yes you guessed it he has just passed that line, the finish line and I have just seen it live on the web cam..... how amazing is that and what a high am I on, can't imagine how he is feeling apart from probably a little sore and very tired.... however, he was still smiling like the Ol that we all love and know! He completed the 26 miles in just over 9 hours and he now has his treasured medal in the palm of his grubby hands (I say grubby as I am not so sure about the washing facilities that he has been using over the past five days)! So that is it he has done it, the most amazing adventure possible and the hardest physical test that he has so far entered himself for... watch this space to see if he has now got the bug for extreme challenges, although I am not sure my blood pressure or nerves can take anymore! So now you can all relax in the knowledge that all of your support both financial and vocal have helped Ol to complete 125 miles of sand dunes mountains and pain to reach the end of the 2009 Marathon Des Sables.
Well done Ol we are all proud of you and I am now off for a large glass of something strong, Hel Dave and I feel as if we have run the race with you and seeing you cross the finish line from the comfort of the kitchen has been the cherry on the icing!!
No doubt Oli will be back on here next week to let you all know about the experience good and bad!! Can't wait for that because there will be some stories to tell.... you know Ol......!
Friday 3 April 2009
Thursday 2 April 2009
History in the Making!
Not only can it go down in the history books as a Whittall running more than 26 miles but this Mds it appears is also to go down in the history books for another reason.. why… well yesterday and today’s stage (stage 4) is the longest stage ever to be run in the Mds, it was in fact an eye watering 56.5 miles yes you heard correctly and that brilliant brother of mine did it in no less than 22hrs 34mins and 28 secs that is an average speed of 4.03 mph. He has got slower but I imagine that he has also probably got quite a few blisters and goodness knows what else – just completing this stage is a feat in itself. If my night last night was a restless one then I dread to think of the one that he had as he by the looks of things he was probably running for most of it!!!
The bad news for the race is that tomorrow is the last day, for some reason the last leg on Saturday has been cancelled, not sure why, maybe it’s to do with the weather there is no word on that yet. So Oli now has another 26miles to do before he is home and dry and there is no doubt that he will manage it! Overall that will total to just over 125miles, which isn’t really that short of the original total, a fair distance in any man’s book!
Just as a bit of an update about the last few days playing in the sand, the warmest day (and I say the term warmest rather loosely) was yesterday – which also happened to be the longest one and temperatures reached 45 degrees in the sun (can’t think there’s a lot of shade in the desert…..) now that is hot! So far 32 competitors have withdrawn from the race and this includes the favourite who has previously won it 10 times… just goes to show that it can happen to anyone!
Now that I have come down from my cloud of relief having spent the morning waiting for the times to be put up on the Mds website so that I knew Oli had made it, I can relax and will let you into a few of the background facts surrounding the Mds – if any of you aren’t that interested stop reading now……
The Mds was founded in 1986 by Patrick Bauer who two years earlier had gone on an epic 200 mile walkabout in the Algerian Desert, at the end he felt excited about the trip and saddened that it had finished and so decided that he wanted to share the experience with others – hence the Mds! Incredibly the first year of the Mds in 1986 saw only 23 competitors taking part and most amazingly of all one nutcase did it backwards…. he was French though!!! Future Mds’s also had some pretty interesting ‘happenings’ occurring: 1990 Willy Rios an American finishes the race in 35 hours – not impressed, well you will be when I tell you that he was 73 years old! In 1994 Mauro Presperi of Italy goes missing in a sandstorm, he is found nine days later 44 pounds lighter having had to drink his urine you didn’t need to know that last bit but I added it for effect – it is true apparently!
Anyway the main point of today’s post is to let you all know that he has completed ‘the big one’ and will be sprinting home to the finish line tomorrow (ok maybe interspersed with a hobble)! Will yabber on a little more tomorrow once I know his time and his overall position! Happy Days!!!
The bad news for the race is that tomorrow is the last day, for some reason the last leg on Saturday has been cancelled, not sure why, maybe it’s to do with the weather there is no word on that yet. So Oli now has another 26miles to do before he is home and dry and there is no doubt that he will manage it! Overall that will total to just over 125miles, which isn’t really that short of the original total, a fair distance in any man’s book!
