Roberto Bazzoni Onlus : Utter Madness! – But for a good cause...

Utter Madness! – But for a good cause...

Steve Daly takes on the Marathon des Sables in aid of the Roberto Bazzoni Onlus

Sometimes in life you suddenly realise how blessed you are and how important it is to give something back to those who are less fortunate.

After one of the Roberto Bazzoni Onlus Tag rugby events in Dublin, I was lucky enough to spend sometime over dinner with both Sebastiano Bazzoni and Mauro Ratto. We spoke at length about the projects the Onlus had under taken since the charity's inception and the amazing progress that had been made. In a very short space of time, a seed was sown that even in a small way I needed to take on a challenge that would attempt to help the underlying charity.

Charity fund raisers happen everyday of every year and for me to actually feel comfortable in placing pressure on people to contribute, it needed to be special. I had never undertaken anything of a serious sporting level, I had never even dreamed of completing a single marathon but when you are going to do something...you might as well do it in style. So there could be only once choice....the Marathon des Sables (or the Marathon of Sands), simply billed as the toughest footrace on earth.

Utter madness was the re-action of most friends and family, but I wanted to push myself to the very extreme limit.

The event takes place each year in the Sahara desert and covers 243km/151 miles (in sections similar to 25, 34, 38, 82, 42, 22 km’s) run over 6 days (7 for some) - equivalent to 5 1/2 regular marathons. In addition to that, you have to carry everything you will need for the duration (apart from a tent) on your back in a rucksack (food, clothes, medical kit, sleeping bag etc). Water is rationed & handed out at each checkpoint but at any one time you are carrying between 2 - 3 litres of water, so while battling through the sand you have about a stone and a half on your back. Also remember that there is not a chain of Tesco stores or corner shops dotted around the Sahara, so whatever supplies you decide to start with are the only supplies you will have for the week. I nearly forgot mid-day temperatures broke 120°F and with every step you sink deeper into the sand, the sand penetrates your shoes, becoming like sand paper against your feet as you move stripping your skin away. I was fortunate and didn't endure the suffering of some...running on severe foot injuries, broken bones, torn cartilage and worse. I shared a tent and one of the residents was airlifted to Casablanca after a heart attack. To our delight he is still with us and wants to go back for another attempt.

Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come but along the way and through the mental and physical journey, I discovered places where I thought it would be impossible to recover from. I make no bones about it through the 7 days, I have never been so broken both mentally and physically but in the same breath I simply was overwhelmed by the ability of your body to recover, your mind to fight through and simply your capacity to overcome any incredible challenge, time and time again. It is sad to think that so many have never experienced the true reward of achievement and pushed their bodies to the ultimate limit.

The clearest memory was day 4, the day of the double marathon stage, a friend I had travelled with had pulled out earlier that day due to injury and it was now about 1am in the morning & freezing cold. To put that into perspective I was now on my feet for over 15 hours and still there was at least another 10km to travel. I was cold and hungry, the fatigue and tough terrain had really taken it toll, my backpack felt like it was full of boulders and I faced into a long stretch of substantial sand dunes in complete darkness apart from a small torch. Suddenly out of nowhere a wild sand storm appeared, the sand whipped around grating against my skin and without goggles I was forced to try to move forward without being able to see anything at all. I forged ahead and eventually reached the next checkpoint collapsing under one of the support 4x4's & crawled into my sleeping bag to regain some heat and shelter. After about an hour of severe shivering, wondering why I had embarked on this adventure and what a fool I was, I managed to conjure up enough energy to go on and finally finish the stage! Exhausted I staggered across the finish but the sense of achievement was more intense than I could ever have imagined.

Seven days in the desert with 750 other people! The oldest competitor was a 68 year old French woman, there was a blind woman who was guided through the race by her husband, there was a Swiss couple who held hands as the ran and competed, there were people who were in the middle of their mid life crisis, others there to raise money for charities or simply compete for their own very personal reasons...all with the same goal of survival. In addition there were competitors who had not only competed once before but on multiple occasions and all though the seven days their fortitude was incredibly inspiring.

With each and everybody helping and support whoever was next to them, it not only proved the human spirit is alive and well but also provided me with an eye opening journey of discovery of myself and a persons inner strength, one that I would so highly recommend to everybody.

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