After 2 years and 3 months of training

...the MDS is here.

Before I post any further remember that later this week you can go here to the Marathon Des Sables website, and a link will appear allowing you to "Write to a competitor". My race number is 857 - Richard Weremiuk. You can send only text, no pictures, and send as many messages as you like. It is going to get harder as every day goes by, so I'd love messages every day. Even if you've never spoken to me, commented on my blog or anything. Just to know that someone somewhere is supporting me will give me strength. The organisers distribute the messages on paper to the competitors every evening. You will also be able to see the results on line. If all goes to plan I should be able to send an email which will be published as blog post update every day, so check back here between the 28th a 5th April for news.

My main website is here and please remember my fundraising effort here

It does seem a long time ago since my first training post. where I ran 3 miles, but it also feels like it has flown by?

Lets wrap up this weeks training first. I did 45 min sessions at MMU on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I am eternally grateful for their support, and have 1 final session on Tuesday. I went to the gym on Tuesday and Friday; I did a 30 minute interval session, followed by strength and stability work on Tuesday, and just strength and stability on Friday. Everyday this week I have spent a total of 45 mins each day in the sauna.

On Saturday I ran 10k with my actual fully packed MDS backpack (more of that in a minute).

Here are a couple of shots. You get a feel for the countryside I have been running on for two years. I am standing at the top of a hill in Apedale, a former mine. I've climbed this hill and those all around in almost every training run I do. I feel kind of obligated to post a shot! I look tired (eyes)in that first picture. The second one is bleached out, but what you are actually looking at is my actual MDS pack with all kit and food inside.





On Sunday I ran 8 miles (850ft ascent) with no pack. I seem to have a right Illiotibula band niggle. I'm not too worried about it, but I'm getting a sports massage on Tuesday evening anyway, so hopefully that'll help. My left calf seems to be ok, but I didn't tempt fate by running with a full pack today just in case.

I weighed out all my food and kit, bagged it all up and packed it into my 30L Raidlight pack on Saturday. It was a squeeze getting it all in, but I managed it. I am concerned about the state of repair of my rucksack. On Tuesday I picked it up and a 12-inch rip tore open. I've stitched, glued and taped it back together. This isn't the first repair I have made to the pack; it was stitched up before La Trans Aq last year. The pack is 2 years old and quite literally falling apart. I just hope it'll make it 152 final miles. I am carrying a needle and thread in my equipment, just in case.

Here is my food list. (Click to enlarge)





You can see I am carrying around 3000kcal per day, which is way over and above the 2000Kcal requirement. I remember feeling hungry on La Trans Aq sometimes (I carried around 2600kcal), so I have a little more food this time. Also because technically you are required to carry 2000kcal per day, including the last day for some bizarre reason (short distance usually and then straight on the bus to the hotel), I have added a 200g bag of trail mix for almost 1000kcal. I will be eating that bag of food throughout the week, and not on the last day. In case you are wondering what the Oxo cube is for, it is to make a quick hot drink if I want one. I also have 14g of coffee granules to use if required. I am carrying mostly savoury snacks to eat on the move, and will take Endurolyte capsules hourly as well as drinking SIS Go electrolyte mixed to half strength.

I am carrying 19,400Kcal versus a requirement of 14,000.

Next my backpack contents:



Most of the kit needs no explanation really. I am only carrying spare socks, not spare clothes. I am taking a Tyvek suit for the cold evenings and mornings. I will take a Helly Hansen Lifa top with me and make a call on the administration day if I will actually include it in my pack; it just depends how cold it gets at night. I have a first aid kit of pain relief tablets and blister care products. Because I am very concerned about hygiene out there I am packing hand cleansing gel, and chlorine tablets to keep my eating equipment and drinks bottles clean. Most of my items are individually sealed in plastic bags for hygiene and to protect from the sand.

After getting the fuel tablets, distress flare and road book on the administration day, plus the 1.5l mineral water bottle on the start line my pack should weigh around 10.5 kilos. This will reduce my around 750g per day as I eat the rations.

Finally, what I am wearing:



I have not made a final decision on some items, hence the OR between them. I will likely wear the Ecomesh top instead of the UA compression top though. Not sure about my legs yet; shorts or full length cover (sun protection). My goggles have a removable seal to leave them as standard sunglasses. I am carrying my GPS watch, it's a Globalsat and not the Timex which got lost in December in Tenerife in that storm I got caught in. I use the watch purely to get my average speed, and the other watch to keep an eye on the humidity.

On the kit subject I have had some terrible service (theft) from a website called aktive8 (www.aktive8.com). So I am posting an attive8 review here to hopefully give people a heads up on what kind of company they are dealing with. Just type aktive8 reviews into Google, and read the horror everyone else has experienced as well.

