November 29

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MARATHON DES SABLES PERU AT STAGE 1-37k: “LESSONS LEARNED” BY GEDIMINAS GRINIUS

Posted by on November 29, 2017 in altra running, marathon des sables 2017, marathon des sables peru, marathon des sables peru 2017, trail running, trail running peru, trail running spain, Ultra Trail, ultra trail 2017, waa ultra | 5 Comments

 

Marathon des Sables Peru kicked off yesterday, with Rachid el Morabity and Natahlie Mauclair already clear leaders after 37km. Our live coverage moves on with the runers as well. After our previous prerace report with favorites and race data, and bivouac zero experience before the race, today our special correspondent Gediminas Grinius finds out how very different running on the sands is from his previous experience at his native Lithuania or the alpine slopes of UTMB. Lesson learned, he claims after he first day. And with good reason….

 

 

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“Lessons learned” by Gediminas Grinius. 

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Lessons learned. Heat and sand creates miracles here in the desert, sadly mine wasn’t so sexy today. Remember a while ago I was writing about magic of never? Guess what, MDS surprised me with another one. Today I was vomiting my guts out on the way to the first stage finish line and even wondered how good runner I am as was chicked and passed by few elderly gents, but you know what, it doesn’t matter so much. I just like running and sorry for those who think that I can compete with Usain Bolt and Mo Farah In their preferred distances in Olympics or stay close to Rashid El Morabity in his playground. Everybody has Achilles heel and I am happy to find out my third one. Failures are just part of the process and yet the best way for improvement when lessons learned are identified.

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Definitely, on my vomiting odyssey, I remembered poor Jim Wamsley during this years Western State 100 miler and probably it was very first time when I could really got under his skin and into his shoes. However, my shoes didn’t move at all, as energy from my food was used for marking the course with the pieces of food from my stomach, so after a while I simply have no power left to lift my legs at all. Water wise, professor Tim Nokes would be super proud, as I definitely wasn’t waterlogged and done all stage with one liter of water in extremely hot desert conditions. Sounds stupid, but the more I drunk the more I watered plants were all around me. So, looking from this perspective I wasn’t totally miserable and have done few great things in the sake of science.

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No excuses and definitely first stage was won by the fastest ones, however tomorrow no less demanding stage through the desert here in Ica. So socks and dirty clothes to the bag and I have the pillow for tonights recovery sleep to be fresh for tomorrows marathon distance

MDS-PERU-Roadbook-Stage1 37,2km

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MDS PERU PROGRAMME – 26 NOVEMBER TO 06 DECEMBER 2017

  • 26 NOVEMBER: 10.00 Meeting point at Lima airport. Airport reception from 24 to 26 November: MDS PERU Team – spoken languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian and Chinese. Bus transfer to the 1st bivouac on the legendary Pan-American Highway.
  • 27 NOVEMBER: Technical and medical checks.
  • 28 NOVEMBER to 03 DECEMBER: The race – food self-sufficiency
  • 04 DECEMBER: “Solidarity” stage, timed and qualifying with food self-sufficiency
  • 05 DECEMBER: Free day
  • 06 DECEMBER: Bus transfer to Lima

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MORE ON SKIMO, TRAIL RUNNING AND MOUNTAIN GEAR

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Info by Mayayo Oxígeno for Trailrunningspain