My feet slip with every step. Moving with the soft sand beneath. Struggling to gain traction and push forward. And yet I must. Force each step; push with the poles to achieve forward motion. This is the desert, and as much as it forces me back, I must resist.
My first foray into desert foot events was in this same spot. The Australian Simpson Desert in 2017. A late comer to this sport at age 41, I had only recently discovered the joy of trail events, having completed a 100km single stage event in my hometown. I was looking for the next challenge and a one-week desert ultramarathon seemed perfect. It was as far away from my ‘normal’ life, working in an office, as you could get.
