A fifth year at the Marathon des Sables
The Marathon des Sables is one of the world's toughest footraces, which stretches 250km into the Sahara desert. Runners must complete the course in just seven days, carrying everything they need to survive in the hot, dry conditions on their backs.
This year, Jonny Mortimer-Hendry, an ex-paratrooper who served in Afghanistan, took on the challenge to raise funds for the charity 'Support our Paras'. In the first attempt of its kind, Johnny completed the ultramarathon whilst wearing a 10kg weighted protective vest — a world first, and a curiously heavy load in a race where competitors do all they can to carry the lightest kit they can.
"The vest represents Body Armour", Jonny explains. "When you go to war, you wear Body Armour to protect you against bombs and bullets, but nothing protects your mind. I want to make a very clear visual statement about soldiers' and veterans' mental health."
Images by Josuef, Johnny Stills, and Marta Bacardit
Food choices for the race
Choosing lightweight food options with the appropriate calorie density, carbohydrate to protein ratio, and which will also have a positive psychological benefit are all critical on multi-stage races.
In this year's race, Jonny took 18 extra-large Firepot meals with him to the desert. Most runners take far fewer meals out to Morrocco, but Jonny's weighted vest meant his calorie requirement was far higher than other competitors'.
[Firepot is] a far cry from my previous experience of dehydrated meals... The porridges were my favourite!
Custom-packing option
We helped Jonny handle the extra calorie burn by custom-packing his meals — a service we offer all MDS-runners free of charge. This involves taking each meal and sealing it tightly around the food by hand, which keeps the packaging weight to an absolute minimum.
This year, the desert winds were a particular problem. Depending on how much you are comfortable carrying, Jonny recommended taking a proper wind shield for your stove so you are able to heat your water efficiently.
Get in touch if you would like to discuss your own packaging requirements, and find out more about Jonny's MDS campaign below.
