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!

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

Training Summary

I guess now is the time to provide for the benefit of the readers some sketchy details relating to my training preparations.  I have already posted some details pertaining to specific runs and events however an overall summary is in order.

Working backwards, my mileage for the year (since January 1st) is at about 550 miles.  As part of that I have logged 2,700 "lb-miles" with my pack.  I use this as a rough measurement and calculate this value by multiplying the miles ran by the weight of the pack.  Pack weight was nominally 16-20 lbs for these training runs.  Put another way I ran with a pack almost 1/3 of the miles logged during this period.

From the time I knew I had a slot for this years event (early August) until the end of 2012 my mileage total was approximately 650 miles.  That also includes 945 lb-miles.

If I go back over the last twelve months my total mileage would be some where over 1,750 miles including 3,650 lb-miles.  The latter is equivalent to running with a 20 lb pack for about 180 miles.  Not too bad given weather and a busy travel schedule.

My focus has been on longer back-to-back type runs with most training in a week consolidated to about four or five straight days.  Hills are always a part of the schedule because of where I live.  Walking and tempo workouts were on occasions included.  The bulk of my training has been on the trails at a steady pace.  Weekly milages never exceeded 65 miles and long runs were on the order of 20-25 miles.  I believe this has worked well and kept my old bones fairly injury free.

We will see if this approach proves successful.  Hope this is useful!

Bataan Memorial Death March

This past Sunday (17 March) marked another Bataan Memorial Death March for me and my last event until the MDS.  I have been doing this semi-trail marathon now for over 10 years and have competed in about every division available to me including civilian light, civilian coed team light, civilian heavy (35 lb pack) and civilian team heavy. I do this event to honor the memory of my great uncle Penrod Reader who survied the Bataan Death March in 1942 and eventually died in the POW camps in the Philippines.

This event was attended by other friends and family including Dirk Reader (brother), Megan Reader (daughter), Tim White (colleague and training buddy), Haley White (Tim's daughter) and Jesson Hutchinson (work colleague).  All completed their respective "marches".

Pre-race group photo

I decided to run without my kit, not wanting to break anything on it or me this close to the departure date!  However I did run totally self supported and as such started out with over 100 oz of water and some snacks.  This rig weighed in around 9lbs, about a finish pack weight for the MDS.  While the weather was not hot (mid 70's) it was windy for half the event.  I ran with Dirk and Tim for most of the day.  Dirk pulled a PR at 4:06+, knocking off almost 40 minutes from his time last year.  I came in around 4:04.

Tim and I pushing past the half way point

I also broke in my race shoes and my back up pair of gaiters which were getting lots of looks (there are sections of significant sand near the end).  Also taped up for practice.  Everything worked out great.

Hard to believe in three weeks I will be doing this in Morocco!

Medico Says Good to Go!

Today I completed my EKG and physical.  No real suprises but good to know that I am good to go!  Review of my shot records also showed no deficiencies.  Additionally the good Dr. wrote a prescription for Cipro to add to the kit "just in case" with the warning of its side effects relating to tendonitis and/or tendon rupture and interactions with NSAIDs.  With two copies of everything one to go into my pack and a spare in my checked bag this to do item is now checked off!

Course Details?

For the 28th Sultan MDS, there has been some changes to the general event format as compared to previous years. While the uncertainty of the event/course is part of the fun, I still like to know somewhat what to expect.  This is what I have gleaned from postings on the MDS website:

From "The starting line is in the sight" (love how things get distorted in translation)

• Five competitive stages totaling 230km (143 miles)
• A"difficult" course
• Untimed liaison stage of 7+km (4+ miles) at the end

From "The Week End 28th Sultan MDS" and the Terres D'Aventure brochure:

• Liaison stage to be conducted on the 13th
• Marathon?/final stage of MDS on the 12th

So what does that mean, or how I interpret this information.

• One marathon length stage (26+ miles)
• Assume one 50 mile stage
• Leaving about 67 miles for the remaining stages or an average of 22+ miles each (I am expecting these will vary significantly in length)

Estimated schedule

5th: Bivouac
6th: In-processing
7th: Stage 1
8th: Stage 2
9th: Stage 3
10th: Stage 4
11th: Stage 4
12th: Stage 5 (Marathon)
13th: Liason/Back to Ouarzazate
14th: Ouarzazate

Only time will tell!

White Sands

Shake down run at White Sands

With the MDS only five weeks away, training is continuing.  This week has been heavy with back to back long runs(25+ miles) in addition to some shorter ones.  The long runs were done down south by the Organ Mountains east of Las Cruces NM and at White Sands National Monument. White Sands was chosen to do a final shake down of my kit especially my new gaiters.  These performed exceptionally well.  While it was not hot (in fact it was 22 deg F when I started out- 76 when I finished), there was lots of sand.  Everything appears to be good to go!

Tawny dog on the dunes