Desert dune with a view

Following on from last week's column, now on day four of the race, I found myself standing on the starting line of the longest day in the Marathon Des Sables' history.

- By KEVIN WEBBER

Ahead of us was a 100km (62 mile) beast of a day, a distance most had never run before and even I had only done twice but always as a standalone event.After some motivational words from the organisers and ACDC's “Highway to Hell,” we were off, head torches on, in relatively cool temperatures on a wide, slow, uphill sandy trail lit by bright stars and the glow of other runners' torches. After a couple of hours, the sun came up, bathing us in a golden glow reflected by the sand. Looking back after climbing a big dune, I felt privileged to be seeing the desert in all its glory. I