"When you run on the earth and with the earth, you can run forever." - Tarahumara Saying

Marathon's aren't that cool anymore.

Everyone has a friend or family member who's done one.

But I haven't done one.

Since I was a kid, I've been drawn to experiences beyond the edge of the ordinary.

The forest I used to explore behind my childhood home became the entire planet when in my late twenties I spent years travelling the world with a backpack.

The exploration of my physical limits also began when I was a kid. Attaining my black belt in martial artis required me to push myself further than I ever imagined I could go.

Cycling the USA Pacific Coast and across Death Valley in 2008 brought me even deeper into the experience of mind versus body versus time and space.

I love finding out how much further I can go. How much longer I can bare it.

Even more than this though, I discovered a love for the bliss of endurance.

The Bliss of Endurance

I love the presence experienced inside of each step, pedal and stroke.

It's the journey that I love. Being there. Moving and being so aware that I am alive.

When I run, I am still and the earth moves beneath me.

Like descending into the depths of being through a guided meditation, its as if the further into an endurance journey I go, the deeper into the experience I go.

Cyclic thoughts, locked in rhythm with strides, give rise to a mindfulness that watches the self.

Separation from thoughts and body is a liberating experience.

More Than a Marathon

When I knew it was time for me to run a marathon, I wanted to make it something extraordinary.

A search with my friend and running partner Ben White, led us to a unique and  little known marathon in the Sahara desert that included not only the run but a week long cultural immersion experience living with refugees.

Hotter Than I Thought

Characteristic of the way I've lived most of my life, I crossed the threshold to register for the marathon before I knew what lied on the path ahead.

Once again, my intuition had called me to an adventure that was larger than I'd realised.

I'd assumed the desert wouldn't be too hot, as the race takes place in February. I'd also assumed all deserts had dry heat.

In reality I can expect temperatures of 80-90 F (26-32 C) and humidity as high as 90%.

Reading deeper into this small and little known race, I discovered the heat wasn't the only thing I'd underestimated.

Why All the Guns?

As I explored photos and videos from previous years, I started to wonder why in many photos and videos, amongst the people racing, there were lots of men in army fatigues and carrying assault rifles.

The Sahara Marathon was essentially created to help raise global awareness about a people who 30 years ago were kicked out of their country Western Sahara.

For three decades 250,000 Sahrawi people have been living quietly in refugees camps in the Algerian desert.

Without realising it, by registering for this race, I was making a political statement.

With my curiosity and concern spiked, further investigation revealed a story of three international aid workers being kidnapped in 2011.

Lots of thoughts began to run through my head.

Do I Really Want to do This?

"Do I really want to do this? I didn't even know who the Sahrawi people were a week ago. I want to challenge myself, but I certainly don't want to die for a cause I know nothing about."

I needed to know more, so I contacted the founder of Sandblast Arts, Danielle Smith, and asked to meet her in London. She obliged and over an hour together I got a fairer and more certain perspective of what I was entering into.

Running in the Sahara Marathon is  a political statement.

Competitors are all essentially standing up for the idea that Morocco shouldn't have stolen the country of Western Sahara from the Sahrawi people when Spain pulled out of Africa. That they shouldn't have kicked them out and built the Moroccan Wall locking them out of their homeland.

On the face of it, what Morocco did to the Sahrawi people certainly doesn't seem fair or just. As I spoke about in my recent TEDx talk, I'm not very fond of borders that limit physical movement of people.

Personally, I'm still not sure I'm ready to make a political statement, because I don't know enough about it.

However, I've decided to do the race anyway.

Safer Than it Sounds

Danielle made me feel very comfortable about flying into the miltary airport in Tindouf and spending a week with the refugees. She told me she has been travelling there for over 20 years herself, that she would never put her young daughter in a dangerous situation and she regularly brings here there today.

The kidnapping last year was supposedly the first occurrence ever in the refugee camps. The military presence and newly imposed curfews are supposedly a response to the kidnapping and in place to ensure international guests are kept safe.

An Even Grander Adventure

As much as I'm going to run this marathon to test my spirit and to enter deeply into the bliss of endurance, I'm embarking on it as a cultural and political adventure.

I want to learn more about the Sahrawi people and whatever their story is, like I was driven to do with the People of Kolleru Lake in india, I want to help them make sure their story is heard.

Where Does Your Money Go?

I'm investing about GBP £1500 (USD$ 2500) of my own cash to cover the costs of travel, race, food, stay and gear.

100% of the money you donate to support me in this adventure will go directly to the Sahrawi people.

Sandblast Arts will use your donation to empower the Sahrawi people through the production of live and recorded music. Once supplied with the music gear and trained to use it, they will create music that tells their story.

Using the internet, their songs will then be spread around the world and people will come to know their story.

More Info

Sanblast Arts - Run the Sahara
Official info & entry page for the marathon
Running the Sahara Marathon
My friend & running partner Ben's blog

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