Latecomer to Running
Ma
Feature
Dreaming of the
The Marathon Des Sables has been called “ The Toughest Foot Race on Earth ,” which is not surprising , given that it ’ s a 250km , six-stage race through the Sahara Desert in Morocco , with intense heat , grating sand , agonising blisters and incredible fatigue to contend with , and yet it was the number one bucket list item for Moerieda Mackay ... even though she has never thought of herself a runner , let alone an ultra trail runner . – BY SEAN FALCONER
of the
Desert
ll it took was a photograph in a running magazine four years ago , of a man in the Sahara Desert , to get Moerieda Mackay hooked on the idea of
Arunning the Marathon De Sables ( MDS ). She had never even been to a desert before , and says the hottest temperature she had experienced was 43 degrees in the Karoo , but somehow she became obsessed with running the event . “ I was fascinated by his backpack and the intricacies of all his equipment , but it was the fact that he was carrying an anti-venom kit that really caught my attention ! And yet the vision of me running the MDS stayed with me over the years . It was the craziest feeling , this burning desire to run 250km through the gruelling and inhospitable Sahara , carrying everything you would need to survive for seven days in the desert … but it ’ s like the desert was calling my name !”
Unsurprisingly , the journey just to get to the MDS in April this year proved a challenge for Moerieda , a mother of three from the Midrand area of Gauteng . She says that entering is hugely expensive and until 2016 , South Africans had to go onto a threeyear waiting list with the UK agent for the race to get an entry . “ Luckily you can now enter directly , but once you ’ re entered , the challenging part lies in the training and preparation for the event , which includes sorting out your backpack , shoes , food and all your kit .”
“ Once you arrive in the desert , funnily enough , the most challenging elements of the race are not the running or the heat , even though the highest recorded temperature was 54 degrees Celcius , but for me it was adjusting to life in the bivouac and sharing a tent with seven other mates ! Luckily I was part of the Hope for Children group , running for the UK-based children ’ s charity , and we formed a great group . They say with a race like this your tent mates can either make it or break it for you . Mine were the best ! The word self-sufficient took on a whole new meaning with the amount of sharing and caring shown by all of them .”
Another huge challenge for Moerieda was the logistics of the race . “ If it was just running every day , the race would be fairly manageable , but with all the logistics it quickly becomes a lot trickier . It took me a good four days to get into my own rhythm , and I only really settled into the race on day three ! But I guess the real big challenge of MDS is , of course , the sand ! There is just no way of going faster than your fastest walk in the sand and blistering heat – unless of course you are a Moroccan or elite front runner – and as we hit sand dune after sand dune , I just kept saying to myself , Marathon of the Sands … this is your race !”
Latecomer to Running
By her own admission , Moerieda has no sporting background and zero athletic ability , so running is by far the most challenging thing she ’ s ever done , but she says it has put her on a path of physical , mental and spiritual transformation . “ In 2010 I was trying to lose a few kilos and find that elusive work-life balance at the age of 40 , because I ’ m a bit of a workaholic . And that first year I lost 22kg just training on the elliptical trainer and watching my diet . Meanwhile , my husband Adam had started running and he was having so much fun at the races on the weekends , so I started
Images : Marathon Des Sables & courtesy Moerieda Mackay
16 ISSUE 99 OCTOBER 2017 / www . modernathlete . co . za