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| Me at L'Arc de Triomphe |
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| The Kit |
Sunday, March 31, 2013
A Week to Go!
Things are moving along on their own now. Lisa and I have made it over to Paris for some time together before the race. Hopefully it will not be as cold in Morocco as here: 30 degrees F this am. Went to the coolest running store I have seen - Boutique Marathon. Lots of high end stuff including all sort of things for the MDS, The guy helping was excited when he found out about me participating. Picked up some new RaidLight water bottles and a pair of Mizuno Cabrakan 4's (you ca't get these in the States).
Two more days in Paris, two in Ouarzazate and then two in the bivouac before the race start. Just need to get there with my gear and arrive healthy! Tent assignments are up (mine is #60, with a selection of US and Canadians). Below is a picture of my kit, looks like everything will fit but slightly on the heavy side. Some things will be repacked in Morocco.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Update on Communications to/from the Field
The race website has posted a "Timing" update regarding tracking competitors and sending emails to them. Everything is about the same as outlined in earlier posts but just to be sure please go to the following link for the most current and accurate information.
This update is coming from the Albuquerque airport where we are now boarding for the flight to Paris. I am on my way!
This update is coming from the Albuquerque airport where we are now boarding for the flight to Paris. I am on my way!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Thank You All!
As I prepare to depart this Friday, I would like to express my gratitude to all who have supported my endeavor and those of you who are following this journey. I would also like to especially thank the following for their financial support:
Greg Buntain, Matt Helm, Laura Cox, Julie VanCamp, Todd Reynolds, Safford Hazen, Quinton Wallace, Mike Neely, Claire Reader, Julia Reader, Dirk and Molly Reader, David Kovel, Carla Kirby, Jeff Stoddard, Bill and Aryn Mitchell, Tom and Janice Reader, Mark Dorion/Sugarlove's Ultra Vista, James and Karen Leach, and the Girrens/Stover family
Please continue to follow my progress on the official MDS web site (www.darbaroud.com) and through my field posts which will hopefully be uploaded to this blog. My bib number is 1097.
I would also like to especially thank my lovely wife Lisa and the rest of my family for all their tolerance and emotional support. This formed the basis of my preparations and I am sure the thought of them will carry me through some tough times.
Thank you all again. I'm looking forward to the adventure!
Greg Buntain, Matt Helm, Laura Cox, Julie VanCamp, Todd Reynolds, Safford Hazen, Quinton Wallace, Mike Neely, Claire Reader, Julia Reader, Dirk and Molly Reader, David Kovel, Carla Kirby, Jeff Stoddard, Bill and Aryn Mitchell, Tom and Janice Reader, Mark Dorion/Sugarlove's Ultra Vista, James and Karen Leach, and the Girrens/Stover family
Please continue to follow my progress on the official MDS web site (www.darbaroud.com) and through my field posts which will hopefully be uploaded to this blog. My bib number is 1097.
I would also like to especially thank my lovely wife Lisa and the rest of my family for all their tolerance and emotional support. This formed the basis of my preparations and I am sure the thought of them will carry me through some tough times.
Thank you all again. I'm looking forward to the adventure!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Other Links and Blogs
In case you are interested there will be coverage of the race not only on the MDS website but others will be blogging their experiences and views, just like you will hopefully see here.
Ultra runner Meghan Hicks will be posting daily media updates on www.irunfar.com. Megan recently had an article on last year's MDS published in Trail Runner.
Lisa Smith-Batchen of Badwater and MDS fame will post daily thoughts on the race on her blog: http://lisasmithbatchen.blogspot.com/
Check these out!
Ultra runner Meghan Hicks will be posting daily media updates on www.irunfar.com. Megan recently had an article on last year's MDS published in Trail Runner.
Lisa Smith-Batchen of Badwater and MDS fame will post daily thoughts on the race on her blog: http://lisasmithbatchen.blogspot.com/
Check these out!
Final Food Listing
Below is the final food list for my MDS attempt. Much has been previously posted on this subject but I wanted to put out a summary type document. Calorie count is about 50% above the minimum required.
