Selwyn Roberts
The Mds is well known to
be “ The Toughest Footrace in the World: it is a 6 day endurance event across
the Sahara desert, normally taking place at the end of March/ beginning of April,
during this time competitors (myself included) will have to carry all of their
food, equipment and survival gear etc over sand dunes and uneven rocky ground
in temperatures of up to 120 degrees.
A Runner in the Sahara
WHY IM RUNNING THE MARATHON des
SABLES
I happened to catch a
report of the event several years ago on TV, and was captivated by what I saw,
I thought then what an enormous challenge that would be, I had great respect
for all those who took it on. At the time I had a long-standing knee injury
that would not go away. I began to mention the marathon to several friends over
the next couple of years, and that I would be up for it, they naturally thought
I was completely off my head, but the seed had been sown.
Well I managed to get my knee sorted and began the task of putting
some muscle back on my leg, and gradually began doing a little trail running
with a friend. I went to see my
specialist in July last year and was elated to get the all clear. I began to
think more and more about the race and could it possibly become a reality!. I
began to read various accounts of previous competitors and how horrific some of
their stories were, one chap even got completely lost in the desert for 9 days
and almost died, others suffering badly from the heat, broken bones trashed
feet and complete exhaustion, it really made me think, but I was not put off.
Around October I had been monitoring the web site daily and was amazed to see
how quickly the limited number of entries were being taken, With what I can
only describe as a mixture of panic and excitement I took the plunge and
managed to get a place in the 22nd Mds 2007, I found that I had a
very restless night that evening and remember vividly waking with a strange
feeling in my stomache and thinking well Roberts you’ve really done it this
time
The more I looked at this
enormous challenge which now faced me the bigger it seemed to get, and of
course everything required, food, medical supplies survival gear and water will
have to be carried through. The training is extremely hard and I will have to
be running around a 100 miles a week with a pack weight of about 40 pounds
during the last three months before
the race, I have attached a few pics and shall be upgrading them as my training progresses
I have decided to nominate
Facing Africa as my chosen charity, having seen the splendid work they are doing
in fighting the terrible NOMA disease, I am hoping to raise as much as possible
during the MDS challenge.
if your not too squeamish
please click on the following links for more information
Links
Contact
& Personal Information
E-mail
address
Telephone
01978 761943
Competitor: Selwyn
Roberts
Age at start of race: 55
Occupation: Contractor
Town: Cefn-y-Bedd,
Wrexham
Country: UK
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Last revised:
23/06/06