Marathon Des Sables Diary

The Marathon des Sables (or "Marathon of the Sands") is recognized as the TOUGHEST FOOT RACE ON EARTH. 
Four-hundred competitors representing about 30 countries take part in this annual sporting event which is known as 
one of the most prestigious endurance competitions in the world. Competitors will cover nearly 150 miles on foot 
across the serene Sahara desert of southern Morocco...all while maintaining self-sufficiency. 
Competitors must carry everything that they will need to survive during the six arduous and often torturous days, 
which includes food, sleeping bag, snake-bite kit, medical supplies, compass, cooking utensils, etc. Only a ration of 
nine liters of water is supplied daily along with an open-sided Berber tent in the evening. Weather conditions change 
throughout the event with temperatures during the day ranging from 80 - 125 degrees Fahrenheit with constant threat 
of violent sand storms. 
Competitors can look forward to long days in the scorching heat and biting winds while crossing miles of varied 
terrain, often times skirting 650-foot sand dunes, stumbling over rocky and stony ground and gliding over seemingly 
endless dried river beds. At times the human caravan of runners will pass through a remote village or tiny hamlet 
frequented by desert nomads and small numbers of sheep and camels. 
In spite of the fact that this event attracts only the fittest, the competitors typically range from 16 - 74 years of age 
and include many women. The only person to have participated in all 12 previous events is the amazing Brahim El 
Jaoual, a butcher from Fez, Morocco, who is 64 years of age, and has ten children. 
The 13th Marathon des Sables is scheduled to take place from Sunday, 29 March 1998 - Saturday, 4 April 1998, and 
again will be held in the general vicinity of Ouarzazate, Morocco, in the midst of the world's largest desert - THE 
SAHARA.
 
Diary from 26th March to 6th April 1998
Thursday 26th March
Dropped Adam and Samantha off at school, they both wished me luck, as they said goodbye. I walked back home in 
the freezing cold to get ready.
I checked all my equipment and put my suitcase in the car. Sue was very quiet, I do not think she wants me to go.
We met at Picadilly station, Dave turned up first then Pete, but no sign of Ben. He had Pete’s ticket, who was getting 
a little concerned. We had a picture taken with a good luck banner. Ben arrived at the last minute, and we rushed to 
get on the train.
We took the tube to Heathrow, and sat around in the airport, we had met Keith by this time. There were lots of 
competitors around including teams from the paratroopers and the marines. We had our lunch at the Burger King, 
large everything as the last taste of junk food for who knows how long.
I had a long chat with one competitor who had completed the race last year, he gave me all the horror stories about 
how many toe-nails he had lost and how bad things got.
The flight was ok but lots of waiting around. We arrived at Casablanca airport, I wanted to change some money, but 
there was nowhere open. All the duty free and bureau de change was closed.
The internal flight to Ouazazarte was relatively quick. We arrived and queued again.
We traveled to the hotel in Landrovers, with the luggage up top. We met Chris Lawrence at the airport, he does not 
appear to be the outgoing adventurous type one would expect for this type of job.
A quick buffet consisting of chicken potatoes and vegetables, with fruit for dessert then off to bed. 
Friday 27th March
A poor nights sleep, then up at about 6:30 to have breakfast, consisting of croissants. A wonderful shower with the 
power to pin you against the back wall. I will look forward to another in around a week. Then off to the airport (well 
almost) people got called back to settle bills. The Moroccan’s seem keen to maximise their profits with excessive 
charges and poor exchange rates (9 Dirham to the pound instead of 16.2). We were called back but told to forget it 
when I questioned the bill.
As we arrived at the airport we could see a guard in his turret, you could see the barrel of his gun, and when he 
smiled. We hoped he would keep smiling.
A long wait in the searing heat whilst the French flew in. Chase the ace is not the greatest game in the world, Julian 
did a few balloon tricks. We set off at about 11am for the desert. The route took us over the mountains, and through 
many Moroccan towns and villages. We stopped for lunch, a packed lunch containing a strange combination of 
edible and inedible items with little substance. The place we stopped was well away from any villages, however about 
fifteen minutes after stopping several Moroccan children arrived to beg the food from us. They went around 
collecting items from everyone. We found a scorpion which had a rather bad temper and wanted to sting us.
Much later we arrived at the drop off point, 7km from the camp site. We rushed onto the cattle truck, throwing cases 
up there, and set off on a bumpy ride. At the camp site we threw our bags off and headed for a tent. Keith, Ben and 
myself got a good tent near the front of the site. There was a Berber band playing, which sounded really good if a 
little loud. As others arrived we selected the people we knew for the tent. Our company was Tony McCabe, David 
Greenhalgh, Peter Rose, Ben Nuttall, Julian Nemeth, Phil Oakley, David O’Brian and Keith Flanaghan. A good set of 
people.
