Anne Ziogos (OW) recently ran 250 km over six days in the Sahara Desert. Yesterday she showed the rest of the Orchard field a clean pair of heels to be first across the line. Anthony Aloisio (SK) dominated with the fastest men’s time, while Robyn Millard (OH) was the fastest woman. Go to the results via APSOC 2013 in the drop down menu. There is a picture gallery here.
Here is Anne’s account of the Sahara Marathon: “I have finished the toughest race on earth and much to my surprise, I did very well. Thinking back, I can’t believe I competed in those conditions, however I am very glad I did and feel much stronger in doing so. Second day was a challenge as I hate heights and ridges…. and of course we had 30.7 kms of the stuff. Thankfully there were lots of strong hands to give me a pull and a shove up those big rocks. The main focus was to look ahead and nowhere else. Climbing steep rocks with an 11 kilo backpck could be potentially dangerous, very glad when that day was over. However there was more to come, more rocks and more sand dunes in glorious 54 degrees. The body held very well with just a few bruised nails and a few blisters, very lucky in a way. The marathon leg was fantastic, with small dunes, small hills and lots of hot rocks. Kissed that ground when I finished! Overall I came 249th, 16th female and 1st veteran, with a nice trophy to take home for my efforts. There were 1040 competitors from all around the world. An experience well worth its while. Will miss the tents in the wind and the beautiful changing rooms (had to pick the right moment to use them, only when the wind died down!).”
