When I woke up this morning at 5:00 it was 10 degrees below zero and very foggy. I filled my knapsack with everything one needs for a tour in the snow: a thermos of hot chocolate, sandwiches, water and headed for the hills, as it were. Here in the valley, it just looks like someone sprinkled powdered sugar everywhere - but as soon as you hit 1000 meters, the snow gets very deep - the best conditions for snow shoe training. Cristal clear air and the clearest of blue skies.
Most of you out there, especially those of you who live in the warmer parts of the globe, might not be able to imagine it, but the Black Forest has a one meter-deep blanket of snow in some parts. That means getting on the ol' snow shoes, a thick daun jacket and heading out for some deep-snow training, something I've been doing the last couple of years to prepare for the Sahara, as snow and sand are amazingly similar elements. Considering the fact that there's no sand in sight, the snow proves to be the next best element. Take one step forward, slip half a step back. It's pretty exhausting! As soon as I found the right remote area with the most virgin snow, I strapped up my knapsack, buckled on the snow shoes, and set out for the highest mountain of the Black Forest, the Feldberg.
The nicest things about today were a unique view of the Swiss Alps to the south, a view one has about twice a year. But nicer still and the biggest motivation to keep on going, kilometer for kilometer in the snow was the view to the southeast - towards Asia, India to be exact - and the view to the southwest, towards Costa Rica. What an awesome and far out feeling to have an icey wind and snow blowing in your face, but to have your mind full of very warm thoughts of marathons in far away tropical places, the hot sun pouring down on your bare skin.
Snow shoes and hot thoughts...
Monday, 24 December 2007
Sunday, 9 December 2007
I’m back!
After a very wonderful and regenerative break from running, I’m back on the ball and it’s full steam ahead with training. Only 7 more weeks and the running season starts. First stop: India’s Mumbai Marathon on January 20. It’ll be more than fantastic to escape the harsh winter in Europe and head for warm India again. What could be a better start for the marathon season 2008 than Asia’s biggest and most social Marathon? Aside from being in one of my favourite countries, I’ll be able to see wonderful friends again I met at the Great Tibet Marathon in Ladakh.
And I can’t think of any better way to get acclimatised for the jungle in Costa Rica – you heard right, just one week after the Mumbai Marathon it’s off to The Coastal Challenge inviting to the deep green humid jungle of Costa Rica where I’ll be able to put my adventure skills to the test over 250 km in 6 very grueling stages, taking participants through the thick brush, over volcanoes through rivers to the northwest coast of this beautiful country. Promises to be a tough one!
Won’t have much time to relax, as then the Sahara will be calling me to its midst for a week of heat and sandstorms. Yes, just 6 weeks after returning from the Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, it’ll be that wonderful time again, time to head for the deep south Moroccan desert for the most amazing desert challenge in 6 stages of between 28 and 90 km with average daily temperatures of between 45 and 50 degrees. You guess it right, now a third offender, I’m going for the Marathon des Sables, the third stop on my running list for 2008.
And I can’t think of any better way to get acclimatised for the jungle in Costa Rica – you heard right, just one week after the Mumbai Marathon it’s off to The Coastal Challenge inviting to the deep green humid jungle of Costa Rica where I’ll be able to put my adventure skills to the test over 250 km in 6 very grueling stages, taking participants through the thick brush, over volcanoes through rivers to the northwest coast of this beautiful country. Promises to be a tough one!
Won’t have much time to relax, as then the Sahara will be calling me to its midst for a week of heat and sandstorms. Yes, just 6 weeks after returning from the Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, it’ll be that wonderful time again, time to head for the deep south Moroccan desert for the most amazing desert challenge in 6 stages of between 28 and 90 km with average daily temperatures of between 45 and 50 degrees. You guess it right, now a third offender, I’m going for the Marathon des Sables, the third stop on my running list for 2008.
