Night 1

Successfully holed up in the hotel agter a not too unpleasant flight and significantly less queuing in the land of the queue!! Off to the desert bivi at 0800hrs tomorrow....too early!! Have become concerned by the weight of my pack, having listened to stories all day of featherlight packs. I should have invested in a new, lighter and smaller sleeping bag, doh....too late!!

I was informed today by an enthusiastic Mahmood that entries for 2014 are still available and he will be 65 in 2014, so we have to come back to celebrate!!! Lets see how this one goes.......

All good..........so far....

Agamemnon

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Once Again -The Eve Before.....

Well once again its the evening before departure. The 2012 Marathon des Sables becons. We fly out tomorrow, are shipped to the desert on Friday and start on Sunday. My food is packed in little bags for each day and I've had a trial run packing of my rucksack, which weighed nearly 12kg.....way too heavy. I may have a culling before we start on Sunday.

It's 10pm and I still have a stack of work to do before I can go to bed, and the lingering chest infection is beginning to annoy me.

I've been surprised by the amount of sponsorship I've managed to raise and by the people who have sponsored me, some of whom I haven't seen for 20 years!! I can't thank everyone enough.

The nerves are really kicking in now and every little ache, creak or sniffle is to be viewed with horror!!! I am concerned about my left ankle though, which is in poor condition!!

Anyone who hasn't sponsored me who wants to can do so at;

http://www.justgiving.com/odysseysolo

If you feel inclined to send me the odd message of encouragement while I’m out there you can email me from Saturday by going to the organisers website at;

http://www.darbaroud.com/index.php?lang=en

Click on "Write to a competitor" (ENG) or "Ecrire aux concurrents" (FR) and use my running number 517 (DOS). Messages are delivered in paper form at the end of everyday and you cannot imagine the lift a message from the outside world gives in times of forlorn hope!!

There will also be a finish webcam on the above page, so you might spot you crossing the line each day! I will also try to update the blog when I can while I'm out there...though its never easy hobbling to the email tent and trying to type on a French keyboard!!

Well, time to crack on with the work still to be done....then off to bed....off to Gatwick.....off to the Sahara.....all systems go.......FULLBORE!!

Mike "Agamemnon" Rudd

Job Done!!!

Well we're back and we finished!! After the disastrous start in the biblical floods the event organisers eventually managed to find a dry bivi site and a safe route for Day 1. Day 1 comprised 33km of mostly monstrous dunes after which we took up residence in Tent 76, with Mahmood my old friend from 2006. There wasn't much snoring overnight but I had Paul on one side and Justin on the other both of whom seemed to think sleeping on me was more comfortable than on their Thermarest!! Day 2 comprised 39km of mixed ground, once again in reasonable temperatures and strong winds.

Day 3/4, which should have been the 80km "overnighter" was turned into a "92km" overnighter to satisfy the whingers who were complaining at the cancellation of the original first day. It was hell, taking us 26hrs.....but more to come in the Race Diary which I will eventually post on the website, when I remember the FTP password!! Day 5, the traditional Marathon Day was just that, but also turned into the last day, the organisers deciding to cancel the final day which is generally only a 15km "exhibition day". No explanation was ever offered but we know they were having problems identifying safe routes. There seemed to be little protest after the extreme exertions of the overnighter.

We both finished the race in reasonable form but with badly messed up feet....check out the website (soon!!) for some interesting photos of Paul's feet. The total distance was about 205km and we covered it in about 49hrs. We may have knocked off some with a bit more training and our feet may have hurt a little less but the main impediment was the weight of our sacks.....far too heavy again. There needs to be a serious re-think for 2011.

Thanks to all those who sent emails to the bivi, they helped enormously, especially in the very dark moments such as being hopelessly lost in huge dunes at 0200hrs in the morning on the overnighter.

Thanks to all those who have generously sponsored our efforts. Every penny is going to the charity (nothing goes to cover our expenses for those of you who suspected some would!!) and every penny we raise is a penny the charity would not otherwise have received. The Justgiving site will be live until 23rd June and we will continue to raise money over the coming weeks. We both have a Triathlon on the last May Bankholiday which we will make our closing event.

Keep checking the website......it will be live and updated soon (www.teamodyssey.co.uk).

