28 Apr 2023
'One of those races that only crazy people do'
'One of those races that only crazy people do'. That's how a lot of athletes would describe the Marathon Des Sables. An ultra marathon covering 250km in 7 days through the Sahara Desert. An ultra marathon where competitors have to carry anti-venom with them as well as all their water.
Well, we can now say that WTC has one of those crazy athletes. Roger Gill has ticked this off his bucket list although it didn't quite go to plan.
Roger completed 3 full stages of the race and made it to checkpoint 1 of the 4th stage covering a full 114km through the desert before something you don't bank on took hold. A tummy bug had swept through the camp. Fellow athlete Bryn Davis from RunWallingford had been taken ill the day before and unfortunately Roger also suffered, such that it wasn't safe to continue.
But despite that, Roger had loved it and has said he'd happily help anyone that wanted to do it. Roger said, "I've had fun running for 3 and a half days. Was brilliant. The terrain is amazing. Running like nothing I've ever done... I've been to the Sahara, had fun. Tick"
Roger, you are incredible! An absolute inspiration and much kudos for getting as far as you did. Well done.