Just as a bit of an update about the last few days playing in the sand, the warmest day (and I say the term warmest rather loosely) was yesterday – which also happened to be the longest one and temperatures reached 45 degrees in the sun (can’t think there’s a lot of shade in the desert…..) now that is hot! So far 32 competitors have withdrawn from the race and this includes the favourite who has previously won it 10 times… just goes to show that it can happen to anyone!
Now that I have come down from my cloud of relief having spent the morning waiting for the times to be put up on the Mds website so that I knew Oli had made it, I can relax and will let you into a few of the background facts surrounding the Mds – if any of you aren’t that interested stop reading now……
The Mds was founded in 1986 by Patrick Bauer who two years earlier had gone on an epic 200 mile walkabout in the Algerian Desert, at the end he felt excited about the trip and saddened that it had finished and so decided that he wanted to share the experience with others – hence the Mds! Incredibly the first year of the Mds in 1986 saw only 23 competitors taking part and most amazingly of all one nutcase did it backwards…. he was French though!!! Future Mds’s also had some pretty interesting ‘happenings’ occurring: 1990 Willy Rios an American finishes the race in 35 hours – not impressed, well you will be when I tell you that he was 73 years old! In 1994 Mauro Presperi of Italy goes missing in a sandstorm, he is found nine days later 44 pounds lighter having had to drink his urine you didn’t need to know that last bit but I added it for effect – it is true apparently!
Anyway the main point of today’s post is to let you all know that he has completed ‘the big one’ and will be sprinting home to the finish line tomorrow (ok maybe interspersed with a hobble)! Will yabber on a little more tomorrow once I know his time and his overall position! Happy Days!!!
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Not a Camel in Sight!
As the title suggests Oli is well and truly thrashing those camels! For those of you who don't know what I am talking about (I am obviously assuming that someone else is reading this blog rather than just myself and perhaps Hel Dave)... 2 camels bring up the rear (so to speak), if any competitors fall behind these camels then they are immediately disqualified from the race! Have no fear though as that brother of mine is still tramping along at a fair pace! Yesterday (Tuesday) was stage 3, as you all know Sunday's stage 1 was cancelled due to the weather, well just so that the competitors don't feel cheated out of the full 151mile race they have extended the mileage for the rest of the week to make up for this 18mile deficit! So for example stage 4 which is being run today and through the night should have been 50miles but is now 54 - to be fair what's another 4 miles when you've already done nearly two marathons...... (probably quite a lot if you are looking forward to dried spotted dick for your pudding (please note this a form of food not injury)!
Anyway to get back to the update on Oli's progress.. he completed yesterday's stage in 6hrs 30mins and 49 secs a sterling effort and he is still maintaining an average speed of around 5.5/6 miles an hour very good going when you consider that the route is over dunes and rocky terrain. It looks like he came in with a group of four runners all Brits and I guess they dragged each other through the hard times!
So today as I have mentioned he embarked upon the 54 miles, he told me before he left that he was going to try and run it in one go ie. carry on through the night and just stop for a snack/water at the checkpoints, however, I guess that considering he told me this plan while supping on a glass of wine relaxing in his kitchen, the plan could well have changed by now!
Below is a little exert from a forum where one of the competitors on this year's race has e-mailed home, it gives you an insight into the whole Mds experience:
"It was particularly cold this morning with the thermometer just nudging over 1 celsius at start time, 9am, but got pretty hot later in the day. Yesterday's stage certainly took it's toll with the legs really feeling it in the dunes. There were a few long flat sections that really played with the mind but could be used to make up time lost in the dunes. Quite a few have fallen foul of large blisters and lost toe nails.Tonight’s dinner had the consistency of glue and would be quite good at keeping my gaiters stuck to my shoes!"
If you want to have a look at some pictures or videos that have already been posted then go the following website which is the official one for the Mds www.darbaroud.com you can also have a look on U Tube as people have been putting uploading (or downloading, I'm not v. high tech when it comes to computers) videos!
Think of Ol tonight as he is running while we are all sitting back relaxing and doing whatever we do in the evenings! 3 more days to go altogther now - COME ON OLI!!!!!!!
