Marathon des Sables 2021 - kit overview
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
- Overview of my kit for the 2021 Marathon des Sables, including mandatory items, food choices and running gear! A few minor changes since posting this and no doubt will make a bunch more when I get to the Sahara!
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Good job Gower. Enjoyed reading your blog, I did the 2021 mds myself... your description brought back detail i didnt have in my youtube video. It was a hell of race!!
Thanks Paddy. I’m starting to relive it as the countdown starts for this year. A friend at my running club is doing it, so I’ll doubtless live it vicariously through him!!!
Great video Gower - appreciate you making the effort to film. I'm running MDS 2023 for the first time.
Three questions....
1) Anything you took you definitely would NOT take if you did MDS again?
2) If you did it again would you take poles?
3) Did you take an iPhone?
Big thanks
Matt
Hey thanks Matt. At the kit check, my pack weighed 6.85kg which I was pleased with (you can read full blog with more learnings here: runningallovercancer.com/category/marathon-des-sables/)
In answer to 1) I ditched the NUNN hydration tabs as the salt tablets you get were fine and I just wanted to drink plain water. Same for the High5 Energy drink, it made me feel sick in the heat even though I’ve used fine for years in UK. I wouldn’t take either again & would make up calories with Shot Bloks which were my best food friend by far. You will never use the compass so I’d cut every bit off it I could (but its mandatory). I also ditched my third buff, a lightweight power pack, charging cables for iPhone, Garmin and MP3, a couple of emergency cable ties and some food on the admin day. If you need stuff, it is amazing how much you can scavenge there!! 2) 100% no. I’m just not a pole person TBH, thats just my running style. I did Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 50 earlier this year and ditched them 5 mins before the start - and that race included sizeable humps! If you are gonna use them, I think you have to practice a lot with them and be certain you personally will get the benefit over the weight and ‘cumbersomeness’ of having them. 3) Yes, I have v old iPhone 7 (I think, maybe even iPhone 6!!), only ever turned it on to take pictures; a lot of the time it wouldn’t even turn on or take pictures as last year was so hot and it went on strike! But I did get some great pics and video, and IMO was worth it rather than buying a GoPro or ultra lightweight camera.
Hope that’s useful… good luck 🐫🏃🏻♂️
@@GowerTan Thoroughly appreciated - all clear. Finally what trainers did you wear? I'm compiling a short list!? thanks again x
@@mattleggett9141 Salomon S/Lab ultra 3 (with the stitched & glued on gaiters courtesy of the amazing Kevin Bradley @Alex Shoe Repair). They are great shoes, but not for everyone.
@@GowerTan Will explore. Top stuff!
Nice 👍- No cooker or did you cold rehydrate your food ?
No cooker. Just rehydrated food in a cut in half water bottle, left in the sun for 30 mins, perfect! A couple of my tent mates had stoves, but that meant they carried stove + fuel tablets - and for me the weight didn’t outweigh the luxury of a coffee in the morning!
Thank you for your effort here Gover, this really helps.
Did you need your medicine in the dessert? Imodium & Ibuprofen or asperin?
Thanks for the feedback George! I ran in 2021 and it was quite the year with a huge amount of D&V (diarrhoea and vomiting) across the bivouac. Because of this and the exceptional temperatures in 2021, the Imodium came in handy for sure. Although I largely escaped the full blown D&V, two tent mates used it… I ended up on day 1 with severe dehydration, hyperthermia and on 3 litres of IV drip, because I couldn’t get any liquid down. Doc Trotters gave me something like Imodium but I was still vomiting! They also have pretty well everything you could imagine, the challenge being what they may just give you vs. What they give you with a time penalty!! The weight was so small, I’d take them again!
@@GowerTan thank you I'm taking Imodium!
Was there anything you wish you had taken or anything you took but wouldnt take again?
The year I ran (postponed to Oct 2021 due to Covid), it was crazily hot, and I ditched down jacket on admin day. Thee was a bug that tons of people went down with, that meant the already scarce bum wipes were at an extra premium (I was using face masks which were made mandatory, by day 5)... so I'd take a few extra sheets!! I know they made some changes to kit for 2024, so if stuff like the lighter, venom pump, signal mirror are no longer mandatory, I wouldn't take. Someone else will have a lighter and you'll never use mirror or venom pump!! Main changes I'd make are food (despite loads of testing in UK) - the rest of kit was great, with exception if there is longer lasting watch / music combo, with no added weight (with tech advancements i battery life etc). I used a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Sapphire Titanium, the Mpow headphones and a tiny Mighty MP3 Spotify player (gave enough for music on long day). Maybe I'd fork out for a Fenix 7 or Corus if battery life has increased enough that I could use the music on my watch, like I do for road running and ditch the Mp4 player (not sure if solar powered watches really charge enough, but I'd look at that). Then I'd take Bluetooth earbuds of some sort. Food wise, I'd ditch the hydration / electrolyte tablets and just stick to plain salt tablets like they give you (I understand that's changed too, but I'd still take the salt tablets I have a ton still). Food is very personal, but I didn't like the Hammer stuff; I'd take more crystallised ginger (excellent for my weak stomach!); small changes to which of the Expedition Foods tasted best (but I'd still use them as great) - as taste / what you like really does change in the heat! Also would take a couple of extra chocolate protein/carb mix powders, as that was the only thing I could stomach immediately after I was on IV drip for 3 hours!!!! (That's another story). I'm really bony and skinny, so pack was the main issue, and despite some taping and the padding I used, my shoulders hurt most - so perhaps some even thicker custom padding protection. Good luck!
Thank you very much for taking the time for such a considered response. I shall certainly take these points on board! My plan would be so a short hot weather trip prior to experiment with kit and things like tape Vs not tape
@@mtrout3394 - fantastic! Golden rules is test everything you can! You can get a good idea of my experience here... its a long (but hopefully fun) read.
runningallovercancer.com/category/marathon-des-sables/
I taped my toes using Rory Coleman's technique (ua-cam.com/video/8wRmHjlGyhI/v-deo.html) BUT substituted Hapla Band with Hypafix which I think is better and was used by Doc Trotters too from memory (amzn.eu/d/c2In2b0). I only had 3 tiny blisters in total, which compared to most that year was pretty remarkable.
@@GowerTan my priorities will be; foot care, fuel and recovery. Does that sound sensible?
@@mtrout3394yep, sounds good to me. It’s a game of “managing” everything, and being adaptable to change when curve balls come your way.