Marathon de Sables 2008 - Graham Booty official tracker

admin · Marathon de Sables 2008 - Graham Booty official tracker

RACE STARTS 30th March we will be tracking Graham and posting updates here.

The route for 2008 is 245.3 Km long, making it the longest ever in the history of the MARATHON DES SABLES.

Karl C

OFFICIAL WEB SITE HERE
http://www.darbaroud.com/index_uk.php

PLUS, SEND GRAHAM A MESSAGE HERE
http://www.darbaroud.com/uk/html/mds/general/uk_23mds_ecrire.php

(he is Comp. No. 674)

Ian J

Just found this, last years route :-

STAGE N°1 : IRHS / KHERMOU - 29,3 Km
STAGE N°2 : KHERMOU / JEBEL EL OFTAL - 35 Km
STAGE N°3 : JEBEL EL OFTAL / JEBEL ZIREG OUEST – 32,3 Km
28-29/03/2007 STAGE N°4 : JEBEL ZIREG OUEST / OUEST DU KFIROUN
70,5 Km
30/03/2007 STAGE N°5 : OUEST DU KFIROUN/ ERG CHEBBI - 42,2 Km
31/03/2007 STAGE N°6 : ERG CHEBBI / MERZOUGA - 11,7 Km

Link Below:-

http://www.marathondessables.com/.../roadbook/uk_22mds_roadbook_1.php

Do you know the distances of each stage for this year?

runningman

Each year they change the route and the distance of each leg ! and just to keep it intresting they dont tell anyone until the morning of the event !!

Karl C · STAGE N°1 : ERG CHEBBI / ERG ZNAIGUI – 31,6 Km 30/3/08

STAGE N°1 : ERG CHEBBI / ERG ZNAIGUI – 31,6 Km 30/3/08

runningman

ITS A NICE & BREEZY 36 DEGREES AT MIDDAY !!!

Karl C

No results yet for Stage One....

801 competitors, amongst which 94 women, set off this morning for an unusually long and difficult opening stage. With hardly more than a kilometre to warm up, our enthusiastic bunch of runners were confronted with the Merzouga dunes. Those 13 kilometres allowed a clear lead to emerge. Unsurprisingly, at CP1, the favourites Ahansal, Aqra and Ait Amar were on each other’s heels. Starting on the long rocky plateau that leads to the second set of dunes, Mohamad Ahansal moved to top speed and left everyone on the spot.

STAGE N°2 : ERG ZNAIGUI / OUED EL JDAID – 38 km

Mike Mason

Just seen photo of Marco Olmo (460) - previous MdS winner but also winner of the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc for last 2 years.....and he is 58.....younger than Ernie....

Ian J

Day One Results on-Line
Position N° Last name First name Gender Nationality Time Delay Average
145 674 BOOTY Graham H GB 04H40'10 2H08'44 6,77

Just worked out delay is time slower than the leader, 145th out of 800, go Graham!

Karl C

STAGE ONE 19.5 miles

1st 001 AHANSAL Mohamad H MAR ERTIPS 02H31'26

145th 674 BOOTY Graham H GB 04H40'10 (2H08'44 behind the leader)

794th 861 WONG Wai Ming H GB 10H35'22 (8H03'56 behind the leader)

Ian J

Karl & I must be typing at the same time!

Karl C

Ian, you just pipped me. I wonder how much sleep Graham got in that tent !

Mike Mason

Don't forget to keep him flooded out with personal e-mails from the 'caring club....'

JBD

Yup, just sent him one !
Pictures on the website are pretty awesome....i'm scared just looking at all that sand....madness surely ??!

