster this time and felt much better after the run.
Lessons learned: My XL running shoes are excellent, my backpack superb. I am in a decent shape, I believe my vegan lifestyle is making a big difference to my running. However, I need to start eating much earlier in the race to avoid preventable mishaps due to lack of concentration.
Thames Meander, I am looking forward to thee!
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Countdown to the Tring2Town
By Andreas | Friday, February 1, 2008
The weather forecast says it’s going to be cold tomorrow. Very cold. -1 to +5 degrees for forty long, long miles. At least it’s supposed to be mostly sunny. I’ll carry plenty of extra layers of warm clothing in my backpack, especially for after the race when the body is working hard on adjusting temperature.
Being just two weeks away from the Thames Meander, the The Tring2Town is a great preparation for the big event, last chance for some real life testing of the backpack and my XXL-sized trail shoes.
I am a bit nervous, like on all my ultra races, but I am looking forward to it quite a bit. It’s the anticipation to a race that gives direction to my training, and it is the sense of achievement after a race that motivates to set new goals, so racing is part of my running life. Wish me good luck tomorrow along the Grand Union Canal!
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Getting ready for the Tring2Town!
By Andreas | Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Only three days to go until the Tring2Town ultra marathon! The Tring2Town is a great race to test parts of the MdS equipment in a real-life scenario. As in the Sahara, the runner must provide his entire equipment and food (except water) at the Tring2Town. The good thing is that the runner doesn’t have to carry around as much stuff as on the MdS - it’s just one single day! - but it’s wise to fill that backpack with all you might possibly need. The compulsory items are:
- Back pack
- Compass
- Whistle
- An emergency blanket
- A torch
- A map case or waterproof bag (e.g., Ziploc) for paper directions
- Waterproof Jacket
- Hat
- Long Sleeved Top
- Long Trousers
- 10 safety pins
- Personal food
On top of that, I will carry along:
- My personal mixture of maltose and fructose sugar and some cereal bars
- Additional spare clothes for after the race, including a scarf and warm hat
- Band aids, contact lenses
- My wallet and a train ticket for the ride back home
- My digital camera and music player
- My cell phone - just in case I need to call for help
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