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I ordered some goods on the aktive8 .com website which was easy enough to use. 4 days later I checked the order status on their website and the status still showed only "Payment Taken" and not "processing" or "dispatched". I emailed the company and said "if the goods have not already been sent out then cancel this order". They clearly paniced and emailed back to say "it was dispatched yesterday". Then mysteriously a few minutes later, my online status changed to "goods dispatched on [previous days date]. Two weeks later the goods still had not turned up and the company could provide no proof of postage, and took days to answer emails. After being threatened with trading standards they simply stopped emailing or contact of any kind.

My take is that they did not have the goods in stock, and then panicked when I said to cancel the order and made out as though they had already sent it, when in fact they had not. They hoped to fulfill the order at some later date, but when told I was no longer interested and would be pursuing a refund (which they refused to do) they stopped emailing.

They are currently under investigation by trading standards and my credit card company. I still have no refund (14/05/08)

Beware of this company, who clearly employ terrible business practice and customer service. There are countless reviews of the web of customers getting worse treatment than me. As a matter of standard practice, the company takes your payment in full even if they do not have the goods in stock. Rip-off merchants.

EDIT: (01/08/08). My credit card company has investigated and concluded the same as me. They have pulled my money back out of Aktive8 account and refunded me in full.
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So that's it. I am virtually all packed and ready to go. I'd better say my goodbyes to you now because I am not necessarily going to get time to post again before I leave for London on Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who has already posted or emailed their best wishes. I fly out on Thursday, the race starts on Sunday 30th March and runs through to 5th April. I am hoping to get some treatment on my back and IT band to hopefully get rid of my last niggle.

Working on the assumption that is successfully treated then I have no excuses for myself. I am happy that I am fit as I could be.

I was looking at the average speeds of last years MDS finishers and was shocked to discover that a mid table finisher (position 300) averaged only 3.7mph for the whole distance. Now these will have been athletes certainly a lot more capable than I am. I finished 3/4 down the table in last years La Trans Aq, so I must work on the assumption that I could be averaging around 3mph. I will be running when I can, but stopping to refuel/rest at checkpoints as well as tough terrain are the reason that the pace looks so slow. It just goes to show how hard this event is.

For me there are just two worries in the MDS - heat and feet.

My feet are in as good condition as I could expect them to be. I take care of them nightly, but just this week I watched an MDS DVD and people who had never had a blister in their lives got them just 6 miles into day 1! Everyone I am sure secretly hopes that they will not get blisters for a few days, when the reality is far worse. None of them could explain why they were getting blisters, but I imagine that it is a combination of the heat, uneven terrain and being forced to walk rather than run. Everyone is going to get blisters; it is just a question of management. I have all the tools to repair my own feet and hopefully avoid a visit to the infamous doc trotters who cut off the entire blister at soak in iodine to avoid infection. If my feet get in a real mess then I will reluctantly seek their help, but minor blister and can treat. I have sterile syringes, hypodermic needles and Friars balsam to drain and then inject the disinfectant into the blister, before taping it down with bandage and Leukotape. I know my own feet and the areas that I typically blister, so I will just have to keep a close eye on the situation.

Heat - well this boils down to hydration. In it's simplest terms I must stay hydrated to complete the MDS. It really is that straightforward. However, it is a trap that dozens fall into every year, so it is obviously not as easy as it sounds. If I were to average a pace between checkpoints of 4mph then I have calculated that I should be drinking at least 750ml every 45 minutes. This means I would have 1.5 hours to get between checkpoints which could be 6-8 miles apart, at a guess. Obviously 8 miles apart I have to make 750ml last an hour. Regardless, the amount I am drinking will never replace the amount I lose over the day. I will always end the day in some state of dehydration, so rehydrating at the finish line and during the night is absolutely essential. I have to adjust my pace to my condition, the terrain and the weather conditions. If I feel rough, I slow down and up my water intake. I have to drum this message into myself. I feel as though this is all I have to do to complete the MDS. I am not overly concerned about the distances. Yes some are long and it is going to be hard, but I have covered them all and more in training, so endurance is not an issue. I just need to stay well hydrated and well fuelled.

Mental toughness is what everyone says is needed. I've had some tough old times in my training, and I fully expect to have to call upon the strength gained through misery to bring me through the week.

So, I am about to embark upon what has occupied what feels like my every waking thought for over 2 years. My entire life for two years has been devoted to this goal.

I am well motivated, I am well prepared, and I am well trained. I am going to complete the Marathon des Sables.