As people arrived old acquaintances from previous years were being remade.
A good meal for tea, then we settled down for some rest. But the band kept playing, the winds blew up quickly 
through the valley with little warning, whipping up the sand and taking anything with it that isn’t fastened down. The 
tent (an open sided Berber tent, made from sewn together sacks and a couple of sticks) blew down several times in 
the night, and it poured down. Is this really the Sahara?
Dave O’Brien woke up outside the tent, his part had fallen down again.
Saturday 28th March
We packed the bags once or twice or three or four times, there was little else to do. At 2pm we had to get our 
equipment checked, and our medical checks done – a bit of a worry with my ECG reporting a ‘Post Ventricular 
Conduction Delay’, will they let me through?
All the equipment checked OK, I taught the bag checker the English names for all the essential equipment, which she 
pronounced with an Oldham accent. Pack weight at 11.1 kg plus water. On to the medical checks! Lots of questions 
about the training, and then about how I felt, all this in Franglaise due to the language problem. I got the go-ahead, 
what a relief.
Back to the tent to pack up again, then a late tea in the rain. We were starting to feel a little worried about the weather, 
as all our woolly jumpers are at home.
To bed at around 10pm the rain was pouring down, and the winds blowing strongly. The people at the edge of the 
tent are getting soaked. I managed to get to sleep around 11pm, but was woken at about 11:30 with someone putting 
a polythene tarpaulin over us all, are they trying to suffocate us? The noise from it blowing in the wind put an end to 
any hope of sleeping. Is this Siberia or the Sahara desert. This is a real place of extremes.
Sunday March 29th : Stage 1 24 kms 3:20 
Morning came and the rain abated. The Berbers took the tent at around 6am, hot bran muesli for breakfast (from my 
pack of course, as we are now self sufficient until the end. It poured down again, and we all ran to shelter in the 
official tents. A quick briefing from Patrick Bauer and we are at the start. The helicopters fly around videoing us, then 
we are off: There is a mad rush at the front, but we take a slow start. The rain is now banished and the sun high in the 
sky. Let’s hope this P20 sun cream works. Dave fell flat on his face near the start, we saw a blind man being led along 
in the race, and a chap with a prosthetic leg. These people are amazing. There was also a juggler, with three balls. But 
he put them away as soon as the cameras had gone. 
I took it really easy today, practising the drinking and getting used to the weather. Had to stop after about half an 
hour to sort my feet out. The tape was rubbing, I decided to remove it and rely on the Vaseline. A good move as it 
turned out. We ran through the sand and stony terrain. There were lots of children near the finish, they wanted to 
say hello, and try to beg things from us. The poverty of this place is a stark contrast to our own lifestyles. The money 
we have each paid to this race would probably feed a family here for several years.
We had a good chat along the way with Pete and Ben. We saw the finish line a couple of miles away, and ran briskly 
on. I overtook Julian with about half a mile to go, we crossed the finish line, and collected our water. It really is hot 
now, and I am burning up. I headed for the shelter of the tent, but it had not been erected, this is the problem with 
being tent 60 out of 60. The cokes we had been promised at the end of each stage had not arrived. This lack of 
organisation was to be the theme for the week.
Pete and I went for a walk after tea, over towards the town. There were hundreds of children around trying to beg 
borrow or who knows what. The police arrived in a jeep over the top of a sand dune, and the children ran for their 
lives. Fortunately the police got stuck in the sand, giving the children time to escape.
At night the sky was beautiful, you could clearly see all the stars, constellations and even distant galaxies. Shooting 
stars falling from the heavens, and the planets were all visible. This is more like I expected, and I felt good about 
being here.
The temperature plummeted at around 2-3 am, and I woke up shivering. I zipped my sleeping bag tightly to keep me 
warm, and settled down till the morning.
