Multi-day Events

My first multi-day event was the Marathon des Sables (MdS) in 2003, although before then I have run three marathons over one Bank Holiday weekend.  25o km through the Sahara Desert in six stages over seven days carrying all your own food and equipment. The MdS was, and still is, a brilliant event. It is well organised, tough, takes you through some amazing scenery and will change your life. I suffered badly from blistered feet, but still enjoyed it, although it was another 4 years before I took on another desert event.

In 2007 I entered the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon, which is based on the MdS so has the same format, and my love affair with the Kalahari began, even though I almost didn't make it through the first day. I have been back every year since and have learnt new things every time. I am proud to be the only person to be awarded a permanent number (81) for finishing the event 10 times. My ambition is to run the event when I am 81 years old. I am working towards that goal.

I have also tackled events in other parts of the world. My endeavours in the Arctic did not go well; I was pulled out of the event with frostbite. But it was not until after I had seen the Northern Lights; a quite incredible experience. I have decided that the cold is not for me and have no plans to go back to the Arctic.

I feel most privileged to have been able to travel to Bhutan and take place in the first multi-day event to have been held in that country, a place where they measure Gross Happiness not Gross Domestic Product. There was some of the best trail running I have ever done and like all these types of events I met the most wonderful, both competitors and support crew.