HunnyMonster By Proxy - MdS Update Thread

--amadeus-- · 26-03-2009 4:34pm #1

Well, as promised I will be doing my best to be HM while she's away. Not by being nice to Zuppy (he's not my type) or by running 20 miles and swimming the length of the Shannon on my rest day. Nope, instead I will be regurgitating her progress emails out to you all via the wonder of teh Interweb. So here it is, part One...

~~~

News so far. In England about to head to Airport for next leg to Africa. Last chance for a greasey fry. Bucket and shovel packed the the mega sandcastle building competition. :-) Jo's Gators didn't fit shoes so she had to adapt them. Only noticed this last night. So extra bit sowed in now. Makes the gators less sand proof.

Our race numbers will be

614 HunnyMonster
711 ZuppyLurk

There is the possibility for people to send us emails via the http://www.darbaroud.com site. Details only go up when the race starts.

Last year’s details were Remember to tell your family, friends and sponsors that they can leave you messages during the MARATHON DES SABLES, but only from 29 mars to 04 april 2008. Go to the website and follow the instructions.
http://www.darbaroud.com
section "écrire aux concurrents/write to competitors"
After 04 april, this email service will no longer be operational.
Only messages with surname, first name and race ID number will be transferred.
Do not send attachments (e.g. photos, smileys). This will cancel the message. Messages will be given to competitors on the bivouac every day.
Note: AOI cannot transfer messages posted on the FORUM.

~~~

I don't want to give thier real full names out but if you have the race number you should be able to work out the rest and I am sure the lads would like to get messages. As soon as I hear more I'll let you know!

Peckham · 26-03-2009 4:52pm

When sending heartfelt messages from home, don't forget Odysseus, who is also slogging his way through that desert. Am sure we can work out his race number as soon as that site is live.

--amadeus-- · 26-03-2009 5:00pm

Peckham wrote: »

When sending heartfelt messages from home, don't forget Odysseus, who is also slogging his way through that desert. Am sure we can work out his race number as soon as that site is live.

Very true - Odysseus is number 713.

911sc · 27-03-2009 8:27am

13 Oirishs are running it!

N° Nom Prénom Sexe Age Nationalité Equipe
346 BREEN David H 27 IRL
573 BRACKEN Cathal H 32 IRL
579 BUTLER Ronan H 30 IRL
612 FARRELL Gary H 28 IRL
614 HunnyMonster
677 LEONARD Michael H 29 IRL
691 MCCORMICK James H 42 IRL
696 MILLS Michael H 40 IRL
711 Zuppylurk
712 O CONNOR Raymond H 39 IRL
713 Odysseus
784 THOMPSON Joseph H 27 IRL Facing Africa
848 ROCHE Karl H 29 IRL

<Mod edit> sorry I know that all that info is in the public domain, but I'm not comfortable with full names and Boards IDs in the same post. HM put her and Zuppys first name and race number out on Boards so I'd rather that's all we posted here. I wouldn't want someone googling her name (or Zuppy and Odysseus for that matter) for professional reasons and getting hits on here. You will need the surname to send a message but you can get that from the organisers website. Sorry to be uber-strict but I'd be p*ssed off if my full name were published without my permission.

911sc · 28-03-2009 10:42am

(Day 1) Sunday 29th March - 18.6 miles - CANCELLED
(Day 2) Monday 30th March is 22 miles long.

Still to come:)
Day 3 - 24 miles
Day 4 - 50 miles (night)
Day 5 - rest (may be)
Day 6 - 26.2
Day 7 - 13 miles to the Finish (4th April)

Hard Worker · 28-03-2009 12:15pm

I think the MdS starts tomorrow. Competitors were left stranded in their hotels yesterday as the transport couldn't make it to the start area due to flooding ( believe it or not ). You normally have two days in the desert before you start.
By the way, Sarah Moores, GBR, number 699, is "adopted Irish" and would be known by some people on this forum.

911sc · 28-03-2009 1:17pm

Thanks, HardWorker, you are right.