We will see how this works out!
| Kcals per serving | |||||||||||||||||
| Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||||||||
| Stage | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Stations (estimates) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Bottles H20 (1.5 liters each) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 to 9 | ? | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Expedition Foods Scrambled Eggs, Potatoes and Peppers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 828 | |||||||||
| Hot Cereal Start with Mango | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 532 | |||||||||
| Custard with Mixed Berries | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 532 | |||||||||
| Mountain House Breakfast Skillet* | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 680 | |||||||||
| Porridge with Sultans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 806 | |||||||||
| Fruity Muesli with Milk Powder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 814 | |||||||||
| Starbucks via | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| Stinger Waffle | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 160 | |||||||||
| Gels (various) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | |||||||||
| Bars (various) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 290 | |||||||||
| Slim Jim (2 oz) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 320 | |||||||||
| Almonds (2 oz) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 340 | |||||||||
| Gu Recovery | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 250 | |||||||||
| Gu Tabs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Salt Sticks | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||
| Ginger Tablets | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||
| Expeditoin Foods Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 804 | |||||||||
| Expedition Foods Asian Noodles and Beef | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 805 | |||||||||
| Chicken Korma with Rice | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 807 | |||||||||
| Expedition Foods Macarroni and Cheese | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | |||||||||
| Spaghetti Bolognese | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 808 | |||||||||
| Expedition Foods Custard with Apples | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 541 | |||||||||
| Running Calories | 1460 | 1460 | 1460 | 1460 | 790 | 1460 | 450 | ||||||||||
| Non-running Calories | 1632 | 1337 | 1339 | 1480 | 2151 | 1622 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Total | 3092 | 2797 | 2799 | 2940 | 2941 | 3082 | 450 | 18101 | |||||||||
| Avg/day (less day 7) | 2942 | ||||||||||||||||
| * Not counted in total weight | 153oz/9.58lb | ||||||||||||||||
| Spare Food for Bivouac | |||||||||||||||||
| Backpackers Pantry Santa Fe Rice with Chicken | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mountain House Breakfast Skillet | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Coffee | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Drop Me A Line
For
any of you that are so inclined, I believe you will be able to shoot me
an email in the field during the race! There should eventually be a
link on www.MarathonDesSables.com that lists all competitors names and race numbers. Look for a link that reads "écrire aux concurrents/write to competitors".
Messages are usually sent by clicking on the competitors name (Garth
Reader) and/or race number (1097). When you send a message, it is also
suggest that you list my name and race number in the "SUBJECT" of the
note, if it does not automatically appear when clicking on the provided
link. Please, do NOT send attachments or photos of any kind as those will go directly to a SPAM folder and I'll never see your note. If you happen
to pull up the site with French text you can switch to the English
version by clicking on the British/US flag on the top right side of the
home page.
Also please look at the "Medias" section for videos, etc.
Looking forward to hearing from you all!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Final Packing List
Departure is near and I have come close to finalizing gear selections. Here
is what I am planning on living with for a week in the desert! I will
also have some additional/spare equipment with me to augment at the
start of self sufficiency or to change out on a whim (well, a calculated
whim). Total kit weight without water and estimated race provided
equipment (flare, etc.) is approximately 18.7 lbs which is unfortunately
heavier than I had hoped. Some luxuries may be discarded at the start
or along the way depending on the situation.