Karl C · STAGE N°2 31/3/08 : ERG ZNAIGUI / OUED EL JDAID – 38 km 23.5 miles

STAGE N°2 31/3/08 : ERG ZNAIGUI / OUED EL JDAID – 38 km 23.5 miles

Lucycat

spent a bit of time in a car yesterday thinking of theme songs to send: -
So far:

Walking on sunshine - katrina and the waves
These boots are made for walking-nancy sinatra
sandstorm - cast
Hot in the city-Billy Idol
Just an illusion-imagination
Hot hot hot - the cure
enter sandman - metallica
Shuffle your feet - black rebel motorcycle club
Canned heat - jamariquoi
tiger feet - mud
and of course..footsteps in the sand - leona lewis

Thought we'd update some suitably apt and irritating tunes via the official messages. Any more for any more?????
Go graham go...

Lee O

Just looked at the Vids, keep expecting to See The Mummy turning up!

Well he will have a lovely Tan.

Mike Mason

Steve (JBD) check out the videos on the site..great one of them coming up a sand dune...

Lucy..need to reflect more on tunes....of course the Dogtanian one has to be there...ask Ernie....

runningman

GO GRAHAM GO ! now up to 100th place ! Loved watching the vids of the sand dunes ! brings backs memorys ! you really cant appreciate how tough they are ! gaza

Ian J

News Flash - Booty Hits top 100

Stage 2 G Booty Posn 58 4H 31'47

Overall Posn 100 Total Time 8H 53'57 (3H 33'07 behind leader)

runningman

It was a news flash 40 mins ago ! :nike:

Ian J

Darn, if only I hit refresh first. Still Top 100 is great Stuff

runningman

Only teasing Ian!
it is a fantastic effort so far ! if previous MDS are anything to by i doubt if more than 3 or 4 Brits finish in the top 100...the heat and wind and dunes can not be found anywhere in the UK !
KEEP GOING BOOTY !

mArKw

mikemoreton

Mike Mason

Brilliant Graham.....

Castles made of sand - Hendrix plus any of these:

http://www.songsets.net/words/sand/4.htm

Karl C

STAGE N°3 : OUED EL JDAID / BA HALLOU – 40,5 Km (25.1 miles)

Mike Mason

Just reminded Graham that we are expecting a negative split on the back end of the race...that should cheer him up...

Steffan

Lol Mike!!!!
Thats amazing, the boy has unbelievable endurance, I bet he does a negative split anyway!
Fantastic G!

Lee O

Stage 3 04.50.58...1hr.37 behind leader...

Not bad hey, think he was 68, but these are only Temp Results..

Charman

Hi graeme, brilliant, with you every step of the way, lyn h[/b]

tonibella · Marathon de Sables 2008 - Graham Booty official tracker

Wow - isn't he fab! Go Graham

I've just sent another note - can't have too many by the looks of previous posts - so lets see if we can get him to win the prize for the most messasges!

I suggested to him that maybe we should have a sweepstake - how many showers will it take for Mr booty to get rid of all that sand/dirt/sweat and other nasties that 5 days in the desert will attract?

My guess is 5

Kirstefitbird

I'm not sure Graham has a showering policy after races Toni?!

Can't believe the old boy is doing so well......so proud of him. He must be getting a lift from an old camel or something (he's got previous)

Keep it up Graham - those rugby legs will recover!

Karl C

STAGE N°4 : BA HALLOU / OUED AHSSIA – 75,5 Km (46.9 MILES)

Pammie

He certainly is fabulous. Keep it going your club is behind you

Wow this is so impressive

Ian J

Stage 4 looks nasty, far too long, how about something from Oasis for him to hum, maybe "Don't Look Back in Anger!"

Pammie

How about "Half the World Away"

runningman

What makes it even more painful todays section usually has the big DUNES and the next day is usually between 25-30 miles !!!

runningman

WELL DONE SIR STAGE 4 DONE ! 68TH PLACE 13 HRS 44 MINS

Lee O

No that is after stage 3..

runningman

GOOD TO SEE SOMEONE IS PAYING ATTENTION !!! should have realised they will not finish stage 4 until late evening ! or as when i was there breakfast time tomorrow ! Well done Lee

runningman

JUST SHOWS how tough this is 30 DROPOUTS so far including a guy called Stephen Partridge ! , organiser of the Thames Meander , a very experinced ultra runner whos done this race 3 or 4 times and races even tougher !!