Monday March 30th Stage 2 37 kms 
The tent nazis arrived at 6am, and the tent went. I cooked up creamy oat porridge on my hexi stove. This is manna 
from heaven. The sun woke early this morning, and the temperature got very hot. We started on time today, across 
the sand plains, and past the town. Our feet sink in to the sand and it saps the strength from your legs. Lots of 
children turned out to say Bonjour. We continued along a dried river bed. The temperature is now unbearable. I put 
layer upon layer of sun tan lotion to protect me. The temperature reached 45? C (113? F). We kept going together 
(Pete Ben and I). The first checkpoint took forever. The water was running short, but the jelly babies were very 
welcome. As we traveled along we saw green fields ahead? The dried river bed was being irrigated from a deep well 
which had been dug on the far side of the ravine. We caught Dave O’Brian up shortly after checkpoint 3, he had 
misjudged the day going off too fast, and had fallen apart. He needed help to get him through which we metered out 
gladly. The temperatures are increasing, and I cannot stand this heat. We have about ten km to go and my pack is 
killing my shoulders. Pete and Ben’s feet are hurting by now. I tried to hurry them along but they wanted to keep their 
pace, they suggested I go on ahead, which I reluctantly did. I must get out of this heat as soon as possible. I pushed 
on overtaking many people on my way. I could see the balloons at the finish which spurred me on to a strong run, it 
was a relief to reach the finish and head for the cover of the tent. I kept an eye out for the others and went to help 
them as they approached the finish. I went to the Doctors for my shoulders, they applied antiseptic and gave me 
cushioning plasters. 
Much later Dave G and Keith came in. Dave was really suffering with his feet. They said Julian was really suffering. I 
watched out for Julian and went to meet him. Once he got over the line I took all his gear and helped him to the tent. 
We all tried to get him to drink, but he wouldn’t. This camaraderie is what gets most people through. It feels good to 
help others acheive something like this. The last people came in at over 9 hours, the blind man, everybody went out 
to cheer him in.
Tuesday March 31st Stage 3
Up early in the morning as the tent is thrown off. Hot cereal start for breakfast, then I sorted out my shoulders with 
the bandages. They are still very sore. The day is very hot already and it is still not 9 O’clock. We set off at 9 on the 
dot. I started off walking a good pace, and running on the sand to save sinking in. At about 6km there was a massive 
mountain. We overtook a lot on the way up as we sprung to the top. The going was really tough as the path 
disappeared under the windswept sand. We descended the other side to a checkpoint & heard of someone who had 
lost it at the top, and was foaming at the mouth. A good pace resulted in a tired but comfortable finish to the day, it 
felt good to get in the tent for a delicious sweet and sour. Pete and Ben arrived later, Dave a good deal after that, he 
was walking slow and awkwardly, I went out to meet him, he said "I am as ****** as a two bob watch, and my feet 
are like a butcher’s shop". Temperatures of 50? C reported today. 
Jules arrived much later in a complete mess. His face was white, his lips colourless and he could hardly talk, he would 
not drink and wanted to sleep. We feared for his life, so we had to call the Doctor, who dragged him off to the 
butchers tent for three Intravenous saline bags. The doctors wanted to stop him, but agreed to allow him to carry on 
if we prepared his food and looked after him. On leaving the tent he confirmed that he was fully rehydrated by 
keeping us waiting for about five minutes as he emptied his bladder. In the morning he felt better and decided to 
continue.
Wednesday April 1st and Thursday April 2nd Stage 4 11:52 Position 82
The big one 80km. I really want to finish this in one day, but we will see. I felt really good at the start, an early start 
today 8:30, we arrived at the start for the briefing at 8:15. At 8:45 Patrick graced us with his company and gave the 
briefing, off at 9am across the endless river beds, a good run across there 1:30 for the first checkpoint, this is good 
and on to checkpoint two. For long periods I was alone in the desert, making sure I followed the markers. Checkpoint 
2 at 2:50, and an extra 3 litres of water, I cant drink all this so over my head it goes. In this stifling heat it feels 
wonderful. I am going too fast, and slow down a little, this sand basin is stifling, the air does not move. Lizards 
scuttle away as I approach. The checkpoint does not get any nearer. I can see the checkpoint on the hill, my mind 
wanders and plays tricks on me as I stumble across the basin. It gets closer as I climb a mountain of sand. I get the 
water and guzzle greedily. Into the tent I empty my bag and swallow the salt tablets. Time to push on up the 
mountainside, through the soft sapping sand. I manage to run flat footed on it without sinking in too deep. The sand 
dunes continue, I reach in my bag for my camera, it is not there, I check again my salt tablets are gone as well. This is 
now desperate, will I make it to the end of the stage without salt? At checkpoint 4 I ask for help from fellow comrades, 
a chap from the army gives me 8 salt tablets, and I feel a great weight lift from my shoulders. I continue across 
another mountain, my knees are suffering and the tanks are empty now. Checkpoint 5 is miles away. I cross a dried 
river bed several miles wide, camels wander across the path. As I approach the mountain pass the Ahansal passes 
gliding effortlessly over the rough terrain, it looks like a walk in the park for this man. I get through the pass, but the 
checkpoint is not there. On and on without markers, then eventually I reach it stumbling across the large rocks and 
rough terrain. More water and worried questions from the doctor. I continue, as there is only one hour of daylight 
left, and I want to make the most of it. Through another pass, then the dunes, endless dunes. I am on the right track I 
see a marker. I take a bearing knowing I will not make the checkpoint before nightfall.