Monday, 1 October 2007
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Training for the Marathon des Sables - Physical endurance and Mind over Matter
Just recently I received a call with the news that I’d been “blessed“ with a start number for the Marathon des Sables 2008. Those of you are familiar with this event know what quote/unquote blessed means: the Marathon des Sables is worshiped - and dreaded by all 750 starters from all over the world – including Lahcen Ahansal, 10 time winner of this, the toughest footrace on earth. I am also going back to the Sahara – I’m certainly hooked.
Those of you who aren’t familiar with but are very interested in looking into something like the Marathon des Sables, this event is a 250 km long race through the Moroccan Sahara in 6 stages with complete self-sufficiency. The average daily temperatures in the desert reach 45-50 degrees, the atmosphere is arid. Accommodation: simple Berber tents. Dunes, plateaus, dried out salt lakes, cliffs, mountains. The terrain leaves nothing to be desire by a desert runner’s heart.
Hmmm, a lot of factors to consider while training. Where to start? How does one prepare for something like this?
Factors to consider for the desert:
- heat / low humidity
- sand and many various difficult terrains
- duration – one week and 6 stages back to back
- entire body exertion
- backpack with approx. 10 -12 kg (at the first start)
- survival skills/solidarity
- nutrition
and last but certainly not least:
- mental strength.
Those of you who aren’t familiar with but are very interested in looking into something like the Marathon des Sables, this event is a 250 km long race through the Moroccan Sahara in 6 stages with complete self-sufficiency. The average daily temperatures in the desert reach 45-50 degrees, the atmosphere is arid. Accommodation: simple Berber tents. Dunes, plateaus, dried out salt lakes, cliffs, mountains. The terrain leaves nothing to be desire by a desert runner’s heart.
Hmmm, a lot of factors to consider while training. Where to start? How does one prepare for something like this?
Factors to consider for the desert:
- heat / low humidity
- sand and many various difficult terrains
- duration – one week and 6 stages back to back
- entire body exertion
- backpack with approx. 10 -12 kg (at the first start)
- survival skills/solidarity
- nutrition
and last but certainly not least:
- mental strength.
Thursday, 13 September 2007
MDS pictures....
Bunched together like sardines for the 2 hour ride
The adrenaline flows as the camp comes into sight!
Tent 57 - home for the next 10 nights...
Some stages just never wanted to end...
Made it - first stage done! They're already waiting... 1148
Found the tent - time to start cooking dinner
Wake up time - getting ready for the next stage
Nice view of the earth's furnace...
Helmut - won the tent snorer award
The adrenalin's cooking - time to go to the first start of the MdS
Hitting the first checkpoint
What happens if you don't manage your water well...
And.....
Water - Lifeline of MDS
One of the biggest questions is: how much water do you get an event like the MdS?
Of all the things a runner has in the desert, nothing is as important as the water he’s given. But how do you manage your water supply in that heat? Well, the water is distributed as follows:
Normal stage: 9 liters per day
1.5 liters before the start each morning
2 or 3 x 1.5 liters during the race at checkpoints
4.5 liters on arrival in the camp
Marathon stage: 10,5 liters per day
1.5 liters before the start each morning
3 x 1.5 liters during the race at checkpoints
4.5 liters on arrival in the camp
Non-stop stage: 22.5 liters per day over 2 days
1.5 liters before the start in the morning
1.5 liters at checkpoints 1,3,5,6
1.5 or 3 liters at checkpoints 2 and 4
4.5 at arrival post
4.5 at the bivouac.
You’re allowed to take or not take the water at any of the checkpoints. However, not taking the water distributed in the morning can lead to penalties. Anyone caught throwing bottles in the desert are given penalties as well. Littering is absolutely forbidden!