Ernie

No Doubt young Graham is a tough runner.
I'm glad all those months lugging that heavy pack around when training has payed off.
I for one am not surprised at Graham running within the top 100 (or is it 50 now ?) in this race.
He is a top Ultrarunner in his own right and seeing how he is only new to the game we can expect to see him come in with some even greater results in the future.
Someone to look up to !
And I only hope that he is "really enjoying the pain"

JBD

If my quick look at the site is right, Graham finished stage 4 in 38th and now has an overall ranking of 50th !

Good work !

mikemoreton

POS No Name Overall Time Behind Leader Pace
50 674 BOOTY Graham GB 23H08'50 8H01'26 8,02

Kirstefitbird

Graham what on earth are you doing man?!!!!! 38th!!!!!!?!!! You are a legend.

Fairplay to Gary and other runners doing this too - my mate Paul is the british record holder and I know he is worried that Graham is going to take his crown!!!

Graham - you're awesome!

Mike Mason

Graham what a star! I am waiting for him to be featured in a 'portrait' on the MdS website.......

Karl - I take it Graham wasn't whining about the Southend 10k being a trifle warm last year...or year before was he?

Karl C

STAGE N°5 :

Mike Mason

is Stage 5 a mystery tour?

Karl C

I don't think they announce it until all the last stage runners have finished

mikemoreton

What is the GB record?

Lee O

38, brilliant.

Think about time he had his pic on that site..

runningman

Mike , its very difficult to give a record for a time in this race as every year the course is different, in length as well as terain, plus the weather can be so extreme in different ways, the year i run /walked/ crawled there was little wind the previous year they had 60 mph sandstorms for a whole week .
You hardly ever ever see BRITS IN THE TOP 50.. so what G is achieving is AWSOME !

mikemoreton

Over to you then Kirste. How does your mate hold the record?

Runningman, you are quite right. Graham has done great so far. I trust he will finish and we can all have a jolly up with him. Not only has he done Benfleet Running Club proud, he has put GB on the map in more ways than one

(GB= Great Britain/Graham Booty)

C'mon Graham!!! go go go

runningman

A couple of other things for all you peoples watching G to take into consideration is the deifferance in TEMP ! it was a chilly 6 degrees at 5 am and a rather warm 40 deg at 2 pm ( THATS bloody hot ) therefore some of the backmarkers and mid packers will have been running in both extremes ( try dressing for that )
Dont stress if you dont see anymore results for a while because the only people runnig today will be the ones still running stage 4 from yesterday some will be out there for 30 hrs plus !!!
G will have a nice day in his tent reading your messages and sleeping !
Gaza
Just a marathon and a 15 miler to go

Steffan

That really is something else.
Just finishing the thing is mindblowing but what G is doing moving up the field like that is something I can't put into words...........

Relentless.

Karl C

STAGE N°5 : OUED AHSSIA / ISK N’BRAHIM– 42,2 Km

Mike Mason

I don't know if many of you have looked closely at the video clips on the MdS website. But one thing struck me as I was scanning the terrain this morning.........................it looks like a bloody desert out there! Amazing...may be a trick of the light.....

Kirstefitbird

As the course changes each year they have a course record but he did it in 21 hours (or was it 22!) He is a guide for a blind runner in the olympics as well, and won gold in the Australian Olympics - top bloke. I made the mistake of saying 'we must do a run' when I first met him and it was then he told me he had a PB of 2.19 for the marathon.......I turned back.

I think anyone who even contemplates this event is a soooooo brave.

JBD

Mike Mason

I have also tried to cheer Graham up by telling him that Ernie and Steve will be running the Bungay Marathon in the snow...........well it cheered me up

runningman

42ND PLACE OVERALL 36TH IN THE STAGE TOTAL 27 HOURS and i reckon prob 3 hrs tomorrow TOPTASTIC !

