A vet has overcome the physical and mental challenges of a 250km Sahara event, tagged the world’s toughest foot race.
A veteran of four marathons in Scotland, father-of-four Gavin Durston faced searing heat, strength-sapping dunes and a week-long endurance test in the Marathon des Sables across the Moroccan desert.
Having previously described his participation as bravado that went too far, Gavin (38) returned triumphant with a finishing place of 469th from almost 1050 and the satisfaction of conquering a task capable of breaking the toughest of bodies and strongest of wills.
Competitors faced an extended version of the race to mark its 25th year and, like every entrant before them, they carried everything they needed to survive the week, except a tent.
Five of the six stages in the race varied between 21 and 42km, but at its midpoint the Marathon de Sables served up its killer test with a 50-mile section.
Thrums Veterinary Group partner Gavin said, “The conditions are such a major factor and no amount of preparation here can ready you for them.
“All my training was done between -14C and 5C in Scotland, and the highest temperature we reached during the race was 52C.”
He added, “We were drinking more than 10 litres of water a day, which I found was more than enough for me, and sweating out about six litres a day.
“Our salt tablet intake was also 20g a day, which is amazing when you consider the recommended medical daily intake is a fraction of that.”
Gavin said, “Fitness probably accounts for only 40% of finishing, kit another 5% or so and I would say more than 50% of it is down to mental attitude because it is just so tough.
“I blasted the first day and was really quite chuffed, but then day two was very difficult with a 25% gradient in places which you had to hook ropes on to get up.”
Gavin completed the 82km leg in 17 hours and 17 minutes, running through the night rather than grabbing some rest and stretching the distance over two days.
He said, “At the end of that second day I thought ‘I’m never doing anything like this again’, but you get through it, get home and look back on it and it’s not so much life-changing as life-affirming.
“There was definitely a great camaraderie. Every competitor also had their name on their number, so people would be shouting that to give you encouragement whether they were passing you or you were passing them.”
Olympic rower James Cracknell finished an incredible 12th in a field in which Gavin also met a polar explorer, Malta’s first Marathon des Sables participant and one runner who will complete the longest occupation of the Rockall outcrop next year.
Gavin said, “It is definitely a big box to tick and I am incredibly lucky with the support from my family, my colleagues and everyone else.”