Food Glorious Food!

Most people seem to consider the average MdS competitor to be borderline insane, and they're probably right. I mean, running 156 miles in 50 degree heat with scorpions sharing your sleeping bag is hardly normal. However, believe it or not there are a hardcore few who would take it to the next level by sacrificing a luxury or two in order to run faster. Toothbrush, unnecessary; medical kit, ditched; food, who needs food? The MdS organisers therefore set a minimum pack weight of 6.5kg and to reach this minimum without starving to death, some imagination must be used. For example, I plan on unrolling a toilet roll in order to remove the cardboard interior. I will be taking a pair of scissors to almost everything, removing labels from clothes and any excess straps or tags will be butchered. Paracetamol will be popped out of its heavy plastic and foil wrappings and transported in light plastic bags and my toothbrush will have its handle chopped off. However, despite all these tricks, the majority of the weight in everyones pack will be down to food. So how do you ensure one weeks worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner weighs no more than 3kg? This is where the fun starts!

Most people spend their lives counting calories, watching what they eat and skipping on dessert because they still feel guilt over the last indulgence. Type food into your search engine and it won't be long before you're faced with the latest fat busting tips. However, type in calorie dense food and see what you get. Burgers, chocolate, nuts and cheese, yum yum! And best of all, I have to test all this food out before I even get to the desert, happy days.

Did you know, one of the most calorie dense foods are brazil nuts, which also happen to be my favourite. Lucky me. I will be pricking holes in crisp packets, squashing out all the air and in the process creating a yummy crisp dust and then taping up the holes. Breakfast will consist of muesli and powdered milk followed by chocolate pop tarts. If all that lovely gooey chocolate can survive a toaster, it can survive the Saharan heat. Jelly babies are also on the menu and best of all, so is salt. Now this may seem weird, but those of you who've seen me eat fish and chips will know, a friend once described my delicious meal as a Christmas snow scene. So out with the plain peanuts and pistachios and in with the salty goodness. My desert menu really is all my favourites rolled into a week of food glorious food!


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I'm running the MdS to support the British Heart Foundation. Please take a moment to visit my sponsorship page and donate whatever you can afford. Many, many thanks
www.justgiving.com/lauranicholls2013

The Sofa Is Not Enough

Picture the scene, it’s the day after Boxing Day and you’re wrapped up on the sofa in a new jumper bought for you by an auntie or cousin.  Your stomach is so full that if you even see another turkey leg you might spontaneously transform into said gobbling creature.  You’ve drunk too much and not sure if opening that second bottle was a good idea, but what the heck, you’ve started it, so you’ll finish, it is Christmas after all.  On TV is yet another program that in normal circumstances you’d never even contemplate watching but the remote is on the other side of the room and you’re too stuffed to move.  In the corner is a pile of wrapping paper that’s been there since Christmas day when the mountain of beautifully wrapped presents were enthusiastically ripped open, followed by a chorus of “that’s just what I wanted!’ and ‘how did you know?”  Not only am I sure you can picture this scene, I’m sure you’ve lived this scene.

So, Christmas 2010, this was me, but the random program that flickered in the background was a documentary by Ben Fogle which followed him as he completed the “toughest footrace on Earth”.  The pictures that followed were of beautiful landscapes, orange sand dunes, towering mountains and quaint Berber villages.  The competitors seemed mostly ecstatic to be surrounded by such raw nature, grateful to be sharing unconditional camaraderie with other like-minded people and whilst there were a few pictures of sore feet, most people wore smiles.  The documentary explained how 800 people every year run the equivalent of six marathons in six days across the Sahara Desert with up to 15 kg of supplies on their backs.  They faced dehydration, scorpions, temperatures of up to 50 degrees, camel spiders and blisters on top of blisters.  People had not only got lost taking part in this race, but a few had died.  In my stuffed Christmas stupor, all I saw was the beautiful, uncomplicated and unspoilt landscapes and was hit with the overwhelming feeling that life on the sofa was not enough.

Bear in mind that at this point, the closest I had ever got to running was sprinting down the street to catch a bus or train which invariably left me panting, red faced and feeling like my lungs were going to burst.  But for some reason, at this point in time, this small fact didn’t even register in my thought process.  A quick Internet search later revealed that the UK waiting list for the next race was two years and when the registration opened in May 2011, the likelihood was that it would sell out in just 10 minutes!

January 2011 I went back to work and mentioned to the guys in my office that I was considering entering this race.  I was met with a unified response of “you’re nuts” but my good friend Becky, the voice of reason, quite rightly suggested that I should probably try running before I enter this crazy race.  So I joined the gym and found on the internet (what did we do before the world of online information) an 8 week running plan that started in week one with a 30 second run and ended up in week eight with a 30 minute run.  No, you didn’t misread that; my first run was 30 seconds!  By May 2011 I could run up to 3 miles and was enjoying myself, so with butterflies in my stomach I signed up to the toughest footrace on Earth.  In April 2013, I would be running 156 miles across the Sahara Desert with everything I need for a week on my back.  Now I was nervous!

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I'm running the MdS to support the British Heart Foundation.  Please take a moment to visit my sponsorship page and donate whatever you can afford.  Many, many thanks
www.justgiving.com/lauranicholls2013