Anyway to get back to the update on Oli's progress.. he completed yesterday's stage in 6hrs 30mins and 49 secs a sterling effort and he is still maintaining an average speed of around 5.5/6 miles an hour very good going when you consider that the route is over dunes and rocky terrain. It looks like he came in with a group of four runners all Brits and I guess they dragged each other through the hard times!
So today as I have mentioned he embarked upon the 54 miles, he told me before he left that he was going to try and run it in one go ie. carry on through the night and just stop for a snack/water at the checkpoints, however, I guess that considering he told me this plan while supping on a glass of wine relaxing in his kitchen, the plan could well have changed by now!
Below is a little exert from a forum where one of the competitors on this year's race has e-mailed home, it gives you an insight into the whole Mds experience:
"It was particularly cold this morning with the thermometer just nudging over 1 celsius at start time, 9am, but got pretty hot later in the day. Yesterday's stage certainly took it's toll with the legs really feeling it in the dunes. There were a few long flat sections that really played with the mind but could be used to make up time lost in the dunes. Quite a few have fallen foul of large blisters and lost toe nails.Tonight’s dinner had the consistency of glue and would be quite good at keeping my gaiters stuck to my shoes!"
If you want to have a look at some pictures or videos that have already been posted then go the following website which is the official one for the Mds www.darbaroud.com you can also have a look on U Tube as people have been putting uploading (or downloading, I'm not v. high tech when it comes to computers) videos!
Think of Ol tonight as he is running while we are all sitting back relaxing and doing whatever we do in the evenings! 3 more days to go altogther now - COME ON OLI!!!!!!!
Tuesday 31 March 2009
And He's Off ....
Yes finally, all 812 competitors set off yesterday (Monday) for the 2009 Mds without a lilo in site (hopefully)! The start was at the foot of Morocco's highest dunes and the temp at 10am was 20 degrees. The 20.5 miles was across very high dunes and Oli completed it oh yes he sure did, in 5hrs 20 mins and 23 secs! He was only 2hrs 46 mins behind the leader and this chap is Moroccan and has won the Mds approximately 7 times in a row and so I reckon Ol is doing pretty damn fine! He was placed 498 overall which out of 812 if you ask me is fantastic! Don't know how his feet are holding up as all phones are taken off them at the start of the race (not quite sure why as it's not as if he can ring me for directions or anything is it.....)! He did tell me on Sat that he didn't think his rucksack was big enough.... you should have seen the kit he had to take and has to carry! Although as he gets into the week it should get lighter as he eats some of the food which I must tell you is rather grim..... dried sausage casserole that you add water too... just what you want at the end of a hard days run!
It appears that due to the weather and the fact that the route has had to be changed that this is making the marathon even more difficult and hard core than it normally is, for example the 2 leaders of yesterday's stage who are old hands at this race got lost and managed to run an extra 3km due to an oreientation blunder! By 1.30pm the temp was 29 degrees so is warming up slowly.
Anyway. today he is on a 25 miler - let's hope he got some sleep last night! They are having to carry their sleeping bags in bin liners so that they don't get wet - just in case it rains again which going on past few days wouldn't be out of the ordinary! The bivouac (tents) that they sleep in aren't waterproof and so that could be interesting if it does decide to rain! They are 8 to a tent all brits together, not sure who Ol is with but he said a few of them had got together on Sat and decided they would be sharing... I am sure they will be keeping each other's morale up whoever is in the tent!
So anyway not much more news to pass on I'm afraid, I have been trying to watch sky news in the evening in case I catch a glimpse of runner 756 (that's Ol) but as yet haven't seen anything on the Mds perhaps he's going to fast for the camera to catch him! Will let you know more tomorrow when I find out how he has got on today - fingers crossed, run forest run!!!!
It appears that due to the weather and the fact that the route has had to be changed that this is making the marathon even more difficult and hard core than it normally is, for example the 2 leaders of yesterday's stage who are old hands at this race got lost and managed to run an extra 3km due to an oreientation blunder! By 1.30pm the temp was 29 degrees so is warming up slowly.
