Blame - Calvin Harris

Got your ticket?

Blame - the dictionary definition says - ‘To feel or declare that (someone or something) is responsible for a fault or wrong’. Which sounds about right to me, literally speaking of course. In reality, it’s more about accepting it was all of your own doing imho. You see, I believe that YOU are the only person that YOU can ever really blame however much YOU might try to project the reasons for it elsewhere. Sure, there are always situations and accidents that are out of our control but when decisions have been made and you’ve made them, the buck stops with erm, YOU.

I’ve heard a million excuses in my time as a coach. It’s too hot, cold, wet, dry, short, long, whatever but hardly ever ‘I just got it wrong’ or ‘I simply wasn’t good enough’ There’s always a reason for it being someone else’s fault. Being honest with yourself is the key to success I believe. And if you get it wrong or are simply not up to the task in hand. Stop, learn from it and try again. But this time think about how you are going to celebrate when you succeed rather than think up a failure excuse before you start.

In my world, nothing is or has ever been easy. But I’ve never complained or tried to blame conditions, situations or even other people for my failures. To me, life has a simple logic. There are no short cuts to success and only hard work and pure graft will get you wherever it is that you want to be. Where in time you can become your own Winner. Of course, if you don’t want to be a winner and not be the best version of yourself, keep on blaming everything and everyone around you.

However, it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime and leave blame to those that need a reason to why they’ve failed.

1,157 Marathons - 271 Marathons - 9 Guinness World Records - 16 Guinness World Records

That's the Way (I Like It) - KC and the Sunshine Band

I’m often asked ‘why do keep going back to the desert?’. My reply is always...‘because I fucking love it - it's part of my DNA'... I love everything about the whole experience. The heat, the sand and the pure hardship that ‘Marathon des Sables’ always delivers. Getting destroyed by the heat, illness or the legendary blisters are all part of the fun.

I personally love the deconstruction-reconstruction aspect that everyone who takes part experiences. And if you have taken part, you’ll know exactly what I mean as trying to describe it, is simply impossible.

I’ll be honest and say it’s taken me to the edge of my endurance many-a-time. It’s been both my Kryptonite and Krypton. It’s the ultimate test of mind over matter. Many an amazing athlete has been and failed to understand that the MDS isn’t a six stage, seven day ultramarathon - it’s an eleven day test of self-sufficiency and sheer bloody mindedness. And if you’ve got that firmly set in your mind, you’ll get to the finish. How fast, how slow and in what state? Who cares - you're a winner. First or last, it’s the same medal. The medal of success.

It marks for many the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Something that can’t be bought and only earned through pure grit and determination. 

How you conquer the race? Well you can try every trick in the book. By being as light as possible, carrying 6.5kgs or running in a heat chamber for hours on end to acclimatise - or all the above. Mostly do whatever you can to try and convince yourself you can do it.

There are no short cuts to success, and you can’t buy experience - but the MDS is achievable for anyone young or old - you just need to be able to adapt to the moment, the next step or the next problem that presents itself. You learn a lot about yourself and just how deep you can dig.

It’s living life on the limit where there simply aren't any limits...

1,156 Marathons - 271 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 16 Marathon des Sables

PTRD - Taken to the Limit

The effects of the desert - Photo Ian Corless

I’m sure it’s a medical condition. Oh PTRD – it’s one of my creations? It’s Post Traumatic RACE Disorder, in simple terms it’s PTSD about an Ultra-Marathon. And I’m not belittling PTSD. I haven’t experienced open warfare or a live battlefield, but I have had a life-threatening illness that had to be mastered mentally, exorcised, accepted and beaten – so I do have some experience.

 

A week on from the 37th Marathon des Sables and for most the blisters and physical scars will now be healing. But the flashbacks, tiredness, even anger especially if you were a DNF will rage on - for some time to come. It’s weird as no matter how hard it was, how hard you were smashed up, many after a week back at home or back at work, will wish they were back in the desert.

 

It’s totally normal to miss the desert, your tent-mates and the tears of success or failure. The thing that’s been driving your world, your mind, your every waking thought for months has gone – in one short week. 

 

Normality will slowly start to creep back in if you’re not careful – the promises you made in the darkest of moments, will lose their importance. Trying to maintain any focus, on anything will be hard.

 

My advice is that if the desert beat you, dust yourself off. Learn from the experience and sign up again and make sure this time you win. And if you did well, do better or try another event that has different properties. There’s plenty to choose from - hot, cold, high, low – Go and test just how far you can go, how deep you can dig and find out what it’s like to be in the darkest black hole possible and survive.

 

And between now and then, get leaner, get fitter and fight back at the Kryptonite of PTRD – it’s not forever and it will pass as the positive memories will shine through.

1,156 Marathons - 271 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 16 Marathon des Sables