Having finished my first 100 mile race with the Centurion Autumn 100 in October  ( the previous blog with me with porridge in my beard) it was time to set my training and preparation on to the Marathon des Sables in 2016.

or…’Sandy Jog Week’ as I’ve started calling it to make it sound less scary.

Rated as the ‘toughest foot race on earth ‘ it has a fierce reputation and my aim for finishing it is to then feel I can finally call myself a proper runner.

Earlier in the week my beloved running rucksack for 3 years ‘Ol Blue’ died and catastrophically ripped apart while running scattering 10 kgs of gear all over the Surrey Hills.

I’d allready set my sights on the WAA MdS rucksack for when I ran the Marathon des Sables so when I found out the MdS expo in London WAS GIVING THE WAA RUCKSACK AWAY FOR FREE to those that turned up that were running it in 2016 my mind was set on attending at the weekend.

Now is the time for long training runs , with kit to get used to the multiple day off road distances that are inevitable on the event so I was concerned that going to the expo would interfere with a long training run I had planned that Saturday until I had a rare moment of clarity.

I WOULD RUN TO THE EXPO !

I would not only get my training distance in that day , I would then also attend the expo , deliver 10kgs of dive kit to a friend I could meet in London who was taking it out to Egpyt for someone, and save money on the train and tubes etc all day.  WIN WIN WIN. by using less transport my carbon footprint was lower…meaning less global warming….and a cooler Sahara next year !

and best of all collect my shiny new rucksack to replace Ol Blue.

I did some rough maths and knew I’d need to run about 7 miles across London to visit the various stops I was planning so I needed to run 19 miles from my house in Godalming towards London.

I set off early with a selfie for the secret MdS Facebook Group and headed for the Wey Canal path which runs north up to Guildford and Woking and on to West Byfleet before joining the Thames around Weybridge.  I knew that 19 miles was roughly by West Byfleet so I planned to leave the Wey Canal path there and catch the train to Waterloo then run to the Expo across London.

I borrowed my wifes HUGE 75 litre rucksack for the day as it turned out all the dive kit was WAY MORE than I expected for my other 36 litre rucksack .  I set off at a steady 5 miles per hour pace with my favourite music and my special goggles that protect my eyes after some recent eye surgery that I also plan to use in the Sahara next year.

Having spent a few years running silly distances alone most weekends the miles flew by on a familiar route and I quickly went past Guildford ,  Send , Woking and towards West Byfleet .

 I got to West Byfleet aorund 11.30 am and caught the train into London.

having run about 19 miles I used the train toilet to change out of my sweaty clothes into some fresh running gear and have a ‘pompey shower’ ( bit of talc and deodorant).    I put on a warmer jacket too as I was shivering when I got to London.

Then I realised my first gross error of the day, and one I have experienced and should have learnt from before.  About 2 years ago I ran 50 miles from Godalming to Brighton Pier. In my total lack of wisdom I figured an EPIC 6 miles along the seafront from Shoreham to the pier would be the perfect end to a triumphant run. Instead , exhausted and thirsty , I staggered dodging and swearing like a mad man through ENORMOUS CROWDS of people walking the promenade.

 I vowed to never do something that stupid again.

As I ran out of Waterloo I realised I had Brighton Piered myself. I had a 2 mile run to get to the Institute of Great Britain and it was going to take about 4 hours based on the crowd density.

After 200 metres of run walk run swear  dodge tut walk stop  dodge swear run tut  walk stop run walk walk run dodge I got out on to the road and ran alongside the utterly stationary traffic. I was now without a doubt the FASTEST OBJECT WITHIN ZONE 1 TO 6.  Easily covering a staggering 5 mph.  I looked insane , like a crazy shoplifter that had hit The Cotswolds Outdoor shop and was running from the cops but it felt good to make decent progress.

I arrived at the rather posh institute all smelly and sweaty again. I got a wristband . The wristband had MdS on it and I’m super super excited to even have it. It’ll stay on my wrist now as a permanent reminder of what I’m doing and why I should get up at 6 am every day for a run in the dark.

I’m having some trouble re adjusting from running with the Centurion running community for nearly a year . These are a group of Ultra nutters who can run 100 miles , off road, in one go and some in under 16 hours. The fitness levels are staggering and the encouragement and camerarderie is very inspiring.  I’m already getting a similar vibe with the MdS bunch.

I was met with rather a lot of stunned surprise. Why was I in running gear ? Why did I smell so bad ? Why the big rucksack? I explained with a smile to those that asked that I had run here , and that running with a 10kg rucksack 19 weeks before a multi stage self supported desert race seemed perfectly sensible to me as part of a training plan. In fact , despite assurances from many that I was mad, as far as I was concerned anyone that lived closer than 26 miles to the expo is really missing the point of the MdS if they got the train , bus , car in ?

It was lunchtime when I arrived. This was my first true triumph of the day . I ate Expedition foods for the first time without wearing it on my face. In my previous blog I had tried to eat expedition food porridge whilst running , about 23 hours into a race , and very tired and with inappropriate cutlery and absolutely zero shits given on the dignity scale and succeeded only in smearing my whole face and beard with the stuff in the centre of Reading on a lovely sunny Sunday morning.

This time was a triumph. With a large spoon and long handle I ate with glee.  I was truly a running expert now. Not one noodle in my beard.  Acceptable in public. Reintegrated into society.

I met up with Jason who I’m getting sweaty and hot with in March and bumped into Jonathan who I didn’t know was running the MdS who I hadn’t seen in 7 years.

The Expo was superb and well worth the run. I got to fondle sleeping bags and make a final decision on my four poster bed configuration for the run ,  I sat in on a hilarious and brilliant talk for MdS first timers from someone that listened to Nat King Cole to get through the desert and ran with far too much kit.  A guy at the Pro Feet stand gave me a tip on a company that puts custom grip on trainers so I’ve finally got a chance to combine my favourite elements of my two fav trainers.

Then is was time to leave around 4pm and as the sun set run another 3 miles across London to meet a friend at a bar called The Drift and unload 10kgs of dive kit from my rucksack (which now had ANOTHER MdS rucksack inside the first like an outdoor version of  Russian Dolls ).  It was a quick ‘sports pint’ …(or two) and a happy birthday to another friend in a posh bar with me dressed like I had arrived from the Arctic.

Then I set off for a final 2 miles to Waterloo station and the train home. I hit the 26 mile mark somewhere near London Bridge and stopped for a triumphant ‘FULL TOURIST’ selfie as I crossed the finish line of the first ever MdS Expo 26 mile race. I as the founder , and much Like Patrick Bauer in 1984 had struck out to create a new a crazy challenge, I  had also come first and was very pleased with myself. I completed it in an impressive 10 hours and 30 minutes a new personal marathon worst for me and second in crazy only to the time I accidentally came second to last AND second in a 66 mile Ultra called the Omen 66 earlier this year.

I learned some new things, got a great new rucksack , made some final kit decisions and started to integrate myself into a new group of adventurers.

oh…. and I had a chicken kebab when I got back to Godalming.