The first time it clocked Ed on the side of the head, the next time it hit me on the leg. Needless to say after that sleep was a bit of a challenge as you never knew if you were going to get a large lump of wood smashing down on you.
Of course, the other 6 people in the tent didnt have the luxury of this experience as they weren't sleeping in the middle of the tent. So Ed and I decided it was important to share this experience, so in the middle of the night we got up and belted them around the head with the post as well... just so they could share the experience of course!! Ok, that may not have actually happened.
Before the tent was dragged down by the berbers at 7am, one of the guys in the tent (Ed) did a terrific job of taping up my feet. Most of the taping was done by the doctors yesterday but there were a couple of spots that they wanted to be done in the morning. Due to a lack of flexibility I needed someone to do it for me, and Ed volunteered and did a terrific job. It was important to get this done before the tent was taken down, not that it provided much protection from the flying sand, but it did provide some.
The morning was pretty savage, while our tent half fell down a couple of times, at least it was better than this one.
And when the sand blew, it really impacted the visibility
There was a whole lot less excitement and festivities on the morning of day 2 as we sat in the dirt, covered in sand, eating our breakfast waiting for the day's stage to commence.
Unfortunately on the morning of day 2, one of the guys from Melbourne, Paul Gladwell, became unwell. He was unable to keep down food during the night, and was shivering and freezing cold in the morning. Event doctors were called over and he was given an IV, but didnt recover quickly enough and so was pulled out of the race.
And while Paul looked pretty crook at the time, the good news is that not long after he was bundled off in the 4WD's, he was as right as rain. It was just a shame the race wasn't delayed a few hours, he would have been fine to start.
DAY 2 38km 10 hour cut off
Nonetheless, its a brutal event and the race goes on. The start had the same music and low flying helicopters, but in the sand storm, people were less excited.
Despite the stage being 5km longer than yesterday, the cut off was the same on the basis that the terrain was easier.
Out on the course I ran into Sarah again, from Scotland. We finished close together on day 1, and would again finish close together on day 2, although we would go at our own pace all day.
I found that my feet were ok to run / trot, but hurt when I walked. So I did the only logical thing, I ran as much as possible. I made it to the first checkpoint (11.3 km) in under 2 hours, which was very pleasing.
But when the sand dunes came, you had to walk. Going up the dunes was like walking up stairs, with everyone following each others footsteps.
When the sand blew, the conditions were fairly brutal. But at least it wasn't 50 degrees, and all you had to go was keep putting one foot in front of the other and make your way to the next check point.
There were lots of long, open stony plains during the event. If you're tired and you came over a ride and see one of these, it can be a bit soul destroying. But if you're feeling ok, you can trot across the terrain ok. For me, day 2 was a day of trotting. Walking on this surface really hurt my feet, with blisters under the balls of both feet, and today, forming on the inside of both heels.
Looking like a desert racer, with the buff pulled up over the head to keep the sand out of the ears, and to keep the hat on the head in the sandy wind.
Everyone has a satellite dish in Morocco, even in the middle of the Sahara Desert!
Admiring the local scenery!
The salt flats were fantastic to run on. Smooth and soft under foot and the feet didnt hurt too badly trotting across them. I made up quite a few positions over this part of the course, not that that was very important. I just wanted to get to the end and in the least pain as possible with the feet!
At the stage 2 finish line, the 38km was completed in 6 hours 55, a much better day than yesterday.
It wasn't the warmest desert day so my freeze dried dinner didnt cook in the heat like I had hoped! Cold freeze dried food is not the most appetizing of dinners!
Happily the wind died down after dinner and sleep came a little easier tonight, without the tent crashing down on top of us!!!
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