Sultan Marathon des Sables – Message from runner/du concurrent 0977

This morning a sand tornado swept through camp and flattened several tents, including ours, and blew many sleeping bags and mattresses 300 feet into the air far across the dunes. Yesterday Sahara showed us a brutal face with more than 45C and no wind whatsoever. Jakob and I arrived at camp at 0120 am after 75,7k in 16h45m and were greeted with the customary cup of sweet berber tea, smiles and shouts of “Bravo Jakob et Jakob!!!”. My ankle gave up after only 2 checkpoints and I spent the next 60k hobbling forward. Our feet are full of huge blisters and bloody chafings but its only to be expected here in the desert. In fact were luckier than many that have been forced to retire due to severe dehydration, injuries and electrolyte imbalance. This adventure is all about confronting the pain and heat and let it wash over you. Oh, and we have many cool pics and vids of surfing down enormous sand dunes :) Dont forget to donate to the children at SFH and thanks for all of your support! Love, J&J