Epic ultra marathon across the Sahara for SAT-7
Over 14 months Marty is taking on 3 endurance challenges; the Marathon des Sables, the Sierra Leone Street Child Marathon and the HARP 24-hour endurance race in Southend, England. He has already completed the first: a 270km race across the Sahara in 7 days.
The ups
Reflecting on his time during this colossal race, Marty points out two standout moments. Firstly, they were up at 3:30am for the 100km stage. About 15km into a dune climb, on hands and knees; they were met by a vast sweep of dunes, perfectly lit by the rising sun. What beautiful imagery!
Secondly, in the stage after the 100km, they tackled another towering dune. It was so steep that running down it felt like each stride carried them metres at a time, with the soft sand offering a little reassurance that a slip wouldn’t mean serious injury.
The Downs
Unfortunately, not everything was positive. When asked for his worst moments, it was difficult for Marty to pick one. However, there was a consensus within his tarp that the last 15km of the 100km stage was the worst. Running at ever slowing speed, night approaching, rocks and stones hiding animals such as scorpions amongst many other things. So close to the finish yet so far…
The determination
There were a few that had been medically withdrawn, with many people visiting the medical clinic often. In fact, this race is known to have such rare feet injuries that podiatrists make a special effort to come. One runner broke their shoulder after falling but they carried on. Another runner was running continually for just under 40 hours to complete the 100km, to then sleep only a couple hours to complete a marathon the next day! All the way from the front runners to the back, the level of determination, joy and generosity was evident throughout.
Thanksgiving
Marty would like to express his gratitude to all that have supported him, SAT-7 UK and Street Child charity. All of us at SAT-7 UK would like to echo these thanks, not just to all who have supported us through Marty’s efforts but to Marty himself for choosing us as one of the charities to raise awareness and fundraise for.
He was able to finish just outside the top 25% of all racers, with 1560 people and 7% dropout rate. This is incredible. He even came 14th in his age/gender category out of 103 runners! We will be cheering him on as he continues his training for his next two challenges. We look forward to hearing all about how his next challenge goes.
If you feel inspired by Marty, feel free to contact us at SAT-7 UK to find out more about how you can help support and fundraise for us.