Steps in the Sand: My Marathon des Sables Journey - August

Welcome to month two of my MDS training blog. For those of you new here; I'm on a daring quest. I’ve set myself the goal of competing in the Marathon des Sables in 2024, and I’m inviting you to join me on my journey. As I navigate my training and preparation for this daunting task, I aim to raise funds for three incredible local charities; Autism Guernsey, Jersey Hospice Care and Guernsey Society for Cancer Relief.

How can you help?

Primarily, by donating to the three charities, I'm raising funds for, here. At the time of writing, we're just shy of £800 of £10,000 raised.

Or helping me knock something off my Amazon wishlist, I've got a lot of kit to buy for the big week.

Sponsor a long run, I love my little island home, but racking up double marathons at the weekend in Guernsey is not fun, ship me off to England or France and I'll give you a big hug and a shout-out on my socials 🙂 Please reach out to via the contact us page on our website or message me on Instagram

Give me a follow on Instagram with some words of encouragement (or heckle me, whatever floats your boat).

So, month two by the numbers: 216km (+29% on July), 23h on my feet and 1,654m of elevation (that's Ben Nevis +300m or twice the height of the Burj Khalifa) .

I really struggled with month 1 (July), as I had doubled my running commitment from the prior month of June. Coming into August I felt a lot better prepared and it was a much more pleasant experience.

I had some amazing long runs, taking part in the "Donkey Drop Out" which is a 4.1M loop of the Guernsey Reservoir and surrounding area. You have 1-hour to complete the loop before you start again, every hour on the hour until you can't go on any longer. The winner did something like 27 laps I believe, well over 100 miles and a day of running. I went for a more modest, 6 laps however 😂

I also hopped across to Jersey and went out running with Rock n Road Runners, for a 7 mile loop of the cliffs followed by 9 miles through St Peters Valley back to St Helier, again, a massive thank you to my employer for covering the cost of my flights and accommodation.

But the real standout run for August, was a ten-mile loop of Copenhagen, you can watch the highlights of that, here.

I've also had some great support from the local media, thank you to, Guernsey Press, Bailiwick Express, BBC Guernsey, BBC Jersey, Jersey Evening Post, Channel Eye and Island FM, who have all been so supportive of my mission!

But, it's not all sunshine and rainbows, as I can feel the possible beginnings of an injury, I think (emphasise on think) it could be patellar tendinitis according to Dr Google, so, if anybody that's actually qualified in this area would like to assist me (all in the name of good charity), please let me know, before my knee falls off. I have backed off on the training a wee bit the last couple of weeks, just to give my knee a break and also taper a little bit for the Guernsey Half Marathon coming up in September.

For September, I have a long trail/road run in Dielette and the Guernsey Half Marathon and I think that's about it. I'm aiming for about 220-250KM for the month, only slightly higher than August. It's October I'm quaking in my boots about, where I'll break 300KM for the first time 😬

I’m here to share my journey and learn from others. If you have any questions, suggestions or even some firsthand experience with the MDS, please don't hesitate to reach out on Instagram @fromtidestotrails. Every bit of advice and encouragement is invaluable to me!