Darren Wilson completed the ultramarathon the Marathon des Sables in April this year.

HAVING interviewed Darren Wilson back in November last year about his plan to run the Marathon des Sables we are delighted to welcome him back to the website to talk about his experience of running and finishing the race.

Darren smashed his own expectations to finish the ultramarathon in a much better place and time than expected and talks freely to us about what it’s like to run across the Sahara and explains more about the preparations and build-up to the event.

Read on to be inspired by his experience and how his triumph out in Morocco has motivated him to look ahead to future sporting challenges and projects. 

How were you feeling in the run-up to the Marathon des Sables? How prepared were you?

I felt I just wanted to get out there and run and was ready to go after a year of hard training. All preparations seemed to go well and I had done some hard training and kit testing. The pack which I carried contained all my equipment and food and had to be tested before the race. I was privileged to have kit made for me to test out in training by my sponsor True Mountain which is a fairly new company and has been trading for around two-and-a-half years from its base in Preston, England. All its kit is designed and manufactured here in Britain for the adventurous sort like myself. All the kit was excellent and it was nice to know it was made not too far down the road from home, it worked well which was a massive bonus to know.

I never felt nervous of the race as I had worked In the desert heat during my military career. However, I did feel a personal need to do my best as it was I who had wanted this and not anyone else telling me to do it. In being truly prepared, I would not know until I started the race but all seemed well with kit and I felt good.

I started off the first stage in the sand dunes very strong and felt good. I finished day one in 76th position and continued on to finish in the top 10 per cent on all stages. I knew then that my training had gone to plan and in fact better than expected.

Darren talked to Limitless Pursuits in November last year about his ambition and preparation to run the race.

Tell us about the build-up. What was it like when you arrived at the Sahara and did you get to meet and get to know some of the other runners?

Well the travelling to Gatwick airport was all good and the flight over to Morocco was good. However we had a six-hour coach journey ahead of us from the airport in Morocco to the first camp and start line. This turned into a seven-hour plus journey as there was a protest by the locals where they decided to block the road through, nothing to do with us and we never did find out the reason for it.

We made it to camp 1 early evening, the next day was race prep and administration before the race started the following day. It all started to feel real at that stage especially when I woke up on the first morning to a mass of open desert and sand dunes all around me.

We had eight man tents and already organised our tent mates before getting out to the Sahara, it all went to plan and it was a good thing I already knew three of the lads beforehand as I met them on a previous race, so we decided to get a tent team together way before MDS started. It was a privilege to spend the week on such an amazing adventure with all seven of tent 137 lads.

Despite gruelling conditions Darren finished the race in a much better position than expected which has inspired him to look ahead to future challenges.

What did you find hardest about the race and what were the biggest difficulties you came up against?

The biggest fear for me was that I knew I would lose a lot of salt through sweat loss in the heat and I feared cramping up. From my time in the Army I remember cramping badly, so I just hoped the salt tablets issued would do the job.

Sixteen miles into the first stage it happened I got a bad cramp in my hamstring. I stretched off and took some extra salt tablets, after that I had no problems throughout the race with cramp.

I did find the long open salt flats hard as they seemed to go on and on forever, and of course being from the Lake District the heat didn’t help.

Tell us about your most joyous moments of the race and what did it feel like to be finally competing there?

That’s got to be the final day as I crossed the finishing line – I had cracked the Marathon des Sables and in pretty good time too. I felt excited every day, as we stood on the start line watching the helicopter do some low level swoops above us as Highway To Hell by ACDC was blasted out loud from the sound system. I’d trained hard to be there so I enjoyed every minute of the race, however most runners do hit bad times during long races but I just reminded myself that I’d worked hard all year and I was going to give it 100 per cent.

How did you finish and were you happy with your place and time?

I finished feeling very good apart from a few small blisters due to my feet swelling. As regards to my place I was very very pleased as my goal was to get a top 300 finish or maybe sneak into the top 200 – I finished in 108th position out of around 1,250 competitors.

Darren ran to raise money for the Moroccan charity Solidarite.

How much did you raise for the charity you were running for and how much did that mean to you?

I ran for the Marathon des Sables charity, a Moroccan charity set up by the race director called Solidarite. I raised £4,500 overall. It meant a lot to know that out of my love for ultra running I was helping underprivileged children to gain better schooling and education.

How are your currently spending your time and do you have any more challenges planned for the future?

I’m taking it a bit easier at the moment but saying that I do have a marathon coming up in a few days. As for future challenges… There are a few things I have in mind, one big one in particular but I’m not saying just yet. I will plan and think more about it when this next marathon is done. Whatever comes next it will be big, you’ll have to wait on that one.