Out of the Frying Pan, and Right Back In

Of the 1013 competitors who toed the line at the start of Stage 1 of the 2010 Marathon de Sables on Sunday, 938 remained as the runners began the 40 kilometer (24.9 mile) Stage 3 leg just before 08:30 local time yesterday morning. The race organizers have said that this stage 'Calls for great mental strength', but from what I can tell as I sit in front of my computer in my air conditioned home office in a cozy suburb on this side of the Atlantic, it's safe to say that every step along the MdS course can be described in this manner. When Jennifer and Lane return, I am sure that they'll be able to back me up on that one.

The following is a breakdown of the cumulative elapsed time at each checkpoint along Stage 3:

Jennifer Vogel - Competitor # 696:

CP 1: 1:36:45, CP2: 3:19:17, CP3: 4:56:57

Bivouac 4: Total Stage 3 Time 5:40:26

Lane Vogel - Competitor # 697:

CP 1: 1:37:36, CP2: 3:18:13, CP3: 5:15:37

Bivouac 4: Total Stage 3 Time 6:14:52

You may click here for some video footage of Stage 3, and you can also retrace the Stage 3 route by plugging these GPS coordinates into Google Maps or Google Earth:

• Bivouac 3 (Start of Stage 3): N30 51.162 W4 34.239
• PC 1 : N30 48.893 W4 41.599
• PC 2 : N30 45.488 W4 47.307
• PC 3 : N30 39.864 W4 46.689
• Bivouac 4 (End of Stage 3, Overnight Camp): N30 37.937 W4 44.666

The longest single leg of the MdS, Stage 4, began this morning, and the runners will cover 82.2 kilometers (51.1 miles).

Stay tuned for updates as they become available...


All the Best,

Jon Ross