While we have not been told the specifics as to why, yesterday's rain has already affected this year's Marathon des Sables. Today's Admin Day at the bivouac has been cancelled. More important, tomorrow's first stage has been canceled and will not be made up. The race will lose 30 km (18.6 miles) to total "only" 212 km. We will stay at our sweet hotel, Hotel Kasbah Tizimi, another night.

According to race personnel, the first bivouac was "ruined" ... and not because of the British. Interestingly, a few Brits refused to take a hotel last night and slept in the washed out bivouac.

It's still cool and overcast with a light drizzle. I expect the desert will be in full bloom by week's end. The only change in the week's forecast was a 1 C increase in the lowest low, which gives me comfort that my ultralight PhD Minim Ultra sleeping bag will be sufficient. I hope so, as it saves me a good bit of weight.
Written by Bryon Powell

Bet you nobody has thought about bringing a wetsuit:)

Slogger Jogger · 28-03-2009 1:26pm

Just saw the 'write to a competitor' bit open for use for the first time. Get those messages of support in...

Hard Worker · 28-03-2009 1:31pm

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Just saw the 'write to a competitor' bit open for use for the first time. Get those messages of support in...

Definitely. It is unbelievable the lift that the e mails give to you when you are tired, smelly, hungry, in pain and fixing your blisters.

Racing Flat · 28-03-2009 4:21pm

Bummer, having a stage cancelled; would it be a bit like having to stop a marathon at 24miles? I wonder if everyone who does it this year will feel like they have unfinished business? But I suppose if they get taunted with 'Ah but you only did it the year it was short' they can retort 'but you only did it the year it wasn't flooded'...

Any idea why the people refused a hotel, was it to get the full race experience or was it something more practical like not having the resources?

911sc · 29-03-2009 1:24pm

Press release on Mds website

First stage scheduled for Monday 30th if the weather does not oblige the organisation to cancel the race.

Hope the weather clears up for them.

Peckham · 29-03-2009 2:05pm

Looking at updates on an MDS forum, it looks like things are clearing up out there and they're preparing for all systems go on Monday morning.

Problem seems to be that the tents aren't designed for the rain, basically they're sun shelters with no sides.

Seems like a bit of a shambles at the moment though - they're being bussed between different hotels, running out of hotel rooms etc. Very frustrating for all concerned I'm sure.

--amadeus-- · 29-03-2009 9:03pm

Ok, this is a twofer:

Thur / Fri:

We landed in Morocco to a very pleasant 25C. Unfortunately we found out this is about 1100 meters altitude and the race will be at sea level. I wonder if the Irish rule of thumb that you lose 1C per 100m height is true here also?
We queued for ages for immigration, then for a bus, for the hotel ... I will be an expert at standing in queues.
We had a quick walk around town before dinner. The architecture and dress is very Arabic but the cafes and social scene is pure french, complete with old men playing boules in the town centre. We did walk past a workers rights rally although Niall didn't join his brethren. Dinner was a humoungous buffet and I think we all over ate somewhat. The upcoming week on freeze dried rations is high in our minds.
Neither of us really slept much and we had a 6 am alarm call to say the busses would be leaving an hour early. Had my last shower for 9 day and got on the bus for the long journey to the middle of nowhere.
Almost as soon as we started moving we hit a storm. Not at all what I expected in the Sahara. The rain is just like you would expect in the tropics but with thunder and very strange, almost round, lightening. I guess this doesn't happen much around here because the rain was causing mud slides everywhere. After 6 hours avoiding the mud, flash floods and miraculous managing to stay on the road through the hairpin mountain turns, we then transferred into army trucks for the last 12 km across country. To say it was bumpy is rather conservative. When we got to camp it was a bit of a mud bath. About 2/3 of the competitors had got stuck behind the floods and returned to the hotel so we set about raiding bits of other tents to try and put together something approaching waterproof. We spent ages on our construction (including tarp porch) we were told we couldn't spend the night in camp and we are currently waiting for the army trucks to come back and collect us. Not sure where we are going. Also not sure what the plan is from here out as the Morocco desert has turned into one massive swimming pool.
HM