Anyway. today he is on a 25 miler - let's hope he got some sleep last night! They are having to carry their sleeping bags in bin liners so that they don't get wet - just in case it rains again which going on past few days wouldn't be out of the ordinary! The bivouac (tents) that they sleep in aren't waterproof and so that could be interesting if it does decide to rain! They are 8 to a tent all brits together, not sure who Ol is with but he said a few of them had got together on Sat and decided they would be sharing... I am sure they will be keeping each other's morale up whoever is in the tent!
So anyway not much more news to pass on I'm afraid, I have been trying to watch sky news in the evening in case I catch a glimpse of runner 756 (that's Ol) but as yet haven't seen anything on the Mds perhaps he's going to fast for the camera to catch him! Will let you know more tomorrow when I find out how he has got on today - fingers crossed, run forest run!!!!
Saturday 28 March 2009
Drama in the Desert!
Well it looks like I was looking at the wrong weather forecast yesterday as it appears that it has been raining like mad in the Sahara - it is the first time in 12 years that they have had more than half an hour of rain but this time round they have had over 24 hours and flash floods! I spoke to Ol this morning and he is not in the desert yet as they can't get them there..... the site is flooded out and the first stage of the race has had to be cancelled! There are now more problems as the route of the race is over what would have been dry riverbeds - and yes you guessed it they are not so dry anymore in fact they are probably now fast flowing rivers! There is also a concern about quicksand and so the race may need to be re-routed! They will hopefully be starting stage 2 on Monday - but obviously this is weather permitting...... Ol as you can imagine is completely fed up as he just wants to get on with the race having waited two years to get to the start line! They have been put up in a hotel 3 in each room as there are so many of them.... not sure if they are going to be running around the town to keep their fitness levels up.... Ol was off to try and find some waterproofs - as you can imagine this wasn't on his list of things to pack!!!
Anyway that's all the info that I have for now - fingers crossed the next time I post something on here it will be to tell you that he has completed the 2nd stage has no blisters and the sun is shining (having checked the forecast again although obviously you may want to do this yourself just to make sure I am looking at the right country) it looks like the weather is going to pick up from Monday onwards and should become sunny and rather humid - not ideal running conditions but at least the emphasis will on running rather than swimming!
Anyway that's all the info that I have for now - fingers crossed the next time I post something on here it will be to tell you that he has completed the 2nd stage has no blisters and the sun is shining (having checked the forecast again although obviously you may want to do this yourself just to make sure I am looking at the right country) it looks like the weather is going to pick up from Monday onwards and should become sunny and rather humid - not ideal running conditions but at least the emphasis will on running rather than swimming!
Friday 27 March 2009
He's Finally There!!!!
Well we dropped Oli off at Gatwick yesterday morning (Thursday)! He had two bags – who knows if he had the right kit with him but he seemed to think that he hadn’t forgotten anything! I daren’t check his spare room where we checked things off in case I find some piece of equipment there that is vital to the race – his compass or anti-venom kit for example….!!!!!!
We left him in a queue of 200 other competitors and he was making acquaintances as we were leaving – you know Ol! I must say they did all look rather fit, I don’t mean in a buff way, just that they were wearing trainers and looking fairly athletic!
Ol rang last night and said that they were all a good bunch of people and he was just heading out for some pre race beers with them - hopefully not too many but again you know Ol! Guess the next week is going to be a good detox for him as I doubt they have a bar in the Sahara desert, it will just be water and electrolytes from here on in – not that I would imagine they will miss the odd pint or glass of wine following a day’s hard running the sands of the Sahara.. then again!
Had a text this morning and he was on the bus heading out into the desert… it is a good 5/6 hours to the camp and so I expect they will all be pretty tired when they reach it! Just in case anyone wants to know, below is the itinery for the race….. makes for eye watering reading when you think that the distances are all covered in the heat of the Moroccan day and over varying terrain…..
Fri – Travel to the Desert
Sat – Admin day, which is basically a kit check – they get time penalties if they have forgotten things!
Sun – Race starts Stage 1 - 18.6 miles
Mon – Stage 2 – 20.5 miles
Tues – Stage 3 – 24.2 miles
Weds – Stage 4 and the longest of them all at 50 miles, this is when Ol will be running through the night he has got a head torch – and boy do I hope he remembered to take the batteries!
