Stage 4 - 86km - The "long stage", what an adventure...

Today is the big day, the day that everyone has been waiting for, and also the day that scares everyone at MDS as it is the so called "long stage". The longest distance that I have run in my life is a marathon (42km ~ 26 miles) so today -with more than twice the distance- is very scary for me. I have been thinking a lot about my strategy and I think I'll be able to run it without any long breaks or sleeping. I plan to "only" stop for 20 minutes at CP3 (35km ~ 22 miles ) and for another 20 minutes and at CP5 (56km ~ 35 miles), but I don't know if my body will agree. Most runners actually stop for longer breaks or even sleep for a few hours. Following the advice of the most experience trailers, on the longer stages, I should avoid running as soon as it is going up or as soon as it is too sandy, and I should run as soon as it is going down.

I had a good night of sleep and I was able to recharge my batteries in calories after the hard day and night yesterday. We start running around 8:30am  across an oasis, which is the first time in 4 days we see trees and civilization. There are a few people from the organization of the race looking at us running and also security from the race making sure we don't buy food or drinks from the inhabitants. We run for about 15 km before getting into the mountains part. Yesterday was going up and down but today feels like it is only going up! We are going to climb a total of 1200m up today (3600 feet)!

Between kilometer 12 and 28 (miles 7 and 17), we climb 3 summits in a row. The view is stunning. We hit our first dunes at km 28 (17 miles) for almost 2 hours in the sand. I feel my first down time right before arriving at Check Point 3 at km 35 (mile 22) after 6 hours and 40 minutes running.

Fortunately, the 20 minutes break is very much welcome and the tabbouleh I am eating will be one of the best meal in my life. I start again feeling good, but not for that long... This dunes are killing me as they are never ending. I am so slow progressing in the sand (probably 3km / hour) and the temperature is at the highest of the day (42 degres ~ 108 F). I can finally run for about half hour before getting to check point 4 at kilometer 48 (mile 30).

After a very short break removing the sand from my shoes I go again for an 1 hour and a half in the dunes. This is never ending but the view is stunning at the same time as we enjoy the sunset. The heat is going down and there is a bit of wind which makes it a lot bearable than earlier in the day. For the first time, I remove my hat which feels liberating! We'll discover 5 km later that the gentle wind we were feeling actually turned into a very strong head wind until the end.

It is now pitch dark and we are still in the dunes. I turn on my head light as the rules of the race obliges us to do so. I finally get to Check Point 5 at kilometer 56 (35 miles). A double "surprise" is waiting for us there. First of all, this is where I had planned to take my second "meal" of the day enjoying an apple compote, but also they have installed arm chairs. This probably feels dumb but we have not sat on chairs in close to a week now and it feels so comforting to rest for 15 min on it. As I am lying down on the chair, I contemplate the sky full of stars and the milky way in the clearest way that I have every seen. There are so many stars that I feel like I can touch them. 

It is hard to stand up agin and run but I have to continue. The night is now cold and my legs got cold in the short break. I have no picture to illustrate how difficult the next 10km (6 miles) were but this was the toughest moment for me at MDS. As we walk towards Check Point 6 reaching kilometer 65 (40 miles), I feel extremely tired and I don't have anything left to eat. Pierre my tent mate saves me with a honey and salt gel around kilometer 70 (43 miles) which gives me a new boost 2 kilometers later. 

One step after the other. I can't stop. One green point after the other (green phosphorescent tags are the way we spot our paths during the night). Slowly. One step after the other.. The head wind is blowing like crazy. Probably around 80km /h. We will learn later than there was actually a sand storm at the camp going on as we'll discover our tents. My mind is getting very confused as I have been running for close to 15 hours now and I am exhausted. I pass the last check point at kilometer 76 (47 miles) and I don't even stop for 1 minute. I don't want to have the temptation to stop for a break so I go straight until the end. The last 10 kilometers (6 miles) are a torture with the wind and the very rocky and technical path. I hit stones in the dark with my feet which are now full of blisters and we can see the finish line from very far without ever getting any closer. 

Finally, after 18 hours and 25 minutes I cross the finish line in position 448. I did it. It was extremely hard and I am even struggling to carry my backpack and bottle of waters. I literally collapse in the tent after a short collation and go to bed around 4am. It was a looooong day.