Sat:

There is not a huge amount to report from the desert today. Last night the army trucks came back to get us. The flat bed is about chin level on me. Pull-ups while carrying a 10 kg backpack from a muddy ground is not something I thought I would be able to do but it didn't look like the moroccan army was going to wait. We were evacuated to a nearby hotel (in Erfoud I think) and fair play to them, they accommodated 300 muddy runners with no fuss or drama.
Unfortunately the smokey hotel has had a predictable effect on my lousy lungs and I'm having some difficulty breathing. It's not much fun and while I don't think it will put me out of the mds, it will definitely slow me up a fair bit. As if the sand, heat and pack weren't enough eh?
Breakfast came and went with no word of the plans, similarly lunch but we've just heard that the start is being pushed back a day until Monday and rather than starting with relatively solid ground we will be starting with an assault of the ergs (larger sand dunes) as these are the one bit of the Sahara that is not flooded. More people have arrived at the hotel so the rooms are pretty cramped now. Meals are interesting. Niall reckons it's like a swarm of locusts feeding.
We got out for a bit (another 12 miles to the 1000 challenge please!) we also visited a souk/kaspa to buy some polythene to try and keep our sleeping kit some bit dry. The lightest sleeping bags are made from duck down but when wet they way a tonne which would not be pleasant to carry around. The souk was very interesting but we didn't dally around much. The fair haired Irish woman in shorts was attracting a bit of attention in a part of the sahara where a burka appears to be a bit risque.
Seamus also got out for a wee run today. I think it started as a walk to test backpacks but became a run when the thunder and lightening started. Simon needs to take his "races I've jinxed" comedy show on the road. At one stage today we packed up our backpacks to test them out. Simon came in with his food all pre-paclkaged by day and super organised. Given that he represents, what I usually consider the baseline of organisation necessary, I began to worry that my 'shove it all in, any old way" approach might not work and set about rearranging everything. Theresa is remarkably calm about the whole thing. Zuppy is wandering around making new friends as always. His legs are pretty tight but should be ok. He has been touring the hotel giving impomtu lessons in emergency medicine.
Tomorrow is admin day where the french organisers go through our kit to check we have all the essentials and enough food to survive the week in the desert
Congrats to Collier on a great run in Galway today.
HM

Zuppy adds - just a quick hello to all my fans out in real world. I know you will vote me out of this reality show. Hopefully soon. Who knew I would see the Sahara in a biblical flood and freeze. But tomorrow should be better. Food in hotel is different but great. Long queues but I suffer on. :-) desert will bring freeze dried rations so I am stocking up. Adieu and farewell till tomorrow.

Hard Worker · 30-03-2009 6:02pm

Just watched three short videos on the official website www.darbaroud.com
It's hard to believe the weather. In one video, one of the Land Rovers is submerged.
No results up yet for todays stage.

Hard Worker · 31-03-2009 10:39am

Irish results from day 1 ( stage 2 ):

3.32.54 James McCormick 46th
3.50.06 Karl Roche 95th
3.55.21 Ronan Butler 116th
4.29.04 Cathal Bracken 261st
4.33.05 Joseph Thompson 289th
4.41.43 HunnyMonster 330th
4.59.00 Zuppylurk 411th
4.59.00 David Breen 411th
5.01.30 Ray O'Connor 426th
5.01.30 Sarah Moores 426th
5.03.28 Michael Mills 431st
6.35.23 Odysseus 714th
6.46.23 Michael Leonard 738th
6.53.52 Gary Farrell 749th

Great to have an Irishman in the top 50.
Great running from HunnyMonster.
Hope I didn't miss anyone in the results.

Peckham · 31-03-2009 10:41am

Good to see all the Irish finished yesterday (in fact, it seems everyone finished yesterday)....and looks like HunnyMonster is flying through that desert!

