Sunrise broke at about 0600 camp time (the bivouac is on a different time to Morroco, GMT +0 if I recall correctly) and we woke up to begin our morning ritual. You have about 2 hours which seems like it should be ages but in reality is just right. My morning routine would be wake up, heat some water in my pot for breakfast and coffee whilst still in my sleeping bag (I had a extra large 1000kcal breakfast for stage 1 since I didn’t need to carry it). After breakfast and a visit to the facilities I packed up my sleep kit and prepared my clothes and body, blister shield in socks and taping toes as required, rubbing a sports shield towelette on my shoulders, lower back and bum (in that order!) and putting my trainers on and off several times as I kept forgetting that the gaiters need to go on your legs first. I also prepared my food for the day in the front pockets of my backpack.
At some point in this process the tent will be taken down around you in a flurry of activity as the berbers get ready to move everything to next bivouac.
We headed to the start line in time for the briefing my Patrick. By the end of the week to 20 or so minutes taken was getting a little tiresome but they won’t start without everyone so do get there on time.
The race started 20 or so minutes late, due to a few late arrivals and a timing issue with the helicopter and the chorus of Highway to Hell - we had the song twice whilst the chopper waited to get airborne then we were off.
It was great to get started after months of training and planning. My goals from the outset had been twofold; finish, and give a good account of myself. I knew I wanted to run as much of the course as I could but would make sure that finishing remained the priority. With this in mind I had set off at a steady jog whilst many around me positively sprinted off the line only to start walking on the flat a kilometre later as we filed onto single track through a tight valley. The course then opened up and I was able to get into my groove. My motto for the event had been to paraphrase the great ultra runner Dan Kanarves: “Run if you can, walk if you need to, crawl if you must but keep moving forward.”. This served me well. I would run on anything flat and hard, and anything downhill and walk uphills or on soft sand, or soft sand uphills!
Stage 1 gave us a good introduction to moving on sand with some small dunes and larger sandy climbs. Essentially you need to use the range of motion in your ankle to land and keep your feet flat with the sand, in other words don’t land on your heel or toe. If you do this the sand doesn’t move underfoot and you can keep moving fast. This only works however if the sand hasn’t been walked on yet - the worst is sand that lots of people have walked on, it’s soft, like walking on a beach. I would find myself 50 or so metres to the side of the course to get the virgin sand because of this.
All 30.3k of stage 1 went past in a blur, the way things do when your senses are alive to the novelty of new surroundings, in addition to the adrenalin of the race. After the start I can only remember getting stuck for what seemed like minutes but I’m sure was 10 seconds behind someone fiddling for their water card at checkpoint 1 and sitting in the footsteps of a French runner named Jean as we crested the last hill and powered in to the finish line.
At the finish line is a webcam, broadcasting a live feed. We had been reminded to pause and give a wave to the webcam for our friends and family - despite feeling like I definitely did this each day when I watched it back I merely gave a half second wave and walked off for my traditional sweet mint tea. The mint tea is superb and I found myself really looking forward to it toward the end of each stage.
After your mint tea you pass through a water station where you receive your water ration that should last you until the first checkpoint of the next stage. You are given a lightweight fabric bag at check in and they want you to present this, so it’s handy to have it somewhere accessible so you don’t have to take your backpack off. I would get back to my tent and immediately fill my water bottles to make sure I didn’t accidentally use too much and not start the next stage full.
Everyone in tent 56 got through day one unscathed, though Ross and Chris’s Raidlight packs had already started to rip at the seams… Roraigh to the rescue once again.
Top Tips Number 2
Not everyone can have a Roraigh in their tent. Bring a small tube of superglue, needle, thread and if possible a patch of parachute silk. With this Roraigh was able to fix ripped gaiters and backpacks that lasted the week. Be your tents Roraigh.
Have your water card somewhere accessible on your pack - you must present it at each checkpoint and you don’t want to cause a big queue trying to find it.
Have a think about your checkpoint routine. As I approached the checkpoint I would put my poles away, unscrew the lids on my bottles, take all the water rationed (don’t ask for more unless you really need it as they will give them to you, along with a time penalty!), fill my bottles, take a few swigs and pour any remaining over my shirt. I would then start walking where I would take 2 or 3 salt tabs and eat something, then begin running. I would be stopped for no more than 90 seconds. Checkpoints are time sinks, keep moving forward!
When you arrive at your tent, the very first thing you do is make a recovery drink (carbohydrate/protein). It’s easy to get caught up in sorting out your tent and kit and missing the 30 minute window you have to boost your recovery.
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