Stage 5

Today's stage was a full marathon and it marks the end of the competitive part of the race; there's only a short charity walk tomorrow, so all finishers receive medals today...

.. and I'm delighted to report that both Hector and Paul have now officially finished the Marathon des Sables! I would like to say they’re in great shape, but I don’t think that would be very accurate: great spirits perhaps, but a little bit broken physically. Hector’s feet, in particular, are in a bad way and apparently he is “walking in pools of pus”. But they toughed it out and crossed the finish line at 14:54 (Hector) and 15:55 (Paul).

Here's what Stage 5 looked like:

One other competitor worth mentioning is Cactus. You may remember the photograph in Stage 2 featuring the dog (the one I thought might have been harnessed by Paul for Canicross). It turns out that this dog, nicknamed "Cactus", followed the runners for most of Stage 2 and then continued to run every stage, enjoying the attention, food and water. Cactus got a lot of coverage, and a medal at the end! There's no need to worry about him, he has an owner who will be coming to collect him on Saturday.

So, now it's the last evening in the tent, which means going to find firewood, cooking a meal, bedding down on the ground (no pillow I think, even though I suggested packing - and carrying - one).

Tomorrow they do Stage 6 which is a short, celebratory charity walk. Then they go back to civilisation.