UC grad conquers the Sahara

Amanda Powell

26 October 2011: Seven days, six stages, 251 grueling kilometres in 52 degree heat through the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The Marathon Des Sables is the toughest footrace on Earth and as University of Canberra graduate David King explains, an extreme battle of the mind and body.

Each year more than 800 eager runners push their bodies to the limit, scrambling across the rocky, stony ground and ominous sand dunes of the Sahara for seven days- carrying everything they need for the duration of the event (apart from a tent) themselves.

“I’d always been keeping an eye on extreme events and when I heard about the race I put my name down but there is a waiting list in Australia of about two years,” he says.

“Eighteen months later I was packing my bags to go to India for three weeks when they called and said I had a spot in the race.

“I’ve always tried to challenge myself in some way, shape or form and this seemed like the most extreme way to do it.”

While the majority of competitors are from France or Great Britain, a small handful of Australians take part in the race each year.

This year, 10 Australians took part. Just 70 Australians have completed the race in the event’s 26-year history.

842 people took part in the gruelling 251km race

The race

Mr King set off on his epic journey alongside 842 competitors on 3 April, 2011. Despite the preparation and endless training he says nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to endure.

“It was far more challenging than I could have ever imagined,” he says.

“I did a lot of training. I tried to tick as many boxes as I could. I trained long distances, I trained in heat, I trained carrying packs, I trained when I was tired and with various types of food, drinks and gels.

“To put them altogether and to have all the variables hitting you at once was something I couldn’t prepare for. It was an excruciating challenge. I swore to myself that I would never ever do anything like this to myself again when I was out there.”

He says it came down to two things - the physical challenge and the mental challenge.

“Physically it was the hardest thing I have ever done. It is such an isolating race,” he explains.

“But the mental side of the race was just as difficult. Just the thought of having to get up every morning and go through it again was daunting. However once I got there and found so many like minded people it really invigorated me and it put my faith back in the human spirit.

“In my tent alone we had two doctors, two CEOs of multi-million dollar companies, a lady that had ridden a bike around the world and an IT specialist from Melbourne that completed 52 marathons around the world in one year. Swapping stories and talking about their achievements was just as exciting as competing in the race, I think.”

The race started at around 9am each day, with checkpoints varying depending on the stage of the race. But it wasn’t long before isolation set in.

“You’d be running, walking, shuffling or crawling with someone and all of a sudden you would find yourself in the middle of nowhere with no one around. There were times that you would have to pull out a compass and a map and try and work out where you were going.”

The stages varied from 33 kilometres on day one, to 82 kilometres on day four, which took him roughly 21 hours to complete. He says pushing on through the night with a torch on his head, a map and compass in his hand, trying to find his way through the sand dunes was pretty tough.

The intense heat was also a shock for the 32-year-old, who moved from the Central Coast to Canberra when he was 17.

“It was frightfully hot. It was 52 degrees on the fifth day when we were doing the marathon and it was a heat I have never experienced before. It was very hard to deal with.

“I drank 11 litres of water that day and didn’t go to the bathroom once. The heat was oppressive and the sand storms were just as bad but then at night the temperature dropped to zero degrees. It was a real test of character.”

Mr King on Stage 4 of the race

Having never run a marathon before, Mr King says the Marathon Des Sables was definitely on the bucket list.

“You don’t have to be super human, I’d never done a race before, and I believe it’s just something where if you want it bad enough then the human spirit can do it.”

Having now ticked the marathon off the ‘to do’ list, he’s keen to go back and do it a second time.

“My name is already on the waiting list for next year so we’ll see what happens,” he says.

For those keen to follow in his footsteps, Mr King says the most important thing (and often the hardest) is getting started.

“Put your name down, make a commitment and the human spirit will follow. It will do what it has to do to get you to the starting line, to that new job, to travel around the world, whatever you have to do. Find what you want to do and start it. Get yourself into good habits and the rest will follow.”

Sunrise from the tent during the race

Raising money for a good cause

For Mr King, the race was also an opportunity to raise money for a charity and he chose one close to his heart- Camp Quality.

“My mother works as a volunteer for Camp Quality and I’ve taught students that are living with or have been affected by cancer. I’ve seen the great work Camp Quality has done for children living with cancer and their families and I wanted to help.”

Mr King raised nearly $11,000 for the charity, thanks largely to the support he received from St Edmund’s College Canberra, where he is deputy principal of the middle school (years 4-7).

“The staff and students were fantastic and really supportive,” he says.

“We had a few fundraisers and charity drives at the school that staff and students got involved in and we raised around $5000,” he says.

He kept in touch during the race sending emails when he could and documenting the race via YouTube.

“The students were looking at the geography of where was, working out how far I had travelled that day and what sort of nutrition I needed for the race - it almost turned into a lesson for them.”

The University of Canberra also sponsored him by making a donation to Camp Quality. The deputy principal already has an undergraduate degree in applied science and sports coaching and a graduate diploma in secondary teaching from the University of Canberra but is planning on returning to complete his masters.

“There’s something about the University of Canberra, it has a strong bond and a camaraderie about it. I came to the University of Canberra and I made lifelong friends. I studied, I partied, I went away on trips, I travelled - all with my university friends. The friendships I made at the University of Canberra will be with me for the rest of my life. I can’t thank them enough for that.”