731--Day 2

Thanks for all the emails from bboth of us we received our first lot this evening. I apologise for the punctuation and spelling but its a french keyboard. Very difficult day today with much foot blistering. Paul has more in the way of blister than foot. It was a very hard day for all with everyone having the overnighter on their mind which is tomorrow. Very hot and vey duney making it very hard on the legs and feet. The dried food is disgusting which is surprising as it was good last time. because of the flooding we dont know the route or the distance but we are assuming it will be 80km which will take us well into the Thursday morning. Hve to be brief as limited characters allowed. Love to all xx. Keep sending those emails.

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N'utilisez pas la fonction "REPONDRE", l'envoi de message se fait uniquement par le Site Web Darbaroud.com !!! MERCI
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE
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Don't use "REPLY TO", mails are only sent via the Darbaroud.com Website !!!THANKS
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE

731--Day 1 (Should have been Day 2!!!)

Greetings from the desert. After biblical floods on Friday and Saturday Day 1 of this year's MdS was cancelled and the organisers frantically sought a safe route and a dry bivi. They found one and we commenced Day 1 at the start point for day 2, at the foot of the Erg Chebbi and Erg Merzouga dunes, the largest in Morocco. We've both finished fine and strong and in a time that I think we are happy with. Legs hurt a bit, minor blisters and sore back, but nothing else. Packs weigh far too much, again!!

Off again tomorrow on what sounds like a circular route as the bivi is not being moved (now that they've found a dry spot!) We have no more ionformation than that, which has been a theme since Friday while we hung round in a hotel in Erfud waiting for news. Weather today has been hot and we've had no time to aclimatise as we have been taken from the hotel (in a cab as they didn't organise enough buses) and straight off, when we should now be spending our third night in the bivi.

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N'utilisez pas la fonction "REPONDRE", l'envoi de message se fait uniquement par le Site Web Darbaroud.com !!! MERCI
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE
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Don't use "REPLY TO", mails are only sent via the Darbaroud.com Website !!!THANKS
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE

The eve before....

Its now 0140hrs and we leave in less than 7 hours.  Its taken all day to bag up the food, carefully weighing out the porridge oats/milk powder/sugar mixture for each breakfast and ensuring the right mix of midget gems/sports mix/skittles for each day!!  The pile looks incredibly large and unlikely to fit in the race sacks, so we've packed it all in suitcases and we'll worry about it on Saturday morning.

No going back now.......

Agamemnon

Well, less than 24 hours to departure and the butterflies are in full flow. We think we've got all the kit together, but who knows. Paul managed to leave getting his medical clearance until the last minute, clown, whereas Mike with the dodgy ticker got signed off no problem!!

Sponsorship continues to come in slowly and Mike can't find the time to get the website up....it may have to wait until we return.

The organisers will have a facility to allow people to email us during the event and to follow our "progress". This probably won't be live until the 28th and can be found somewhere on the following link;

http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php

or perhaps by linking through;
http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/index.html


Look for
"écrire aux concurrents/write to competitors".

You will need our race numbers - Paul 730, Mike 731

Don't forget our sponsorship page:

http://www.justgiving.com/teamodyssey-cancerresearch

Off we go,

Team Rudd

Odyssey II: Team Rudd

Well... this is the first posting of the next adventure. After the extremes of the 2006 event Mike harboured a desire, nay a need to take part in the MdS again. George was off the radar and Paul, after initially entering felt discretion was the better part of valour and withdrew, leaving Mike and his brother Paul, an ex-submariner with some experience of exercise but no long distance stuff. Mike attempted to impress upon Paul the difficulty of the event and with Paul taking the advice to heart he started training like a mad-man in September 2008, while Mike carried on trying to find the "perfect" curry.

Now, with a month to go, Paul is thundering along while Mike is lumbering in his wake!! Over the next three weekends we have three half marathons planned and a 35 mile yomp. Haweswater tomorrow, Oulton Park next weekend and the effervescent Dentdale 14 the following weekend.

The excitement is starting to build and so are the nerves. The kit and food are starting to come together and even if Mike's fitness is not quite up to scratch the hardheaded stubborness (some would say bloody mindedness) is there......oh and one or two of the customary perenial knee and ankle injuries....will there ever be an injury free time??

We'll be starting to chase for sponsership soon......so be warned.

Agamemnon

467--End Day 6

Well, just finished day 6 - the Marathon Day, only 11.2km to go, but through the Kings Dunes, need I say more? Guess you all know about Paul & George by now, real bummer but they stayed with the camp which has really hlped morale.

