Chris runs ultras

The Marathon des Sables is a 250 km, multi-stage, self-sufficient foot race in the Sahara desert. This means I am required to carry all of my gear and food for the entire 6 stages over 7 days. The only things that the race organisers provide is water and a Bivouac, which is an open-sided tent that I will share with 7 other people.

After months of researching, talking to previous MDS’ers and comparing with current runners, I have come up with the following kit list that – minus a few last minute tweaks – I will take to the Sahara to use to complete the Marathon des Sables in 2024.

Mandatory gear

This is the list of items that I must take. My kit will be checked on day one (the admin day) and I must have these items in order to start the race.

This list is taken from https://marathondessables.co.uk/compulsory-kit-list/. It was slightly adjusted this year to replace salt tablets with Broth and to remove the venom pump.

1. a backpack WAA ULTRA BAG 20L or equivalent
2. a minimum capacity of 1.5litre of water (gourd, water bag, etc.)
3. a sleeping bag
4. a head torch and a complete set of spare batteries or spare batteries with external / solar charger
5. a compass, with 1° or 2°precision
6. a lighter
7. a whistle
8. a knife with metal blade
9. a topical disinfectant
10. a signalling mirror
11. an aluminium survival sheet
12. 14 cubes of broth (2 per running day). The use of these cubes effectively replaces salt tablets
13. a tube of sunscreen of 50ml minimum
14. 200 euro or 2,000 dirhams
15. the passport or for Moroccan residents, identity card valid at least until the end of the stay in Morocco
16. the original medical certificate provided by the organisation, filled in and signed by the doctor
17. the original ECG and its tracing

Food

I am required to take a minimum of 2000 calories per day for the 7 days of racing. This does not include the travel day and admin day. However, I am required to be self-sufficient on these days also.

The above image is the food I will eat on the third stage, which is a double marathon, over two days. It is missing 4 SiS gels that I added after taking the picture.

This food came to 4081 calories, weighs 1094 grams and consists of:

1. 1x SiS recovery shake – 368 calories
2. 3x High5 electrolite tablets – 0 calories
3. 4x High5 gels – 273 calories
4. 1x Expedition dinner – 1003 calories
5. 1x Expedition breakfast – 450 calories
6. 10x Precision fuel & hydration salt tablets 250 – 0 calories
7. 1x Galaxy hot chocolate – 398 calories
8. 1x Coffee – 31 calories
9. 2x Broth cubes – 14 calories
10. 1x Pepperami – 99 calories
11. 1x Pepperami spicy – 99 calories
12. 12x Blok chews – 372 calories
13. 2x Flapjack – 974 calories

Some noteworthy items are:

• The inclusion of the Broth cubes. They are a new mandatory item that replace salt tablets. Apparently they are easier for the body to absorb and contain far more salt then the traditional salt tablets. I intend to consume the Broth cubes by mixing them in with my heated meal each day and have included my own salt tablets to take whilst I am running.
• The Expedition meals are provided by https://expeditionfoods.com/. They are dehydrated meals that are calorie dense and taste very good.
• The Flapjacks are homemade and are very calorie dense and taste excellent, even if I do say so myself! I will write a separate post on how I made them.

I have to reasonably prove that I have 14000 calories for the 7 days. A common way of doing this is to divide the food up into stage bags, and label the bags with the calories of each item within the bags. To keep things simple I have just included the total calories on the labels.

I then have a spreadsheet with a breakdown of the calories per item. If the admin team question any of my stage bags, I can then show them more detail as requested.

The total weight of my food is 3813 grams.

Medical kit

Item	Notes
Hand sanitizer 100ml	I will use this religiously as I won’t have the opportunity to properly clean my myself or my kit for the 7 days I am in the desert.
TCP 50ml
Nivea F50 50ml
Iodine 30ml	Will be used on blisters to help heal them.
Benzoine Tincture 30ml	This is supposed to be sprayed on my toes to help bond the tape to them.
Lip balm F50
Bandage
Body tape
Foot tape
Imodium
Paracetamol
Recovery Effervescent powder
Antiseptic cleansing wipes

Other noteable kit items

HOKA Speedgoat 5’s

These have been my main running shoe for ultra long distance events. These ones had to be sent off to have the velcro stitched on so that the Gaitors could be attached to them properly.

Gaitors

These are what will sit over my shoes, and will attach to my legs just above the ankles, and attach to the shoes all the way around the shoe via the velcro. I’m expecting little, if any, sand to get into my shoes.

Calf sleeves

I prefer to wear these after running races to help compress my legs and aid in healing. These should also have the added benefit of warming my legs during the night.

Injinji toe socks

These have been my favourite running socks for a long time. Each toe has an individual sleeve. They usually prevent me from getting any blisters at all. With the help of proper taping of my toes.

Raidlight Cap and shirt

These are specialist items that I have specifically chosen for this event because. They are meant to be used in the kind of environment I will be running in.

The cap has light white fabric that hangs downs around the sides and the back to block the sun from burning my skin. 

The shirt is an ultra light, thin and soft fabric which is designed for UV protection. 

The gaitors are specifically intended to prevent sand from entering the shoes that they are attached too. This will be vital, as I will be running in very sandy areas, including large sand dunes, and Jebels.

In total the kit that will go into my bag, including water, weighs 10kg. I have ran with this weight a few times in training, and feel it is okay to start the race with. It will quite quickly reduce in weight as I eat my way through the food rations each day.