| Item | Comments | Weight (oz) | Brand | |
| Administrative | ||||
| ID/credit cards/etc | 2.0 | |||
| 200 euros equiv. | req emergency funds | 0.5 | ||
| Passport | 0.8 | |||
| Medical | - | |||
| ECG/EKG | - | |||
| Equipment | ||||
| Pack | 24.0 | Raidlight Evolution 2 | ||
| Sleeping Bag | 16.0 | Western Mountaineering Highlight | ||
| Pad | 8.0 | Thermarest Z lite Sol sm - cut down or Thermarest Neo air Xlite small | ||
| Water Bottles | 12.0 | Raidlight with holders (2 ea @750 ml) | ||
| Headlamp/batteries | 3.1 | Petzl Tekka XP 2 with lithium batteries | ||
| Lithium Batteries | 4 spares | 0.8 | Energizer AAA | |
| Safety pins | One large and eight small | 0.2 | ||
| Compass | 1.0 | Silva basic | ||
| Lighter * | Small - get in country | 0.5 | ||
| Knife * | includes scissors | 0.8 | Leatherman "Style" | |
| AB ointment | 0.5 | 0.5 oz tube | ||
| Venom pump | 1.1 | Sawyer Extractor and one tip. Dump the case | ||
| Mirror | 0.9 | US Star Flash small | ||
| Whistle | Built into pack and headlamp | - | ||
| Survival sheet | 1.9 | Space brand small | ||
| Flare | provided by AOI | 11.0 | estimated weight | |
| Salt Tablets | provided by AOI | 2.0 | Bring SaltSticks or Ecaps | |
| Light Sticks | provided by AOI | - | weight included in flare | |
| Stove/windscreen | 0.9 | Esbit Titanium Wing plus DIY windscreen | ||
| Stove fuel | Order for delivery to race | 4.0 | Esbit: 6-8 tablets | |
| Spork | 0.3 | Sea to Summit Alpha lite | ||
| Cup | 1.9 | MSR Titan Titanium | ||
| AL foil | 0.2 | |||
| First Aid/Medications | Band-Aids, gauze pad, suture strips, alcohol wipes, vitamins, Alive, Cipro, Imonium, Sudafed, Tylanol, Benadryl, Cough drops, etc. | 2.0 | ||
| Blister kit | Kensio Tex Gold tape (6yds), silk tape, needles/hyodermic, Tinc of bensoin ampoles (6 ea), alcohol wipes. | 2.0 | ||
| Sunscreen | 0.7 | |||
| Lip balm | 0.4 | Badwater brand | ||
| EZ towels | 10 each | 0.9 | Compressed wipes | |
| TP | 1/2 roll with tube removed | 1.7 | ||
| Hand Sanitizer | 1 oz bottle | 1.3 | ||
| Cord | 3 feet very light bungie cord | 0.1 | ||
| Zip Ties | 4 small ones | 0.1 | ||
| Duct Tape | Small roll 2"x50" | 0.7 | ||
| Ear plugs | 2 pairs | 0.1 | ||
| Wisps toothbrushes (6) | 0.6 | - | ||
| Q-tips (12) | 0.2 | - | ||
| Camera/extra battery/extra card | 8.2 | Nikon coolpix | ||
| pen/notebook | 1.9 | Moleskin 3.5 x 5.25, 64 pages and inka pen | ||
| soap | small piece | 0.2 | ||
| Sportslick | 0.9 | |||
| Sew kit | needels/thread | 0.1 | ||
| Tenacius Repair tape | 2x2 inch | 0.1 | ||
| Garmin Forerunner 101 | ||||
| Clothing | ||||
| Shorts, compression | 1 extra pair, 2 total | 5.6 | CWX | |
| Shirt, race | - | 2XU Tech Speed X Run Top | ||
| Shirt, long sleeve | 5.1 | Early Winters Soltex or Fitz | ||
| Buff | 1.4 | |||
| Goggles | 1.7 | Pugs brand | ||
| Hat | - | Salomon XA+, white | ||
| Socks | 3 extra pair, 4 total | 2.5 | 2 each Injinji and Wrightsocks -thin models | |
| Heleium II Jacket | 5.7 | |||
| Slides/flip flops | Velcro slides for adjusting to swollen feet | 5.2 | Kmart Athletck Mahina slides with soles ground down | |
| Running shoes | - | Cabrakan 3's with bungie laces | ||
| Gaiters | 2.0 | DIY | ||
| Comprsn shin sleeves | 1.0 | |||
| Cooling sleeves | 1.0 | |||
| Food | ||||
| Food | 152.0 | |||
| Totals | 299.8 | oz | ||
| 18.7 | lb | |||
| 8.5 | kg |
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