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My 100km Sahara trek for Cancer Research Marcus Wrey C’86
My 100km Sahara Trek for Cancer Research
As we huddled amongst the dunes with a sandstorm blasting its way through and stinging sand hitting my exposed areas I did begin to wonder why I had ever agreed to this trek!
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In explanation, I had signed up to do a 100km charity walk in the Sahara in aid of Cancer Research. I don’t normally ‘do’ charity but my mother had died of cancer and it had also been recently confirmed that I had Stage 4 Bowel Cancer myself. I felt the need to do something positive.
COVID put paid to the original walk in November 2021 with Morocco closing its borders, but was re-arranged for March 2022. 100km over four and a bit days seemed very achievable but when combined with varied landscapes, including soft dunes, and in temperatures up to 35ºc with the possibility of sandstorms it becomes more of a challenge - particularly with a group of strangers of unknown stamina and abilities.
As the departure date approached all of us were fretting over COVID rates (should we go to that crowded pub with friends?), and testing continuously. Morocco wouldn’t accept recovery certificates so it was either test negative or no trip for you. In the end only two of our group tested positive for COVID in the final days before our flight.
We finally numbered 34, 6 men and 28 women. Only time would tell if this mix was a good thing or not!! Ages ranged from 18 to 65, all very different sizes and backgrounds but bound together by ‘the challenge’.
We flew to Casablanca, transiting to Ouarzazete where we managed to get 5 hours sleep before we began our six hour transfer by 4x4 into the Sahara, passing along the Draa valley and across the Little Atlas with snow-capped peaks in the distance. Volcanic massifs, straight out of a Western movie, dominated the journey with isolated loo breaks proving a challenge to all given our numbers!!
After a final bumpy off-road 25km we were dropped off to meet our guides and walk to our first camp. A flat stony walk of 9km was a nice introduction as we trundled into our camp where all of our Bedouin style tents had been erected and our introductory talk explained our schedule.
We were grateful that our tents and camp were erected/ dismantled daily by a local support team who would also prepare all of our meals. We had only to place one foot in front of another for the next four days without falling over too much. Oh, and also not to drink too much water?!
Marcus fully prepared for the challenging conditions
Apparently because of the temperatures involved and exertion we would be sweating out all the salts, etc., so it was important to replenish these. We had to carry a minimum 3 litres of water per person as well as electrolytes. There was a risk of becoming unable to walk whilst being violently ill, sadly a fate which did affect a few of the group who had to be evacuated from the dunes by camel to get them to the next camp and our resident doctor.
The camps were basic but comfortable with perhaps the exception of the ‘loo tents’ (least said the better) and the shower tent. A shower was available at the end of each day but entailed taking no more than 3 ‘scoops’ of water into a bowl which you then washed with, finally tipping it over you to rinse off. Much appreciated to get rid of the sand which seemed to get everywhere.
Skipping over some of the more mundane bits, the first full day of walking (in 35ºc) across the Mharech dunes
My Sahara Trek continued
proved arduous. Crossing the Marathon des Sables route we cheered on the crazy runners as they waved in response. The morning was amazingly hot, climbing dunes equivalent to multi-storey car parks, alternating between firm and easy to walk on to those where your feet would sink into the soft sand up over the top of your boots. Thankfully I had got some sand gaiters which kept my feet almost sand free. Come the afternoon though we had our first sandstorm with 30mph winds and biting sand leading us all to cover up as much possible. We spent four hours trekking through this with visibility down to only about 20ft. Exhausting.
The next day was a cooler 25ºc but after an easy plateau crossing we had to ascend Jebel El Mrakib, a local mountain, where you would normally see the plains for miles around, apart from the fact we endured yet another sandstorm with the camp not being able to be erected until it had died down and we could eventually wash our eyes and get rid of the ever-present sand.
Waking tired and sore many by now were suffering from numerous blisters but with a few exceptions the majority soldiered on only to be hit with… another sandstorm!
Thankfully short but extremely violent it led to a fair bit of screaming (captured on video which helped raise hundreds of pounds extra for many of our charities).
By the final day the blisters were forgotten as we approached our final destination among the tamarisk and acacia trees, passing nomadic camps and finally reaching the finish line.
The Sahara Trekkers were fantastic, raising over £90,000 for charity as a group but also providing constant support to any who struggled. For many it proved a massive challenge with daily blisters, tears, sand, sickness, heatstroke and much more. To sum it up I have to borrow some words from one of my new-found friends;
“We’ve watched the sun rise and the sun set together, we’ve laughed and we’ve cried. We have made so many memories and we have so many stories to tell. We’ve shared our fears and we’ve given absolutely everything we could to get each other through, even when we were running on empty. We climbed mountains, crossed sand dunes and followed each other’s footsteps in the sand when we couldn’t see. We’ve looked after each other, like really looked after each other. The sort of kindness that takes the breath away. We laid in the sand and watched the stars and built memories that will last a lifetime.”