911sc · 31-03-2009 9:01pm

Temporary results after Stage 2

Pos # Name Time From leader
52 691 MCCORMICK James H IRL 07H37'56 2H22'02
128 848 ROCHE Karl H IRL 08H37'11 3H21'17
173 579 BUTLER Ronan H IRL 09H02'11 3H46'17
344 784 THOMPSON Joseph H IRL 10H13'05 4H57'11
355 614 HunnyMonster F IRL 10H16'06 5H00'12
396 712 O CONNOR Raymond H IRL 10H35'53 5H19'59
450 573 BRACKEN Cathal H IRL 11H01'42 5H45'48
456 711 Zuppylurk H IRL 11H04'32 5H48'38
524 696 MILLS Michael H IRL 11H40'08 6H24'14
658 612 FARRELL Gary H IRL 13H45'54 8H30'00

En cours de classement:
? 677 LEONARD Michael H IRL *** ***
? 713 Odysseus H IRL *** ***
? 346 BREEN David H IRL *** ***

Hunnymonster is 25th female, 2h55min behind first female. Well done.

--amadeus-- · 31-03-2009 11:11pm

25th - she'll be grumbling about that

Cracking performance though. And she's currently holding bragging rights in the HM / ZL household!

Anyway news:

From Zuppy:

Hi all
Today was tough. 33KM Sand dunes. Nice way to start. Day one was cancelled for weather reasons. Anyway since i dont type well on a french keyboard. Read HMs mail. 5 Hours of fun in the sand dunes with broken ground inbetween. Gaiters came off so going to lose a toe nail I think. Sand caused a lot of blisters and tomorrow will tell how my feet react. Walking poles bought at last minute were a godsend.

In camp, dranks somemore, treated feet, protein shake is crap hot by the way, mailing you lot after 1.5 HOURS in the queue.

Mailing restricted so more tomo. Stunning scenes out here. Doest feel real at all, except for the pain. Bucket and shovel still with me.
Try to think of me suffering tonight in the cold on stoney ground. 39km tomorrow.
Adieu

And from HM:

Hi All, especially that extra hunky co-moderator of mine,
First off the contact info. My race number is 614, Zuppy is 711 I think and we are in tent 67.

Yesterday we got up at the crack of dawn to move to the next village along for all the technical checks before the race. They took a long time and there was queue after queue after queue. That said, there was only one spit of rain. At the briefing, there was a vote taken. Option 1 was to cancel the race because of the conditions, option 2 was to proceed on a song and a prayer and make it up as we go along. The vote went to option 2.
This morning we were bussed out to the desert to start running. It was pretty surreal standing with 800 other people in the middle of nowhere. Backpacks had been packed and repacked and repacked again in attempts to reduce the weight but we all still felt the load when we geared p for the start. The first stage was 33 kms but most of it was through sand dunes and these were very tough going. We both finished well. out of allowed characters, more tomo

(I edited that a little bit, bet you can't see which part....)

--amadeus-- · 01-04-2009 2:46pm

Latest from the sandpit...:

Everyone got home safely last night but some not until after dark. A couple of blisters but no serious injuries.

Today was hot, windy and hard terrain for 39km. The organisers are having a nightmare trying to find enough suitable land for us to run on. Unfortuantely this means the routes are not the easiest. Usually there is only one dunes day (which was yesterday) but as dunes dry quicker than other parts of the desert, we spend quite a bit of time knee deep in sand today. While it's fun, the constant up and down is very hard work. We also had a strong headwind for the first 10 km. After this, we got onto some shale type terrain which was very hard underfoot. I nearly prefer the hard owrk of the dunes to this. Water isn't as plentiful as yesterday either. While I don't think any of us are seruiously dehydrated, I would like another liter or two.

Updates on everyone
HM: a couple of blisters but nothing too bad. Feeling the hard terrain and the pack is killing me. I can't believe how hard it is to run in the heat with the packl. Temps 33 yesterday bnut much hotter today, not heard exactly yet.

