It has been several days now since the end of Racing the Planet`s 2014 Roving Race in Madagascar. Rich and I are happily tucked away in Cape Town and enjoying not needing to move. We`ll be discussing the race in further detail in the days to come, but for now, as we know some readers may have missed our race updates, we`d like to take a moment and share those posts with you.
Rich and I have avoided swarms of locusts, survived fights to “DIE” airport, and have averted the worst that food poisoning could throw at us. Overall, I think we’ve done quite alright in keeping strong, sleepy, and happy in the lead up to this week long, 250km adventure through Madagascar.
Something that I did not mention in our recent article, Lessons from 2013 Gobi March: Preparing for a Multi-Stage Ultra Marathon, but is something that Rich and I feel deserves a fair amount of attention is foot care. When doing any type of running race, your feet are your most important asset. Cracked, swollen, and blistered feet can make your life difficult and very painful. Knowing how to take care of them, though, can significantly reduce the likelihood that you’ll need to pull out of a race, or spend the next few weeks watching your toenails rot and fall out.
Ever since I first announced that I’d signed up for my first Ultra Marathon, the Gobi March, back in July 2012, people have been asking me why. Why would I put myself through the training, through the pain, through the long days on my feet? There were a lot of remarks about me being crazy, or having a death wish, and their needing to “prep a coffin” for me. For every nice sentiment I received about my desire to compete, there were 19 others telling me that I was either insane or that I’d break down or that I wouldn’t be able to make it through.