How Far Can You Run in the Desert When It's 50C?

Testing the Limits ... Safely:

 

- David O'Hara

Max Calderan, the organizer of last fall’s “Tropic of Cancer Ultramarathon”, and Servee Palmans of “Hopatec Sports” put forth a challenge to the UAE Ultra-running community:

“How far can you run safely in the UAE desert heat in July?”

Together they hosted“100km over 50C”, a running event at the Al Qudra bicycle track.

Preparation:

Most midsummer running events in extreme conditions are announced months in advance, so runners can do event-specific training and preparation. Part of the beauty of this event is that it was announced only two weeks prior, so you couldn’t prepare for it – the aim was for you run it in your “as is” fitness condition. For reasons unbeknownst to me, there isn’t a tremendous audience for running an Ultra in the desert in the middle of summer on such short notice! More than half of the people who signed up cancelled at the last minute, because they probably thought they were signing up for a cycling event at Al Qudra, not an Ultra-running event.

Nonetheless the select group in addition to Max (who was race marshall) and Servee included: Mahan (a guy whom I’ve seen at Urban Ultra events), Omaima (a lady who trains with Lee Harris) and me. Pam and Mary were driving the support vehicle with water. We agreed to meet at Al Qudra at 03:45 for the 04:00 Start.

Start:

The five of us started running in the darkness without much fanfare promptly at 04:00. We ran alongside the cycling track, with little need for head lamps as there wasn’t much really to see anyway! The first cyclists appeared about an hour later, with their distinctive cricket-like clicking on their spokes. We ran at a leisurely pace as a group, just to get a feel for the day ahead. When we started the temperature was a mild 36C with 50% humidity!