Zuppy: Did ok yesterday but developed 7 blisters today. He's just had them treated (nasty stinging iodine) and is currently hydrating dinner. I think he found it tough going.

Odys: Is in different tent to us but everytime I see him, he is cooking up a brew and having a fag. Looks happy though

Simon: paid 100 quid (approx 10 euro) for two bin bags, was thinking of digging to St Albans for sa shower but walking at very fast pace. Just waiting on h im to come in from stage 2

Theresa: Had a long day out yesterday. Couple of blisters to show for the effort but started strong this morning. Cutoff 10 hours so keep fingers crossed.

Might not email tomorrow. Long day (double marathon) and we will be running right through the night.... I'm not looking forwardc to that. Navigation is tough enough when you can see landmarks, it's going to be tough in the dark.
HM

baza1976 · 01-04-2009 10:43pm

legends

Hard Worker · 02-04-2009 8:03am

The long day must be absolutely savage this year. It would normally be won in 7 or 8 hours, however, the winning time this year was around 13 hours. Very few showing in the results yet.

911sc · 02-04-2009 10:12am

If i am not mistaken, it was won in about 8hours.
The results lists current leader as AHANSAL Mohamad in 13H32'5, which is time since the start of Stage 1.

Ah, found it. It was won in 8h08min. See results of first 500 here

So far results of stage3 are as follow
691 MCCORMICK James 15H08
848 ROCHE Karl 15H40
711 Zuppylurk 15H47
579 BUTLER Ronan 17H22
712 O CONNOR Raymond 18H37
573 BRACKEN Cathal 18H52

Still racing
614 HunnyMonster
677 LEONARD Michael
696 MILLS Michael
713 Odysseus
346 BREEN David
784 THOMPSON Joseph
612 FARRELL Gary

Peckham · 02-04-2009 10:25am

Good going by Zuppylurk, considering HM said he was finding it tough going. Also, would imagine "tough going" is understatement of the year when it comes to describing MDS!

--amadeus-- · 02-04-2009 10:35am

IIRC he's a tidy runner (close to 3hr marathon) but has dodgy knees. He's mad even doing it, let alone to be doing well.

HardyEustace · 02-04-2009 10:46am

If HM isn't in yet, how many hours does that mean she's been running for?

rovers_runner · 02-04-2009 11:05am

The most recent result in from today is:

500 867 WOHLGEMUTH Dale H CAN ATHLETES IN ACTION / CANADA 35H33'29 22H00'32 4,50

--amadeus-- · 02-04-2009 11:09am

I know they have cut-offs on these stages, any idea what it is for the long one? I can't see them allowing 24hrs+ for it?

Rusty Cogs 08 · 02-04-2009 11:25am

Well only 60% of the competitors have finished Stage 3 at this point. Would be some stage to lose 40% of the field, however when's stage 4, surely not today ???

--amadeus-- · 02-04-2009 11:29am

They are supposed to run on consecutive days under normal circumstances, that's what made me ask.

HardyEustace · 02-04-2009 11:32am

I think that on times they're not as strict, one major rule is that you can only have three iv drips over the week. If you need more than that then you're pulled from the race.

Maybe she's already in but they haven't logged her number yet.

I hope she's ok.

911sc · 02-04-2009 12:15pm

Rusty Cogs 08 wrote: »

when's stage 4, surely not today ???

Stage 3 started on early 1st April.

AFAIK, today is a "sort of rest day": rest day for those finishing early, 1/2 rest day for those finishing not so early, very short rest day for those finishing late today

Stage 4 is tomorrow, Friday 3rd April.

Rusty Cogs 08 · 02-04-2009 1:45pm

The site hasn't updated in 2 hours

damoz · 02-04-2009 2:49pm

She made it - if i have deducted correctly.

24H56'52 now thats lonnng run. Very impressive (although insane) stuff !

PS = also noticed that Saturday stage is cancelled - so only 1 stage left. Not sure if id be glad or sad if i just ran for 25 hours. Id probably just be delerious.

