The MdS Race Expo

Strange to have an ‘expo’ for a race held so far in advance of the event.  Even stranger that the venue should be the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.  Stranger still that it is now up there as one of my favourite days on the planet……ever.  This slot was previously reserved for my 32-hour round trip to Moscow to watch John Terry fall on his derrière and in all fairness watching my team lift the Champions League trophy will probably remain at the top until next year.  Surely if I am lucky enough to cross the finish line intact though, this will become my most special day. 

However, on Saturday 19^th October I met one of my absolute idols (off the top of my head, this list also includes Sir Alex, Thom Yorke and Chrissie Wellington): James Cracknell, the 2-time Olympic Rowing Gold Medallist, 6x World Championship title holder and endurance athlete extraordinaire.  He came 12th in the Marathon des Sables in 2010, the highest place any Brit had achieved in the 25-year history of the race.  I’ve followed his career and his crazy challenges avidly over the years, reading his books and watching the documentaries which unfortunately culminated in a horrifying accident while cycling in the US during his Race Across America quest in 2010.  Still, he looked incredibly well recovered on Saturday and provided us with a rousing and funny account of his training and his journey through the desert (I’m no longer quite so envious of his wife after hearing his story of practicing, sometimes unsuccessfully, using a pee bottle in bed).  I was very disappointed with my own performance on the day though.  I don’t really buy into our celebrity culture but as noted there is a handful of people that I really would genuinely love to meet.  Being presented with the opportunity to tick one off on Saturday did not ultimately fill me with glee, as it should have, but with a stack of nerves.  Instead of the witty repartee I had imagined, I found myself mumbling and stumbling quite embarrassingly.  At least I managed to wangle an autograph but I was too tongue-tied to actually ask him what it said (it turns out we have handwriting in common, i.e. hieroglyphics).  It has since been translated for me as “good luck, get stuck in” (thanks for that, Rob). 

 

 

James wasn’t the only hugely inspirational person who gave of their time to inspire and prepare those MdS participants who came from all over the UK to learn as much as possible about the task ahead.  As well as the many informative tutorials throughout the day from previous runners and experts, there were two other remarkable keynote speakers.  Felicity Aston, a British adventurer and climate scientist, ran the MdS in 2009.  Last year, Felicity became the first woman to ski alone across Antarctica, a journey which took 59 days over a distance of 1,084 miles.  I found her incredibly inspiring, particularly her willingness to be open about her fears when completing such mind-boggling solo expeditions.  And finally, Kenton Cool – 11 time Everest summiteer who this year completed the Everest ‘Triple Crown’ in seven days, encompassing Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse (the 1^st, 4^th and 19^th highest mountains in the world respectively), a feat previously considered impossible owing to the length of time required in the death zone (altitude > 7,500m).  And yes, it is his real name.  How apt.  Yet he insisted on being in awe of us, since he has a pathological phobia of sand!

So apart from meeting these exceptional lunatics, what did I learn?

a)     I learned that there is a lot to learn

b)     There is a huge amount of conflicting advice

c)      Freeze dried expedition food is not so tasty….

d)     ….instead, a clinical nutritionist (!) recommends a race diet of supernoodles (500 kcals for 120g of weight), nutella, jelly babies and beef jerky

e)     A woman of my weight will require ca. 4,500 kcals per day to remain energy neutral – we will be carrying 2,000 kcals per day #crashdiet

f)      I probably needed to start treating my feet with surgical spirit to ‘tan’ them about 2 months ago

g)     Road shoes are ok so perhaps no need to try anything drastically different for footwear

h)     Heat can be mimicked by wearing waterproofs and a hat on the treadmill – should get me a few funny looks in the gym…

i)       …but the fitter you are, the better you will cope with heat.  It's all in the training after all

j)       I was told that I had not yet become obsessed enough with extra weight, given that I have neither cut all of the extra bits off Boris the backpack, nor cut my hair!

k)     And finally, I learned that I am so glad my days at university are long behind me – these back-to-back lectures and tutorials were tough going.

People keep asking me why I have entered this ‘Marathon de Craziness’ as my friend Laura has dubbed it and this has got me thinking.  There is a section of the MdS website which sells the race as follows:

-          You will experience something unique, something you will never forget

-          You will make lifelong friends
-          You will push your mind and body to the limit
-          You will find things out about yourself
-          And in all likelihood you’ll get kissed (twice!) by a Frenchman
 
If I’d read the bit about the Frenchman, I might have thought twice ;-) but in all seriousness this is a pretty good summary of the reasons.  It was said on a couple of separate occasions by the speakers at the expo that you and your body are capable of so much more than you know.  Pushing yourself to your absolute limits and (hopefully) prevailing is an incredibly powerful thing – comfort zones are built to be smashed!

But the most important takeaway from the expo was to enjoy the race, even in those darkest of moments.  I am incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to run in such an awe-inspiring environment and it is an experience that I will be unlikely to repeat.  The inevitable moments of pain and desperation will be eclipsed completely by the feelings of utter joy at crossing the finish line - a bit like childbirth (or so I am told).  Perhaps that was the abstract logic behind the location of the expo…..

 

Please visit my fundraising site for the charity, Hope for Children.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LynnCalder

My first run with Boris….

…..as he is now affectionately known. Thanks for all the suggested names for my new MdS backpack. The winner was Boris the Backpack (thanks Struan). I decided that since he was going to be my most constant companion for the next 6 months of training and in the desert, he deserved to be christened. I fully expect, in my most non-lucid moments, to be indulging in conversation with him in the Sahara, à la Wilson from Castaway. And yes, I have considered drawing a face on him but I think any defacement at this stage would be disrespectful. I plan to have my friends write some inspirational messages on him before I go though, which he can ‘read out to me’as I run (have I already started to lose it?)

 

So, my first long run with Boris yesterday. I hope we can remain friends. I feel sure that we will have our ups and downs after experiencing the straps biting into my shoulders and the not-yet-anywhere-near-race-weight bruising my lower back.  But it is early days for us both and in fact this weekend marks exactly six months to go until I travel to the desert. Interestingly, the MdS will also mark almost exactly one year since Coach Ken’s 2013 training camp in Majorca. Will it be as intense, I wonder?

As well as some training anecdotes, I plan to detail my kit list purchases on the blog for your reading ‘pleasure’. There seems to be no end of equipment required for this journey and the challenge is getting to know what is essential vs. nice to have (remembering that you have to carry it on your back) vs. pure luxury. I have already decided that my main ‘luxury’ item will need to be a manual toothbrush of industrial capability to navigate the somewhat inopportune timing of having had fixed braces fitted to my teeth!

My second purchase, after Boris, was these rather snazzy Injinji socks which are perhaps specially designed for me, in order to keep my slightly deformed toes out of the way of each other.

Surprisingly difficult to put on!

And the next investment will be in footwear. The advice is to buy shoes which are 1.5-2 sizes too big to account for swelling in the heat but I think I will need to do a normal-sized test run before I the tackle clown feet.   Salomon XA Pro 3Ds, Innov8s and Hoka One Ones are all in the mix – an important decision to be made asap!

Well that’s all for this blog, folks. I am still slightly in awe of the concept of writing a blog so any feedback / suggestions / requests to shut up are most(ly) welcome.

But it wouldn’t be complete without reminding everyone of why I’m doing this. Although the race seems a long way away, I have committed to fundraising milestones for my charity, Hope for Children, to allow for them to pay some of the organisational fees associated with the race and also to get money into the hands of their various projects to improve the lives of hugely under-privileged children. I have been completely humbled by people’s generosity so far but for those who have not yet visited my fundraising page, please do:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LynnCalder