The salt tablets should be taken about 2 every 2 hours to keep hydrated. The water should be mixed 2 times a day with electrolyte powder
Of all the things a runner has in the desert, nothing is as important as the water he’s given. But how do you manage your water supply in that heat? Well, the water is distributed as follows:
Normal stage: 9 liters per day
1.5 liters before the start each morning
2 or 3 x 1.5 liters during the race at checkpoints
4.5 liters on arrival in the camp
Marathon stage: 10,5 liters per day
1.5 liters before the start each morning
3 x 1.5 liters during the race at checkpoints
4.5 liters on arrival in the camp
Non-stop stage: 22.5 liters per day over 2 days
1.5 liters before the start in the morning
1.5 liters at checkpoints 1,3,5,6
1.5 or 3 liters at checkpoints 2 and 4
4.5 at arrival post
4.5 at the bivouac.
You’re allowed to take or not take the water at any of the checkpoints. However, not taking the water distributed in the morning can lead to penalties. Anyone caught throwing bottles in the desert are given penalties as well. Littering is absolutely forbidden!
The salt tablets should be taken about 2 every 2 hours to keep hydrated. The water should be mixed 2 times a day with electrolyte powder
Checklist for the MDS, Sahara
Looking at the required equipment list is enough to make your hair stand on end, let alone the event description. What do you need when you go to the desert? What is one required, what else is recommended?
The organizer checks each participant’s rucksack and its content to the very bottom. A lack of one or more of the following items on this list can lead to disqualification. No runner is allowed to start if one of these is not in his/her rucksack:
Rucksack that holds everything you’ll need for a week. Or two small ones, one in front, one in back.
Sleeping bag – ultra light, ultra small, maybe a thin pad (the ground is hard and full of small rocks)
Head torch with spare batteries – for the night stage and in camp when the sun goes down.
10 safety pins (for the start numbers – and they can come in very handy for holding things together)
Compass (you should know how to use it too!)
Lighter for cooking, making fires, possible distress, lamp failure
Jack-knife with several functions
Disinfection fluid for wounds, treatment of blisters when on your own on the course
Snake bite set – you never know when little creepy crawlies can show up and bite
Whistle – should be very loud, for possible distress situations
Emergency mirror – also for possible distress situations
Aluminium blanket - protects from hot and cold.
2000 calories per day/14,000 calories for the entire race.
These items are given to you before the race starts. They are also mandatory:
Salt tablets – to be taken in pairs every couple of hours during the day!
Emergency flare for the night stage – only to be used in a serious distress situation
Florescent stick, also for the night stage
The minimum accepted weight is 6,5 kg, the highest is 15 kg. no one gets by with 6.5, but 15 is absolutely too much. Rucksacks can be and are controlled at any point in time during any stage. Anyone caught without the mandatory equipment/required calories for the remainder of the race can be disqualified.
The organizer checks each participant’s rucksack and its content to the very bottom. A lack of one or more of the following items on this list can lead to disqualification. No runner is allowed to start if one of these is not in his/her rucksack:
Rucksack that holds everything you’ll need for a week. Or two small ones, one in front, one in back.
Sleeping bag – ultra light, ultra small, maybe a thin pad (the ground is hard and full of small rocks)
Head torch with spare batteries – for the night stage and in camp when the sun goes down.
10 safety pins (for the start numbers – and they can come in very handy for holding things together)
Compass (you should know how to use it too!)
Lighter for cooking, making fires, possible distress, lamp failure
Jack-knife with several functions
Disinfection fluid for wounds, treatment of blisters when on your own on the course
Snake bite set – you never know when little creepy crawlies can show up and bite
Whistle – should be very loud, for possible distress situations
Emergency mirror – also for possible distress situations
Aluminium blanket - protects from hot and cold.
2000 calories per day/14,000 calories for the entire race.
These items are given to you before the race starts. They are also mandatory:
Salt tablets – to be taken in pairs every couple of hours during the day!
Emergency flare for the night stage – only to be used in a serious distress situation
Florescent stick, also for the night stage
The minimum accepted weight is 6,5 kg, the highest is 15 kg. no one gets by with 6.5, but 15 is absolutely too much. Rucksacks can be and are controlled at any point in time during any stage. Anyone caught without the mandatory equipment/required calories for the remainder of the race can be disqualified.
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