Rusty Cogs 08 · 02-04-2009 3:15pm

So far results of stage3 are as follow

691 MCCORMICK James 15H08
848 ROCHE Karl 15H40
711 Zuppylurk 15H47
614 HunnyMonster 16H48
579 BUTLER Ronan 17H22
677 LEONARD Michael 18H26
712 O CONNOR Raymond 18H37
573 BRACKEN Cathal 18H52
612 FARRELL Gary 22H52

Still racing
696 MILLS Michael
713 Odysseus
346 BREEN David
784 THOMPSON Joseph

damoz · 02-04-2009 3:22pm

Rusty - I think those times you listed are the time they finished after the winner of the stage, so add 8 hours

jlang · 02-04-2009 3:35pm

I'm assuming a 25 hour stage result would include some much deserved time spent lying under a checkpoint tent? All sounds like a harrowing experience to me. I have extreme admiration for those doing it.

By the way, the photos on the race website are really good.

rovers_runner · 02-04-2009 3:37pm

Seems to the uneducated like they drop off a load of lunatics in the desert with a compass and some bottles of water, survival of the maddest

pgibbo · 02-04-2009 3:38pm

It's unbelievable that they can keep going and push themselves so hard. Kudos to them. They must have savage mental strength. Very impressive & inspiring :cool:

911sc · 02-04-2009 3:57pm

HM times:
Stage1 4h41min
Stage2 5h34min
Stage3 24h56min (91kms)

Overall 35h12min - 52th female

HM was 25th after Stage 2. Stage3 must have been a unbelievably hard.
Well done.

damoz · 02-04-2009 3:59pm

rovers_runner wrote: »

Seems to the uneducated like they drop off a load of lunatics in the desert with a compass and some bottles of water, survival of the maddest

Seems like a fairly accurate assessment

911sc · 02-04-2009 7:56pm

Saturday Stage 5 has been cancelled! So, tomorrow Friday stage 4 of 42kms is the last one.

I think this decision has been taken as a safety measure as yesterday's/today's Stage 3 of 91kms has been very very though, with even some top runners giving up.
Hat off, to all of you MdS runners/walkers, and particularly to Stage 3 finishers. I can not image the pain you went though.
And if i was to ask them "What's next now?", i bet you they all say "MdS 2010". Mad!

Hard Worker · 02-04-2009 10:53pm

The long stage is normally approximately 80Km and runners are allowed around 40 hours to finish. Some stop for a few hours at a checkpoint or two and others just keep ploughing ahead. I don't know why the long stage was 91Km this year. That is probably the longest stage in the history of the event.
I misread the times in my earlier post which means that the leaders must have been motoring well. One of the Ahancal brothers pulled out so things must have been tough.
With only a measly marathon left, things will be easy for them now.:)

Peckham · 03-04-2009 8:28am

All Irish are back in after stage 3.

Odysseus crossed the line in 30hrs 23mins, with final Irish person coming in just a bit over 32hrs.

Hats off to them for keeping going. After a far from ideal start, and what would appear to be tough conditions, everyone of them is a hero.

Abhainn · 03-04-2009 9:05am

Can't wait for their race reports. It'll be very interesting reading !

--amadeus-- · 03-04-2009 9:06am

I've included a bit at the top from HMs brother.

3 mails received, starts bad gets worse then gets a bit better (Christ I'm clinging on here that ' this cripple can walk through the pain' with a smiley face is positive). Anyone who doesn't know what Necrosis is and are thinking of Wikipedia might prefer a life of blissful ignorance. If anyone gets a second to post a message I'm guessing it would be much appreciated.

http://www.darbaroud.com/uk/html/mds/general/uk_24mds_ecrire.php

They seem to have cancelled Saturdays stage if I'm reading correctly and added to Friday's time though the English translations are not great so If your French is good you may want to check there. This is the unedited babble. I think I may send the Mammy a slightly rosier picture. It is quite interesting to read this direct view from competitors and compare it the press releases which read like promotional documents for a Fun corporate team building retreat.

Hi all.

