Is the MDS all it's cracked up to be?

So over the weekend I got wondering about whether all of this is really worth it? When you look at the cost, time and effort that most people put into this, I really started to ask myself the question. There's been quite a bit of talk on here about the cost of the MDS for us Brits, but when you also look at the training involved and then the extra costs such as kit, the races we enter etc... will I stand there at the finish line and think, "Yes that was worth every penny?"

There's no doubt about it that I'm doing this race (I've told far too many people and committed myself), but since taking up running back in October last year to train for this, it opens your eyes up to a completely new world. I thought I would do one marathon as a test of fitness and then head down and train. However I've since entered a variety of races and quite a few marathons, and I do really enjoy doing the marathons. As I become more ingrained into the running world, I think you begin to realise that there's more to life than the MDS. So what is the MDS really for? In my opinion, and it's been said before, it's generally for people who haven't done an ultra of a multi-day event before. It's one of those races where when you first talk about it to people, they think it's stupid and something that 'normal' people shouldn't do. But this is the very point I think, it is a race for normal people, not elite runners as such.

Maybe I'm having motivation issues? I know that I find it very hard now to drag myself out for the long training runs, which 6 months ago weren't an issue. I find that I now have to enter myself into marathons to get my long runs in because quite frankly I find them extremely tedious and dull. Maybe it's the winter over here in Australia. I hate running in the dark and cold now, whereas in the summer, going out for runs after work was easy and enjoyable. Who knows? I think when I weigh everything up, personally I think the MDS in terms of the cost us Brits have to pay is not worth it. I know I'll enjoy doing the race and it will be a great achievement (hopefully), but when I look at what's being spent on it, there's probably far better options out there, which admittedly, hold less stature.

Finally a word for the British organisers, Best of Morocco. The only way to describe this outfit is shoddy and expensive, like most British products we have to endure. Something seriously has to be done about the British method of entry. As the audience becomes more educated and knowledgeable, so these guys will really have to up their game. At the moment they are quite frankly atrocious and simply take the piss with the cost of the event. I can see why it is 'blind' people, like myself who first enter into this race don't batter so much as an eyelid when we do enter, because we don't know any better. We have very little knowledge of running and the scene so to speak when we first get on board. However as we progress and increase our knowledge and expertise, so does our ability to question all of this. I really hope that the MDS organisers review their choice of suppliers and make the British entry much fairer in line with the rest of the world.

Anyway's the training will continue, but then part of me thinks, do I really need to do massive loads of training? From October onwards, I really was planning on upping things quite a bit - 10% a week, and peaking at 90 miles of something. But then I think - do I really need to? I guess the Glasshouse 100km race will really sort me out as that is likely to bring me back down to earth. At the moment my thinking is, "Well I can run a marathon in 3hrs 30mins", that's alright isn't it? I guess I'm being a bit lazy also. Whether I fluked Hunter Valley I'm not sure. I thought I was further back in fitness than that, but it appears not so. I shouldn't be so cocky and complacent and the Glasshouse 100km race is something I probably need to tell me that I'm not all that and I still have work to do. Anyway's onwards and upwards :)