Hangover Woes

[Posted by Chris]

So 2 days now done!

It has been as tough as expected but not for the reasons I expected. The heat is not a problem (33C max) but it has been too cold for me from about 7pm to 8am. However, it is _really_ windy all the time and coupled with 14% humidity this means that you dehydrate enormously.

As a result the end of day 1 was a bit of a struggle for me as I developed a splitting headache and nausea (think: the worst hangover you can imagine) with 10 of the 37km still to go. However, the first 27 had gone well and I was very surprised to see how far up I came (results are posted live if you want to follow us).

Day 2, today, was shorter but brutal terrain. There was as much scrambling as running and a lot of ascent, much on sand... However, with an increased fluid intake it went well and I'm again amazed by my standing. The fact that taking twice as long as I normally would for 30km is good tells everything.

My feet are OK too.

Wales

[Posted by Neil]

Things I have learnt today, in < 1000 characters:

1) Bits of Morocco are like bits of Wales - specifically Crib Goch, but with sand instead of ice and 30+ degrees hotter.

2) The fast guys didn't calorie-count, they carb-counted. I did the former, and don't have enough carbs with me.

3) Simon doesn't like freeze-dried scrambled egg & ham. This was fortunate (for me).

4) The 'Write to competitors' thing works - thank you Sarah (Earl)!

Injury update: Foot is a bit worse, maybe 5/10 to yesterday's 4. The 2nd derivative might be positive though, unfortunately

Draining Heat of Day 2

[Posted by Jon]

Today was shorter but harder terrain. The heat was more oppressive today and I was feeling pretty drained along the flat to Check Point 2. I allowed myself a few treats along here, then had a good final stint in which I felt I conserved energy whilst making up a few places. This section suited me well as it started with easily the biggest climb yet (perhaps 250m), followed by a steady but rocky descent.

I have been told I am in the top 60, so a similar result to yesterday. I have two minor blisters on my left foot but nothing serious.

Neil had a storming day and came in an astonishing 12th place! His foot is causing some discomfort but if he can make it through tomorrow I would back him to do even better on Wednesday's long stage.

Thanks Sarah Earl for the email, this was hugely appreciated! We'd definitely enjoy more from anyone reading this.

If you would like to send any of the chaps a message now or during the remainder of the race, you can do so on this page:
http://www.darbaroud.com/en/write.html

Day 1 Provisional Results, 1020 runners total

Pos  No  Name                Nat Time     Delay     Average
Leader and top Brit
1    74  AHANSAL Mohamad     MAR 2H50'56  0H00'00   12.99
7    732 KENDALL Danny       GBR 3H07'47  0H16'51   11.82
Us
17   615 TALBOTT Neil        GBR 3H31'48  0H40'52   10.48
56   657 DAVIES  Jonathan    GBR 4H04'13  1H13'17   9.09
272  716 INGRAM  Christopher GBR 5H12'27  2H21'31   7.11
454  734 KNIGHT  Simon       GBR 5H48'44  2H57'48   6.37

Scorchio!!!

[Posted by Neil]
We're limited to 1000 characters, so a brief summary of day 1:

Dislike: All the talk of electrolytes putting the REM song into my head for the day.

Like: 'Electrolyte' by REM (luckily).

Dislike: The frantic last-minute bag-packing.

Like: The total number of runners (= 2 ^ 10).

Dislike: The first hour - I felt awful and dribbled down the field.

Like: Bucking up after the first checkpoint and taking places back.

Dislike: All the running. Like: The hills. There were only two small ones but I gained a lot on both. More please.

Dislike: Right quad - very tight.

Like: Beating Tom's 'DNS' prediction. Injury update: The foot is sore but still in one piece... so far.

Hot Spots

[posted by Simon]
Ok - so hopefully JPD/Neil will have already posted but I thought I would put some thoughts on the non-elite pair (Chris and I). We are happy from finishing with no major injuries (a few hotspots on feet but good) and we need to remind ourselves that simply finishing was the objective.On the day - we both found it very hard for similar reasons. I struggled with the heat (c32 with direct strong sunlightbut reasonable wind) - it just seemed to sap my energy. Chris struggled with the hydration/nutrition and now has a dehydration headache.

I should explain how food/drink works. Drink we get regularly (today 3L at 6.30, 1.5L at check1, 3L at check2 and 4.5L when we arrived. We can choose to take less but no more. So food. Tonight we will all have various forms of freezedried meals (as each night). In the mornings we have differences - JPD with flapjack(crumbs), I have hot, Chris Museli and Neil a variety.On the road we all have our favourites!

Worrying about 75k day..

Day One Results

[Posted by Jon]

A good first day - 56th unofficially and a little over 4 hours. No significant aches or pains yet, although I'm sure they will come later in the week.

The four of us are now in the overnight camp - Neil finishing in the top 30, Chris in the top 400 and Simon in the top 500. You might not hear from Simon and Chris as the queue for the email tent is long and slow.

The terrain generally consists of flatish bowls of hard, crusty sand inset with small pebbles. These are sometimes filled with dunes - so far only fairly small ones although I'm sure we'll see something more challenging later in the week. The bowls are punctuated with djebels - rocky ridges up to a few hundred metres high, although we always seem to cross at a pass. We crossed many dry rivers and one with a bit of flow.

We probably won't blog every day as it involved queuing in the sun for a long time, but we'll do our best.