My nuggets of advice for tackling the Maraton des Sables:
Set yourself a goal to either run or walk and engage a coach to help you have the best experience, as you’ll probably only do it once.
Don’t panic, it is very doable. I had never run further than the very occasional marathon, after Day 3 (the long day) I ran all the subsequent days, coming 23rd on the final one. (I regretted not going harder from the start, but too scared to do so at the time…)
Do a spreadsheet for food and equipment. Get hold of a previous runner’s spreadsheet as a template and to give ideas.
Food – I averaged 2,600 calories a day, it was enough. Breakfast – overnight oats; if running use carb drink (I used Tailwind) don’t bother with solid snacks apart from on the long day; post run – recovery shake; dinner – 1,000 calorie expedition meal and some sort of bar as a treat. I took a mini stove and 450ml cup and my dinner was far better for being hot.
Pack weight – I got to 7.5kg at the start plus water.
Salt – worried a lot about this as I calculated I needed 12 grams/day. Alternated Precision Hydration 1500 tabs with Tailwind while running. Drank 2 chicken OXO cubes a day in an extra 500ml bottle that I took (don’t use Knorr as they don’t dissolve), drinkable, but after 6 days I will never touch another!
Equipment – there is a whole world of advice out there on Facebook etc. Ian Corless website is good. My Instinct backpack was excellent, I previously bought a Raidlight one and did not get on with it.
Blisters – 90% of people get them, expect that you will. I would recommend being self sufficient in treating them, there is a treatment tent but it is chaotic and I would only use in exceptional circumstances. As soon as you feel a blister, prick/drain and tape while keeping everything as clean as you can with antiseptic. Don’t just keep running on new blisters as you will cause much bigger issues. Good shoes, socks etc all good but the amount of movement in your shoe due to the uneven terrain makes avoiding any trouble extremely unlikely.
Poles – get some, I used mine all the time and those without regretted it.
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