I ran ‘toughest foot race on earth’

A WOMAN from Henley has completed “the toughest foot race on earth”.

Jenna Franklin, of Deanfield Avenue, ran the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco.

This is a seven-day ultramarathon, which is about 250km, the distance of six marathons.

Mrs Franklin, 39, a member of Marlow Striders, spent 11 months preparing for the race, running up to 80km a week to get fit enough for the challenge in the searing desert heat.

She found out about the event after seeing a poster in the offices of the London law firm where she is a partner.

Participants have to run through mountain ranges and over sand dunes in extreme temperatures as they cross the desert in six stages, staying overnight under bivouacs. They must carry all their own gear, including food, water and medical supplies, although a medical team is on standby in case of emergencies.

Mrs Franklin, who has a three-year-old daughter, Emilia, registered for the race in May last year and did not tell her husband for two months.

She said: “I then dropped it into conversation and he was genuinely shocked. He thought I was joking but quickly realised I was being deadly serious and that I was going to do it.

“My running club thought it was a nice idea and good aspiration but some members didn’t actually think I was going to do it. They were all pretty surprised when I did.”

Her coaches included Rory Coleman, who has run the Marathon des Sables 17 times. She said: “I started getting up very early and practised running at night too. I went on runs on the sand during a couple of holidays but nothing really prepares you for being in that environment.

“I also did hill training and trail running in and around Henley and the Chilterns and strength training at F45 in Henley.

“Trying to find time to do the training as well as my role, running a household and with a toddler was a challenge and you can only do as much as you can but I had great support from friends, family and colleagues as well as my nanny.”

After arriving in Morocco, the runners were taken on a six-hour bus to the desert. Following a day of technical checks, the race began.

Mrs Franklin said: “I felt apprehensive before the race because you don’t know what to expect. It’s a self-sufficiency race more than anything else. You’re given a certain amount of water each day and have to ration that to make sure you have enough.”

She ate a mixture of jerky, fruit pastilles, recovery shakes and gels. “All things I cannot bear to think about right now,” said Mrs Franklin. “A large part of the race is a mental challenge and even something as simple as seeing a different colour fruit pastille during the race gives you something to get excited about.”

She had to run 30km on the first day, which she coped with well. Mrs Franklin said: “I didn’t find it too intense. You’re getting yourself used to carrying your pack and the distance and terrain.

“My only issue was an eye infection which came out of nowhere, probably from the stress of finishing up work as well as the build-up to the race.

“When the sand hit it was quite uncomfortable and irritated but in many ways it was a good distraction — if I focused on that, I wasn’t focused on anything else.

“We then came back to camp. We had a great tent with great camaraderie.

“The second day was a 40km equivalent to the London Marathon. That was tough. There were a lot of sand dunes and a lot of inclines, which was quite brutal.

“However, day three was one of the biggest challenges — it’s known as the ‘long day’. It was 85km and there were lots of inclines. I ran 18.5 hours in total between seven checkpoints and into the night, arriving back at camp at 12.40am.

“People were suffering from heat exhaustion. One of my tent members had a suspected heart attack and had to be put in a freezer bag and helicoptered out. He had a temperature of 40C. Two members of our tent didn’t finish that day.

“It was very, very long and trying to navigate through the night was another challenge.

“I was singing with one chap a range of ABBA and Disney songs just to keep morale up. Towards the end of the stage we picked up a lady in her seventies from Norway. We told her to start moving and couldn’t leave her there as she was overheating.

“A large part of the race is learning to self-manage, including dealing with your water. If you run out, you can be in quite a bad way. Between some checkpoints, my bottle was so hot that I was drinking warm water and I had very little left so was trying to hold on to as much as I could.

“I stopped for 10 minutes at one checkpoint and they thought I was hypothermic but after a few checks the medic concluded that I was absolutely fine and made it to the finish line.

“Everyone was given a can of coke that day, which was just incredible. Everyone was walking staggering to the coke truck, which made for good people-watching.”

Mrs Franklin spent the rest day “faffing”. She said: “There’s not very much to do on the day off except personal admin.

“The race has a very military focus and I felt like I was in an SAS boot camp at times.

“I was making sure that my feet were okay for the next day, that I was hydrated and had the right amount of electrolytes.

“Stage four was ‘marathon’ day. That was really difficult and I really pushed myself. There were a lot of sand dunes and it was very hot again and lots of people were hallucinating.

“Day five was the first day I wasn’t feeling so good. My body was overheated and I was feeling nauseous at times. I slowed right down and lost 120 places because I had to pull back a bit.

“The final stage I completed in two-and-a-half hours just to get to the bus for a six-hour journey back to the hotel. I was really pleased to get over the finish line and see the palm trees.”

She came 18th in her age category and was 300th overall and in the top 50 females. Mrs Franklin described the race as “the most incredible experience”.

She said: “You’re on your own and there’s no civilisation: no village life or wildlife other than a camel or a camel spider here and there.

“The environment and terrain is very hostile but there’s something quite beautiful in that.

“I met hundreds of different nationalities. The camaraderie and solidarity in camp was simply amazing and people were really supportive and encouraging each other to finish. The volunteers came from different counties and are supposed to represent the different number of nationalities participating. We had quite a few Brits who were simply outstanding with support and encouragement.

“They were there to greet me on the finish line and hand me my medal and I cannot thank them enough for their support at checkpoints. They were always very upbeat, telling me where I was positioned and keeping me motivated.”

She was also motivated by a toy green turtle given to her by Emilia before she flew out.

Mrs Franklin said: “She gave me the turtle and said, ‘This is for your race’. It was a huge support for me and others and helped get us through.

“It’s tough being away from her. We had an emotion box where you could post a 60-second video to your family and I did that each day. I was missing her.”

She was reunited with her family after flying home and was greeted at Gatwick Airport by Emilia with a ‘welcome home’ poster she had drawn.

Mrs Franklin said: “She greeted me with open arms and the biggest smile. I had friends and family at home who had put up some lovely balloons.”

She raised £3,900 in donations for Women’s Aid, which she chose to support after giving birth during the covid pandemic in 2020.

Mrs Franklin said: “It is difficult for mums, especially a first-time mum, when yoo are at the most vulnerable point in your life. Women’s Aid were there to provide support for many mothers and continue to do so.”

To make a donation, visit https://tinyurl.com/5n8xrczc