Darkness falls, and I cannot see anyone ahead., fear sets in: Am I on the right track. No markers for over half an hour 
now, should I go back? Ten minutes later, it is frightening, the torch gives no depth of field and I am falling up and 
down the dunes. In a last ditch effort before turning back I climb to the top of the highest dune. I see a light ahead, 
and head for it. Fifteen minutes later and I see the green lights of the checkpoint. Checkpoint 6 only 7km to go. The 
staff say the luminous markers have not been placed yet on the dunes. Light sticks mark the way from now on, the 
fear is gone. The 7km seems like 20 as I stumble along, reassured by the patrolling land rovers. I hear a loud noise 
behind me, an army truck nearly runs me down. I jumped out of the way, then continue but all is dark. My headtorch 
is broken. I try to get the spare bulb out to no avail, and decide to continue using only the light stick. My knees have 
been drilled out using a black and decker, and I want to curl up and die. I will do no more running today. I eventually 
reach the turn. The end is well hidden from view, and I see the run in. People start to cheer, and I find myself running? 
I cross the line, and collect my water: still no cokes. I stumble to the tent shouting for help to find it. Nobody is at 
home, then collapse in its cover, the pain in my legs is intense, and I have earned several blisters.I feed and chat to 
other finishers. Dave O’Brian arrives after about 25 mins then Phil at about 12:30. People continue to arrive through 
the night. There spirit is undaunted by the night and the conditions.
Thursday dawns, Ben and Pete arrive at about 10am, Keith at around 12. At 5pm Jules comes in looking very tired, no 
sign of Dave. He is spotted in the medical tent: his feet packed in at checkpoint 3. He had to retire and for once looks 
extremely depressed. Pete got his feet butchered again. The screams were loud. Today was an easy day with lots to 
eat to recover from the big one. A big dung beetle tried to roll Dave O’Brian off in the night, I felt something crawl 
across my face in the middle of the night? we found a small scorpion in the morning. 
Friday April 3rd Stage 5 5:16 Position 131
The marathon stage, this will not be like any marathon I have done to date! I started running alongside the 
Moroccans, but had the good sense to let them go after about 800 m. I ran well for the first two checkpoints 1:15 then 
2:30, a difficult checkpoint to 3 with lots of sand, resulted in 4 hours. On a normal marathon I would have finished and 
pretty much recovered by now. 10km to go to the finish no problem? I carry on, I can see the finish at 4:45, can I 
finish in 5 hours? That comes and goes but the end is no closer, and I am overheating badly. I lose ground, and my 
sanity. This place is hell. I walk and run the last part to finish in 5:20 with coke and water at the finish. I am more 
proud of my slowest marathon time than any of the others. The end is now in sight.
Dave, Phil and Ben come in. Pete is struggling, he arrived at the tent at about 8:40 in a mess, badly dehydrated, he has 
not drunk for 5km and has been hallucinating. The vultures (Doc Trotter’s ) wanted to pull him in. He shakes his way 
through a couple of litres of water and a lot of salt. He recovers in about an hour to the point at which he can worry 
about his badly blistered feet. Jules came in at about 10 hours dehydrated again. We are all in now and can relax. 
Spirits are high as we can think about the finish. At 11:30 the last few come in to singing and dancing. Dave ‘Obrian 
turned some food down today which was a bit of a shock for us all.
Saturday April 4th Stage 6 1:23 Position 226
The last stage awaits. A split start with the bottom fifty to go an hour early. Keith and Jules line up. We speak to the 
officials, who say anyone with bad feet can go early, and arrange for Ben and Pete to do so. We cheer them on their 
way then wait for 10am. We set off across the dunes. Spirits are high. Running and walking through the dunes and 
the final plains before reaching the tarmac road. On through the villages, with hundreds of children begging and 
cheering on the way. I run a while, then walk, as my water bottles empty I give them to the children who disappear to 
hide their treasures. I passed Ben who was having a good chat on the way, once I got into the city I passed Jules. 
Nearly there now the pain and suffering subsided as my legs felt rejuvenated. I feel like walking but the policeman 
ahead indicates 2km to go. I continue, then I turn into the final straight the finish is ahead I run overtaking people as I 
go 20 yards to go I raise my arms, the crowds cheer, then the shout becomes louder as someone tries to overtake me. 
We have one final battle before the line as my hat blows off in the rush. It is all over, Patrick puts the medal around 
my neck and the race is over. I see Pete and Dave and we congratulate each other. Was it all worthwhile? I think so, I 
found out a lot about myself this week. How I react under pressure and in extremes, and was not disappointed!