Another tough day in the sandpit

With the 82km hard day's night behind him, today was no stroll along the beach for Steven & Co., despite some apparently postcard-style scenery to help lift the spirits.
802 streamed away from the start line this morning in a relatively cool 15C to tackle a classic marathon distance of 26.25 miles, the temperature eventually rising to nearly 30C.
Dunes to start with, recurring further along the stage, were mixed with a rocky plateau, undulating rocky and sandy terrain, a dry lake bed, gorges (some water-filled after heavy rain the day before), wadis and an old abandonned village.
A very good time to the first check point seemed to indicate that Steven was refreshed, keeping good company alongside some of the consistently high-placed contenders.  Checkpoints two and three however, indicate that some difficulty had occurred (we know not what) judging by the slide from 47th down to 103, then to 168 but holding on there for the remaining five miles to the finish control.  Having said that, even a minute of lost time can drop five or six places when there are numerous runners in close proximity.  This only relates to this particular stage, so when combined with his overall ranking over the five days so far he is still an impressive 79th, and could still achieve a top ten place in the British contenders.

Never one to give up, I know he will still be pushing hard and stretching the limits of his endurance. It's amazing how his chronic knee problems and the prior stress fracture in his distal fibula are standing up to this relentless punishment. Perhaps he's surviving more on a diet of painkillers than boil-in-the-bag dehydrated food packs, jelly sweets and energy bars.
One more day and he can look forward to proper food and will probably sleep for a week.


Dunes of Merzouga, Morocco

In advance of that however, Saturday's final confrontation before the satisfaction of knowing that he's conquered one of the World's toughest endurance events will be the last 16kms to the finish.  It sounds short, in comparison to what he's covered so far, but it includes traversing Morocco's highest sand dunes, prior to completing his "ultimate challenge".




Glued to the live checkpoint timings and webcam at the finish tomorrow should see a great end to Steven's epic Desert Dash.

Will he eventually appear on any of the media photos or videos?