The Marathon de Sables is considered the world’s toughest ultramarathon. Competitors cover 156 miles of desert in 6 days. Somebody carries their tent for them, and water is supplied along the way. The route is basically flat, but crosses a blistering hot Saharan desert.
So, when you do the maths, we have essentially signed up to do 17 Marathons de Sable back-to-back, carrying all our own stuff and often a whole day’s supply of water (or more) on top. Our first 700 miles are also in desert!
Whilst that is something of an exaggeration – the runners are on sand, so their 26 mile days are definitely harder than our target of a 20 mile average by more than just the difference in distance – they also have the whole infrastructure of the race around them. PCT hikers by contrast often carry a satellite beacon so they can signal for help from the huge tracts of trail with no mobile phone coverage. Oh, and we’ll climb 45 vertical kilometres in the Southern California section alone.
I found this contrast striking – I’d never thought of our hike as an elite endurance event. But the numbers don’t lie… maybe that should egg me on a bit in the gym tomorrow!