Karl C · STAGE N°5 3/4/08 - 26.1 miles- 04H14'30

STAGE N°5 3/4/08 - 26.1 miles- 04H14'30

Mike Mason

Runningman I have got him as 39th overall...Olmo the Mont Blanc man and a previous MdS winner 10th.......

runningman

WRONG DEAR BOY, if you click on his name it will give u his overall position ! 39 was his position in that stage !
Cant believe theyve changed the goalposts again ! and made it harder ! traditionally the last day is a swift 15 miler now its bloody 26 miles !
so i dont think G will get inside 30 hrs as i predicted !

runningman

IGNORE THE LAST POST ITS NOT 26 MILES AS USUAL IAM TALKING CRAP ( BEFORE SOME SMART ARSE AGREES WITH ME )KARK/MIKE

Ian J

17.5 KM today, he is probably in the pub with a cold beer already

Ian J

He is home and dry, Posn 44 overall, what a performance

JBD

Truly inspirational.....well done Graham !

44th out of some 800 - 2nd Brit home ?

Form an orderly queue to sign up for this Ultra....

mikemoreton

Graham

Fantastic!!!

Coming for a run on Tuesday? You might like my pace now?

Truly Well Done

Steffan

I think there will be one hell of a celebration drink coming up on his return!

Fantastic performance G. You still doing London?!!! Haha!

debbie g

Graham that is truly magnificent. Never doubted your guts and determination but to finish inside the top 50 is awesome. Be proud and hope you raise loads for your charity

Pammie

Brilliant Graham, that was truly awesome

Well done

Jez

Bonjour,

from a cold Parisien morning, just before I go off to do my marathon;Fantastic effort Graham well done from the Mancers!

Enjoy your week of rest:See you next week:

Mike Mason

Nice one Graham the 'caring club' salutes you. Good luck to the Mancers..is Paddy wearing a beret?

pete the young one

after stage 6 Graham is lying in 44th position overall and is 2nd GB runner! well done mate!

Stu

Dear Graham

Daisy says "oooooooooh"....... which we take to mean well done!

Top class.

Congrats
Jac, Stu & Daisy

debbie g

Done a piece for the Echo on Graham even before he's back! Anyone know if there are any pics at all of our GB that the Echo could use? I have one Steff took but last time I sent it to the Echo they didn't use it and I thought it was pretty good too! Anyone got any they could send to me please? Thanks.

Debbie

Stevie

Unbelievable mate, very well done.
Look forward to hearing all about it down the Hoy soon i hope

mArKw

Fantastic effort, mate. Never doubted you would finish, but what a way to finish!!! Brilliant.

:thumbup:

Mike Mason

Debbie, what about the chin dribble one?

debbie g

Ah Mike I noticed Graham had put it on his website - yes I did think it looked lovely but might also have an adverse effect on the younger readers....

Graham

thanks to all for the encouragement, kind words, mails (hugely appreciated) and sponsorship. I'll do a race report over the next couple of days. See you all Sun!

Mike Mason

Welcome back Graham you did the 'caring Club' proud. Have you noticed a bit of a chill in the air?

ps how are your feet?

Graham

Hey Mike. Feet held out really well. Self treated them, never had to go the medical tent and only suffered a few blisters and a couple of nails hanging off, nothing compared to the rest of the tent. Daily foot bath and fresh socks really helped. Certainly there is an element of luck involved in this race. If your feet go bad early, or you suffer from the bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea that plagued the bivouac then your perfomance is massively affected now matter how well conditioned and determined you are. I was lucky! I also carried a lot more food than most which I'm sure really helped keep my strength up and allowed my body to recover. I only got the trots on the final night.......loo roll was a precious commodity by then so I was very glad you guys had sent me a lot of messages.......

debbie g

Hey everyone go out and buy the Echo today lovely piece about our hero with one of the pics Graham sent to me in it.

Too late unfortunately to include your loo roll quote Graham !!

