Marathon Des Sables
Packing for the Desert
Tom Bell / 06.04.2005
That’s what Dave and I thought before we decided to head off the beaten track, buck tarmac and head to the Sahara. My thought now is it’s expensive and has become increasingly technical. Both Dave and I have spent in excess of £1000 on kit and training getting ourselves prepared and our packs down to 13kg.
So what everyone always wants to know is what do you take, what do you need to run across the Sahara. There are 6 main areas; clothing, footwear, food/drink, medical/hygiene, compulsory items and luxuries if you can call half a bar of soap between two of you a luxury!
Clothes: The desert will without fail throw all it can at you, so there’s sun, sand, wind, the heat (+40C) and at night the cold (0 C) to deal with. The problem is you just can’t carry everything you want. We opted to take 2 lightweight running tops one long and one short sleeve, a pair of running shorts, and for warmth in the evening a lightweight fleece vest and a pair of running tights.
We’re also carrying an 80g Pertex shell which will be good in any sandstorms we might encounter. There will of cause be an odour problem but that will be the least of our worries and we’ll be in good company!
Our foot prep is paramount to this trip. We have opted to wear Salomon trail shoes rather than trainers, as they will offer more protection to our feet over the rough terrain (sand, gravel and rocks). These are new and 2 sizes too large to account for the inevitable swelling and bandaging. Inside them we have Sealskinz, a 3 ply sock (outer protective layer, middle water (or sand) proof, breathable layer, and inner wicking layer) and a lining sock. In addition to this, we have glued knee-length parachute silk gaitors to the sides of the soles of our shoes - made lovingly by Dave’s mum.
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