Day 2 was tough with record drop outs, but day 3 was like the Tet Offensive. The evening sky was red with the glow of distress flares, one Irish guy taken home in a coma one two others had heart attacks. Extraordinarily hot, humid and windy, leading to all time record abandonments. Organisers were forced to rethink the amount of water we were given!

Day 4 was the long day, starting at 10am and I finished at 0330hrs, bushed!! Day 5 was a rest day as some people didnt finish until after midday. I spent it on my back and we were treated to a can of coke in the evening, never tasted so good!

This has been one hell of an experience & fingers crossed I will finish it tomorrow. Simply unforgetable. Many thanks for the emails. M

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ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE
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Don't use "REPLY TO", mails are only sent via the Darbaroud.com Website !!!THANKS
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465--disqualification disappointment day 2

mike bravely continues into day 3 but george and paul have to withdraw due to a time penalty disqualification at check point 2 on day 2. camels no where in sight but weve only found out that days and checkpoints have to be completed in set times so us slow steady plodders get caught out. Anyway all support now to mike. we are deeply disappointed but apologies and thanks to everyone for their support its been quite an adventure so far. luv to tess and phaedra.

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N'utilisez pas la fonction "REPONDRE", l'envoi de message se fait uniquement par le Site Web Darbaroud.com !!! MERCI
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE
-----------------------------
Don't use "REPLY TO", mails are only sent via the Darbaroud.com Website !!!THANKS
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE

467--Day 1

Hell on earth. Please forgive the spelling
its a french keyboard. Must be brif as email shop closing. Whole team allowed to start despite dodgy medicals. 41 degrees today 28km. Harsh terrain. Mike struck out ahead and stumbled in in -
6 hours the other 2 lay abouts got caught in a sandstorm and spent an hour snoozing at checkpoint two. Just had tea and now off to bed - at 8 o clock - unreal. Everything covered in sand and the whole tent starting to smell. Harsh sandstorms yesterday made the admin day v unpleasant though we were supplied with wine and beer at at tea! Thanks to those who sent emails today, you know who you are and they were very very welcome after such an awful day. Sanch, this race was made for you!!

Must go, shop closing. Keep sponsoring us, we are earning it!!

Love to all

Team Odyssey

-----------------------------
N'utilisez pas la fonction "REPONDRE", l'envoi de message se fait uniquement par le Site Web Darbaroud.com !!! MERCI
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE
-----------------------------
Don't use "REPLY TO", mails are only sent via the Darbaroud.com Website !!!THANKS
ATLANTIDE ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE

T'was the eve before.....

Well the time has arrived. Paul and George arrived in London this morning after having their departure from Newcastle filmed by Look North - media whores!! We now find ourselves holed up in a flat by the Thames surrounded by carbo-bars, vacuum packed freeze dried "food", energy powders and some doubtful looking tablets from the USA that are said to be electrolytes. I'm not sure Thai Customs would believe us. Having spent the day bagging up food, re-bagging and then re-bagging, barely able to believe the weight we are eventually ready to leave. One of the Team stumbled through his medical and only received medical clearance at 4pm today, nothing like leaving it to the last minute!!

A final check of the gear and a quick pint in the Captain Kidd and Team Odyssey, the Pirates of the Desert are ready to go. To Aqaba? Across the desert? Madness....!!

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored us or offered their support in other ways. I'm not sure any of us would have reached this stage without that support. It seems only yesterday that we opened the drunken discussion that led to us being here!! Who would believe it was 16 painful months ago.

We're off............

The time approacheth!!

15 days to departure!! This is the first entry on this "blog". All very new to this.

The kit is almost ready, the menus devised if not purchased, trainers and sand gaiters prepared, mental attitude tuned and injuries certainly hurting, so we are ready to go............oh and we've done a bit of training.

In all honesty getting sponsorship out of people is proving harder work than the training. Maybe we should have started earlier, maybe we should pursue people more vigourously. In any event, come on people....cough up!! We have two excellent and hugely deserving charities who need your help. Team Odyssey are going to do their bit, and lose at least a stone each in the process, now you do your bit...... A huge thanks to all those of you who have sponsored us so far and a big rasberry to those corporate bodies who poo pooed us!

We will be attempting to update this "blog" and we are told we can do it daily from the desert....yet to be convinced. But if we can we will.

Mike, Paul, George