19-05-2025
Hallucinations and starvation: Meet the man who ran ultramarathon in Sahara Desert
HALLUCINATIONS, sandstorms and starvation were just some of the things Grant Smith wrestled with when he completed the Marathon des Sables.
The 157-mile route in the Sahara Desert in Morocco sees participants run six marathons in seven days, while carrying their own food and survival equipment.
Smith, 46, from Brize Norton, needed more than half a year to get into the physical shape required for such a challenge.
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He told this newspaper: 'I'd never done this one before. I'd done half-sized ones previously, but this was the full one.
'I've been running for 20 years because I find it helps with work stresses and life pressures, but for this, you ramp it up and before you know it, you're running in the desert.
'Training-wise, I was doing 10 to 12 hours a week, carrying 10kg of weight. One of the furthest runs was from Brize to Broadway in Worcestershire on the back of doing a couple of 10-milers in the week and various strength and conditioning exercises.
'The preparation was over six to eight months, with the focus being able to carry that sort of weight for a long period of time.
'I wore a sweatsuit during my training. I would go on the treadmill in a room with the doors shut and the radiator on before then going out.'
Grant Smith completed the Marathon des Sables (Image: Grant Smith) For all Smith's training, there were some things that Brize Norton and its surroundings couldn't prepare him for.
He said: 'The temperatures get to over 40 degrees, and for one part, there was a horrific sandstorm which blew up, and there was lightning in it. That was scary, but amazing as well.
'I always knew it was going to be the hardest thing I'd done to date. I've climbed Kilimanjaro, but this is the Everest of running.
'In the race, I was conscious that people were hallucinating, and you lose all sense of reality. I hallucinated that people were running past me the other way.
'You have to self-medicate your feet, so that included daily trips to the triage tent to inject your feet and sort out blisters.
'The weight loss is quite considerable. We're burning from 4,000 to 8,000 calories a day, so starvation kicks in.
'I've got a knee problem which I've had to manage for a long time, but I had to get through it. There are the usual aches and pains, which is where the training helps you deal with it.'
Upon his return to Oxfordshire, having made a vow for 20 years, there was only one thing for Smith to do.
He explained: 'I've never had a tattoo before, and I'd always said if I did this that it would be the only time I would get one.
'The first thing when I got back, my wife, kids and brother got me into the shop, and I got the logo on my ankle.'
