Translated: “marathon of the sand”
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As we’re coming out of winter in the abstract, this actually sounds quite nice… a run on a warm sandy beach….. I would do 26.2 miles on a warm beach anywhere in March.
But there is no beach, th0desert on the planet, and this is no marathon it’s 155 miles. OK still, running 155 miles in the 120 degree heat, on the sand, over mountain like dunes, in the unbelievable beauty of the Sahara desert sounds like an amazing adventure.
But wait, you have to carry all our own provisions for the entire race too? From snake bite kits, a compass, a sleeping bag & all of your food, you have to be totally self-sufficient throughout the entire race, no one can assist you with anything, water is the only thing that’s provided.
So why am I doing this…..?
To answer that I have to go back to 1994 when I heard a news story about an Italian man, Mauro Prosperi who went missing in a race in the Sahara desert. I later learned he was found after nine days and survived, through some very creative self preservation techniques…. Let’s leave it at that
I couldn’t help but be drawn to the challenge despite the story from which I gained the awareness of the event. Mauro’s story of survival was incredibly inspiring, but the race caught my attention in a weird way and I wrote it down, one day I was going to do the Marathon Des Sables.
Meanwhile, life happened…I married the love of my life Heidi, had 2 incredible kids, Madeleine and Evan, had a great career, we were incredibly blessed.
Then this Parkinson’s thing entered our lives, for me…. and my father and I started challenging myself to find the limits of my physical potential again, but for good reason, exercise is the only thing that slows Parkinson’s disease in some people, there still is no drug that can do it.
So, in 2018 after completing a walk across the United States, I signed up for the 2020 Marathon des Sables, I was excited.
But….Covid put an end to many peoples plans, including mine.
So here I am in 2022 the night before I leave for Marrakesh, to run this “Marathon,” vacuum packing my food & cutting the end off my toothbrush (to save weight) like a madman.
I thought I’d share the journey I’ve been on to get here, because it’s been a interesting one…..
After one of our triathlon adventures in South Beach, a very good friend encountered some serious issues with hyperthermia. Fortunately he was OK in the end, but it always stuck with me; there were three people in the hospital that morning from the race, one from Chicago one from Michigan and one from New York, all northern climate people, pushing their limits in relatively very warm circumstances.
So I did a lot of research on how to best acclimatize for this event and it was recommended that I sit in a sauna every day for the three weeks before the race….. Who wants to sit in the sauna with a bunch of…. Well, who wants to sit in a sauna? Let’s just say, it’s not for me…
So I designed an enclosure around my treadmill and elliptical machine so that I could train in the heat, at home. Misfortune, would be my friend, as very good friends and neighbors the Woodley’s, had their backyard tent destroyed in a Snow and wind storm.
We turned this terrible incident at the Woodley’s into a positive as we were able to recycle the tent
Evan and I then took the remnants and built it into our workout sauna
We added two ceramic heaters & I was able to train in 95°F
I also had bought a vintage NordicTrack on Craigslist and modified it by connecting it to my elliptical machine so that I could build endurance for using trekking poles during my workout.
Of course the story doesn’t end here…… I had the great fortune of completing the W-trek in Patagonia with good friends Peter Leech and Ross Rosenberg in January. Which was originally Peter’s 50th birthday trip in 2020 (Postponed due to Covid). It was amazing and when we got back to Santiago Chile, we went out to dinner to recap, and on the way back to the hotel, on a scooter, I hit a bump in the road and flipped off of it, shook myself off and continued to ride the rest of the way back to our hotel. 3 1/2 weeks later with my hand still swollen a visit to the orthopedist confirmed it was broken (in two places) which is no Bueno for the training.
It’s a testament to the pain we go through on a daily basis in living with Parkinson’s that I really didn’t know I had a broken hand, I was just walking around with it, and with the care of the medical team, it’s healed and is feeling much better now.
So today I set off for Marrakesh, every calorie counted and every gram measured, to head out into the Sahara desert, to do my very best. I sincerely hope through my efforts we can raise additional awareness for this crazy disease and continue to add to the research coffers, that are just starting to bring so much promise.
Pretty much no-one thinks I will finish this and I’m not even sure myself, but you can count on me to do my very best as always, up to the line of being safe. With a 60% DNF (Did Not Finish) rate in the last race they held, the outcome is by no means certain, in fact many elites dropped out, but you just never know, please don’t count me out before the start.
There is no cell coverage on the course whatsoever, so I’ll be out of pocket from the race start on 3/27 to the finish on 4/2. However if you want to send a message to me during the race, I would love it, starting on 3/26 there should be a portal on the main website that you can send me a note through: https://www.marathondessables.com/en
Please consider donating, together we are making an incredible difference; today there are lots of new drugs in the pipeline and excellent research ongoing, that just need to gain or continue funding to continue, thank you for your continued support, we can’t do without you: https://www.uncorkedadventures.org/donations/100/
@ UnCorked Adventures we are a 100% Volunteer Team
For Bill’s attempt at the Marathon des Sables, we are giving 100% of all donations to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research.
Thank You for Your Support!
