Ultramarathon runner, Jacqui Bell completed her first race across the Sahara.
The seven-day, 250km race run across the North African desert is one of four deserts Jacqui hopes to race in to become the youngest woman ever to compete the 4Deserts race series.
The Sahara is the hottest and longest desert in the world, after the icy tundras of the Arctic and Antarctica (the latter Jacqui will race across later this year).
The White Cloud Foundation is very pleased to be associated with such a strong and impressive athlete. Jacqui was one of our 10 Leaping Ladies in February this year, where she took her natural ‘give it a go’ attitude to raise money for White Cloud Mums, our program to assist mums at risk of perinatal depression.
Jacqui has trained hard for this race series, but the harsh realities of running 250km across a desert were apparent by the end of her run.
Even before she started the race, Jacqui had to reduce what she carried in her pack from 8kg to 7kg. That doesn’t sound like much, but every gram counts when you’re pushing your body like she did. But she had trained, and she had prepared well.
Her post from Day 2 is a hoot. That which can go wrong and all that, but so much went right for her and she came in third on Day 1. What a feat.
Showing that you learn from your mistakes, Jacqui details the little things that make or break a race like this. Her post about Day 3 is a lesson that preparation is more than just training.
By Day 4 Jacqui is showing how strong she is, remember she’s been running about 40km a day across rocky terrain or soft sand, and she can still see how beautiful it is around her and appreciate the awesome place she is experiencing.
If you want to know about what it takes to get through a run across the desert, her blogs about Day 5 and Day 6 are testaments to her mental strength.
Jacqui’s next race is on 29 July and we can’t wait to see how she goes running across the Gobi in Mongolia. In the meantime, however, you can keep up with her preparation on her blog.
She is also hosting a night at Piggy Back at Jindalee on 29 June. Email info@whitecloudfoundation.org for more information.