As I found it extremely useful trawling through the forums and speaking to people before I went over to the desert last year, 2010, I thought that I would do the same for future MDS-ers. Generally, I was pretty happy with my kit choice, had no real issues, nothing broke, and more surprisingly, got no big blisters, bar a small one the last day, throughout the whole 250km and heat. As always, what worked very well for me, may not work for others, but no harm in trying. So, starting from the bottom up…
Shoes, socks, feet, gaiters
For shoes, I went with Brooks Adrenaline ASR 6′s. I ignored some of the ‘size larger’ advice and only went a half size up, or a European size up from my normal 8.5 to 9. Excellent shoes, can’t commend them enough. I trained for 4 months beforehand in the same model, although purchased a new pair 3 weeks before to allow a bit of run in.
I ummed and ahh’ed about socks for a long time before going out. I ended up going for Injinji Crew socks, took 2 pairs, plus one pair of X-Socks Speed Metal socks. I didn’t go for the double layer socks, mainly because I had some with me before the ‘final pack’ at the bivouac, tried them and my feet heated up unbelievably, so they were then left behind.
Feet preparation… none at all, aside from cutting toenails a week before. I tend to wear no shoes where I can during summer months so I don’t know if this helped. As I said, no blisters to speak of until the very last stage and even then it was a small one on a toe.
For gaiters, I wouldn’t even look anywhere else than the good old sandbaggers parachute silk gaiters. Brilliant, and the ones that pretty much singled us out as British competitors. No sand got in at all, and felt quite smug, especially after the derogatory comments from other countries’ competitors about the high gaiters at the beginning of the event and then passing said competitors using the Raidlight gaiters after dunes while they emptied out their shoes… no hesitation on the sandbaggers. I had the velcro’d version, getting them glued and sewn on by a random cobbler near Victoria in London. Worked a dream.
Shorts, Underwear
I wore black Under Armour knee length compression shorts and a pair of bog standard Adidas lightweight running shorts on top. I did think about going for full length compression tights, and I would still consider in the future. Full length would have been great to protect from the sun and heat, as I got a heat rash and a bit of sunburn during the long day on the small bit of leg that was showing. In the end though, full length just wasn’t comfortable and bit of an unknown for me.
The extra shorts were extremely useful just to wear around the bivouac, and wearing them was easier than stuffing them into my bag!
To stop the expected chafing, although there was some, I wore adidas swimming boxers for underwear and took a spare pair, for the little bit of clean freshness half way through.
Top
I did wonder quite a lot about my choice of top and took options with me to the desert, so I had the choice before handing back our luggage. I ended up deciding that I would go with long sleeve compression tops, and had the choice of an Under Armour cold grey coloured top and a classic Skins black compression top, half worried that black would be wrong in the desert. Black actually felt more comfortable and the Skins top went with me.
That was definitely a winning choice for me. The beauty of the long sleeve compression top is that you don’t need to worry about sunburnt arms and the compression material effect when you pour water on your arms is like stepping into a fridge. Highly recommended.
I also wore a simple short sleeve running t-shirt over it, as much to hide the unfortunate view of compressed stomach flab, but also as something to wear around the bivouac without having to pack it in the backpack.
And of course, not forgetting the obligatory buffs. I took 2, one for round my neck, one for my wrist in order to pour water on to sock my forehead during the heat.
I also wore a Raidlight cap, with a little flap on the back to cover the back of your neck which could be taken off the cap if you want. And, of course, sunglasses. I never did take my sand goggles in the end and never really regretted it as we didn’t really suffer from too much ;’windy sand’.
Bag & Sleeping Stuff
I had the Evolution 2 Raidlight 19L + the 5L front pack and, contrary to what I had read and heard before the race, it was perfect. I’d had to replace the one I’d been using for training the day before leaving for Morocco as it suddenly had some tears. Luckily the one I received from RaceKit (who were brilliant, http://www.racekit.co.uk/), was a newer model, sturdier and was excellent. The front pack caused me no problems and was perfect for holding water bottles and food for the day. However, practice running with the pack well before the race as it takes some getting used to. Now that I’m used to it, I miss the ease and use of a front pack when on a long run.
My sleeping bag was a Mountain Equipment Xero 250, which only weighed 650g and was perfect. Never felt cold, was even a bit too hot. Didn’t take a silk inner but I would seriously consider taking a silk inner over a sleeping bag, based on last year’s weather. My sleeping mat was a bog standard sleeping mat from Decathlon for £14 which I cut in half. It was doubly useful as a wind barrier when cooking as well! I took a simple blow up pillow which worked fine and hardly weighed a thing.
