December 03

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MARATHON DES SABLES PERU, STAGE 4-68k: “HUNGER” BY GEDIMINAS GRINIUS

Posted by on December 3, 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 saw its main stage yesterday, with Rachid el Morabity and Nathalie Mauclair leading the pack once again, yet this time Remigio Huaman came in together with the moroccan.  After previous notes on  prerace report with favorites and race data, the bivouac zero experience, thoughts on the simple life and survival creativity, today our special correspondent Gediminas Grinius shares into the raw hunger that as th bivouac allows runners to enjoy moving on from the desert to the sea

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“HUNGER” by Gediminas Grinius. 

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Swimming with the seals and flying with the birds was the prize I got after the long stage at #MDS Peru. But do I really knew how it will end at the begging of it, definitely not. If the simple marathon stage is hard, long one is even harder, but as once somebody told me – you must be tougher when situation is tough. This was my mantra for the whole 68km run through the sandy dunes, with the front wind blowing straight from the ocean and with solid elevation gain climbing spectacular 300m high dune on the last kilometers. Though I wasn’t hungry for victory and kept repeating myself that it is more adventure than race, adrenaline and testosterone did it’s own job and from minute one beast inside me was unleashed. It’s been just a perfect day, though someone must believe that placing is the most important thing in races, it is not true at all. Time which we pass alone or with the friends matters much more and gained new life experience is the thing which drives me to do such a rad things, so having this all in mind super tired, starving, but happy I managed to crawl to the campsite. The day was over, fatigue and satisfaction blurred away, but something still remained there – hunger.

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#MDS is the toughest footstep race in the deserts all around the world and definitely more extreme than overestimated Dakar Rally. It has several reasons being the one, but the most cruel part of it is self sufficiency or would say food sufficiency, as you must wisely choose calories and not to have super overloaded back pack IOT run light. It is not so easy to handle, as nutrition is crucial part of running and you can not run on empty tank. Moreover, each day runners become lighter and their glycogen storages are not the same as it used to be prior the race. Demand increase, food storages decrease and the only way to deal with it, is being hungry or slower in the course with heavy pack breaking your spine. Ideal weight of pack should be 10% of my body mass, which just after 4 stage almost became true for me. However, together with diminishing food stash I am shrinking as well. So, sadly I have never found this perfect balance yet.

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Food is the only thing which I can really love at the moment and it is not that I don’t have it anymore, but as I missed variety so much. In the few past days I figured out that raw cuisine is not my thing and I can’t pump myself with million nuts and not desire something else. Now I would surely commit crime for just one orange or avocado fruit. The only thought which I am obsessed while daydreaming in my runs is veggies and fruits, so terrible sexy dream with the real taste, feel and smell, but still empty stomach

 

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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