Thurs – Still on stage 4 to complete the 50 miles, once he reaches the end of this stage at whatever time during the Thursday he can rest and anoint his blisters!
Fri – Stage 5 – 26 miles
Sat – Stage 6 – 11 miles and then hopefully the finish line will be in sight!
Sun – Hobbling day and awards ceremony
Mon – He flies home!
So as you can see a fun filled week of running/walking/crawling through the desert to the finish line! The temperature in Morocco at the moment according to BBC Weather is 21 degrees but it is much hotter in the desert! Hopefully I am going to be able to track him each day to see how he is getting on and so I do regular blogs to keep anyone who wants to know updated!
Will put some more info about the race on here tomorrow and some things that previous competitors have said about the race – couldn’t post them before Oli left in case it put him off!!! Keep your fingers crossed for Sunday everybody because that’s the start to this mammoth adventure/challenge!
Kate – Oli’s Twin!
We left him in a queue of 200 other competitors and he was making acquaintances as we were leaving – you know Ol! I must say they did all look rather fit, I don’t mean in a buff way, just that they were wearing trainers and looking fairly athletic!
Ol rang last night and said that they were all a good bunch of people and he was just heading out for some pre race beers with them - hopefully not too many but again you know Ol! Guess the next week is going to be a good detox for him as I doubt they have a bar in the Sahara desert, it will just be water and electrolytes from here on in – not that I would imagine they will miss the odd pint or glass of wine following a day’s hard running the sands of the Sahara.. then again!
Had a text this morning and he was on the bus heading out into the desert… it is a good 5/6 hours to the camp and so I expect they will all be pretty tired when they reach it! Just in case anyone wants to know, below is the itinery for the race….. makes for eye watering reading when you think that the distances are all covered in the heat of the Moroccan day and over varying terrain…..
Fri – Travel to the Desert
Sat – Admin day, which is basically a kit check – they get time penalties if they have forgotten things!
Sun – Race starts Stage 1 - 18.6 miles
Mon – Stage 2 – 20.5 miles
Tues – Stage 3 – 24.2 miles
Weds – Stage 4 and the longest of them all at 50 miles, this is when Ol will be running through the night he has got a head torch – and boy do I hope he remembered to take the batteries!
Thurs – Still on stage 4 to complete the 50 miles, once he reaches the end of this stage at whatever time during the Thursday he can rest and anoint his blisters!
Fri – Stage 5 – 26 miles
Sat – Stage 6 – 11 miles and then hopefully the finish line will be in sight!
Sun – Hobbling day and awards ceremony
Mon – He flies home!
So as you can see a fun filled week of running/walking/crawling through the desert to the finish line! The temperature in Morocco at the moment according to BBC Weather is 21 degrees but it is much hotter in the desert! Hopefully I am going to be able to track him each day to see how he is getting on and so I do regular blogs to keep anyone who wants to know updated!
Will put some more info about the race on here tomorrow and some things that previous competitors have said about the race – couldn’t post them before Oli left in case it put him off!!! Keep your fingers crossed for Sunday everybody because that’s the start to this mammoth adventure/challenge!
Kate – Oli’s Twin!
Tuesday 24 March 2009
NEARLY THERE!
Nearly there! Well, i've certainly not done a particularly good job of keeping this updated recently. Anyhow, it's nearly time, just 2 days left AND I'VE ONLY BEEN WAITING 2 YEARS FOR THIS!!!Can't wait, I just want to get out there and get going now.All the kit has been checked and re-checked, except for one tiny thing. Not sure if it'll all go in my rucksack as I haven't actually tried to pack it yet. Fingers crossed.Big thanks to my twin sisterwithout whom, most of the paper work side of things would not have been done and many items of kit would still be sat in the shop. Also to all of my various training partners, 2 of whom have fallen injured by the wayside (1 head injuries, the other spinal) but are making full recoveries, and one who had to stop after becoming pregnant.Have toned down the training over the last few weeks to a couple of short runs during the week. Unfortunatly we have been busier than usual on the work front so instead of going into this race full off beans i'm actually pretty knackered already. Doesn't matter though I have plenty of confidence and will finish on my hands and knees if I have too!So long until after the race.
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