Dmitri Voloshin - Run and remember

The first official launch of the Marathon des Sables took place in 1986 in Morocco. Then, just twenty-three participants finished the race. In 2017, about 1,300 people toed the starting line, provided that there are quotas for different countries. Moldova is participating in this outrage for the first time, and it seems to me that our quota will not be exhausted soon. Here are just some of the joys awaiting the participants of this adventure:

– The air temperature reaches +50°C in the daytime and drops to +5°C at night;

– Strong winds blow and sand storms may arise in the desert;

– Participants must carry all personal items and food with them in a backpack that weighs about 12—13 kilograms;

– The race passes through sand dunes and stony terrain with long, rocky climbs and descents;

– During the day one participant is given only 12 liters of water;

– Almost all runners’ feet bleed because of the heat, sweat, and sand.

Isn’t it lovely?

How can you not want ALL THESE JOYS?

Many people believe that only superhumans or suicidals, as well as those who don’t have enough thrills in their lives run the Sahara marathon. I believe that it’s first of all a challenge to your idea of normality. If you think the goal is unattainable, you’re not likely to achieve it. If you believe in yourself, then crawl. Being a superhuman has nothing to do with it.

However, for me, until I experienced the MDS, all that was just theoretical. For me, it had to be proven.

The Italian Mauro Prosperi knows better than anyone how hard this race is. In 1994, he got lost because of a sandstorm and was found in Algeria nine days later. He lost 13 kilograms but survived thanks to an unusual diet that included dead bats!

Well, it’s no joking matter, this challenge requires serious preparation. It took more than a half a year to prepare for the race. Though I already had some experience, I had to start a lot from scratch.

First of all, big distances. I had to learn to run a lot, about 70—80 kilometers per week. I ran about 1,500 kilometers during the entire preparatory period. Probably, this is a beginner’s level for many ultra-runners 9 9 same as ultramarathon runners. Those brave guys who run more than 42 km and 195 meters but it took me three months to teach my brain and legs to cope with such a workload.

Then there was a struggle with my backpack. It’s one thing to run light and it’s quite another with a seven-kilogram weight behind your back. In the beginning, I had back pain, but regular training, special running exercises, general physical preparation, and kinesitherapy gave the result, and now my scoliosis doesn’t bother me so much.

Speed. I had to learn to run slowly. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Slowly means for a long time, and for a long time means hard.

Slow running differs from fast in biomechanics, so I had to brush up on my technique. It seems I did it.

Thanks to my coach Lenya Shvetsov, I prepared for the competition. He has been messing with me for more than a year, trying to make me a “running man”. And of course, I thank Liviu Croitoru, who has run with me more than one thousand kilometers.

In 2017, we, Sporter (nonprofit sports organization committed to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the development of amateur sports in Moldova), organized the first Rubicon, an ultramarathon relay across Moldova. There I was able to test my sneakers, food, and running technique. And of course, my running performance in kilometers. Honestly, it was hard for the brain to “digest” 150 kilometers in two days. People who were aware of my plans joked: “Dimon, you’ve organized a really impressive training for yourself before the MDS – hundreds of people, hundreds of kilometers, hundreds of thousands of lei…” :)

Let them joke, but seriously – I have a dream to organize an iconic Moldavian race like Marathon des Sables or Comrades in South Africa. And I think we’ll do it.

The organizers of the Marathon des Sables have outlined a set of necessities for a desert runner: a backpack, a sleeping bag, a torch with spare batteries, 10 pins, a compass, a lighter, a whistle, a knife, disinfectant, a venom extractor pump kit, a mirror, a space blanket, sun screen, 200 Euros, a passport, a medical certificate, ECG tracing and food for seven days (14,000 kcal).

These are not mere recommendations – these are absolutely indispensable things. Here is the list of penalties for failure to comply with the requirements:

– No medical certificate and/or ECG tracing while motionless – 200 Euros + one hour of penalty for each paper;

– No backpack – disqualification;

– No sleeping bag or compass – three penalty hours;

– No signal pistol, road book, salt tablet, food (in an amount of 2,000 kcal per day) or space blanket – two penalty hours for each;

– No 10 pins, knife with a metal blade, whistle, antiseptic medicine, mirror, syringe with anti-venom, torch with batteries, check-in card, lighter, sun screen, money (200 Euros) – one penalty hour for each;

– Non-compliant backpack weight (must be between 6.5 and 15 kg) – one penalty hour;

– Absence of any item of individual equipment – 30 penalty minutes.

“Basically, hardly any runner can get into the MDS with no penalties.” – Me

The particular choice of obligatory and personal items depends on the individual preferences of the runner, so that is left to your personal consideration. Some athletes try to save money and stay hungry, others take more food and comfortable clothing and end up hating their heavy backpacks.

I spent several months trying to define the list of things I’m taking with me. Finally I managed to put together the list of items with their weight in grams. Looks quite thought-through but in the long run only distance would reveal how well I’d managed.

Obligatory items (612 g)

– A compass (24 g) – so that I don’t get lost;

– A knife (4 g) – to defend from the Berbers;

– A torch + three batteries (113 g) – to keep running at night-time;

– A whistle (4 g) – to whistle tunes while running;

– A space blanket (47 g) – to warm up or cool down;

– 10 pins (4 g) – to pin up the number;

– Sunscreen (23 g) – so that I don’t turn into a charcoal;

– A mirror (10 g) – to signal to a helicopter pilot;

– Venom extractor pump kit (29 g) – to deal with snakes;

– A passport (15 g) – so that they knew whose body they found;

– 200 Euros (1 g) – to stay in a 5-star hotel on the way;

– A national flag of Moldova (50 g) – will help me not give up;

– A lighter (11 g) – to cook my food;

– Disinfectant (37 g) – to lick my wounds.

Also one should take into account that before the start you’re going to get a whole bunch of things that you’ll have to carry with you:

– A road map with the race route (42 g) – they give it to runners the day before the start. I don’t even imagine why would they keep it secret;