So it's Monday evening and all 4 boys crossed the finish line this afternoon thereby completing stage two and, miraculously, they are all in one piece. Yesterday they were running over the biggest dunes in Morocco and racked up 34.5km. Today was apparently a little easier terrain but a longer distance - 41km. Elliott sounds very upbeat - it sounds like they're finding it very challenging but they are managing to enjoy it too. Kieran is doing very well and is steaming ahead, followed by Andy, then Elliott, and Ben is not too far behind. The weather is hot but there is a bit of a breeze, which is helping I think. No word on blisters yet!
In camp, the atmosphere is quite amazing and I have been told the bivouacs have to be seen to be believed. 1050 competitors and all the support crew neatly arranged a huge semi-circle of open tents containing 8 people each. The runners rehydrate and cook their meals on the tiny stoves they carry with them. Before the start of the race each competitor has to divide up the week's meals precisely into 6 individual packets and provide a count of the daily nutritional content. Before Elliott left I was peering at the little sandwich bags filled with what looked like sawdust and expressed my horror at the thought of eating them for a whole week. Elliott declared that they don't taste too bad, even though there is absolutely no telling the difference between the spaghetti bolognese and the chicken curry.
They tend to come across each finish line between about 3-5pm each afternoon, so if you want to check up on them, you can watch the live webcam here: http://www.marathondessables.com/en/2014-03-31-16-12-46/live-webcam.html. How 'live' it is is a little dubious. For ease of spotting I believe they're all wearing hot pink tutus. As you do...
Kat x
In camp, the atmosphere is quite amazing and I have been told the bivouacs have to be seen to be believed. 1050 competitors and all the support crew neatly arranged a huge semi-circle of open tents containing 8 people each. The runners rehydrate and cook their meals on the tiny stoves they carry with them. Before the start of the race each competitor has to divide up the week's meals precisely into 6 individual packets and provide a count of the daily nutritional content. Before Elliott left I was peering at the little sandwich bags filled with what looked like sawdust and expressed my horror at the thought of eating them for a whole week. Elliott declared that they don't taste too bad, even though there is absolutely no telling the difference between the spaghetti bolognese and the chicken curry.
They tend to come across each finish line between about 3-5pm each afternoon, so if you want to check up on them, you can watch the live webcam here: http://www.marathondessables.com/en/2014-03-31-16-12-46/live-webcam.html. How 'live' it is is a little dubious. For ease of spotting I believe they're all wearing hot pink tutus. As you do...
Kat x