Lee O

Debbie you sure that is Graham, I dont see NO Fag or Beer!!

debbie g

Just needed to pan out a bit there is a whole crate of beer and stacks of duty free ciggys nestling in that sand!

Mike Mason

Brilliant article Debbie.....lacking only a mention of me and my photo..but there you go....... well done again Graham......the thought of such a great 'Caring Club' and it's members has brought a tear to my eye...

Graham

Just got a cd from le Colonel, one my tent buddies. I was responsible for taping these beauts up every morning after he'd aired them overnight. The highlight of my day!

debbie g

Oooo Graham that's put me off my breakfast !!

Lee O

Thats it im not entering MDS 2010!!

Graham

Massive thanks to all that sponsored me. You know who you are. Just received the following mail from my charity. Alas he got my time wrong and I wasn't as close to Ian as the mail suggests, but still very happy with my 44th place finish and 2nd Brit from the 256 representing our great country!

Thanks again

From: chrislawrence3@mac.com
Subject: Congratulations and thank you for taking part in the MdS on behalf of Facing Africa
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:45:05 +0100

Dear MdS competitors and Facing Africa supporter,

Firstly, let me congratulate you on completing the MdS. I followed your progress throughout the event and think all the Facing Africa people did amazingly. Special congratulations to Ian Sharman who came 13th overall, which is the highest place anyone form the UK has ever achieved and Graham Booty in 44th place and only 46 minutes behind.

Secondly, I want to thank all of you for the fantastic amount of work all of you have put into the fundraising. As you can see from the www.saharamarathon.co.uk web site, the total to date has reached £116,719 and I gather that there is still more to follow from some that are still collecting from their sponsors. Absolutely fantastic ! Well done ! I hope that many of you will continue to support Facing Africa in other events or even if its only telling your friends about the work we do.

For those who are interested in how the money you have raised is being used, you can watch a short BBC documentary filmed in Ethiopia which is being shown tomorrow (Friday) 18th April:-

BBC West (available on SKY, channel 986)
Programme is called "Inside Out"
Friday 18th April
7.30 pm.

Filmed at an hospital in Ethiopia featuring the facial reconstruction
work carried out by our teams of volunteer surgeons

Please tell your friends to watch this programme as they too will be interested to see facing Africa and where their money is being put to very good use.

Once again, thank you all so much for the brilliant results. If any of you has digital pictures from Morocco, please can you send me a few for use on our web site (please caption them if possible).

Kind regards

Chris

Facing Africa - NOMA
Seend Park, Seend , Wiltshire SN12 6NZ
Tel: + (44) 1380-827038
Mobile: + (44) 7748 180 700

gmike

Just spotted this posted on Runners World Forum:

"A programme following the British runners in this years Marathon des Sables will be shown on ITV4 at 9 pm on 13 May."

debbie g

Message from Bobby :-

Eurosport lo.30pm Wednesday. Get a taste of what Graham had to go through. We may even get a look at him.

That means tonight!!

mikemoreton

Yeah, got that recorded. Missed the one on ITV4 though

Anyone see/record it?

MM2

Ian J

I also missed ITV4 show, however I think it's on again next Tuesday poss 9pm, wrote the details down at work so will have to check if time/day is wrong?

gmike

I couldn't find anything on at 9 on the 13th ... thought it might have been duff info.

bobby · marathon dea

Apparently this programme will now be shown at l2.30 tonight on Eurosport. The anticipation is mounting.

Graham

From the ITV journo.

The hour long ITV4 programme will be shown on Tuesday May 20th at 9pm. For anyone in the ITV Central region, there'll also be a half hour programme on the Bank Holiday, 26th May at 8pm. That's basically a shorter version, but focuses a little more on runners from that particular region. I've also made a 15 minute film about one of your number for ITV Yorkshire which will go out in August.

http://www.itv.com/Entertainment/...ty/MarathondesSables/default.html

Marathon de Sables 2008 - Graham Booty official tracker

Marathon de Sables 2008 - Graham Booty official tracker

marathon dea