Not a very productive day today. Yesterday started with a 91km stage the longest ever in the history of the race. It started with a lot of sand dunes and moved on to a dry wadi bed with lots of mini sand storms. Mud flats to round it off. Then we headed up a long set of rocky mounds. I am not quite sure of the order sorry, head is still messed up. Checkpoint 4 saw lots of high dunes followed by a climb up a 45 deg escarpment and a steeper decent (which I did in the dark). HM laid up in CP5 and slept and just arrived in. Tired and wrecked. Chest infection is worse and green gunk is coming out. Any ideas? Her shoulders are hurt from the heavy pack and feet are wrecked. Sand here is like glass applied with a wind blower. I push through the night because I needed medical attention. Feet lost blood flow and got ripped as my gaiters got shredded. I came screaming up the last 12km in the dark in pain and worry about my feet. Cut everything off and medical team treated me.

So Jo is wiped. She needed a week to recover and a course of lots of drugs.
I set me legs back about a year and have possible 2 days let. Frustrating is the fact the weather conditions that cancelled day have lead the organisers to choose the most brutal course possible to save face and not to have it listed as the easiest one. Longest day to date ever was 74km. Putting 91km in has hurt lots of people. As I sit here 26hrs after the stage started, people are still rolling in in ones and twos. Sun is baking those who chose to sleep rather risk getting lost in the night. I am worried about my feet.
Looked necrotic last night but the dark blotches have changed to red, the hamstrings won't work and lost my quads 2 days ago. Shin has a lump, don't think its a stress fracture but can't admit that to anyone. Dehydration a huge factor. Specking of which I need to head back and pick up today's water ration.
HM is in bits but will rally once dinner stays down

HM is better now that she is resting and had dinner. I am suffering with what the French call gastric confusions. 3 times an hour only now. Got a cool can of Pepsi today as a treat. We feel honoured. 45km stage tomorrow but no idea of terrain. but to be fair the maps are useless. So longest day ever and a second ultra. Never been two ultras and before you point out its only 3km you really need to see the walking wounded.

I got back at 2am and HM at 10 after her sleep but people are still rolling in and its 17.00. She might be faster but this cripple can walk thru the pain. :-)

Everyone is in bits bar the elite field. And some of them have dropped out.

Charlie- Enjoy editing my babble. Life is not so good in the desert.

TheRoadRunner · 03-04-2009 9:15am

eh, this does not sound like fun at all :eek:

I have watched highlights of MDS on television when I was a kid and always thought I would do it one day. Having read some of the above I definitely don't think it's for me. Hopefully they will all get through this and get back in one piece !

TFBubendorfer · 03-04-2009 9:16am

After reading that post I think I decided I'm not too tempted to do the race myself any more ...

--amadeus-- · 03-04-2009 9:20am

Zuppy is a trained medic and I'm not sure if that is a help or a hindrance on something like this - he knows why his leg condition is bad and maybe ignorance is bliss!

What makes it even worse is that I sent a message last night where I was teasing them about how I had just finished eating a fresh pineapple

(And I bet that for every person who reads that report and thinks "Jesus, I'll never do that!" there are a couple who read it and it makes them more determined to run it...)

tagoona · 03-04-2009 9:22am

I've been reading the reports and have to say,
"Dear god, what were they thinking".

I'm glad they're all relatively okay though. Hopefully they can pull through it without any permenant damage!

MCOS · 03-04-2009 9:24am

:eek: It really is more of a test of will and courage than a 'run'.... Hats off to those guys I can't wait to hear about it once they have recovered and can throw a few thoughts together.

Ganbatte HM chan!

Stupid_Private · 03-04-2009 9:31am

--amadeus-- wrote: »

(And I bet that for every person who reads that report and thinks "Jesus, I'll never do that!" there are a couple who read it and it makes them more determined to run it...)

Ok, own up. Who the hell could read that and be more determined to do it?! Fair f*cks to them for carrying on. That's some determination on their part.

HunnyMonster By Proxy - MdS Update Thread

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